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JTBC FOUNDERS CUPMarch 18, 2015Lydia KoPHOENIX, ARIZONA KELLY SCHULTZ: Good afternoon, we would like to welcome Rolex Rankings No. 1 Lydia Ko. Has that gotten old yet, hearing No. 1 in the world? LYDIA KO: I don't think it ever will. KELLY SCHULTZ: As long as you keep going the way you've been going. Since turning No. 1, you've had two wins, one runner‑up finish, a pretty impressive stretch. How have you taken to this No. 1 title? You don't seem like it's really affected you whatsoever. LYDIA KO: Yeah, I mean, a lot of fun things have happened but compared to you, not as much, now Mrs.Schultz. It was fun going back home and just going down under, playing again in Singapore. It's been an exciting couple weeks. But after that, I was exhausted. Hopefully I'm again ready for these next couple. KELLY SCHULTZ: You didn't seem to take much time off coming back from Singapore. I saw you went on a night safari and got to do a little sightseeing and then headed to San Francisco for a little fun golfing around one of the world's most famous cities. LYDIA KO: Yeah, we did the night safari on that Sunday, the last day of Singapore. That was fun. I don't think I've been to a zoo in ages, so got to see all different types of animals. Yeah, came back and had so much fun doing the Media Day. You think of it just normal Media Days, you just go out there, press conference, play or whatever. But it was fun and it was different, and I got to look around one of the most beautiful cities. Yeah, it was fun. KELLY SCHULTZ: For those of you that don't know, Lydia did Media Day for our Swinging Skirts event and got to play the ultimate hole in San Francisco. I think you teed off near the Golden Gate Bridge? Where did you go from there? LYDIA KO: I hit towards Golden Gate. We went to Alcatraz, hit my second shot there. Third shot, I chipped off Lombard Street. And then my fourth, birdie putt, because it was a par 5, I did it on one of the beaches near I think Viewpoint Road. It was great, four different destinations. My putt, I putted off the beach which is on sand and I've never done that before, either. KELLY SCHULTZ: Very cool way to celebrate a fun tournament. We were in here earlier talking, we had a Girls Golf press conference this morning and celebrating what's been going on for them and how many young girls we've gotten involved in the game. One of the things somebody mentioned was that you still technically could be a member of our Girls Golf program because you are still 17, and Girls Golf goes until 17. When you see all these young girls running around and people who are getting involved in the game, ever take a moment and make you realize that you could still be one of them and yet you're the No. 1 player in the world? LYDIA KO: Yeah, I was actually working with David on the range on Sunday, and that Sunday, there were a lot of the Girls Golf girls there. They were doing a run around the course. They were doing some fun things with music and they said, you know, kids that are 17 years and younger can participate in this game and you can enter for apprise. I told David, can I go up and sign up. So, yeah, I don't feel too different. Obviously now when I'm playing full‑time, I don't get to think about my age and all that. But to see a lot of the girls here that are not much younger than me or the same age, it's pretty cool. I just feel more fortunate that I can do this at my age. Q. If there was one thing you could do better with your game, what would it be? What do you identify as the thing you need to improve upon? LYDIA KO: I think consistency in my long game. Now, because it's actually been just over a year I've been working with David, so I'm slowly progressing and getting to know more about the swing. Like especially when I played, it's like my second, third or fourth week, my old habits come in and I kind of mix the two swings together. I think one of the most important things, I know that through time, it will get better. But I think consistency and if I'm more consistent, I don't have to rely on one particular area of my game. Q. Have you had a chance to meet some of the founders and are you interested in the history of the golf and what they did before you? LYDIA KO: Yeah, I met four of the founders last year, and then I saw Marilyn and Shirley the last couple days. Yeah, you know, what they have done for the Tour is amazing. Obviously I wasn't there. It wasn't exactly my time. But you know what they have done for the Tour, they have opened up a huge path for all of us, and to play on the LPGA, anyone who started the game, it's one of their goals to play here. They have kind of made this dream be able to come true and give hope. Without them, who knows if there would be an LPGA, but, you know, I think we are all so thankful and that's why I think it's great that we have a founders tournament to show them our appreciation of what they have done. Q. Do you feel like you have a bit of unfinished business at this tournament after you had the third round lead and led in the fourth round and then it kind of slipped away at the end? LYDIA KO: Yeah, I was close. But then there are some other girls that were one shot behind, too. So that week didn't go my way but Karrie played great that last day, finishing with a birdie on 18. 