FIR HILLS SERI PAK CHAMPIONSHIP MEDIA CONFERENCE

March 11, 2024

Tom Abbott

Andrea Lee

Seri Pak

Palos Verdes Golf Club

Press Conference

JEREMY FRIEDMAN: Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening. It's not often that I'm able to say that on one conference call. So good evening for a few of us that are on the East Coast. It is a little after 7 p.m. on the East Coast.

Seri, good morning. It is a bright and early Tuesday morning out in Korea. Good afternoon to everybody out West, and then good evening, late, to our friend Tom Abbott who is also on. He is hopping on from Spain. So we have a global conference call that we're doing today.

So, again, thank you everybody for joining. I'm going to do a couple of quick housekeeping items before we get things going.

Again, thank you for joining. We're previewing the upcoming FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship taking place at Palos Verdes Golf Club next week, March 18th through the 24th. Joining us on the call today to preview the event is our esteemed tournament host, who needs no introduction, Seri Pak. We are also joined by LPGA Tour winner and Los Angeles resident, Andrea Lee, who also calls Palos Verdes Golf Club home. That's her practice facility.

Also joining us today, as mentioned, from across the globe as well long-time colleague of mine at Golf Channel, Tom Abbott, who will be a part of Golf Channel's broadcast team for the championship. So everybody, thank you guys for joining us today.

Just a couple housekeeping items. This meeting, this interview session, is being recorded and it's also being transcribed and we will send this to you guys following the call. So if everybody can -- except for the panel, if everybody can please stay on mute before asking a question, we'll be great. Once we open things up for questions, if you can mention in the chat that you have a question or raise your hand on the screen and we will call on you.

A couple of quick items on the FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship before I turn it over to Tom. So, the FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship, so this is a newly renamed championship in its third year at Palos Verdes Golf Club, and we are honored to have arguably one of the biggest legends in the game in Seri Pak as joining us as tournament host. We are excited to have her come back to the LPGA Tour as tournament host next week.

FIR HILLS, they're the new title sponsor of the tournament. They are a Silicon Valley-based global investment firm. So you will hear more about FIR HILLS next week during tournament week. The tournament itself, it's got a tremendous world class field. The field closes tomorrow, so you guys will be getting a news release on Wednesday on the tournament field headlined by three of the top four players in the world, world No. 1 and Los Angeles resident, Lilia Vu; No. 2, Nelly Korda; and the tournament's defending champion running in No. 4 in the world, so they are -- they are in the field. It's 22 of the top 30 in the field. So some big names that have actually committed this weekend, which makes it even larger and for this tournament itself, there are 21 players who are hailing from the Republic of Korea who are playing in the tournament and know that they are super excited to be able to play, to be able to play for Seri.

Also, entries close tomorrow, so you'll receive a news release on Wednesday. For the LA folks that are on the call, we had a really good commitment today. So Lizette Salas, who has been -- she's been injured and has not played in 2024, so Palos Verdes is also her home course. Jim Gormley, the director of golf there, is her coach, along with Andrea Lee. So Lizette will be playing in the tournament. So we are excited to have Lizette joining us.

Sponsor exemptions for this year for this event, as mentioned at the top of the call, Jiyai Shin, who will hopefully be joining us shortly. She is world No. 18 and former world No. 1 and every LPGA event she played in or LPGA sanctioned event that she played in 2023, and then she just finished in the top 5. She is playing lights out. And she is a sponsor exemption courtesy of Seri, so we'll talk more about that when we get to the question and answer part.

Also, other sponsor exemptions. Hannah Darling, who is an All-American from the University of South Carolina. South Carolina won the Therese Hession Regional Challenge presented by Northrop Grumman, the annual college event there last month, so Hannah Darling is a sponsor exemption into the event and she is really excited about returning. Andrea Lee is familiar with this because she won the Therese Hession back in 2019, so she's familiar with that as well.

Our third sponsor exemption that will be in the announcement tomorrow is Gabby Then, so long-time USC -- former USC standout and Rancho Cucamonga resident.

So those are the three sponsor exemptions for the event itself. So, without further adieu, I would like to turn it over to Tom Abbott for some comments about Golf Channel's coverage and then we will start the Q&A. So, Tom, take it away.

