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SWINGING SKIRTS LPGA CLASSIC PRESENTED BY CTBCApril 21, 2015Lydia KoSAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA MODERATOR: No. 1 player in the world, winner here last year. I know that was a special week. It was your birthday week. What do you remember about that first win on the LPGA Tour? LYDIA KO: Yeah, it was a pretty adventurous, amazing week. Just the final hole, it was probably the most memorable. Jenny, Stacy and I all hit great shots in there and, you know, tried it make the birdie. Yeah, it was a really fun week. My birthday, the Taiwan 100, so a lot of things going on. MODERATOR: You've won twice now at a Swinging Skirts event, right? LYDIA KO: Yeah, my first one after I turned pro, you know, the Swinging Skirts event in Taiwan, and then got to do it first one as a tour member. Yeah, got to win two of those. They called me defending champion last year, so I'm going to hear that again this year. MODERATOR: Questions. Q. You were here last month and you said last year with the rain and everything it was a sad birthday for you. What are your plans for this birthday? LYDIA KO: Yeah, you know, this birthday, it's on Friday, so my birthday seems to be here every year. I'm hoping that I get a morning tee time. It's not something I can control. Last year got tee'd off late and then finished in a hurry. I ran pretty much last hole and had a quick dinner and that was it. We haven't arranged anything, but hopefully I'll have some time compared to last year. Q. You play golf all over the world. This golf course is an old‑school design; been here for a long time. How is this golf course different than the rest of the golf courses you see during the year on the LPGA Tour? LYDIA KO: This is I think definitely one of the toughest golf courses that we play, even including the majors. I think this was really tough. Just seeing from the scores last year, I know it's the first time we had come to this course, so that makes it I guess straight out of the bag a little tougher. I think this course is tough. You just miss the fairway and you kind of need to be lucky to get a good lie in the rough. I think because it's been a little colder the last couple days it's definitely playing a little longer, too. Yeah, you know, the setup itself, you just need to hit accurate shots and make a lot of good putts. We all know that the greens are going to be firm and fast. It's everything towards the tough side. Yeah, I mean, every course is different. At the end of the day, to be a winner on any course you need to have your A game and hit good shots and make good putts. I think especially on this court the person that does it will definitely stand out. Q. What did you think about the smaller greens? LYDIA KO: It's not easy because they're firm, too. Like me on the last hole today, I hit pitching wedge into just a back pin and it ran out a good ten yards. No, it just shows that it's just not easy. You definitely need to position yourself well. Q. Just wondering how you perceive this event. It's the second annual now; last year was the first year. The experience of playing near a great city like San Francisco, coming to this event the second time; you had kind of an exciting finish for the debut of the tournament. How do you view this tournament and the overall experience of being in the Bay Area? LYDIA KO: This is first of all a great location, great golf course. When you're playing at a great golf course, it just makes it fun for the players. It's really interesting, on the third day, Stacy and I kind of did that birdie battle where it was kind of back and forth. I think that made it really ‑‑ I think there was a lot going on, and all the galleries were like, Oh, what's going to happen? I don't know if that's going to happen this year again to anyone, but we had a huge crowd last year. I don't know, maybe because I had a local caddie Domingo, with me. That might have been the biggest influence. It's huge. There are not that many golf courses I heard around here, and this is a great won. Obviously there is Olympic right close, but I think it's a great location and great place for us. Always playing on the west coast is fun. Q. A month ago Kevin took you all around San Francisco and you did the photo trip. Talk about that day. LYDIA KO: Yeah, I did the usual media day here on the course. You know, before that day Kevin suggested about doing what we're going to do, and I thought it was really fun. You see most media days you go out and you do media, you might do a clinic, go play a couple holes. To go around and look at the city, San Francisco is definitely one of my favorite cities, so to do that was‑‑ I had to be at work, but then at the same time I was a tourist. So it was really fun. I mean, Golden Gate Bridge, I had never been to Lombard Street. So that was a cool to me. Q. You went to Alcatraz. Did you see any views? Was the weather decent so yu could see? LYDIA KO: It was a little foggy that day, but I went there the day after I won here last year. Definitely nice weather then compared to when we went. No, it's pretty cool. You just see kind of the prison cells. It's kind of freaky a little bit, too. Yeah. Q. Are you still being able to enjoy being a 17‑year‑old young lady having all these opportunities given to you? Because when you turn 18, for some folks they convert their play to a business. Some of the player are pretty staunch in their look when they're out there. You look like you're still having fun. Are you still