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LPGA KEB HANABANK CHAMPIONSHIP

October 17, 2015

Sung-hyun Park

Incheon, South Korea

MODERATOR: Congratulations on where you are on the leaderboard. How has this week been for you now with one round to go and having a chance to win?

SUNG HYUN PARK: Like you mentioned, I think my chances of winning have gone up significantly higher today, and so it's actually a great honor for me to start in the leaders group tomorrow. And this is my first LPGA championship, so I'm actually very pleased and it's a great honor. But I'm sure as all of you all know, golf is a very unpredictable sport, so I think I still have to give my best every hole tomorrow.

MODERATOR: Did you feel confident coming into this week, with it being your first LPGA event, that you could win and be in the lead group on Sunday?

SUNG HYUN PARK: To be really honest, I don't think I ever really thought about winning, and so I wasn't really confident coming into this week. I was more worried and nervous, but I'm quite proud of myself. So I think that would explain how I feel.

MODERATOR: Couple more questions from me, then we'll take one.

What's been the best thing about your game this week as to why you're on top of the leaderboard?

SUNG HYUN PARK: I think I can cite two factors of my game that are really working for me right now. First of all, I think I'm really hitting the fairway good and so that's really increasing my chances of getting on the green.

And once I'm on the green, I think I'm putting very well this week, as well and I think it's just landing on the fairway ^ and then good putting. These are two points that are really working for me this week.

MODERATOR: I'm looking out the window right here and the crowd that is walking down the 18th fairway to go up to the green is absolutely massive. What, tomorrow, knowing the crowd might be even bigger, would be something of a bigger challenge for you? Might it be playing in front of all these people, or, perhaps playing with somebody like Lydia Ko, who also has a chance to win tomorrow and regain No. 1?

SUNG HYUN PARK: I think the huge gallery wouldn't really be a factor because I'm quite used to playing in front of the big crowd. And as for Lydia, she is younger than me, but she's a player that I really always wanted to play alongside with. I'm just very happy that I have this opportunity to play alongside her at this LPGA event, which I mentioned earlier was my first LPGA championship. So I think I'm going to have a really good time tomorrow.

Q. How aware have you been of Lydia's career up to this point, and have you followed her progression? And you say you have looked up to her; have you done that by watching her play, or has it just been by following her wins online?
SUNG HYUN PARK: So I can't say I followed her career very specifically. I'm really totally focused on improving my game. I know that she is a good player and I know that she is a famous player, but I can't say that I followed her every win and every tournament.

Q. You hit the ball an incredibly long way. You would probably lead the LPGA in driving distance. How do you generate so much speed, and is that a huge advantage on this golf course?
SUNG HYUN PARK: You mentioned that I may be at the top of the distance in terms of the LPGA rankings, but I think that based on my experience of playing with other players for the past three days, there are a lot of long hitters, and we sort of have been going back and forth in terms of who is driving the ball further.

So I can't say that I would definitely lead in terms of those statistics. And as for whether it's an advantage on this course, I think that this course, it's always windy. So when you're facing the green and when you're driving, I think that the long hitters do have an advantage in really gaining and securing the distance and getting the spin that you want, so I would say it's an advantage.

Q. If you were to win tomorrow, you would gain an LPGA Tour card. So would you be interested in going on the LPGA Tour if that's the case, and even if you don't win, since now you've been exposed to the experience, would you be interested in going to the LPGA?
SUNG HYUN PARK: Actually I had this conversation with my mom and we were just talking about it. I told her, if I should win this championship, I still don't think I'm ready for the LPGA Tour. And even if I don't win tomorrow, I think I would be quite satisfied with the results of the championship so far.

I've been on the leaderboard. I've been fighting to win, and so I think I would be quite happy. And I would actually be quite satisfied of having taken part in this tournament and kind of let my name be known among the LPGA players.

MODERATOR: Why would you not be ready, in your mind?

SUNG HYUN PARK: I think I said that I don't think I'm ready, maybe because I haven't really thought about it. Never really entered my mind. So I haven't really given it a deep consideration.

And then, I think that maybe if I were to join the LPGA Tour now, I would find it difficult to adapt to a new environment, and I still have a language barrier to work on. So I think I need more exposure and experience to feel ready.

Last year I thought maybe three years later I'll be ready, and so for now, next year, I'm planning on focusing on the KLPGA Tour, and then maybe the year after that. But nothing's been decided or set.

Q. At the seventh hole, it seemed that you could make the green in two, but you decided not do that. I would like to hear more about your strategy in the seventh hole. And what was it like playing with Jeong Eun Lee?
SUNG HYUN PARK: At the seventh hole, I'm not quite sure if my driver hit the mantle. I'm not quite sure about that. But when I looked at the distance, I didn't think that I could make it on in two. The pin was located very near in front of me, and it seemed that even if I make it on the green, it would be difficult to make the putt. And so instead of being really aggressive, I decided to be a little defensive and I attempted to get on in three. I think that my judgment was correct.

As for playing with Jeong Eun Lee (ph), I have two players that I considered my role models, Jeong Eun Lee and Suzann Pettersen. I even told Jeong Eun Lee with my very limited English that she's a role model and I was very happy to play with her.

In terms of shooting distance, as I mentioned earlier, sometimes she would drive the ball further than I did. We kept sort of surprising each other, and so I think that was very fun.

MODERATOR: There's a follow-up question out there based on that answer. Can you explain why Suzann Pettersen has been one of your role models growing up and playing this game?

SUNG HYUN PARK: So obviously, I don't know her personally, so I have no idea about her personality. My role models are strictly based on the golf style, their swing style, the way they play. And I think Suzann has a very appealing swing and play style that I really, really admire.

Q. You seemed quite exhausted yesterday, but today you seemed quite energetic, and also, you mentioned yesterday that you were too tired to practice. So what are you going to do today after this interview?
SUNG HYUN PARK: Actually yesterday, I was very tired, and obviously it wasn't my A Game yesterday and not having the score that I wanted yesterday made me obviously a little bit more tired.

But today, I think that I played a strong game and so obviously that helps. But even today, I don't think that I'll wear myself out practicing after this interview. I think I'm going to go back and relax.

MODERATOR: Thank you very much. Good luck tomorrow.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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