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KIA CLASSICMarch 25, 2015Inbee ParkCARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA Q. What a great start to the year so far, and I guess just run us through the past couple of weeks, because you had a win, and then you went to China, played super well, took the week off. Just give us the rundown of the past few weeks. INBEE PARK: You just gave me the rundown. (Laughs). That was it. Yeah, I had a win in Singapore, which is great. The earlier the win comes, the better the season goes, I think, because it just gets a lot of pressure off of it you, and you're kind of proving yourself that you can win this year and you can play well this year again. So last week I took it easy last week, just practiced a little bit and just relaxed at home. And played in China the week before. I played good, but just So Yeon played better than me, so big congratulations to her. She definitely deserved to win. Q. How was battling it with her? INBEE PARK: I am really good friends with So Yeon, so it's not easy to always play with a friend, but I don't know, just I felt very relaxed, and I think so did she. I think she felt really relaxed as well. We just tried to play our best, but it wasn't my best putting day on the last day, so I couldn't hole enough putts, so So Yeon definitely played well, so it was her day. Q. Was there any trash talk, any bets? I know you guys like to bet each other. Anything? Dinner? INBEE PARK: No. We didn't really bet for anything. We just played for the trophy. Q. How are you so consistent? I mean consistency it seems like is almost as much of a mental thing than a physical thing. How do you stay so consistent? INBEE PARK: I don't know. It just‑‑ I think once really your game reaches like a certain level, I think that probably puts you in certain spots like being consistent. And I think my ball striking lately has been really good. So I think that's been the big key to stay consistent and stay in contention. Putting has been kind of on and off, but the ball striking definitely covered that the last couple of weeks. Q. And you've been known highly for your putting, so talking about it being on and off. Does it get frustrating for you, because I'm sure you have high expectations. Tell us how that is. INBEE PARK: Yeah, I think I do probably have a high expectation on the greens, but you know, you kind of expect to make maybe half of maybe inside 10 feet, you know, but I've made probably a lot more before. But now, I don't know, I'm making maybe three out of ten, but I mean I feel like I'm giving myself a lot of opportunities, but missing a lot of opportunities, I think maybe because I have a lot more opportunities than before, I just feel like I'm missing more. So I think that's a possibility. Q. You talked about that with your putting before. You never seem that you're putting well when in fact you're maybe the best putter here. A lot of great putters don't think they putt well. Is that part of your mindset, you're always looking to get better? INBEE PARK: Yeah, I think all the golfers, all the athletes, they look to improve and they never think they're perfect. Something's always wrong with the game, especially golf. There's a lot of room to improve all the time, and especially with putting. You can do so much better, no matter what level you're in. That's why I think we can get better and better. I mean if you're just happy with your putting or if you're just happy with your game, there's no improvement, but if you think something's not quite there, you know, you just keep trying to push your limits. So I think that's when you get better, and I'm just trying to do that as well. And you know, just putting wise, I think definitely, you know, having more putts than 2012, '13. '14 and '15 has been not‑‑ I mean it's pretty amazing, because 2013 and '12 I averaged like 29 putts or something like that, but this year it's definitely not in the 20s. But yeah, I mean that tells me the ball striking has gotten better in 2014 and '15. So I mean I got some minuses, but I definitely got some pluses. Q. Does that help you know you're a good putter if your ball striking or something else isn't there, does that give you some reassurance knowing that you should be able to putt reasonably well most days, even by your standards? INBEE PARK: Yeah, I think, you know, hitting a lot of greens in regulation, hitting a lot of fairways and having a good ball striking day, you know, you can't really go too much wrong, unless you three‑putt every hole. So I think once you have the consistency with the ball striking it's just a matter of making how many putts and how many under par. So just, you know, trying to get more consistent with ball striking and with the putter, just trying to improve all the parts of the game. Q. Lydia moving up to No. 1, obviously it gets attention in the media, but is it that big of a deal to you to not be No. 1 after rising to that spot? How do you feel about that kind of from a long‑term? INBEE PARK: You know, Lydia is a very talented player, and she definitely played really well last couple of years to be No. 1. You know, if I was always No. 2 and if I never got to No. 1 spot, I probably would want it really bad to get to No. 1 spot. But you know, I've been to No. 1 spot before, and I think I feel like I have reached my goal before. So I mean I'm not like really eager to get to the spot. I'm just not going to try to push myself or push something to get to No. 1. I'm just going to play good golf and just play week in, week out and just play good golf, and it probably will get me to that spot. It's not something that you can just push for. Q. What's the secret in the strength of the tour? You, Lydia, Stacy, Suzann, all of you generally have a chance to be No. 1 week to week. What does that do to make all of you play better golf because you're pushing each other? INBEE PARK: Yeah, I think it's really good golf for all the girls out here, especially the top players out here. We have such a good level of players. So many players are so‑‑ a lot of contenders and a lot of top players out here, so we can have a variety of winners, and that's really good for the tour. I mean a lot of people from different countries, you know, play for the trophy every week. And I think it's always good to have a variety and good to have a competitor. That definitely makes your game get better and definitely inspires you. Q. What's the most impressed you about Lydia in her time here? INBEE PARK: I think the most surprising thing about her is her age, because nobody really played that well in her age. And how come she is and how her mentality is so strong. Q. Yeah. I mean there are a lot of young women out here, obviously, but I guess she kind of took it to another level, didn't she? INBEE PARK: Yeah. I think she's really just born to golf maybe. I think maybe her mentality and like, you know, she just plays like, you know, maybe like 20s, 30s, you know, a lot older than definitely her age, and she's very mature on the golf course. Q. Do you think it's the kid in her talking when she says she'll retire at 30? INBEE PARK: I don't know. I mean the way‑‑ looking at the way she's playing, she shouldn't be tired by 30. (Laughs). Yeah, she shouldn't be tired of golf yet. I mean I'm already looking at 30 right now, so I mean she has still a long ways to 30. Q. I have a question for you for here. You played really well in this event. Is it something about this area, just this event in general, the past two years here you've played well. What do you think has been the key here? INBEE PARK: I think these last couple of years the greens were really bumpy with the poa annua grass, and everybody was struggling with the putter, and so did I. But I think it's just‑‑ you know, the scoring was a little bit worse than I thought, because of the greens, really inconsistent greens. But this year I think it's a different story. I think the greens are rolling much better. I mean they're rolling a lot more consistent. I mean the greens are really tough here. So that's why I think maybe I had an advantage for last couple of years, because I think I read the breaks really good and I had a good spin on the greens. I think that definitely gave me advantage last couple of years. Q. Are they among the toughest greens on tour? INBEE PARK: I think so. Q. Not only the poa annua, but the size of them, isn't it? INBEE PARK: I think they're very hilly greens and a lot of breaks on these greens, and you know, plus the poa annua grass, I mean there is so many things you can't expect on these greens. So I think it's just really hard to judge these greens. Q. And hard to go low on them, too; right? INBEE PARK: It is, yeah. I think, it is. If you're on the wrong side of the hole here, you're, yeah, you just gotta be happy with making two‑putts. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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