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U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPJuly 10, 2015Jane ParkLANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA MIKE TROSTEL: It's my pleasure to welcome Jane Park into the media center. Jane with rounds of 66 and 72, a two-day total of 138, that's 2-under par. Jane played 23 holes today, finished with a birdie at the 14th with four pars and a steady round of 72 in the afternoon. You mentioned you like to make pars, you make a lot of pars in the U.S. Women's Open. You did today. You made 12 straight in the middle of your round. Talk about how you're playing and how you feel as we approach the weekend. JANE PARK: Like I said, I'm making a lot of pars which is what you need to do at the Women's Open. And my goal really this week was just to hit as many fairways and as many greens as I can, and I seem to be doing that. And it just makes the game a lot easier. So very happy with the way I'm playing. MIKE TROSTEL: And this week you're 154th of 154 in driving distance. So distance isn't your thing, but you've made up for it in a lot of ways. As we go into the weekend, still long rough, what do you think you have to do to remain in contention and make a push? JANE PARK: Well, like you said, I'm pretty -- I give up a lot of distance off the tee, but my irons and my woods are very, very accurate. And fortunately, I've got a pretty good hold of how far I'm hitting all of my clubs. And the greens are very soft, very receptive. So I'm able to go at pins when you need to and the ball seems to be stopping right where you want it to. MIKE TROSTEL: You've called this your favorite championship. You've had a lot of success in USGA championships. What is it about USGA championships, and especially the Women's Open where you finished tied for 10th in 2006, that really brings out the best in your game? JANE PARK: Well, I've had a long history with the USGA. I started playing the girls junior when I was 12 or 13. And ever since then I played the Public Links which is obviously the fourball now and many U.S. Amateurs. I just love getting to know the USGA staff, my dear friend Rhonda Glenn, who passed away earlier this year. I've just made a lot of great friendships with the staff. And obviously the prestige of the USGA tournaments, it's my favorite. It's a great stage to play on. Q. You're known for having a good sense of humor, does that quality help in a tough championship like this? JANE PARK: Absolutely. You've got to kind of brush things off. I missed a two-footer on my 16th hole of my second round today coming in. And, you know, that just kind of happens. And you really just have to take a fresh attitude into this week and just know that sometimes things are going to go wrong, but you'll always -- you'll recover with a good attitude. Q. You mentioned earlier you've had a lot of injuries. With your great USGA and amateur career, how frustrating has it been in your LPGA career to not win? JANE PARK: Well, yeah, that's -- I guess that's my next goal, really, is to try to win out here. But honestly, coming into this year I was healthy, which was a big help. And when you're not healthy, your confidence isn't as high as it should be and you don't quite believe in your swing as much as you can. But you know what, I'm really happy that I'm playing well and I'm very happy that I'm in this position and injury-free, which is a lot more than I can say about last year. Q. I know you're a good friend of Michelle Wie's. Can you talk about maybe some inspiration that you drew from her victory last year here? You were talking about you waiting for a while to break through out here in the LPGA. JANE PARK: Yes, I mean, I've watched Michelle Wie grow and love that girl to death. I mean, it was like watching my little sister win last year. And it was inspiring. I had tears of joy. She's one of my dearest friends out here and I can't say -- I can't say more good things about her. She's one of my best friends out here and I'm just blessed to know her. Q. In looking at the stats here, it says your average drive is 215. I think most people would have thought no way you could play well with that number. Tell us about what clubs you're hitting into some of the longer holes and how you're making that work? JANE PARK: Yeah, I couldn't reach 9 today with a really good drive and a pretty decent 3-wood. I was probably about 15 yards short of the green. And on 18, this morning was the first time I reached it and it was howling downwind, so I reached it with a 3-wood. The course is playing -- it's playing pretty long and it's very soft, so I'm not getting any roll, which would help my case. But I'm hitting it on a string right now, which helps. I'm hitting it where I want to, where I'm aiming. And I'm giving myself a lot of chances at birdie, so I'm so happy with that. Q. Kind of a follow-up on the last question, but because of your length off the tee, in your game I'm sure one of your strengths is your long irons and your hybrids. Given the fact that the course is playing as soft as it is, do you feel confident that you can kind of attack with those clubs as if they're like mid-irons right now because you know that the ball is going to stop and not roll out? JANE PARK: Yes, exactly like you said, the greens are very soft, very receptive. And as long as you have your distances down, you can go at some of these pins, for sure. Q. How far did you hit the ball off the tee when you won the Amateur in '04? And have your injuries kept you from gaining distance? JANE PARK: Well, in '04, we played in Erie, Pennsylvania, it was a lot more dry. I don't think my driving average this week really reflects on how far I actually do hit it. I would say I was probably a club longer when I won the U.S. Amateur. Yeah, like I said, the course is really soft. A lot of the times my ball lands in an upslope. So my ball mark is right next to my ball. So that kind of doesn't help me. Q. Did you see the course being more challenging today, either because of the change in pin locations or tee changes or even because of the weather last night? JANE PARK: I thought the pins were very difficult today. I would have -- I think I averaged -- my proximity to the hole was probably between 15 to 25, 30 feet, and a lot of them broke two or three feet. It wasn't exactly a day where I could be very aggressive with my putts because the pin placements were very difficult. The tees, I think, were the same. But, yes, definitely the pin locations were a lot more difficult. Q. You've had such a great start at this tournament. Can you tell us about the season up to this point and why you think you're playing so well here? JANE PARK: I kind of psyched myself up for this tournament. Like I said, it's my favorite event. My season so far has been mediocre. I've had a couple of good rounds, but I haven't been able to put four good rounds together. But I feel like I'm slowly working towards that. So making a little bit of progress every day is what my goal is and staying injury-free. Q. And also I know that putting is sort of the heart of your game, but today it looked like it may have let you down on a couple of holes, like the 7th. Can you speak to that and how you're feeling about that going forward? JANE PARK: Yeah, I missed a pretty short one on 7, but it happens. And I've already forgotten about it. I actually wasn't even thinking about it until someone asked me after my round. You've just got to let those go. And there's a lot of golf left. Q. I'm wondering what kind of mindset you put yourself into tonight when you watch the broadcast, what are you thinking about mentally? What are the challenges as you're tied for the lead? JANE PARK: You know, I'll watch the broadcast if it's on. I really want to go see the local Amish people. I haven't done that yet. So I think this afternoon would be a good afternoon to just kind of get away from golf and have some good food and prepare for tomorrow, get some good rest. MIKE TROSTEL: Jane Park, 2-under par, 138. Best of luck on the weekend. JANE PARK: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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