TOM ABBOTT: Thanks, Jeremy. It's quite a unique situation with everybody around the globe, but hopefully, technology is working and we can all hear and see each other.

But we're looking forward to getting back into the swing of the LPGA Tour with our Golf Channel production and talent team. The LPGA has been in Asia, you've seen that on Golf Channel, but that is produced by IMG, but our Golf Channel team will take over production next week. Jessie West will be producing our coverage from Palos Verdes, and our broadcast team will be myself, Grant Boone, Morgan Pressel, and Kay Cockerill. Of course, Kay has connections to the L.A. area, coming from California and then playing golf at UCLA, so that could be a story if anyone is looking for something extra.

Our coverage next week will be in East Coast prime time for the first three rounds, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern, which will be on Golf Channel live. The first hour on Saturday will be digital coverage and then the final two hours will be on Golf Channel. The final round is 3 to 6 Eastern, so a little bit earlier. The lead in to the coverage is strong. It's the PGA TOUR the first couple of days and the final day as well, and on Saturday, it's PGA TOUR Champions. So hopefully that will have a positive impact on the coverage and we are looking forward to traveling out there next week and getting back into what is going to be a busy run of LPGA golf on Golf Channel with our team.

But I want to start by chatting to Seri, our host, and to ask you, Seri, how this championship came about with your involvement and what it means to you to be in the title of a tournament on a Tour which you gave so much of your career to offer the years.

SERI PAK: It's a very special week, about a week left. As you know, as a player, everybody dreams about it. Especially for me, it was playing in the LPGA event, I was always think about it, about, okay, as a player, when I retire or in the future. I saw during the season, as you know, the Betsy King has an event, right? Annika has her tournament a couple years, and as players, everybody wants it, dreams about it. So same as I am, actually, is being able to play on the LPGA event and with my name, and likely gaining honor and glory as a player. So it is really another of my dream. So, probably, I want to be achieve as a player. I wasn't ready for a couple years. This is my already, how many years, seven years, after I retire? I continue to work hard to be my, after retirement in my life, I'm doing a lot of things going in my life, but other thing I always think about, because I actually, as you know, I'm hosting a KLPGA event about eight years, but not any longer, but I'm starting it this year. It's probably a new dream, actually.

As you know the LPGA event, I was hosting it, so this is the biggest my plan was. So this is really dreams, one of my dreams come true.

TOM ABBOTT: You've mentioned the involvement with the KLPGA event, but can you give us a sense of what you've been doing with your time away from playing golf? Because, as you say, it's been a number of years. I think the last time you played on the LPGA was 2016. So what have you been doing in the eight years since we last saw you playing LPGA golf?

SERI PAK: Actually, I do a lot of things. As you know, as I do some after retirement, I'm working in my own company. Actually, I'm starting my own company, broadcasting and commentating, and actually, I have my own foundation I'm hosting. Actually, I'm sponsoring competitions. So, last, after retire, seven, eight years, I'm going to work hard for the Junior to being having a lot of, giving for the tournament and giving them for the future. So this is my seven years been work hard to be, this is the way I'm starting it.

TOM ABBOTT: What would you like to achieve from next week's event at Palos Verdes?

SERI PAK: You know, I mean, I was top players. As the playing has been, LPGA Tour is one of the big stage. Everybody dreams about it. Since 1990s one of my first step either. So I'm trying to give all the players a great opportunity to have player who wants to achieve their own dream. That's the point that I'm actually starting the event.

TOM ABBOTT: I know players are going to have the chance to shine with you watching, which I know for a lot of players on the LPGA Tour will mean a great deal.

Andrea, I just wanted to switch gears to the golf course next week. As Jeremy mentioned, you know the golf course very well, playing and practicing there, you work with Jim Gormley, director of golf there, who is very passionate about the LPGA Tour. It's obviously a golf course we have seen for the last few years on the LPGA, but give us a sense, for those that don't know, about the challenge of Palos Verdes.