18 is really one of the holes that really count, and she finished it off in style. So no, obviously I was a little disappointed with the way that I couldn't pull it off, but no, she played better. And sometimes that's the case. But I think it gives me confidence coming into this week seeing that I played well before here, and it's a course that I know. I think 19‑under was the winning score last year, so it just shows that there are a lot of birdies out there, and I've just got to stay patient and hopefully make my share. Q. You just went win, win, second place; do you cut yourself a little slack for not winning three in a row? How do you take that? LYDIA KO: No, it was better than I ever expected. I had been really close at the Australian Open the last couple years, just really didn't play well in the final round but then I had really‑‑ four under par rounds around Royal Melbourne, and that gave me confidence going into New Zealand and always winning in front of a home crowd is a boost. We had 16,000 people there on the last day to come and watch, and that's a pretty good crowd. KELLY SCHULTZ: Huge crowd. LYDIA KO: Might be the whole of New Zealand. So, yeah, it was great, and I was a little tired for Singapore but then I had consistent rounds, and second place around there is good. And Inbee made no bogeys. How do you beat a player that's made no bogeys? That's pretty unbelievable especially around a course like that. Q. You seem very even item perked when you're out playing. Do you ever get angry when you play? LYDIA KO: Yeah, I do get angry. KELLY SCHULTZ: You don't show it very much. Q. How would we know? LYDIA KO: Maybe if I slam my putter, I don't know. But I think I've actually shown more anger the past couple months compared to the really cool, smiling after a bogey Lydia. But even‑‑ I 3‑putted twice and I slammed my putter into my bag and my mom said she heard it a hundred yards away. I don't know if she's joking or not but she said she did. I think a little emotion is not bad, as long as it doesn't control me and I'm not taking that I'm still thinking about the last hole. Q. So how do you manage that anger? LYDIA KO: How do I manage that anger? I don't know, sometimes like if I make a really clumsy mistake, I laugh because it's a dumb mistake. I don't know, I'm a little strange, I do these opposite things. But no, I just try and take deep breaths and take one shot at a time. I think that's where the caddie plays a role in there. He tries to keep you focused on the shots that are coming. Q. There are some who have the theory that when they get fired up and angry, they play better. Has that ever been true for you? LYDIA KO: Yeah, same again, NorCal (ph) I did that and I made five birdies in a row, so maybe I should do that more often. Q. Maybe you don't obsess the way we or the fans do but there are always people looking for rivalries and there's a big three right now with you and Inbee and Stacy. Do you sense that? You guys have all played well so far this year, been near the tops of the leaderboard. Are you constantly looking for those two and do you have a sense where you turn it up a notch when you know they are in contention? LYDIA KO: LYDIA KO: Yeah, especially the last couple weeks, it's been the big three, big three, but to me it feels like the big two, me and Inbee. What they have done and how they have played, not last season, but the seasons before, they have played consistently well. You just know last year with the Player of the Year, you couldn't decide until the last moment at the Titleholders. It's exciting that I can be involved and I'm part of the big three. It was so much fun that last day in Singapore where all three of us were paired together. I think we all kind of push each other. Someone makes a birdie and you kind of go, oh, I should make one, too. They have definitely pushed me and I think it's exciting for the fans, but then just within the players, too, it just pushes us. That's why I'm kind of nervous on the World Ranking No. 1 seed, because I know that these girls are playing good and anything can happen. Q. The original big three with Palmer, Nicklaus and player, they fed off each other and were constantly looking for each other and used it as motivation for how they were playing. Are you to that point yet? LYDIA KO: I kind of learn when I'm playing alongside them, like, oh, okay, that's why she's making a good birdie; or this is how her course management does. I always learn. And even my mom, she's walking outside the ropes and she goes, this is why she's playing good. I try and learn, and just feeding off each other, the same, somebody makes a birdie, it kind of throws you, okay, I'm going to make a birdie on the next. That kind of happened at the Swinging Skirts last year with Stacy. She made a birdie, I made a birdie and I think it's exciting. Q. So your mom is playing a lot of attention to what they are doing; is that right? LYDIA KO: Yeah, she's like the assistant coach. Q. The year's first major is coming up. What have you sort of learned about the majors so far and maybe how has it shaped your plan