LEWIS REFLECTS ON “MOST UNBELIEVABLE WEEK”
It’s only been a couple of days since Stacy Lewis captured her first win in three years and the 12th win of her LPGA career at the Cambia Portland Classic presented by JTBC. Lewis isn’t sure if she’s ‘fully processed winning a tournament itself’ as the greater storyline has been Lewis’ donation of her winnings to Hurricane Harvey relief, something she promised to do early last week before the tournament even began.
When asked to describe in her own words what the last week has been like in her life, Lewis chose, “Fate.”
“I made the decision because I wanted to be in Houston but I also wanted to play in Portland and I needed some focus to being there,” Lewis said. “I needed a reason to be playing so that I would be giving it 100 percent. What better way than donate whatever I made. And you dream about winning and being able to donate that big check, but for it to actually happen, it was unbelievable. I obviously hadn’t won in three years so it was -- I don’t want to wait three years for my next win, but it was okay to have to wait that long for this one.”
The support on top of Stacy’s gesture has been tremendous - her sponsors have pitched in with KPMG matching her donation and Marathon contributing $1 million to the cause. After this week, Lewis will take the next five weeks off and head home to Texas.
“It’s amazing how one act can lead to so many others. Now I know there’s a lot of people that want to donate to what we’re doing and we’re still trying to figure that out and trying to figure out exactly who we’re going to partner with to get done what I want to get done. We’re not done with this.”
LEWIS SOLID SINCE LAST WIN
Stacy Lewis hadn’t won an LPGA event since the 2014 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G before last week, but she has been one of the most consistent golfers in that span. Lewis currently holds the active high mark for most consecutive cuts made on the LPGA, playing into the weekend in the her last 58 starts.
In total, Lewis made 83 starts between her last two wins, making the cut 81 times and recording 33 top-10 finishes including 12 runner-ups.
PILLER’S RACING TIES
Gerina Piller told the media on Tuesday that a NASCAR race was where she met her husband, Martin, when she first moved to Dallas. She returns to Indianapolis after helping promote the Indy Women in Tech Championship presented by Guggenheim a year ago, hoping to tie another memory next to a different raceway and capture the first win of her career.
Last week, Piller recorded her fifth top-10 finish of the season - having made the cut in 16 of 17 starts this season and helping the United States win the Solheim Cup a few weeks ago, Piller is feeling good about her year.
“I feel like 2017’s been a great year,” Piller said. “I haven’t really had obviously a win but it still doesn’t mean I haven’t had a successful year. I feel like I’ve played great, I had several chances to win. Just really kind of just doing what I’m doing. There’s only one thing you can control and it’s yourself and that’s hitting good shots. I’ve always told myself if you can focus on the process, the results will take care of themselves.”
QUOTABLE
“Well, I’m an emotional person, so of course I cried. It wasn’t my win or my husband. I don’t know, I just know that there’s more to life than golf and to have something like that happen in your hometown and to do what she did, to play for her city and to win it and then for her husband to surprise her and fly in and support her, that was pretty special.”
Gerina Piller, on watching Stacy Lewis win the Cambia Portland Classic presented by JTBC last week
“I think it’s a perfect tie, really. I think we’re trying to raise the bar for women in all aspects of life, on the golf course, off the golf course, in business, and it’s really you couldn’t have a more perfect partnership.”
Stacy Lewis, on title sponsor Indy Women in Tech
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