DIO IMPLANT LA OPEN

March 29, 2023

Lydia Ko

Palos Verdes Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: All right, welcome inside the media center here at the DIO Implant LA Open. I'm pleased to be joined by Lydia Ko. Lydia, welcome back to the States and your first event in the United States on the LPGA Tour.

How are you feeling coming into this week at Palos Verde?

LYDIA KO: Yeah, I had a great year when I was here last year and I really enjoyed the golf course. Before coming to this course all I had heard was it was really hilly and that it was probably one of the hilliest golf courses we've ever played.

When I did play here, I was, oh, you know what? To my pleasant surprise it's not that bad. I think it's got a good mix of holes. Some shorter ones you can take advantage of, and especially in the wind some holes do play a lot tougher.

So I do like the mix of variety. Always love playing in California. Any time it brings us over here, I'm excited to come.

Q. We saw you in Asia and saw you win on the Ladies European Tour. What has the start of the year been like for you and the first time back in the States as a married woman?

LYDIA KO: Yeah, first tournament of the year, you know, even though I finished my season so strongly last year, you don't really have a lot of momentum going into. It's like two months plus and, you know, just because you end strong, it's a while since the next one.

So I didn't know what it was going to be like. Expectation is always being the No. 1 ranked player. I was nervous, but at the same time I said, hey, I got to get the season started to be able to know what other aspects I need to work on in my game.

I think it was that kind of mindset, and that put a lot of pressure off me and I was very fortunate to be able to have the win. And to win as a married woman, definitely different feel.

Yeah, I think outside of HSBC Singapore I played pretty solid in three of the last four events. Hopefully that is a good buildup for the next busy stretch of events coming up.

Q. I know you played with a unique group today on your nine holes. An actor and two WWE superstars. What was the pro-am like for you?

LYDIA KO: Yeah, Martin, who was the fourth in -- out of the four amateurs in the group, and I've known him for a few years. He's good friends with Daniel Henney and they said they were going to come out and play and we were trying to do everything so that we could play the pro-am together.

But I think there are a lot of demands. The pro-am is obviously great to be able to socialize and meet different people, but it's a very important day for the tour where we get to spend some time and get to know our sponsors and partners of our events as well.

So I'm glad, and I was super excited that I could play and Martin and Daniel and Corbin (phonetic) and Dana today. They were so much fun. I never met a WWE fighter before, so to have met two, it was super cool.

Got to listen and hear like about their industry a little bit. I talked to Daniel before but never really -- our paths never crossed. To have met today at an LPGA event was super fun.

Yeah, really couldn't have been a better pro-am. And like I was telling Dave, my caddie, if I had to play another nine I wouldn't mind it. I want to keep going because my group was so much fun.

Q. Daniel not only is popular here on TV screen, but globally as well. What's his golf game like?

LYDIA KO: He's very good. He hit some awesome drives. Hit some good iron and putter, so overall like a very good golfer. I think he's left-handed, so at times he'll hit and I'll be like, draw, draw. I was like, no, wait, it needs to cut. He's lefty. So I have to get used to that.

He's good. It shows he likes to go out and play between his projects, and I'm a huge fan. Even my mom took a picture with him. I always wanted to meet him, so I was definitely fan-girling out there today.

Q. It was reported last year that your sister explained that had once you hit the LPGA's Hall of Fame points you might contemplate putting the clubs down as long as you get to the Olympics next year. Is that still kind of your thought process as of now?

LYDIA KO: Yeah, I'm just try to take this tournament by tournament. I think especially ever since meeting my husband, I feel like golf, yes, it is work, and when I do it want to put in my 100%. While I am playing I want to play the best golf I can.

But I've been able to embrace it and take in the good and bad and just like make everything and the results be like a bonus rather than me trying to force something out of it.

I feel very grateful about the things that have happened in my life on and off the golf course, and that's just a good place to be able to compete as well. I'm very close to the Hall of Fame, but I don't think I'm going to -- my goal is not out there to go, okay, one more point or another point.

Obviously I'm two points away. I don't think I'm going to be chasing it. Yeah, I'm human. It's going to be at the back of my mind. Not if, but when I get my next win, I'll be like, okay, now I'm one point away.

I'm going to make that feel as if I was going into CME last year. All the accolades, they will be secondary, and all I have to do is do a good job in my performance and my technique and everything on the golf course.

So that's my primary focus.

But, yeah, who knows how long it's going to take me. Could be in two tournaments, could be in 20 tournaments. But it would be a huge honor to be part of those names and the legends in the Hall of Fame.

Q. So to clarify, making the Hall of Fame would impact your retirement decision?

LYDIA KO: It may or may not. Who knows. I talked to some of the girls that said, hey, my goal was to retire when I'm 30, and they hit 30 and they're like, I'm going to keep going on.

