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RICOH WOMEN'S BRITISH OPENAugust 2, 2015Inbee ParkTRUMP TURNBERRY, SCOTLAND COLIN CALLANDER: Â Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. We have the new champion, Inbee Park. She carded a magnificent 65 for a 12‑under par total. Many congratulations. What's it like to get that in your hands at long last? INBEE PARK: Yeah, it feels great to hold the British Open trophy finally. I gave it a few cracks and it's just been so hard. Obviously the luck was on my side this week all week. To overcome a lot of the tough tasks this week and become a champion at the end of the week is such great feeling. I putted so good today. It's the best I've probably putted this year or the last couple years. Everything I looked at, it really tried to go in or it went in. Just felt good out there and nothing really seemed to worry me out there today. It was just one of those days where you just look at the hole and you just feel so confident, and that was the day today. COLIN CALLANDER: Â You've also won the five designated majors, so that must make it also particularly special. INBEE PARK: Right. I've put my name on every single major championship. I mean, Evian, I won that the year it became a major but I'm still Evian Championship champion and my name is still on that trophy. I feel like I've won all the majors in women's golf. It will be nice if I can win Evian again as a major, but I get always treated like a champion when I go there. It feels great to finally put my name on this British Open trophy. Q. Am I right in thinking it was the British you wanted more than anything on its own, rather than the Grand Slam, and why did the British mean so much? INBEE PARK: Well, this is obviously the birth place of golf, and I really feel like Scotland, playing in Scotland, it feels like this is where they started golf and this feels like real golf. So I definitely wanted to put my name on a British Open trophy because it just means so much, to the golf course, to the place, everything just has so much history about golf. This is definitely the golfer's most wanted trophy. Just happy to achieve my goal that I've set for this year. I've set only one goal this year, one and only, and that's winning the British Open. And being the only goal I've set it, feels great. Q. Four of your six victories previous to this came with dominant leads. Can you put this in context; is this the best of your major wins? INBEE PARK: Well, every major was very, very special to me. But to wrap it up with the British Open is just much more special. Because every time I come to the British Open, everything seems so hard: The wind, the rain, the tee times. Sometimes I play well, but I've just got the wrong side of the draw or just got stuck with the wind or the cold weather. There's so much that I had to overcome in the Women's British Open, and it always felt so hard before I've finally done it. This weekend, I actually feel like I was pretty lucky and really good side of the draw, as well. You definitely need that in the British Open. You have to be on the right side of the draw and you have to get a couple of good bounces off the bunkers and you've got to get good lies in the bunkers. And to have all that together is just so hard, and I think that was why this was my last one. Q. And the last five have come with the lead, when you hunted the leader down. Can you say a few words about that and how that helped you win? INBEE PARK: Well, going from behind obviously puts a lot less pressure on yourself. Leading, I mean, it's a great position to be and you're in a better position than anybody else which is good. But at the same time, you have pressure. Trailing from three or four shots is quite a few back. So I felt less pressure. I went out there and just tried to put a best round and just tried to play hard, and that's what I did, not to look at so much of the scores and just not to so much worry about the wind. I think that was the main key today. Q. Have you got a few words about Jin Young? And also how difficult was the lie‑‑ INBEE PARK: On No. 13, I didn't feel like it was a really bad drive. Just really the wind tailed a little bit to the right. There was some light patches there where my ball could have ended up but my ball ended up in like a really deep patch. I couldn't even see the ball. It looks like somebody actually stepped on it. It was just sitting that far down. I couldn't believe how deep it was out of all the other spots. I was trying to address the ball there. I was just going to punch it out. I couldn't even see the drainage because it was all covered with the grass, the long grass, so I didn't even know. As I stood up on the ball, I felt something hard on the ground. I looked at it and it was the drainage, the sprinkler or something. So I asked the rules official, I was really lucky, my ball ended up just right of the drainage. That was definitely a big luck. That was a definite bogey there, just one stroke right there. I didn't know 12‑under was going to win. I thought looking at the leaderboard on No. 14, I said to myself, if I get to 13‑under par, I probably can win, but I think 12, maybe we're going to go to a playoff. So I really wanted to make that last putt. It looked like it was good all the way. Just didn't drop. So yeah, I was surprised. Jin Young, she is a tough player in Korea. She's a very talented player. She held up really well all week. I really thought she was going to play really good until the end. I'm good friends with her. I had dinner with her earlier in the week. She's from the same management company as me, so I feel like we know each other quite well. I'm sure she really wanted to win this week and come to the LPGA Tour, as well. I just got lucky. She made a couple of mistakes coming in, which was unfortunate. I feel like I played really well out there today. Made a couple mistakes earlier in the round, played really solid on the back nine. Q. Was last year's loss at the Women's British Open particularly tough, and did that add to your motivation to really want to win this year? INBEE PARK: Yeah, I mean, the most disappointed tournament I had until this week was the British Open, the British Open last year. I really felt like I had that one, definitely. After the front nine on the final day, I was leading by two, and I only needed to shoot like 2‑ or 3‑over on the back nine to win, and I couldn't even do that. I was just disappointed because that's something I really wanted, and just the way I finished was so disappointing. But obviously that experience really helped me this year. I said, I can't really push myself to achieve a Grand Slam. I just have to really get out of the Grand Slam thinking. All week, I didn't really think about the Grand Slam really until the last minute, until the last putt dropped. I really tried to stay out of it and just playing without expectations really helped this week. Q. You locked up the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award. What does that mean to you? INBEE PARK: Well, I just missed out on that award last year. I was really close and I couldn't wrap it up last year. But obviously it's a prestigious award. Annika is a legendary player. She's my idol. That's some kind of award she's giving out that she's made. It feels a great honour to put my name on that award. Yeah, it's a great honour. I mean, I didn't really think about it until you told me. But it's another bonus, isn't it. Q. Can you talk about 16 and how important that hole was for you? At what point did you realise that you had a cushion? I'm not sure what you had realised what had happened on 16. INBEE PARK: I didn't know until I signed the scorecard and looked at the board and she was at 9. We were thinking like she was going to be 11, and going to 17, I thought, she's going to birdie 17 and go to 12 tied for the last. That is the scenario I was kind of thinking of. But obviously I was just lucky there. And No. 16, that was probably the most important hole of this week for me. That was the toughest hole, and I thought about that hole in my dreams. That hole was just that tough; into the wind, we hit long clubs. There's a creek if you're short or right of the pin. I made three birdies; I was 3‑under on that hole this week. So that's probably at least four shots from all the other girls I think. I played that hole really fantastic. That's probably the shot of the day. I hit a perfect 6‑iron there and put it to like three feet on that hole, is just so nice. Q. So they were good dreams about the hole. INBEE PARK: Yeah. (Laughs). Q. Your parents, what do they always want? Do they always want you to win the British Open? Does it mean a lot to them? INBEE PARK: My dad pretty much wants me to win every single week. For sure, parents, they always think the best for their daughters or sons. I mean, he wants me to do well in every single one but definitely British Open was something that I wanted, so I'm sure that was something he wanted, as well. Q. Did he know the history of British Opens, men's and women's? INBEE PARK: I'm sure he does, because he's really‑‑ he watches Golf Channel 24/7. So I'm sure he's seen a lot of British Opens. He sees all the golf tournaments. Q. You said after the round, what else can I go for now. But there are plenty more ambitions, I'm presuming. Do you have a number of majors you want to win? Any other ambitions now that you've got the Grand Slam? INBEE PARK: You know, I never really set a number of major tournament wins. I mean, that was never really my goal. I really wanted to win every single one of them, because they all play different. U.S. Open plays different. ANA plays different. British Open plays different, the KPMG Women's LPGA Championship plays different. It's different types of golf courses and golf that tests you on all part of your game. As a golfer, I really wanted to put my name on all the major championship trophies. I mean, there will be a lot of goals to set. There is a lot of‑‑ I can set any kind of goals: What's Annika achieved, what's Patty Berg achieved, all the legendary players. There's so many that have much better careers than me. I still feel like I'm still a baby compared to all the legendary players. I still have a long way to go, still young. Yeah, I think so. Q. You haven't been fortunate to week to feel the warmth of the Scottish sun. Have you been aware of the fondness and the warmth of the Scottish people towards you, in particular, this week? INBEE PARK: I wasn't sure if we could call this warm. I mean, I asked one of the spectators, this is what you guys usually get for summer? And they said, this is actually a nice summer. I said, you guys get maybe a cold winter and a winter, and that's all you guys get. That's what I really thought they get, the cold weather all the time. But knowing this is Scotland, I actually felt like we got pretty lucky this week with the weather. Yeah, that's what all the people said. You've got a few of the sunshine‑‑ we saw a little bit of the sun, as well, a little bit of rain, a little bit of wind. But I think it was a little bit of luck there and wasn't like crazy windy. I like overcast days but I'm not sure I can handle that many overcast days. Q. This new young wave of South Koreans keeps pushing hard to the top and it seems like you keep raising the bar for them. Do you feel pushed by them or motivated seeing them come in behind you? INBEE PARK: Yeah, I mean, for me, it's definitely a big motivation for me, as well. I mean, I don't know, there is no really limit. There is a pack of young generations of Korean golfers that are coming out every year, and it's not just a couple that are there. They are just lined up and they are just waiting to come here, come to the LPGA, come and compete in the world level. That way, I just can't be too comfortable where I am sitting right now. I've just got to keep pushing myself to play better and play better golf and play a little bit more smarter, a little bit more wiser, and obviously just standing where I am is not going to make much difference. I need to do something and get better every day. Obviously having a lot of competitors and having a lot of young generations of golfers from Korea definitely helps me, as well. Q. You were saying earlier that each major championship has a different feel to it. What is it about your game that you think enables you to play pretty much anywhere at the same level? Is it mental or is it your game? INBEE PARK: I really feel like I play the same game wherever I go, whether it's U.S. Open or British Open or Evian or wherever. I play the same. But it's just a different mind‑set sometimes going in. Especially British Open, you just never give up. There is probably like ten times in the golf course, I really wanted to give up this week, as well. When the rain was pouring down and the wind was blowing, when my 5‑iron only went a hundred yards, I just felt so bad. You know, that's one thing about the British Open, you just can never give up and you have to be really patient out there. I probably put a hat (ph) on ten times on and off this week. Sometimes those thing will put people off and they can't be bothered with that. Just got to try to stick with what you've got. Q. Did the president of Korea congratulate you? INBEE PARK: Not yet. Q. You didn't speak to her? INBEE PARK: I mean, I just finished the tournament. I haven't got any‑‑ Q. I thought you got a phone call from her. INBEE PARK: I'm not sure yet (laughing). COLIN CALLANDER: Could we get the details of the birdies and bogeys? INBEE PARK: 2, is a gap wedge to about four feet. No. 3 was chip‑‑ got it up‑and‑down about three feet. No. 4, I hit it over the green and couldn't get up‑and‑down. No. 5 was I hit it in the fairway bunker and chipped it out and made a bogey. No. 7, was up‑and‑down birdie and No. 3 was actually a little longer, seven‑yard shot into about ten feet and made that one. No. 8 was‑‑ I can't remember now. Long par 4, I hit gap wedge into about three feet. No.9 was about‑‑ 7‑iron to about six, seven feet. 10 was another gap wedge to about 20, 25 feet. 14, 6‑iron to about 30 feet, eagle. 16, 6‑iron to about three feet. COLIN CALLANDER: Â Congratulations again. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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