coming into this year's majors? LYDIA KO: Like two years ago, I said, oh, my God, it's a major. This is where everyone tries to perform at their best and all I was thinking was, major, major, major; it's a major. I think that kind of threw me off a little bit. I mean, at the end of the day, it should be another tournament, and I mean, the greatest players are there, yes, but that's kind of what it's like every week. I don't know, just something about it really makes me nervous and I know the first major I played was U.S. Open, and I couldn't even line up my ball on the first green because I was so nervous. I think even though I try and think of it as just another tournament, something in me just goes, it's a major. It makes me nervous, but I think playing majors, experience is one of it. Everyone says, oh, you're going to be the youngest winner in a major and all that. But to me it's more important that I have fun playing the majors and I play more consistently in them. That's been my goal because, you know, if I play consistently and get used to playing these great tournaments, I think that it will give me a better chance ever hopefully being around the lead rather than my goal being, I want to win this major. Q. Last year I chatted with you briefly on the range and I was asking you from a mastery point of view, how it is that you do what you do, because you're so exceptional at this, and you said that you didn't really know but you thought that it was that you just have fun. Do you have anything to add to that this year? LYDIA KO: Yeah, still don't know. I mean, there's no secret or special recipe. To me if I was to write a book, it would be called have fun, yeah. And I always try to have fun, and when I have fun, that's when I'm smiling and everything is relaxed. That's when I play the best. I mean, you still need to be focused on that shot and at that moment, but I think when you're not having fun, it's not worth it. You know, we spend so much time preparing for each tournament. Sometimes it gets tiring and it ends up just doing it because it's a routine. But that's why I kind of put myself back and say, go have fun, enjoy and that's what I've been doing. KELLY SCHULTZ: In terms of when you talk about the having fun, and relaxed attitude that you have. I heard after Singapore and you didn't win, a lot of players can be disappointed or whatever. You spent over an hour still signing autographs and meeting with fans. You seemed to keep that, I guess, composure and not really letting things affect you too much. How have you been able to do that when there is so much pressure and like Randy was talking about, it was a win‑win and not feeling the pressure; is it important to keep being the same person no matter what number ranking is by your name. LYDIA KO: I just thought of it as, hey, I had two great weeks and just come in second, that's still three great weeks. Obviously sometimes the goal is to win, and especially when you're close, it can get disappointing. Sometimes second place hurts more than the fifth. I kind of just took myself back and, you know, walking down 18, I said, you know what, Inbee played great. I didn't know that she didn't make any bogeys until Stacy and I was talking about it coming off the 16th green and we're like, hopefully we didn't jinx here. But no, we didn't. Consistency, that's what I always try to aim for and that's what she had that week. It's amazing, no bogeys. I wish I could win a tournament like that. Yeah, you know, it's hard. But always the fans that came out there in the heat, I was trying to cool myself with a cool towel and everything, but they don't necessarily need to be there but they are there to support us. I think in a way we try and give back. It was fun. To me, I had so much fun that I got to be paired with Stacy and Inbee. I was kind of all excited about that. Q. About the ball flight that you've been working on, going from where mostly left‑to‑right to now you can do right‑to‑left, what advantage do you see in that? What are you getting out of working on that? LYDIA KO: Now when I see a little fade, I feel like something massive has gone wrong in my swing. But no, I think hitting a little right‑to‑left, especially with the longer like driver, I think it just create a little bit more run and a little bit more distance. I think I've increased my distance from last year to this year, and now I've got a new driver, and I think the ball shape I'm getting more used to. Sometimes on hard, firm greens, it's good to have a fade. But no, I think it's good. I like seeing that draw and I can kind of visualize it. I just feel like I've got more power and I'm more engaged, and when I strike the ball good, I kind of want to see that little right‑to‑left rather than thinking, oh, I hit it good, but it's still bleeding a little right. I think my mind‑set has totally changed the last year and a half, and I just feel more comfortable the other way. But you know, there's players that do both, and you know, so I guess there's no one right answer. KELLY SCHULTZ: Thank you very much, wishing you the best of luck this week. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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