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U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

May 29, 2018

Lydia Ko

Shoal Creek, Alabama

THE MODERATOR: We're very happy to have everyone in town this week. Hopefully we'll have dryer weather in the next few days and a great week of championship golf.

First up, it is my pleasure to welcome Lydia Ko of New Zealand. She's playing in her seventh U.S. Women's Open, if you can believe that at her age. Lydia's best finish was a third place finish at Cordevalle. She is our 2012 U.S. Women's Amateur champion, and at the time was the second youngest champion in history.

Lydia, for starters here, just give us a few thoughts about the golf course and have you had a chance to see it yet?

LYDIA KO: Yeah. I was able to get a full 18 holes in yesterday morning. I think it's a very championship-like golf course and obviously it has held other major championships before. I think it's really good golf course with variety of length of holes, and I think the greens are really the trickiest part where some pin positions are it's going to be really tricky to attack them. So coming up with par at those holes is a great score.

Just like with any U.S. Open, you really have to play smart and you just try and figure out which holes are birdie holes are and which holes where coming up with a par is good score.

Q. Talk about what sets this championship apart.
LYDIA KO: I think obviously the U.S. Women's Open in golf and other sports too is a major championship that all athletes dream of winning. The USGA and everyone involved always does a great job of running this major championship and making it one of the key star events on our season and on our calendar. It's a big week and it's a week where the world's best female golfers are here from all around the world.

I think that is really the thing that really highlights the week. And that's why with the best there, the person that plays the best golf all four rounds is really going to be crowned champion.

Q. I was wondering if you could just update us on what you have been up to in the last two weeks, what you have been working on because we haven't seen you in a little while.
LYDIA KO: I actually took a couple of weeks off. It was exciting times for us. My sister just got married just over a week ago. So we went back to our parents hometown in Jeju-do Island and we were able to celebrate that amazing day and we have a new family member.

After that I came back to Orlando and I was just trying to work on being a bit more consistent with the long game and the short game, try and hit all these different shots that were probably, you know, shots that I might need to hit this week. The good thing is, I guess, being in Orlando with Bermuda grass, and it's a similar type of grass here at Shoal Creek. So it was nice to be able to hit some shots.

That was really it. I tried to pace myself and not overdo it. This was a very important week, but it's a long week, too. So I didn't want to come into the week feeling tired, so I just tried to work on the specific parts of my game that I felt needed the improvement. Hopefully it will pay off.

Q. I know you called this a championship venue. Obviously there is great history here at Shoal Creek and the tricky greens. They have been forthcoming about the difficult conditions they had this winter which has made it tough for them to get the golf course in the kind of condition that they are used to seeing out here. When you factor that in and all this rain, how tough is it going to be once tournament play begins?
LYDIA KO: I think obviously with the conditions and everything, every single player is playing the same golf course, so there's no real advantage towards one player or not. Things like weather, it's totally out of our control. So just kind of have to play and go with the flow. I'm sure they are the best superintendents and USGA and everybody involved are doing and will do the very best to make this week as amazing as it can be.

I think the course is great and I heard that (inaudible) the greens where even they take a lot of water they are able to still dry it out and firm it out, which is obviously a huge key during the U.S. Open. I think it's going to be great and hopefully the weather will move out by the tournament days and we'll have dryer, sunnier weather.

Q. How do you deal with that personally when it's a little softer and you have to watch your spots? How do you change things up or do you?
LYDIA KO: I think obviously when it's playing a little softer, you have got longer clubs into the greens. At the same time because it is softer, sometimes you are able to go for the pin positions that you might not have been able to if it was playing firm and fast. So I think just kind of have to see how much it drys out from rounds 1 to 4.

And I think for me, it's just being able to pick out my spots and really differentiate which pin positions are really ones that I can be aggressive for and which ones I should still play a little bit away from the pin.

Q. How many holes were you planning to play today and tomorrow before the rain?
LYDIA KO: I was just planning to play the front nine today and the back nine tomorrow. So obviously the course is canceled or practice rounds are canceled today. I'm hoping to be able to get -- maybe get the back nine in again tomorrow.

Q. So how much does that hinder your preparation?
LYDIA KO: I was able to get a solid 18 holes in yesterday. And that's why I wanted to get out a little earlier in the morning so that I could get the 18 holes in because I really wasn't sure how the weather was going to come out in the next couple of days. I think it will be fine. I just got to -- like this is something that you can't control. Obviously canceling today will make the championship in better conditions when we're out playing. I think that's a good thing going forward. I'm going to try and put in as much work as I can with what I have.

Q. How much did you play when you were here on your previous visit?
LYDIA KO: I just played 18 holes.

Q. So you feel like you have a fair handle on the course then?
LYDIA KO: Yeah. It was definitely nice to be able to see the golf course before coming into this championship week. Just to be able to see what kind of grass it is now. And with some holes, I don't play the exact length of what we were going to play this week, but it was just a good way to get a rough idea of what the course is like and just how the golf course is going to be set up.

Q. Could you see yourself utilizing some different shots given the way that things are? Like hybrids around greens or anything like that?
LYDIA KO: Yeah. I think with the around the greens aren't that crazy. But like a Pinehurst, you may hit some hybrids or bump into the hills a lot. But there are a few areas like that, but I feel like there's a lot of bunkers here around the greens. So even hitting different length of bunker shots. And I think because it is a U.S. Open just being able to hit a softer, higher shot that even if you short side yourself, you are still able to have a good chance for par for the next one. So I think short game is going to be huge this week.

It's pretty tough to hit 100 percent on the greens. For any player, somebody that makes up and down from some of the trickier spots I think is going to be a big key. Hopefully I will be able to work on that these next couple of days.

Q. Did you find this course to be long before it got so wet when you came here before?
LYDIA KO: Yeah. I felt there were a couple of holes that were a little longer even when I was practicing when I came here before this week, there were some holes where I was coming in with longer hybrids or, you know, with the wood.

So definitely yesterday I felt like the course was a lot longer because of the wetness and the fairways. But I guess it just makes it a little trickier. When it comes championship times, there could be a different variety of tees used or hopefully the sun comes out and it dries it out a little bit. The U.S. Open is not going to be easy out there. So you just have to see if it does play long, try and play smart and try to be able to come off that hole with a par. If you make a birdie, that's great, too.

Q. What will you do today to pass the time?
LYDIA KO: I think -- I just started reading a book. So I might read, Netflix and chill. Hopefully we'll be able to go out and practice maybe later in the afternoon. It's definitely actually nice to be able to get some time to just relax and chill out, too.

Q. Can I just ask what book you are reading?
LYDIA KO: It's a (indiscernible) book. The title is The Things You Can See When You Stop and Look Back.

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