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SWINGING SKIRTS LPGA CLASSIC PRESENTED BY CTBCApril 21, 2015Michelle Wie WestSAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA MODERATOR: Happy to be joined in the media center at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic by Michelle Wie. Michelle, you're coming off your best finish of the year last week in Hawaii. Another homecoming this week with Stanford. What's it been like? MICHELLE WIE: It was definitely really, really sad to leave home, but the fact that I was coming to San Francisco was it that much easier. This is definitely something I look forward it all year. Most of all of my friends from Stanford are still in the Bay, so it's been amazing getting to see them. Coming back to the Bay Area, stopped by Stanford yesterday for a quick couple of seconds. Just feels so good to be back. It definitely feels like home, like coming back, landing in the airport, just so many memories. It feels great to be back. Q. Is there something you have to stop by or hit up every time you go back to Stanford? MICHELLE WIE: There is. There is definitely I love going to get Fro‑Yo there, which I almost cried. It was under renovation so they were closed. I was banging the doors just crying. But I definitely stopped by the bookstore this time around because I wanted to get a couple things. Usually I meet with the golf team but they're away on a trip. I just like to walk around. I think the kids there now kind of look at me strange. I have this weird look in my eyes. Every time someone rides a bike by I'm like, Hi. You know, I'm like this old person on campus now just creeping out. But it's amazing. There are always new buildings, new stuff. It's just nice. I just want to go back. MODERATOR: Questions. Q. Just talk about your game and how you feel you're playing right now coming into this event. MICHELLE WIE: Every week this year I feel like it's been getting better. You know, just working on a couple things. Things are feel better and better, and that's exactly what I want to do, improve a little bit each and every week. I've been having a lot of fun. Playing the last week at home was a lot of the fun. Looking forward to this week. It's amazing or really nice just because I'm looking forward to every week and playing and I'm getting excited about playing. So it's been a fun year. Q. Just a follow‑up. I read a story about you and you said maybe sometimes you put too much pressure on yourself. MICHELLE WIE: Uh‑huh. Q. Is that something you have to constantly work on not doing that? MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, for sure. That's definitely something I've been working on. I definitely put a lot of pressure on myself. I just got to look back and enjoy myself. I think that's what I did a good job of last week, is just really enjoyed being home and the golf course and the golf. I kind of let everything happen. You know, that's kind of the game plan for this week as well. Q. We hear about some of the guys having their clothes scripted. Do you get to chose yours or are they put together ahead of time? MICHELLE WIE: Nike and I meet I think a year before and talk about the outfits. There are some key looks they want to be me to be in. They script me for the majors and they actually scripted, e last week in Hawaii. Yeah, but for the most part they just send me the whole collection and I get to choose. Q. Obviously one big difference from this time last year to now is having won a major. As you look back, how meaningful was that and how did it change your life and career, if at all? MICHELLE WIE: You know, it has changed and it hasn't changed. I think that it definitely helped boost my confidence. I think I'm a lot more confident player now than I have been. It's just nice to know that I can do it. It's definitely very motivating. Now that I did it once you get a taste for it and you want to do it again and again, so I feel very motivated. In another sense, it doesn't feel that much different. I think when you come into a week you don't really think about the past or how well you did in the past. What matters is what you do this week and what you do on every hole. I just really try to focus on the present. Q. I know that you're playing golf courses all over the place, and this course is a bit different than you might see. It's the old‑school design; smaller greens. Are aspects of this course that you believe play to the strengths of your game? MICHELLE WIE: It plays pretty long, especially with the cold. Obviously my length can help in that matter. It's a beautiful, tough golf course. You know, I love all the trees. It's so big, and when you walk it's really pretty. But obviously it's a little bit cold this week, so that's going to affect it a little bit. But it's a tough course. I think you just got to go out there and just try to hit fairways. Small greens, so middle of the green is great for most of the holes. Just got to be patient out there. Q. How firm have the greens been for you this week? MICHELLE WIE: A little bit firm. I think California has been struggling with the rain a little bit. But I was actually expecting it to be a lot browner, firmer, whatnot. But the course condition is great. Not a whole lot different from a last year, which is pretty amazing what the golf staff has done. But it's not too bad. Q. We saw you today hitting on the par‑3s, and when you get a 3‑wood off the tee, you don't use the tee for the par‑3s or when you hit a 3‑wood off the deck off the tee. Is that normal or just for here? MICHELLE WIE: Oh, I put the tee for everything, for par‑3s and 3‑wood. Q. Oh, okay. I must have missed it. For you in your career in all the shots you've hit in majors, obviously last year at the U.S. Open some ones; ANA you played well in the past. What shot jumps out as being the best in your career at this point? MICHELLE WIE: A lot of people ask me that. There are a couple. The one that always pops into my head has to be 2009 Solheim when I played against Helen in the singles match on the second hole. I mean, considering how much nerves had a part of this‑‑ I mean, my hands are shaking, everything