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LPGA KEB HANABANK CHAMPIONSHIPOctober 14, 2014Cristie KerrSo Yeon RyuMichelle Wie WestAmy YangINCHEON, SOUTH KOREA THE MODERATOR:  We welcome So Yeon Ryu, Cristie Kerr and Michelle Wie into the interview room. Thank you all for coming in and welcome to the KEB Hana Bank Championship. Big day for you yesterday, it's been a busy couple weeks for you. Inbee's wedding, you were the bridesmaid. Give us some details. I'm sure it was a very special day. SO YEON RYU: It was a very important day and I wanted to take part in the special day for her. There was a lot of guests who came to congratulate the happy couple and I really believe that the bride and groom are really good people. And I also believe that they are a couple that actually are better when they are together, so I want to congratulate them once again. THE MODERATOR: You played very well last week coming off a tie for third in Malaysia. Talk about playing there, how important was that to play through and finish strong there? SO YEON RYU: Starting on Tuesday, we had different expectations last week, but I did well on the second day, and I also think that we finished lower‑‑ it was unfortunate but despite my position, I think I'm very satisfied. THE MODERATOR: Cristie, your first event here in the Asian swing, I know you had a little bit of a freak accident at your charity event. You got hit in the wrist with a ball is what we believe. Take us through what the past couple weeks have been like and how you're feeling heading into this week? CRISTIE KERR: Yeah, it's been a couple of interesting weeks. On September 22, my charity event, Michelle was there, and saw what happened. And right after I hit the first shot of the day, the ball from another tee came and ricocheted and hit me right on the wrist.  I tried to play to be ready to go last week in Malaysia and just had too much pain and uncertainty with what was going to happen. So a week ago, I started practicing pain‑free, and I'm going to go. I'm going to be fine for this tournament and the rest of the year. I just got really lucky. Unlucky that I got hit by the ball but lucky that it didn't fracture anything or it wasn't a worse injury. THE MODERATOR: Did they give you a prognosis of what it was? CRISTIE KERR: We talked to a doctor in New York City and he said it was a very bad bone bruise contusion. He said it's going to be in there for a while. I'm pain free and have been for a week and even practicing very hard, hitting a lot of golf balls and I've been fine. So very, very thankful that it wasn't worse. THE MODERATOR: You've been coming here a long time and you have some strong ties. Talk about the prestige of the event, 18 of the Top‑20 players are here. Talk about how important it is to come and play here at such a big event in Korea. CRISTIE KERR: It's a very important event. It the biggest event in Korea and I'm honored to be playing and to be playing in this tournament this year after what happened to me. But it's a great golf course, great sponsor in Hana Bank. They used to be one of my sponsors, as well. So I'm glad to be back and playing in this tournament. Great golf course, great field and everybody wants to win here and on this course. So many nice people associated with the Hanna bank company, as well, so we are very glad to be here. THE MODERATOR: Michelle, also making a comeback from injury, your first event since reinjuring the hand at Evian. How important was it to play that situation smart? I know you said you really had to listen to your body, what your body was saying and how hard it was to not be playing but how important was it looking back now to be smiling about the injury? MICHELLE WIE: At Evian I was in playing when I was playing and at the time I went on a very big slide, missing two Majors, but after resting I don't have any pain right now. THE MODERATOR: Take us through the past couple weeks of your training. When did you start hitting and how did you start losing the pain, time frame of when you kind of started to get back in the swing of things? MICHELLE WIE: After the Evian Championship, I rested and when I was feeling better‑‑ afterwards I trained and I worked on my strength and my distance. THE MODERATOR: Our defending champion, Amy Yang, coming back here to the site of your first LPGA win, did you get any memories? What did it feel like to return back here at the place of your win? AMY YANG: I came back to Korea the first time in several months, so I'm happy to be back to this championship. THE MODERATOR: You've been playing some pretty good golf this year, you had a runner‑up early in the year at the Founders Cup and you battled with Michelle at Pinehurst. Give an assessment of your year so far this year. I know it's in the final stretch but give us your thoughts on how you've played this year. AMY YANG: I think I worked really hard and I tried to stay focused and now I'm trying to also enjoy myself. Q. I think you've been especially strong in competitions in Korea with your win here last year. Is there something to having friend and family and fans here? AMY YANG: I think that I wanted to show my family and my friends how popular this game‑‑ (Inaudible.) Q. In this championship last year, you played very well and you tied for third. Do you have a goal for the remaining competitions and what are your strategies? MICHELLE WIE: I knew that I had to come to Korea and so I trained very hard and focused on my rehab. I came every year now‑‑ I came with my father and we hung out. I really want to finish this year off strong, and I missed a couple of bets and wanted to finish the year strong. Q. You started off the season very strong, but then you got injured and I think about what would have been, is that disappointing? MICHELLE WIE: The injury was unexpected. At first I didn't think it was that serious but then I went to Michigan and I was not able to play for three months and was frustrated because I had momentum. But fortunately we were able to find of injury early on and so it didn't have to be a season‑ending injury. And while it may have been wiser to end the season then and prepare for next year, I think in the long run, it helped me because I had a bad knee and was resting for the three months and I was able to rest both my wrist and my knee. So I'm a lot better, and I have five events left. Q. Talk about more Americans are winning now after the Asian players winning for a long time; and for the Asian Swing, for the U.S. players playing in Asia, does it change your game at all? CRISTIE KERR: I think it's just coincidental. I think sometimes things happen in groups. So maybe a lot of American players win, American players seeing American players win‑‑ it's all about momentum. So I think that answers the first question. The second question, I like coming to Asia. It great to experience different cultures and different places. I wish I spoke the language more because it would definitely be easier for me to communicate with people. The fans here in Korea are so great and there are so many fans to come out to watch the tournament. It's really nice to be here, and like I said, Hana Bank was one of my sponsors, so I got to come to Korea a couple of times besides the tournament in the last few years and experience the culture and go to Seoul and be meeting with the people. The people here are crazy about golf, so it's good to be here. Q. Does it teach you anything about golf in Asia? CRISTIE KERR: I hope it makes my game better. Q. Since you've been playing very strong consistently but you don't have a lot of wins, what do you think you need to work on your game a little bit more? SO YEON RYU: I won this championship in three years and I think after that win I've been playing more consistently better. I think the next time around, when I have another win, after waiting such a long period‑‑ part of the game, you have to work hard and train to win. But I think golf has helped me in that the days you are in contention, you are likely to win and you don't, but other competitions or other events you don't expect to win and suddenly you win. I think luck has to do with it, and also for me right now, winning or not winning is really not the focus for me. I feel like I've grown as a player and so instead I'm really focusing on what areas I need to work onto win. For me I think it's important to focus on having good times on the course and if I do that, I'll be able to win. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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