You just never know. It doesn't mean that like if I can't get to the Hall of Fame then it's not like then I'm going to keep playing and playing and playing. I don't want that to be the drive or the stopping factor.

I think what has happened in my career so far has been much more than I could have ever asked for, and I'm just trying to play the best golf I can, and if it happens, it's great. But that's not going to be like the biggest determining factor I think.

Q. Sure. Given your close proximity to the Hall of Fame and the Olympic Games next year, have you thought about this might be your last year out here?

LYDIA KO: I don't think this year will be my last year. Definitely, yeah, I think Paris was definitely a big goal of mine, to be there. I was lucky enough to be able to medal both silver and the bronze. To be able to have the trio would be really cool.

Any time to be able to represent your country at a stage like that against the best athletes, that only happens ever four years, so I think getting to Paris is definitely one of the biggest goals for me.

Q. You talked about the expectation that comes with No. 1 in the world. What does being No. 1 in the world mean to you and what sort of expectations do you have for yourself?

LYDIA KO: To be honest, right now I don't really think about it. I think especially at the Top 5-ish, it's so close. It can change every moment. I think if Nelly or somebody like plays better and then becomes No. 1, then, hey, I've got no control of that.

I'm just trying to be more consistent, and also just not compare myself to the year I had last year. Last year was probably one of the best years I've had in my career so far, so just I think staying present and doing a good job of what I can control right in front of me is important.

I walked past one of the boards and said I was No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings. That's not something I Google or like look up every day. I don't think that's one of my biggest focuses, and I'm trying to focus more, like I said, with Grant and Tom from Golf Channel yesterday, my goal is to hit over 70% of fairways and 75% of greens. Those are my two big goals, and if I do those aspects better the results will come with.

Q. And then your thoughts on how the schedule sets up there year. West coast. Lat year it was the two LA events back-to-back; this year you're here this week in Palos Verdes and you'll come back at the end the April to play at Wilshire.

LYDIA KO: Yeah, I don't think I'm going to be playing the second LA event. I'm glad I can be out here in PV. This is my first domestic event of the year, so be great to kind of start a good momentum for the domestic swing.

We have a pretty busy schedule. I know some of the girls, especially that are playing in International Crown, have a long stretch of events starting from Hawaii onwards.

I think after Wilshire the great thing is -- especially with some of our majors, like KPMG being in New Jersey and we have a new event in Mizuho in New Jersey. We have a lot of events in that New Jersey-New York area, so it's great that you can pretty much stay over there, and then it's just little flight from Orlando to go over.

So I think from here onwards it's sad to not be on the west coast as much, but I think travel-wise it's logistically a great stretch. And then we come over west coast for Vancouver, Portland, and that's also a pretty doable drive as well.

Yeah, I think the schedule can always look better I guess, but I think it's trending in the right direction for us, and I'm sure that is something is that the tour and everybody always thinks of when they're organizing it.

Q. What did you take from your Top 5 year last year that you can use in this event?

LYDIA KO: Yeah, I remember playing really well on the second day. I think that put myself up on the leaderboard. The wind is a huge factor around here, especially in the afternoon.

So being patient on those windy days and knowing that par is still going to be good, and sometimes if you do make mistakes, you just know that there is another maybe reachable par-5 or shorter par-4 that you can recover from.

Patience is key. Poana can bounce out of your line, but it can also bounce in your line in ways like that. I've had that happen. So just being patient and trusting and being committed to my shots. That's all I can do, and whatever the result happens, it's going to happen.

Yeah.

Q. Building off her schedule question, with the first major now in texas, there was the flow of going from Carlsbad to Palm Springs. How does that schedule change for your preparation out at Chevron?

LYDIA KO: My next event after this one will be Chevron, so I do get a couple weeks off, which is always nice, to have a little bit of time off before a long week.

Majors sometimes don't feel like a seven days like any other week, especially if you're contending or you win. It's more like two weeks fall right on you.

Obviously very exciting to have the partnership with Chevron starting last year. They came on board and I feel like even though we did play in Rancho Mirage last year, they were very respectful of the history we've had with Poppie's Pond. It's sometimes sad to leave tradition.

But I think the KPMG Williams PGA Championship is a clear example of yeah it was really hard to leave that New York area where we had the Wegman's and such long history there, but what KPMG has done to keep elevating that championship, I believe that partners like Chevron and new partners or even partners that have been with the LPGA for a long time, they're going to keep elevating it.

Yeah, I'm excited. It's going to be different to go to a new golf course, but I think the tour has full trust and we're excited for a new venue of The Chevron Championship.

THE MODERATOR: All right, thank you, Lydia.

LYDIA KO: Thank you.