ANDREA LEE: Yeah, I personally love playing at Palos Verdes. I've had the chance to play there and practice there since I was 16 years old, 15 years old. I'm just really excited for the home game. I think it's going to be a great test of golf. The course is always in great condition. It's definitely challenging. I would say the first four or five holes are pretty difficult, so I feel like if you kind of get through those smoothly, you'll have a pretty solid day.

But, yeah, it's a great track. I'm excited for all the players to come back and compete on this type of golf course. It's a little hilly, so the caddies might not be a big fan of it. But, no, it's a great track and just really excited to be back home personally and competing in front of a home crowd.

TOM ABBOTT: I think it's one of the hilliest golf courses that the LPGA plays all season. Maybe Evian would be up there. Some of those hills are pretty tough walks as well.

As a Korean American what does it mean to have Seri Pak involved on the LPGA Tour and especially at a golf course that you know so well, so close to home?

ANDREA LEE: Yeah, it's a huge thing. Being a Korean American, I've always looked up to pros like Seri and Jiyai. They both have had incredible careers with Seri being a Hall of Famer and Jiyai being a former No. 1 player in the world. What they have accomplished are some of the things that I hope to achieve in my career in the future.

But, no, it's so cool to see Seri hosting a LPGA event here, especially at Palos Verdes. She's an absolute legend in the game. She was the pioneer for women's golf in Korea. So I think this is going to be a really special week for all of us, especially the Korean LPGA players who looked up to her for so long, but also for me too and it's really cool that she's hosting this event at one of my home courses here in L.A.

TOM ABBOTT: Seri, if I could just ask you about Jiyai Shin. We're hoping that she is going to join us. But what was the reason behind Jiyai being given the sponsor's invite from you?

SERI PAK: You guys know about Jiyai Shin. She's always a great player. She is such a talented player. She's actually a hard worker and she actually is good friends with me. I know her for a long time. All of a sudden I know she played the LPGA for now many years and I saw her last year about in the off-season. Every season off I saw her one or two times, anyway. I say hi and have a dinner together. Of course, she heard about my event and of course I know that she always puts a schedule together, but she was very excited having my own tournament event on the LPGA. She was asking me, being a special invite, if she have a chance. That was actually first time I heard from her for a long time. I know she was really happy, and of course she's my good friend, but she probably knew it and she loves it. She missed the U.S. LPGA event, anyway.

At the most biggest point is she really love to join the 2024 Olympic teams. So she probably look forward to do that. So if she have a chance, and she really want to, of course, qualify for the Olympic team, but most exciting was I know that this is first event that's my own. I'm hosting the event, so she loves to enjoy it. That's why she asked me to be in it. And of course, I don't doubt it. She's such a great player anyway, so I love to play my event, so that's why I was special exemption to Jiyai Shin.

TOM ABBOTT: Maybe the hardest Olympic team of any sport for any athlete to qualify is the Republic of Korea, women's golf team, so she's got a tough task, but we'll see if she's able to do it. I think it's her first non-major event in the U.S. since 2013, so it is a big deal that she's come across to play next week.

I'm going to let Jeremy just introduce the press conference element of this, and then we're going to open it up for some questions.

JEREMY FRIEDMAN: Thank you, Tom. And Andrea and Seri, thank you. As Tom said, if you have a question, raise your hand or include it in the chat and I'll call on you.

Q. Good morning, Seri. It's been a little while. Good to see you.

SERI PAK: I know. How are you?

Q. When you were so young and winning all these golf tournaments, eventually so many other players were to follow in your footsteps, but did you get a sense or was that a hope that that was going to happen?

SERI PAK: Well, first of all, I never actually thought about it. As you know, back then nobody knew the South Korean that they had golf players. I remember that, it was a pretty long time, but some question was kind of silly, but they asked about how many golf courses you guys have in your country, you know? So that much our country doesn't have many golf courses anyway, but it's really hard conditions to be players to come to the LPGA event, LPGA Tour. But I'm the one, actually, I said started, and since 1998, and I never thought about it, but personally, I am, I was hoping, actually, I really love to see more players from my country. I want to see more friends of my country. So that was what I was hoping it. I never thought about it, it's going to be really happening. That was really great excited for many years since actually 1998 through 2024.

Q. You've stayed close to the game, as you say, working and doing some broadcasting. Does any part of you miss hitting the shots and the competition itself?

SERI PAK: No, not at all (laughing). Actually, I do, I do, everything I done, and before I'm retired, actually, I knew it. I really knew I never going to miss it and never going to come back. That's just my 110 percent. But I do a lot of things in golf, but not golf I'm playing. Actually, I don't know how I play, it's still not fun, I mean, really stressful (laughing). I really, really, doesn't really, I don't know, I was at, what, LPGA, I was at eight, 10 years, and back then I was really excited, really, I have really fun. But after I retire, I go back to golf course, I really don't know how I done this. Really, golf, I know it's really hard sport, it's golf, but, damn, this is not a fun sport. So, after retire, I actually never even close to the golf course.

Q. As tournament host, what are the most important details that you wanted in your event and which parts of the event are you most involved in and excited about for next week?

SERI PAK: For my tournament?

Q. Yes.

SERI PAK: Well, you know, as a player, it's really simple, I just like to give a lot of players giving a lot of chance. Like you have a lot of experience, and they trying to achieve their own dreams, and hopefully achieve their dreams. I said it's just about all of it is just opportunities. Players, a lot, they need opportunities. But some players don't have much. But my event, beginning with my event, I just, everybody has a lot of confidence to get, and giving some opportunities, and hopefully they grow it. So that's just what it all means to it.

Q. Annika, when you hear, you played in the Annika last year, with Annika, when you hear this, as a player, right, to have the greats of the game that what they want to do is they want to give back to the game and give back to you guys, the current generation, what, as a player, how does that resonate with you guys?

ANDREA LEE: I mean, it's incredible. I remember playing in my first Annika Invitational. I think I was like 13 years old. That was the first time I got meet Annika Sorenstam in person. She hosted a clinic, and I was like star struck, because she was one of my idols growing up. It's amazing to see these legends of the game come back and want to give back to future generations. I feel like women's golf has really taken off in the last decade or so, and it's so international, and you see players from all over the world. I mean, you see so many players from Thailand and Japan and Korea, and it's really incredible to see. Seri has obviously had a huge impact on Korea, so, yeah, as a player, it's just really cool to see them give back. I feel like some of the top players in the world, and even myself, like hopefully one day we're able to do the same and give back to the women's game for the future generations to come. So, yeah, I think it's a really awesome thing what they're doing.

Q. I was wondering what you were most pleased about as to how the women's game has evolved from the time your career started, it's been quite awhile now, but what has pleased you most about the growth of the women's game?

SERI PAK: It's quite awhile. About 1998, that's about, what, 27? 26 (laughing).

JEREMY FRIEDMAN: Just a few years ago.

SERI PAK: (Laughing). Yeah, I'm still trying to get used to those years still, but I know that since 1998 many players has been inspired by me and have instilled hope and confidence. So, I say this, we talked about it earlier, I was realizing that it's going to be happening, I mean, to my company, and I actually not realize that it's going to be giving a lot of big impact in Asia too. For myself, the big surprise that that is happening, but overall actually really, I mean, in the future actually was really happy to see that happen, because especially our country has been really, golf is really small field, we don't have any much players in the fields and we don't have much tournaments in a season. But after 1998 on our KLPGA history is going to be short, but at the same time you grow up really fast and we can see that now it's actually more, each year we have better players, more strong players, coming up from our country. I can see that, I mean, I'm really happy to see that happening. But at the same time, as you guys know, that Asia golf is getting bigger get better and growing and more players come up on the Tour. I mean, it's been a really great to see, and I do some help that part of it. I'm very proud of proud of myself to being, as they call back then a big sister, but I still like to be big sister like back then (laughing).

Q. Seri, your thoughts on Los Angeles and why you wanted to put your name on a LPGA event here in this city, and all the things that are coming up, majors, Olympics, etcetera, and I imagine that was sort of a big feather in your cap to have the tournament here.