was shaking, just so pumped up. It was a par‑5 and Helen had hit it to six feet off the second shot. That was by far the best shot I ever hit was I hit it to five feet. That was the shot that popped out to me in my memory, because considering how nervous and shaky I was, to pull off this kind of shot... So that one, and definitely putt on 17 at the U.S. Open are definitely the two shots that I remember the most. Q. What about a Mulligan? MICHELLE WIE: Oh, I would use a Mulligan a lot of places. I mean, that's the nature of golf. If I could just pay $5 for a Mulligan, that would be amazing. It's the nature of the game. I think that's what you can't really think of. Just got to find the ball, hit next shot, and hit it again. Mistakes are bound to happen. That's the nature of it. You just try to play as smart as you can and take what happens from there. Q. How do you view this tournament in terms of you have a stacked field, 19 of the top 20, a tough course, maybe a little bit cold. A lot of fans out here last year. A lot of autographs and things like that. Does it feel a little differently here to you? Maybe a little bit like a major but also a homecoming at the same time? MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, Lake Merced is a great golf course, a championship golf course. When you make a birdie out here it feels great; when you make a par out here it feels great. It's definitely a championship golf course. It's not a golf course that people are going to go out‑‑ I mean, they might; you never know‑‑ but they're not going to make birdies on every hole. I think it's a great golf course. It's a great challenge. Definitely feels different coming back to the Bay Area. Feels like home for me. It's great. I'm excited to see all the fans out this week. The sponsors have done such a great job of branding the event, the purple and pink. All the artwork on the golf course is pretty fantastic. So it's been a fun week so far. If it could just warm up a little bit it would be great. Q. Could you just discuss the evolution of your career from the teenage kid that we saw to playing at Stanford with a major under your belt now? So much has happened. MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, a lot did happen. A lot of ups, a lot of downs. I think if I had to describe it, it definitely wasn't boring. It was very interesting. It was very exciting. And I have a lot to come I still feel like. Going to Stanford, graduating from Stanford definitely is one of the proudest moments of my life. I think coming back here, I just remind myself of that achievement. That definitely was a dream come true for me. Growing up I remember visiting Stanford. I always wanted to come here. It's always great to come back. I think after you win tournaments you don't really getting to go back to a tournament site and really realize what you did. Every time I come back here I just get to relive it and realize that I got to achieve that dream of mine. So it feels great. I feel like I have a lot more to show, and going to keep working hard. Q. You spoke about Lake Merced and the beauty of it. With the weather that has transpired for this week, the comfortable fairways that you've been on, will there be a different plan of attack or something that may be a little more challenging for your? MICHELLE WIE: I think last year it was pretty chilly as well, too. I played 18 holes today, and nothing has changed too much really in the last year. Yeah, it's just fairways, greens, try to hit it to the middle the greens, give yourself some uphill putts. Yeah. Q. Beyond the U.S. Open last year you obviously had a very good season from start to finish. What were you doing so well last year and what's been the challenge in duplicating it this year? MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, last year I think I set out and really did achieve really big goal of mine, which was to be consistent. I think I maybe said that word a thousand times last year. You know, I really felt proud of myself that I did achieve that. Obviously this year ‑‑ you know, that's what the game of golf is. Sometimes you just don't play as well as you want to. But I do feel like I have been improving. I feel like I have been consistently getting better. So I'm going to use that word again. It's definitely a goal of mine to be consistent. As long as I'm going in an upward trend, that's all I care about. Q. Christina Kim said she thought the U.S. Open win gave you a sense of freedom. You see that at all? MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, there was a lot of emotions that came with it, but that was definitely one of them. Just knowing that I can do it, I think just really believing in myself and really being able to do it, knowing that you accomplished it, getting the monkey off your back, I guess. But definitely gave me a lot of confidence. It's not something that I want to be like, Oh, I did it once. I don't have to do it again. I think it's very motivating for me. I want to keep kind of repeating it and doing it again and trying to get better. Q. You had mentioned the confidence, motivation of the U.S. Open win, and having a taste for major championships more. What do they mean in general to you, those majors? MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I mean, they mean a lot to me. Like I maybe said before, I definitely put a lot of pressure on myself. I think that last year I did a really good job of not doing so. So I'm going to keep the same mindset for all the majors going forward: Just treat it like a normal tournament. I know it's important and means a lot to me, but just going into it looking at it the same. But it is special. I think that I feel very honored to be part of that history now. As a past champion, I feel very honored and blessed. Q. What's your biggest key to distance off the tee to your power game with your swing? MICHELLE WIE: I don't know. I've always been long, ever since I can remember. Just long arms I guess and fast hips, which can also be my demise as well too, I guess. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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