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CANADIAN PACIFIC WOMEN'S OPENAugust 19, 2014Inbee ParkLONDON, ONTARIO THE MODERATOR: We're here with the newly‑crowned Wegmans LPGA champion, Inbee Park. First of all, congratulations. You've been playing so well the last three tournaments in particular. How happy are you with the overall state of your game right now? INBEE PARK: I'm just really happy. My game is really coming around. Since the British Open, I know it wasn't the result I was looking for, but I played really good golf there, and since then I've been playing really good golf. Yeah, I feel like I'm getting my confidence back. I feel like I'm rolling the putts a little bit better, and yeah, obviously last week's win definitely helps me play this week. Q. Earlier this year you were saying it was your ball‑striking you were happy with and unhappy with your putting, but how are you doing with the flat stick? INBEE PARK: Yeah, my ball‑striking has been really consistent all year, and I still feel like it's still right there. Yeah, my putting has just been a little bit probably off earlier in the season because I hit really great shots into the greens and had a lot of opportunities but missed a few putts. I just holed so many putts last year, so in comparison to last year it feels probably worse. But yeah, I feel like I'm holing a little bit more putts, and especially more important putts, especially last week. I had those putts I really needed to hole, and they were going in. Yeah, I think it's a really good sign. Q. There's seven players out here this year with at least two wins. You're one of them. Can you talk about the quality of play out here on Tour this year especially? INBEE PARK: Yeah, I think every event this year on the LPGA Tour schedule has been getting really good fields, and every tournament has been very competitive, and obviously this week in Canada we have a very good field. There are so many players who can win out here, so you've got to try your best and try to play as good as you can. Q. Now, there's so many players who can win out here, but you're one of them that's sitting here with four majors in the last 17 months, five in your career. You're still just 26 years old. Are you at a point now where you can sit back and appreciate what you've accomplished, or is there more to come? INBEE PARK: I mean, I think I'm too young to say, too young to kind of sit back and relax. I still feel like I have a long ways to go, and especially comparing myself to like legend players like‑‑ somebody was saying like comparing myself to Lorena or Annika, I still feel like I have a long, long ways to go, taking baby steps right now. Hopefully I can get there at some point, but it's a long ways off. Q. You mentioned Annika's name. With your win last week you're now second in the Rolex Annika Major Award standings. What would it mean to you to take home that award, especially in the first year? INBEE PARK: We just got that new Annika award this year, and I really haven't thought about that until the win last week because I thought I probably don't have a chance. Yeah, it's good that I get an opportunity, and being able to become the first award winner, that'll be something very special. Yeah, I'll try to play really hard at Evian so I can become the first one. Q. What will it take you to consider yourself among the Lorena and Annika, majors, a number‑‑ INBEE PARK: I don't know, just I think a couple of people were just kind of asking me questions, but I really don't think I'm as good as Annika or Lorena. It's really hard to compare with them. Probably just the major numbers I think they were trying to compare with. But I still need to win about 15 more tournaments to actually be really close to them. So yeah. Q. What do you make of the kids coming up from‑‑ you see them, they're 16, 17, and winning tournaments and all that. Do you feel like you've got to win them now or do you think you can play until you're 40 at a high level? INBEE PARK: I think once you get older, I guess it gets tougher to win golf tournaments because obviously there are so many young generations of golfers that are playing some great golf. I guess you kind of a little bit lose your motivation once you get older and once you get married and have kids, you have a lot of other interests, I think. I think, yeah, you try to win as many as you can as early as you can. I think it's good. Q. After winning‑‑ like you say, you get in late. How do you get yourself mentally up for this after a tough grind at a major? INBEE PARK: I think since the last win, I've been really busy and I had to do a lot of media, I think it's‑‑ I'm just probably a little bit used to it after last year's experience. This year coming here this week, you've just got to try to relax a little bit and just be fresh again. Q. Michael Whan said he never thought anybody would win a Grand Slam when they went to five, and then Inbee comes out and wins the first three. How hard is that? Do you think anybody will do that? Do you think you can do that at some point in your career? INBEE PARK: In one year? Q. Yeah, or four in a row. INBEE PARK: I don't know. I know three in a row‑‑ like a long time ago it might have been possible, but right now I don't think it's really possible. I don't know, I think it's been really tough for me, too. Q. Inbee, I finished talking to a couple young Canadians about how the mental game is so important in the game of golf, and when you think of a strong mental game, you think of your play. You seem to have this inner peace when you're out on the golf course no matter what's going on, take the playoff that we just saw. Where does that come from? INBEE PARK: You know, I think it's just in my personality naturally. Just obviously I was really nervous when I was in a playoff for the first time, but I've been into many playoffs before, I've been into many winning positions before. I think experiences like that really help you go through those kind of situations. The second time is always easier than the first time. Q. What advice do you give to the younger players that maybe just‑‑ 16, 17 year olds, maybe they've always won throughout their career, all of a sudden they're not winning. How do you get not too high, not too low? INBEE PARK: I think the most important thing is you have to love what you're doing. A trophy is obviously very important and achievements are very important, but a trophy is not everything. You've got to love what you're doing, you've got to enjoy what you're doing, and yeah, I think that's really the important thing. Once you try to enjoy yourself out on the golf course, you get the trophy and you get the fun. I think that's really important. Q. Lydia is looking for her third in a row here. How crazy is that she's 17 years old? Does that just blow you away sometimes? INBEE PARK: Yeah, it seems like she plays really good every week, but especially this week she plays really well. I mean, she's only 17 and going for three in a row is quite impressive. Q. Those two putts on 17 and 18 were huge, obviously. How much confidence does that give you with the flat stick? I know that's been your bugaboo this year. INBEE PARK: Yeah, I feel like I still have a little bit of struggles with the putter, but obviously they went in when they really needed to go in, so obviously that gives me some kind of confidence. Hopefully I can putt a little bit better. Q. You talked about how you couldn't forget the British. Did you forget it now after winning Wegmans? INBEE PARK: Yeah, I'm the type of person who actually forgets it really well, but the British was a tough one to really forget in a short time, but obviously after last week's win, I feel like, yeah, I'm good now. Q. When you started out eight years ago or whatever, how did you handle that? Was it nerve racking? You played a couple tournaments, right, a couple‑‑ INBEE PARK: I played in 2007. Q. How did you handle that, and was that a nice‑‑ some of the kids here are playing a lot right away. You were a little bit older, late teens. How did you handle that? INBEE PARK: I think 18 was the earliest you could come out here at that time. Q. How did you handle that? INBEE PARK: I think it was‑‑ I was just so young, and just every tournament was just another experience, so I just probably learned from it every week and probably went like that for a couple years. My rookie year I didn't play every tournament for a win, obviously. Some tournaments I just went really to make the cut, and some tournaments I wanted to finish in the top 10. Yeah, but I didn't win that many tournaments at an early age, but I think it was all a good experience. Q. Did you get help? Did you have fellow players help you out or anything like that, or did you get‑‑ INBEE PARK: Well, fellow Korean players, yeah. Q. Do you feel like being a little older now that you've got to help them, kind of the younger‑‑ INBEE PARK: Yeah, I have really good friends with all the Korean players, so when I get an opportunity, we try to hang out together and just help each other. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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