enjoying the run? LYDIA KO: Yeah, I get to have fun being a 17 year old for only two and a half days. It's nearly coming to an end. No, I'm pretty sure I'll still have fun even when I'm 18, 30, or whatever. Yeah, you know, I think I try and have fun, and that's always been my goal: go out and smile and enjoy playing. If I'm not having fun, I kind of feel like there is no point in me coming out here and just doing it for the sake of it. Yeah, I think having fun is definitely important, and that's what I'm doing. Yeah. Q. Lydia, you're used to more warm weather sites, we'll say. How does the fog, the cold affect your game, the distance, the swing, when you play here this week? LYDIA KO: Yeah, I had a week off last week in Orlando. It was hot. I felt like it was summer in Orlando. So to come to a totally different weather I knew it would be different, but to be this cold it's quite a change. Probably the biggest difference is the ball flies further ‑‑ fly as far, so we've been adding a couple yards for the distances. So I feel like the course is playing a little longer compared to last year. Q. There are so many players that come out with high expectations, and until you win that first tournament, could you speak to how your confidence increases even though you're expected to win a tournament, but to do that, how you approach after that? LYDIA KO: Yeah, I got really close at the JTBC Founders last year. You know, because of being so close, I felt even further away than getting a tied tenth. So I kind of felt like maybe it's not the time. Maybe it will come later, in a couple months. So it came definitely quicker to me than I had imagined. I think just the first win is always important because it kind of gives you that first steppingstone where the path or the door is kind of open from there. Couple months later I had my second win for the Marathon Classic, and then the season finale. So I think winning here was definitely important for me. The first is definitely one of the most memorable wins. Q. You had some fun shots in San Francisco. The chip there on the Lombard Street down the crooked street, and then the putt in the sand. When it comes to the golf course, what do you feel is the best shot of your career at this point in competition? LYDIA KO: I think it would be that shot that I hit onto 18, my third shot. I definitely didn't hit my second shot well, but it can kind of run out that way on the 18th hole. I think the third shot, I normally don't visualize my shots that much, but that time I imagined it landing just short of the green and for it to roll up and have ten feet for birdie. It worked out well. I said, Maybe I should visualize more often. That's definitely one of the most memorable and important shots. Q. If you could have a Mulligan in your career, where would you take it? LYDIA KO: Mulligan would be probably the 17th hole, second shot in Ocala. Probably one of the worst shots I've ever hit. And probably the eighth hole at the ANA on the second day because I kind of shanked it. I thought it would be funny to shank it, but when you're in that position it's not. Yeah. Q. You mentioned the ball not traveling a far maybe as last year. Any other differences in the course? Similar rough? LYDIA KO: Yeah, I think the rough is similar. It's always sticky and very grabby. Everything is I think pretty similar. There is only one hole where they moved the tee back a little bit. Yeah, you know, the greens aren't as fast right now, but come tournament day I know they'll roll them a little faster. Q. You mentioned the shot on 18 to set up the birdie. It seems to me, most golfers who play the game dream about the 72nd hole, making a birdie to win it. Wouldn't that be even more special? How many times in the past year have you looked at the video of that and taken some pride in that putt? LYDIA KO: I mean, yeah, it was a good putt, but I think that my shot kind of gave me the opportunity to even putt for birdie and give myself a chance to be holding a trophy without going to a playoff. It was a very important putt, because if I had missed it it probably wasn't worth it. At the same time, I could have lifted a little short and then could've made a bogey or a par. You just never know. I think the shot that made me that chance of at the worst probably be a par, I think that was the best part. Q. When you look at the field, it's packed with players. I think 19 of the top 20 of the world. I remember last year the feel of a major come up a lot. Is that the way it kind of feels a little bit with that kind of quality in the field? LYDIA KO: Yeah, I mean, this is a great field. It's not a major, but it feels like a major. The top players are here. That's why you kind of have to play well week in, week out. I know that a lot of the girls got really great form, kind of like Sei Young. Two amazing shots at Lotte. I was screaming watching the TV. So, yeah, you know, everybody is playing so well. Brittany, Stacy, all coming off such great events. You just can't take anyone out. I think with this course the person that's going to be consistent is really going to win at the end of the week. Q. There are so many holes here, at least a few, where you've got downhill lies to uphill holes. Do you strategically plan for that off the tee or just deal with it? How do you plan that ahead of time what you're going to hit off the tee or... LYDIA KO: Yeah, I think No.4, is it, is one of the toughest ones because hitting a long hybrid in to there. No. 17 is the same. Last year I didn't hit the