KROGER QUEEN CITY CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY P&G

May 14, 2026

Lydia Ko

Maketewah Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Here with Lydia after her first round at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G. 2-under for you; really scorable back nine for you. What was some of the differences you saw from the front and the back?

LYDIA KO: Actually the front and back nine feel like two completely different golf courses, so it's really hard to compare. I only hit like five out of 14 fairways, but it hit it good. It's one of those golf courses where if you're marginally off you can end up just in the left or right rough or through.

So all in all I thought I played really solid. Holed a couple putts on the back nine. Other than that, I really don't think there was much of a difference.

And I think just with poana in the afternoon it can get pretty frustrating out there. I just tried to stay patient. Even the putt that I missed on the last I actually made a really good stroke and it just broke a little bit more.

So that is kind of the goal that I'm trying to take into the next few days, just to be committed and just stay really patient, and I'm sure some are going fall and some aren't.

Q. Not super great off the tee. Only hit five of 14 fairways. How were you able to recover from maybe some of those missed fairways?

LYDIA KO: Actually there was like -- apart from maybe one drive, I hit all 14 of them, my drivers, pretty good. There are some slopes out here, and like, I mean, 17 is clear example. It's really hard to know where your target is because it's so far below or so far above.

There were a bunch of fairways that I actually thought I had hit and it just had run out left or right or through. So, yeah, it's just like he was telling Jeeno, like she hit ten out of 14 fairways and it was really impressive. Nelly hit like six and I hit five and we weren't driving it terrible.

So it is one of those golf courses that like just because of the angles of some of the fairways, if you're a little off it could feel like you're hitting it terrible.

But actually felt like I hit it good, so I'm not stressing about it. But for the most part my lies were decent out of the rough, so I didn't really have to hack it out and kind of chip up.

Q. Does that become frustrating at a point where you felt like you did hit good shots, you did hit good drivers, but then you're still ending up in the rough?

LYDIA KO: Yeah, on 15 I was like, sit, and I was willing my ball and I could see it kick left and go through. I was like, okay, yeah, whatever. So you kind of have to accept it. This is a new golf course so some holes, like 17, like for you to hit the fairway is like I think you're doing a really good job.

I think you also have to err on the right half. But if you do and you miss it by a margin, you've got a 45 degree angle downslope so you kind of have to know like, hey, if you do miss it, is it terrible there? Can you get to the green?

I think that's honestly the smartest way forward. I was like super just happy that I was hitting it good. And sometimes it sucks when you're not getting reward, but it is that type of golf course. And if it's hard for me, I feel like it's hard for everybody else in the field as well.

So I'm trying to not beat myself up too much.

Q. The guys were calling you guys the superstar group today that was coming off? What was it like getting the three of you together?

LYDIA KO: Yeah, I think somebody asked me who I was playing and I was like, I'm playing with one and two, and they're almost like one and one. I was thinking some part in my back nine how impressive they've played these last few years, not just like this season, but for seasons in and out.

I think that's the most impressive thing. Jeeno, she's won a couple few times, but she also has put herself in contention a lot in the times she didn't win.

Nelly hasn't finished worse than second place this year, and I don't think anybody has ever done that.

So it's -- it was cool to be out there with them, and obviously with them playing well I feel like we were feeding off each other really well. Both of them, both their demeanors and how they go about their business is very easy to play with.

Yeah, I think it was very stress-free in that sense.

Q. What do you take away from the round heading into the weekend?

LYDIA KO: I think probably one of the toughest rounds is out of the way just with it being a little bit breezier, and playing in the afternoon on poana greens is probably going to be the bumpiest it's going to be.

So with fresh dewy greens tomorrow, hopefully a couple more putts drop. Yeah, I feel like I've been playing a lot of solid golf and it's kind of like I said in my press conference trying to bring all those things together and I really feel like I'm not that far off.

It's a good place to be, and hopefully be able to keep grinding and see where that puts me.

Q. I just thought of one. I don't remember if you got asked in the presser or not. When you play a new golf course, how many times do you have to see the course before you get settled and know where you can pick your spots and stuff?

LYDIA KO: Probably I'll know by the end of this week. You know, I played the back nine yesterday during my pro-am and actually my caddie, Paul, he teed off for one of the amateurs because he didn't want -- it was his 36 -- he had played morning round and then the afternoon round, so he had I asked Paul to hit like celebrity drives. Paul hits it further than me and I was like, damn, it must be nice to hit pitching wedge and like a wedge into this green.

The course felt a little different yesterday, but the last couple weeks I've been playing with Anna Nordqvist at 7:00 in the morning, 18 holes; get done before everybody is kind of out here. It kind of I think has been making me a little bit more focused when I'm playing a practice round.

At the end of the day, especially if I'm playing a tournament before, I'm not going to play a gazillion rounds before the tournament starts.

It has been like a nice routine for me. The alarm in the morning kind of sucks, but it's kind of helped me to be a little bit more attentive in what I'm doing. So I have to thank Anna for that strategy.