SERI PAK: First of all, as players, the traveling is a lot easier, it's a lot more simple. Well, the season started is more simple, we've always been starting Asia first and come back to the U.S. and starting in California. But it's more players to be more easy to travel leading to the next event. The more biggest thing is we have a K-Town. A lot of Korean fans are out there, a lot of players from Korea, so everybody wants to see that. And especially I'm hosting it, so I have a lot of fans there, too. But at the same time, our sponsor is one of the Korean companies, so we decided we love to having the LPGA event, if we possible, we love to have it in California. So do I, actually, more better place. A lot of fans, not only Koreans, a lot of country, a lot of, because the LPGA event has a lot of different country players, so that's really good to see all together. So that's why we're, the point was a lot easier to being all worldwide, global, you know, Tour players at the same time, but L.A. was that, one of the biggest huge city as a fan too. That's why we decided to bring it in to California.

Q. Seri, you mentioned being inspired to have this tournament watching Annika, watching Betsy King have their events, who do you think should be the next LPGA player after you to have a LPGA event named after them and why?

SERI PAK: Actually, honestly, I never really thought about that (laughing). I was so busy myself to be work hard, I never thought about that point. Chances are more close probably In-Bee Park, she's the one actually closer, because she's not actually retired yet, but she was, she really was to some the golf business involve. And, at the same time she actually do, but anyway, Inbee Park was going to be more closer next, she can be a Korean generation, now, actually, she's a Seri kid, they call, right. Probably, she is probably one of those has Inbee kids to be one of the next generation she can be next great legend, she can do that.

Q. Tom, last year around the us Women's Open you mentioned that you felt like the LPGA was going through a change of the guard, I'm wondering as time has progressed here if that's still what you feel like, especially with a couple of the recent winners.

TOM ABBOTT: Well, I think the old guard is making a comeback. They didn't want the youngsters to be taking the spotlight as much as they did last year. Look, when you look at the way the Tour has played out so far, it's been really, really good. I mean, basically what we saw in Bradenton I thought was maybe the most exciting final day that I've witnessed in my almost 15 years working on the LPGA coverage. Since then we have seen some dramatic finishes as the Tour has gone to Asia. I think there's just a really good mix of the youngsters that came through last year. And I say youngsters, the players are all pretty young, and they, but the new names, if you like, at the top of the rankings, but then the more established names coming back this year. So, I hope that the progress that has been made this year will continue, and the excitement will continue and as I say, what we saw in the first two events of the year, that I worked on, was really, really good, and the Tour is in a really good place from what we have seen. I think what I'm interested to see when we go to Palos Verdes is the excitement that Seri will bring with the local community. As she mentioned, Korea town there and the amount of fans that she has in L.A., and I think it will be very interesting to see the community coming out to get a chance to see Seri in the flesh and then also to watch players that they have been seeing on television. I think that's going to add a new element to the event at Palos Verdes that I think will bring some great excitement.

JEREMY FRIEDMAN: Andrea, you know the course really, really well because you practice there. Going back a few years, when you won the college tournament at Stanford, back then it wasn't the, there wasn't an exemption yet for the LPGA, because it wasn't there yet, but for players, the past couple years, for players who are able to play the Therese Hession and play that course and get familiar with the course and then come back and play that same course as their LPGA Tour debut, what's the, how does that help the mindset, especially for a course, as Tom mentioned that is probably the hilliest on the LPGA Tour.

ANDREA LEE: Yeah, I think it always helps to know the golf course ahead of time. I think the collegiate players that win that event and come here and play on the LPGA Tour, at least they get a sense of what the course is going to be like, how it's going to play. But it's going to be a totally different ball game. I feel like they're going to be really excited, probably nervous, but hopefully they just kind of stick to their game plan. I can't remember, I think it was Hannah Darling that you said won the college event this year, but I hope that she just takes the good things out of what she's learned from the golf course and just applies it to her own game next week at the LPGA event. It's just golf at the end of the day, so having a few good rounds under her belt at Palos Verdes is definitely going to help her, but it's definitely going to be more nerve wracking with the fans and practicing alongside the best in the world, so, but overall it should be just a really exciting week for her.

JEREMY FRIEDMAN: I know you've been overseas, you may not have seen it as much, but give us a little prognosis on the course and kind of what you've seen on the course, at least recently the last time you were there.

ANDREA LEE: To be honest, I haven't been out to PV like super recently, just came back from Thailand and Singapore.