fairway, but Jenny and Stacy hit it and they were hitting wedges into the greens. It's definitely playing a little longer, because I was playing like a long iron into there. Hopefully I don't get a hanging lie. But if it's into the wind, I think I'm going to layup. That way I'm going to have a flatter shot then. Q. Even though you were not that far removed from playing junior golf yourself, what words of encouragement do you give to junior golfers when you meet them these days? LYDIA KO: I always say, Have fun. That's always been my goal, my personal goal. I think that's really important, especially when you're in your teens. Even me right now, you got to have fun. Just because your parents tell you to go out there and hit 100 balls, it's going to‑‑ you're just going out there because they told you so. Last week I met a three year old. I was getting a putting lesson with Mark Sweeney and I saw a three year old on the range. His dad said, Come on Walker, let's go to the swimming pool. He wouldn't leave. That's how much he loved it. So it just kind of shows you just got to be passionate about what you do. Q. You mentioned Sei Young's shot in Hawaii and screaming at the TV. Could you imagine it ending like that? Have you ever had anything close to that? LYDIA KO: No, not really. When I was an amateur I played the Astor Trophy and I was playing against a girl and she made a hole in one and I kind of felt like what maybe Inbee felt. You didn't do anything, but it's kind of like already out of your hands. Yeah, you know, it was a pretty amazing shot. It's so tough, that hole. Might not be that long, but you can get stuck in the rough. The final day always seems like the pin has been on the front. On a downwind front pin, maybe in the rough, what she did was pretty amazing. I think she was rewarded for being aggressive, going right at the pin, too. Q. What does success look like for you for the rest of the season in general? LYDIA KO: I think just consistently playing well. You know, I think everybody, especially media, will be talking a lot about me breaking records for the majors and all that. But to me, I think it's just consistency. You know, I think being consistent will give myself a lot more opportunities to be in the lead or be close and give myself more chances that way than thinking I want to have five wins this year. Q. The majors, what do they mean to you in general? LYDIA KO: The majors, they give me butterflies a lot. You know, majors, I really shouldn't think of it as a different tournament or different scale, but somehow I just go there and I don't feel like my game is up to the standard. That kind of happened at ANA, so I'm trying to learn to ‑‑ I think through experience I'm trying to learn to I think handle myself, calm myself, and take myself back a little bit and say, You know what? This is just another tournament. We've got a great field here this week. It's not that much difference. Q. Last year I recall reading you had maybe sprayed a lot of shots off the tee but you had great recovery skills and you saved a lot of strokes that way here. Obviously that could have been a key to the victory. In terms of your game, do you feel it's changed from now to last year? Any improvement from last year? LYDIA KO: I think so. You know, even then, in April, it had only been a couple months since I had been working with David and Sean. It's not like the two swings are exactly the same. Now I'm still trying to get more used to it and trying to get better every day. But even then it was very new to me, and I said I wanted to kind of hit a draw. The shot I had been playing for ten years was a little fade. So it was definitely different. So sometimes my misses can be bigger, but I feel like my good shots, I feel like I'm more into it and it's a better good shot. I don't know if that's possible. But, yeah, you know I just definitely feel a lot more comfortable with my swing right now. Q. You were out here a couple weeks ago for an event, a meet and greet. There were some girls from a girl's club out here. What kind of meaning does that have to you and what message would you like to convey upon them and were you in that position way back when? LYDIA KO: Yeah, that was kind of a similar question to what I was asked. I would always say, Have fun. I think the really cool thing about me being in this position is sometimes kids come up to me and say, Yeah you're my idol. Some of them aren't that much younger than me. To hear that I think is some of the things that inspire me for me to become a better player like they imagine it. Yeah, I think it's really cool when they say it to me, and that definitely drives me is as player. Q. Is there an exceptional rookie this year, somebody that's flying under the radar that we're not aware of that we should gravitate to at this point? LYDIA KO: I mean, all the rookies this year are pretty top class. Q. Exceptional. LYDIA KO: I wouldn't call them rookies. That's what people said to me, too. Q. Is there someone that we're not familiar with that we should get to know that is going to be somebody? LYDIA KO: It's hard to point out someone, but Minji Lee, she's a past winner here at this golf course. Obviously she hasn't won this year yet, but I think she's definitely going to have many wins here. I think she's comfortable on this course, too. Yeah, you know, it's definitely hard to pick out just one rookie because everyone is so talented. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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