PNGA Player of the Year Stoll Advances at Women’s Four-Ball

Three-time PNGA Women’s Player of the Year Gigi Stoll (2017, 2015, 2014) and her partner Haley Moore advance to the Round of 16 at the 2018 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship, being held this week at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, Calif.

Stoll of Tigard, Ore. and her partner Moore of Escondido, Calif. are both juniors and teammates on the University of Arizona women’s golf team. In today’s Round of 32, they defeated the team of Abby Daniel and Ashley Gilliam, 6&5.

Stoll and Moore are the No. 4 seed in the championship.

The following is a transcript of their post-match interview.

You guys obviously played really well today. Talk a little bit about the course and what went on for you today.

HALEY MOORE: I mean, this course is pretty tough no matter what because we saw just by the two practice rounds, we were like, you have to be below the hole on a lot of these greens, and you have to be able to spin the ball. I think the thing that’s been working with us is we kind of like hitting the same clubs off of the tees, and when one of us goes first or if we get on the green, then the other one plays aggressive. If not, the other one just tries to get on the green and then hopefully get par or birdie and then move on from there.

Q. Did anything change in your mentality for match play?

GIGI STOLL: We pretty much have the same strategies that we’ve been using in stroke play, but just to kind of get started well in the beginning, get some momentum going from the start I think was one of our big keys. But pretty much the same as stroke play.

Q. When did you guys decide to team up and do this together this year?

GIGI STOLL: We were actually exempt, so that was one of the big reasons why we chose to be teammates. But I don’t — just kind of in the beginning of the season, we just were kind of talking about the idea of playing in the event because it fit in with our schedule.

Q. Kind of.

GIGI STOLL: We made it fit. But I think it’s a good place to some get some experience, play some golf. It’s a good place to practice, too, a little bit before we go to regionals.

Q. You guys came straight from Pac-12s and then you’re going to go straight to regionals. Talk about this stretch of golf.

HALEY MOORE: It’s very long, and so strength and mental game is definitely key. So just as long as — I think just getting in this deep is good. I mean, we’ve been in this — we’ve had tournament structures like this before, so we’re kind of used to it, like what we kind of know. But it’ll be interesting to see how — if we do end up going all the way here and then end up having — I think we might really have like a day —

GIGI STOLL: Another overnight sleep.

HALEY MOORE: Another overnight sleep and then we leave the next day. It’ll be —

GIGI STOLL: We’ll see.

HALEY MOORE: And I think that’ll help, too. Both of our games are pretty good right now, so hopefully we can keep this momentum going into regionals —

GIGI STOLL: It would definitely be nice, yeah.

Q. How did your coach feel about it?

GIGI STOLL: She encouraged us to play. Yeah, it was nice. I know some coaches just kind of encourage them not to play just because, like you said, it is a long stretch, but I think our coaches are really encouraging of us being here, so it’s been nice.

Q. Talk a little bit about the match today. I didn’t get to see much of it. Was just kind of the rhythm, and then any sort of key moment?

HALEY MOORE: I mean, it was pretty — we birdied the first hole, so we got off to a hot start, and then they chipped in for birdie on the second hole. And then it was pretty steady for a couple holes, and then we just started clicking, making some putts, and we just kind of got into a flow, just kept making putts, hitting greens. And then we just cruised.

GIGI STOLL: Yeah, we just kind of got a few birdies in there where they just had some pars, which really helps, I think. Birdies out here are definitely pretty special, especially because they can put the pins in all sorts of different places, and it’s pretty easy to get on the wrong side of the green or the wrong tier. I think birdies and pars out here will be pretty good.

Q. Ideally 36 holes tomorrow; what’s the plan the rest of the day?

GIGI STOLL: Go to bed.

HALEY MOORE: Yeah, just go home, rest.

GIGI STOLL: Eat an early dinner and go to bed early. We play at 7:24, so get some rest.

(FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports)