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RICOH WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN

July 29, 2015

Inbee Park

TRUMP TURNBERRY, SCOTLAND

COLIN CALLANDER: Good afternoon. We had world No. 1 Inbee Park with us. You just had a chance to play the golf course in lovely conditions. Did you enjoy it out there today?
INBEE PARK: I really enjoyed it out there but I'm not sure if we are going to get the same conditions for the next four days. But obviously it was great out there. We had a nice view over the island. It was just great. It's been a very special venue and it's a beautiful place to be and in beautiful weather.
COLIN CALLANDER: This is your first time at Turnberry. What are your views of the golf course there?
INBEE PARK: They are just so beautiful. Yeah, we played a few really good golf courses but I think this is definitely one of the best golf courses we get to play.
Of course, I played on Monday and it was a little bit windier. The front nine was playing quite long into the wind. But today without the wind, the course was playing actually pretty nicely. It's a lot easier than the Monday, and you can play so much different just depending on the weather, depending on the wind, depending on the rain. The green seems like it's holding quite well right now with a couple of days of rain.
It really all depends how it's going to turn out starting tomorrow. Now I've played in two different conditions, so I feel ready.

Q. How is your back? Can you talk about how you were feeling yesterday and maybe how long that's been bothering you?
INBEE PARK: It just happened. I think just because of the long flight that I flew. Yesterday I felt a little bit of back spasm on my back. You know, it was hard to bend down yesterday, so I really didn't want to irritate it. Playing 18 holes yesterday in the cold weather was only going to do worse.
I tried to stretch out and relax and work with my physio. It's gotten a lot better today. I was able to play 18 holes today and with just a little bit of pain. So obviously not in full no pain condition but there's a little bit of pain, but I can deal with it.

Q. Is it your lower back?
INBEE PARK: It's lower back, yeah.

Q. When you say your physiotherapist, do you travel with a physiotherapist?
INBEE PARK: Yes, I do.

Q. And she goes everywhere with you?
INBEE PARK: Yes, every week.

Q. What would that consist of, getting stretched every morning?
INBEE PARK: Stretched and treatment every day. Depending on the week. Sometimes if you feel like working out, we work out. But most of the times I get a treatment. The muscles that I really feel tight after the plane, I usually get it after the round. But obviously when you have an injury, you need a little bit to loosen up the muscle and sometimes acupuncture.

Q. I think from memory, you enjoy the traditional British breakfast. Have you sampled the Scottish breakfast at Turnberry yet?
INBEE PARK: I had a good breakfast today but nothing like haggis. Nothing like that. I really do enjoy Scottish breakfast. I love the sausages and bacon, they are so delicious. We only get to experience it once a year, so we've got to enjoy it while we're here.

Q. I think it's your third crack at the traditional Grand Slam. Now that it's the third time, is there less pressure on yourself?
INBEE PARK: Yeah, I think it's gotten better and better every year. It went on‑‑ 2013 was obviously really the craziest pressure. And then 2014 got a little bit better, and then this year, I feel a lot less pressure. Because last week, I didn't play well at all. Last week in the final round, I had probably one of my worst rounds of the year, and I was just hitting the ball everywhere last week in the last final round. Really it freed up my mind, that round.
I come into this week with no expectations. You get a couple of weeks like that where you don't feel like you're hitting the ball that well. But sometimes it takes a couple days to come back, sometimes it can take one to two weeks to get back to position.
It's just all timing. It's sad that it's happening and it just happened last week, and I'm not hitting the ball as great as I have been hitting it. All this year I've been really consistent, but since last week, it's the time of the year where I'm not really hitting it that great. It's that time but I'm just trying to play with it and play through it, and even if I hit it a little bit bad, I can putt good or play around the greens to save the score.
No expectations, no pressure, so I feel a little bit more relaxed. The putting feels like it's much better. Last week I putted pretty good. Just the ball tracking wasn't there. But a couple days I played here, it's not great, but I think I can play with it.

Q. Given Scotland is the birthplace of golf, what it would it mean to you to win in Scotland?
INBEE PARK: It would mean so much because this is the birthplace of golf. It's such a unique place to win a golf tournament and this is definitely the place that I want to play well. It's really different to what we play all year. This is pretty much the only links golf course we play all year, only that much wind that we play all year. It's the only British Open we play all year. It's very special and obviously it would mean a lot to win where golf started. This is what I do for a living and this is what I love to do. To be able to win a championship on the soil of the birth place of golf, it would be very special.

Q. What year, what time when you came over to play in the British did you start to feel most comfortable with links‑style golf?
INBEE PARK: First time I came was 2007 and since then I've never really missed the British Open since then. My first couple years was just a shock because I had never played a links‑style golf course and never played in that much wind before, never ran the ball that far on the fairway or the greens. The first time, yeah, everything was just a whole new adventure. I think probably since the third, fourth year, I started to get really the feel of the links‑golf style and kind of how to play these links golf courses. I've had a couple of good finishes since then.
Since playing in the British Open‑‑ it's really different. I feel like I play quite consistent all over the world wherever I go. But I come here, sometimes I finish second or I finish fourth or way down there, 40th, 50th. You can be in like the Top‑10 and all of a sudden finish 40th, 50th. You can lose so many shots out there where you don't expect to lose. There's so many holes or thoughts where you really need to be careful.
Luck really comes into play. Definitely the British Open is sort of‑‑ compared to other tournaments, the draw, the tee times, lie of the bunkers. I think golf it always has to do somewhat with luck but this week definitely has a lot to do with luck, as well.

Q. How do you feel about Evian? Do you feel that you need to win that again now that it's a major, or in your mind have you ticked that off the list looking ahead?
INBEE PARK: It would be nice if I can win it again. It's the same trophy, isn't it. I've won that event before. My name is on there whether it's a major tournament or not.
I've never put my name on the British Open trophy. That's really my main goal. Golf course never really changed and it's the same tournament but they just changed to a major.
For me, like the true Grand Slam would be winning the British Open. It would be tough to say if I win Evian again and never won the British Open, I don't know if I can give myself a Grand Slam then or not. It's questionable.

Q. Is the career Grand Slam a big thing now for you for the rest of your career?
INBEE PARK: Yeah, I think so. I think it's one of my most‑wanted goals winning the British Open; and playing in the Olympics would be two big goals in my life, yeah.

Q. Can I just ask you about Donald Trump? He's arriving tomorrow. Michelle Wie said it might be a bit of a distraction for the tournament given what he said. Do you agree with those thoughts of Michelle?
INBEE PARK: This is a great golf course and we love to play here. I really don't want to get so much into politics. I really want to play a great golf course and really concentrate on golf.
I'm not so big in‑‑ not like news or politics any ways. I haven't really seen all the things that went on.

Q. Olympics, you've said before that you don't necessarily believe the Top 15 because South Korea has so many players. Do you feel the South Koreans are at a disadvantage or are they the favourites, anyway, because they have good players coming in?
INBEE PARK: Well, Korea I think would be a favourite, but I just feel kind of bad for‑‑ I feel bad for if I just missed out or somebody just missed out because there were so many players in front of them.
If you are in the world Top‑50, you should be able to play in the Olympics, I think. But as for a career, even if you're No. 11 or 12 right now, you can't even make the team. If you're No. 11, you should be able to compete in the highest level. But it's just there's so many people that's better than you. There's some countries where ranked No. 300,400 players are playing, but obviously not Koreans.
It will be a competition and somewhat an inspiration factor for the Koreans for the rest of the year. I know I wouldn't feel so good if I just missed out. Being in the Top‑50 is very tough, but you still get to play in whatever you want to play. That's just a little bit disappointing.

Q. Where would you rank a South Korean victory if it was yourself? Where would you rank that in terms of your other achievements?
INBEE PARK: I think it will be really right up there with the Grand Slam or Gold Medal. It would be an equal achievement for me. It's totally different. I play for my career and I play for so many different things for regular tournaments. But the Olympics are just so different. You ever in‑‑ I never really got to represent my country playing in the Olympics before. I look at all the Olympians over the last couple of Olympics and they look so nervous and they look so pressured. At the same time, I want to represent my country and play for my country. It's just a dream come true. It's really hard to compare to a major tournament or things like that I think.

Q. And lastly, you said last week that you wanted to get your game in the right shape by playing in Michigan. Obviously in terms of the scores, that wasn't necessarily what happened on Sunday. Was that down to your back?
INBEE PARK: My body position was fine then. I had a touch of a cold last week but that didn't really have to do with the results. I just lost my feel and the feel of my swing. I was just hitting it everywhere on the final round and just couldn't get that back. A couple of‑‑ it's still there. A couple of days I practiced here. I made a couple of bad shots, but I think you've just got to play with it. This tournament is not going to move two weeks later because I want it to. I mean, it's starting tomorrow, anyway. I have to figure something out. Yeah, I've got to hole a lot of putts I guess.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much, indeed and good luck this week.

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