AIG WOMEN'S OPEN

July 30, 2025

Grace Kim

Press Conference

ED HODGE: Good morning, everybody. We'll kick off today's preview press conferences. Delighted to welcome into the Media Center this morning Grace Kim, the most recent winner of a women's major championship at the Evian Championship.

Grace, you must be delighted to be back to tackle another major. How excited are you for the rest of the week?

GRACE KIM: Yeah, very excited. Us Aussies are pretty good around the links course style. Obviously we've just had a few nice days weather-wise. Hopefully it stays like this, and we'll see how it pans out.

ED HODGE: Drawing on your experiences of Evian and the success you've had, what can you take into this week with what you've learned there?

GRACE KIM: I think just knowing that my game is there and good enough, just mentally preparing whatever could happen -- the wind could happen. The wind direction could change. Rain can happen. But, yeah, trying to stay as calm as I can out here.

Q. What have you thought so far of Porthcawl in the practice rounds you've played?

GRACE KIM: I think it's a fair test. This golf course, when the wind does pick up, you've got some really tough into-wind holes. I think I had three holes where I hit 3-wood just short of the green. But then you've got holes that blow downwind and it's very gettable par-5s. I think it's a pretty fair test.

Q. It's obviously been a couple weeks since your win at Evian. Has it kind of sunk in yet that you are a major champion?

GRACE KIM: Yes and no. I have actually watched the videos again last night. I think it's really nice to be able to go through the footages. Yeah, just to kind of sink in is still in the process. It's probably not going to sink in a lot.

Q. How has your life maybe kind of changed a little bit since winning a major?

GRACE KIM: I don't think it has changed all that much. Obviously people coming up to you and saying congratulations is really nice, but at the same time, when people put the two words major champion in front, it's still quite hard to believe. I mean, I'm still the same me. So nothing much has changed.

Q. What is your history with links golf, and do you enjoy playing it?

GRACE KIM: We played a lot of -- I guess more Sandbelt golf courses growing up, so it's probably the most similar thing. Just a lot of wind, tough bunkers, pot bunkers. Just long and tough conditions.

I think we can definitely tackle it hopefully the best.

Q. When I was walking into the course this morning, I came with a mother and her little girl, and the mother said to the little girl, what do you want to be when you grow up? And she said, an Australian. The reason was she really enjoys seeing the comradeship between the likes of you, Hannah, and Minjee. I thought that was a great story, but what's it like on the other side to be part of that?

GRACE KIM: Very special. Most countries are very jealous of our camaraderie and our friendship. That's very cool. I think that's the best answer you can get this week, so I'll take that.

Being an Aussie is very cool, and being part of this friendship group is also cool as well. We get along well, we banter, and we don't take it to heart. I think that's why it's just that bonding is very strong.

Q. Did you remember, when you won at Evian, that you'd actually been on that final green 12 months before supporting Steph? Did that come into your head?

GRACE KIM: Yeah, it did actually, and to see Steph on the green with the other girls as well, obviously I did it the year before when she was going head to head with Ayaka. So I did think about that, and it was very refreshing, but to see them wait for me and to celebrate was very special at the end of the day.

Q. One final one. I heard you don't watch a lot of sports. What did you do when you're off sports that's not sport related?

GRACE KIM: I do a lot of doom scrolling. I do a lot of sleeping and eating. Yeah, not that exciting.

Q. A couple of the other girls this week have spoken about Hannah and Minjee as like all the sisters out here. How helpful have they been just learning where to stay, where to practice, where to play, and finding a place to live when you're in America?

GRACE KIM: Both Minjee and Greeny have a few more years ahead of us, so to be able to contact them whenever we can and now also be travel buddies, I think that's really cool. They've gone through it before us, and like you said, they know where to stay -- rental cars, taxes, whatever.

They are the older sisters. They're very reliable, and I think it's very nice to be able to just kind of message them here and there whenever we can, and they always reply back.

Q. You obviously had a close relationship with Karrie as well, winning a scholarship, more than anyone and having that special trip at the end. Webby said she'd never screamed at a TV louder than when you won Evian. Is that one of the most special things to hear that probably one of your heroes growing up got so excited for your golf?

GRACE KIM: Yes. Obviously we watched her just dominate in the women's golf section early on, when we were juniors, and for her to be FaceTiming me and saying she's never jumped so high and screamed at the TV, I think that's really special.

It's even more special going through her scholarship program. Obviously I wasn't the only one. I saw Greeny win when I was there at KPMG. I think, yeah, just lots of memories were made, and it will be cherished forever.

Q. I noticed earlier in the week, you and Khan spending a lot of time with wedges and then talking with the Tour guys as well. What were you up to? Is there something specific that you've changed for this week?

GRACE KIM: We've done a lot of bump-and-run shots all throughout the bag. We even got to 3-wood trying to just run it up. I think links golf definitely tests all parts of your game, and it tests your creativity as well.

But you can also play with a club. So I actually had a low bounce 58, but I actually grinded it to make it even lower. Just things like that just to see what works around here and hopefully score best around here.

Q. On the back of your major win, do you feel any different coming in this week? How do you approach it? Is there anything changed in the pressure you feel coming into a big week like this?

GRACE KIM: This week is already a big one. It's the last major of our season. Yeah, I'm going to try and carry on the mentality that I had, which was just worry free.

Again, I know my game's good enough. Our team's put in a lot of effort, my own game, physical, everything behind the scenes. Hopefully, we can just showcase that.

Q. You mentioned the specific challenge that links golf poses out here, the wind and the weather. How are you looking forward to that this week? Have you had one eye on the forecast for tomorrow?

GRACE KIM: I think it's quite pointless to look at a forecast in the UK because it's always wrong. I just expect the worst and hope for the best to be honest. Hopefully we'll get the best.

Q. What's the extent of your knowledge of Welsh culture and Wales itself?

GRACE KIM: Zero. When I drove from Scotland after I missed the cut last week, I saw all the signs. It went from like English to -- not in a rude way, but like gibberish kind of. Just to make the road trip fun, we were just trying to say the words, and it was impossible.

I saw a video of the girls trying to say the longest word in Welsh yesterday, and I'm glad I wasn't in that video.

Q. A bit selfish because I filmed it, but how many times do you think you've watched that video of you chipping it in?

GRACE KIM: Yeah, a fair few times. I even watched it last night. Obviously you clutched it with that video. I think that was so creative that you bleeped out the girl's F-bombs with the kangaroo emoji as well. So that was very clever.

Just to go through all those footages is very, very cool and definitely something I'll just keep rewatching forever.

ED HODGE: Grace, thanks for your time this morning and good luck this week.