JEREMY FRIEDMAN: I thought about that halfway through the question (laughing).

ANDREA LEE: We've actually gotten so much rain in L.A. as well. I think we got 10 or 11 inches of rain in a span of three days like a week or two before I left for Thailand and like, just couldn't practice there, the course was, like, under water, as many other L.A. golf courses. Just haven't been able to get out there. I'm going to try and play it this week at some point. But the course is always in great shape. I always try to prepare for the hilly lies that we're going to get there, it's very uphill, downhill, side hill, fairways aren't super wide, I feel like every aspect of the game has to be pretty on point if you want to contend during the tournament there. But, I bet it's in great condition, and I think we're all ready for the LPGA to come out here.

JEREMY FRIEDMAN: I chatted with Jim Gormley the end of last week, and I know he and his crew are working super hard on getting everything ready for next week.

ANDREA LEE: Super hard.

JEREMY FRIEDMAN: Thank you. We'll take another question.

Q. Seri, my one question to you is, obviously, your event is a springboard this season for those looking to qualify for the Olympics. You have had such a connection to the Olympic games, I just wanted to know your thoughts on what it means to be in another Olympic year and your thoughts on kind of your connection to the games and what your event could do to help springboard the hopes of people like Jiyai that you talked about earlier.

SERI PAK: Well, I talked about earlier, about Jiyai. Jiyai is one of the good friends with me, and I know her very well. She's a really hard worker, too. She is such a very talented player. So, 2024 is probably, everybody, all the players has been getting ready for the Olympics, no doubts about it. So, that's the reason why some players are trying to play this first season in the LPGA event, because of those World Ranking points that they can get. But Jiyai was the one, she was actually, she was a really excited to play -- she have a chance to play the Olympics, but the first thing she was play maybe because I'm the first hosting this year, so she's really more into it. So that's all I know about it. But at the same time this is my first year at the LPGA hosting it and it was a really long time I was dreams about it, if I retire, if I have a chance, has my own tournament actually my name's on it. So, this is one of the really beginning with it. But as I was a former player, I knew it if, as a player, if we have opportunity to play on such a great event, they love to join it. But so many players don't have a great opportunity, no matter what. But my event, my mind always been just opportunity, trying to give many as much as I could, giving great opportunity to the players. And, of course, they have their own dreams, but the way the tournament means that. So, my tournament actually, the first event for the LPGA in the U.S., that's a small name to it too, because I said, if probably this year from 2024 rookie is going to come out, and going to be last rookie to come out, or some player that's going to be future LPGA player is going to be watching it. So it just, my tournament is trying to, like, mean to be all the players, giving great, you know, great experience, great opportunity for the players and all the players want to have achieved their own dreams.

Q. Seri, it's been a long time since I saw you, I used to introduce you under the 18 green at the Kraft, so it's great to he see you again. I'm wondering, what are your favorite southern California experiences, whether it was golf or not golf in your years coming here?

SERI PAK: I would say not golf (laughing). Very simple answer for you. Because, as you know, golf is really, when we go to an event we don't have any relaxation. We are traveling, traveling, packing, unpacking. Airport, hotel, hotel to golf course, golf course, hotel, hotel to airport. This is our, every single year same routine, as you know, right? So, one of the cities really likes it going to California because, without golf. I mean, golf is great, because of the weather, always been nice. Sometimes it's really, really just a little bit of mist weather sometimes, but always weather's great. A lot of huge fans. Great food. And traveling is not easy country to country. Most of the time I said it's great food, there all the worldwide different great food has been really most biggest for me. So, with golf, California really loves it. Every city, every country is the same, I guess.

Q. So you're here for the food, you don't care about Disneyland or any of the other stuff.

SERI PAK: Oh, I don't really visit for Disney World. (Laughing).

Q. Andrea, home court advantage is always great, but it's hard to win anywhere, it doesn't matter. So can you talk about some of the advantages that you have, that you have to take advantage of on this specific course?

ANDREA LEE: Yeah, I mean, I played so many rounds here, so I do feel like that is to my advantage. I know what areas need to be sharp in order to perform out here. I've had a decent track record, I finished top 5 a couple of years ago, so that was definitely a confidence booster for the rest of that season. But, yeah, I mean, the game definitely has to be sharp. It's a tough golf course, and like I said, you need to be able to play off all sorts of lies out here, you never know what you're going to get, and you just have to really stay patient, because this golf course can give it to you, but then take it right back. There's not one stretch of holes where you can shut your mind off, you have to keep firing on all cylinders and be able to perform out there. So, I think it definitely plays to my advantage that I know it so well, but it's definitely going to be different playing for a LPGA tournament with the pressure and the nerves, but I'm really looking forward to it. I'm super excited, I always love coming back to L.A. Like Seri said, the food is incredible, there's K-town like 30 minutes away, and I love Korean food, so I'm always eating well when I come back to L.A., so, yeah, I'm really excited and looking forward to it.

Q. Seri, as you were learning golf as a young girl, I'm not sure you had a Seri Pak to follow, so who influenced you and why was it, what got you hooked into golf that that was going to be your sport?

SERI PAK: Actually, probably very surprised that I say that, but I, when I starting golf was for my dad, because of my dad I'm started. But the beginning and playing golf, I really doesn't like the golf at all. Because I said, golf has been really boring sport, because -- very surprised, yeah? Because back then, actually about 26 years ago, actually not many players, not many tournaments, especially the young age doesn't really, you don't see many young players. So I don't really have much friends around. And when I saw the, when I went to the range, you always see my dad's age or grandfather age, and I don't know why I'm here and playing golf. I mean, why golf is going to be fun sport? But that's why I started first, first impact of golf. But after that I was watching all those junior events as a person in the gallery and that's actually the moment I'm change my mind to being, okay, this sports are trying to be, it's a, you know, started, I mean it's going to be, I don't know why, it's just all of a sudden it looks really fun, I like the way that the attention of the people watching it. So, I'm going to go back home and I tell my parents, I said, I never said to my parents, But I do like golf, but back then after watching the junior event I said, I do like to play golf as a player. And ever since I'm playing golf as a player. Golf is a really hard sport, but it's keeping me, myself to be really, you know, growing it, think about yourself, how to control, like mind control and how to play more like, more training for yourself, just really self-owned sport. It's really boring, and really fun and really kind of sometimes not, you know, you don't see much smiles of the players because, as I said, it needs to be so much focus and you really need to focus in doing the practice or tournament. So, it really doesn't excite me at all. But, however, when I joined the tournament, I'm competing, actually I do like the competing with other players, that's the most thing that's exciting for me to be playing the Tour. So overall each year I'm growing in it, I learn a lot, and I see results of myself, and since that and year after year actually I'm okay player (laughing). So, yeah.

JEREMY FRIEDMAN: I think we will wrap things up. Tom, do you have any final thoughts before I close things up?

TOM ABBOTT: Yeah, I was with one of the LPGA or the Epson Tour graduates, Ji-won Jeon, earlier this year and she was talking about Seri, and she was saying that in the every time that she started school each day they would play a video in the school, sort of a national pride video in Korea, and it would have these achievements that the country had achieved. One of the moments was Seri winning the U.S. Women's Open. She was just a young girl, she didn't know anything about golf, but she saw every morning in the school Seri Pak on this video, so I think that gives us a sense of how important Seri is to her country, and how big this moment is going to be around the world, especially at home in Korea, which we maybe don't appreciate in the U.S. But I think that it's really a big deal for Seri to have her name on a LPGA event and I think that there's going to be a lot of excitement and we thank Seri for being involved and we're really looking forward to telling the story of her career and mixing it into the current generation of players when we get our coverage under way next week.

JEREMY FRIEDMAN: That's why you do what you do. I couldn't have said that any better. Thank you, Tom. Everybody, thank you for hopping on. Andrea and Seri, thank you. Look forward to seeing you next week. As Tom said, this is going to be a really amazing week next week. We have a lot of initiative and activities, outside of just birdies, pars and bogeys on the golf course, which Andrea is going to make a lot of birdies next week, I'm putting that good karma out there right now.

ANDREA LEE: Thank you.

JEREMY FRIEDMAN: All right. Thank you.