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CANADIAN PACIFIC WOMEN'S OPEN

August 19, 2015

Lydia Ko

Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada

THE MODERATOR: Happy to be joined in the media center by Lydia Ko, Rolex Rankings No. 2, two-time winner of this event. How does it feel to be back in Vancouver?

LYDIA KO: Definitely feels great to come back to a course where you've played a while, and you know there are a lot of great memories. Here I won my first LPGA event. So it's awesome to be back, but I do feel much older. I saw one of the photos and I looked totally different. So I'm showing signs of age.

THE MODERATOR: Speaking of that, you were only 15 when you captured the win here three years ago. Does it seem like it's actually been three years?

LYDIA KO: No, I can't believe it's already been three years. I saw Brian who was on my bag that week and a lot of people that I had met for the first time then, and it's been like two or three years since I had last seen them. Time flies, especially with the last year-and-a-half being on the Tour, playing full-time. I guess the time has just been going by.

Q. What do you remember most about that week here in Vancouver?
LYDIA KO: I think my goal was to make the cut and have fun out there. I just felt so fortunate that I was able to play alongside these girls. I was just trying to enjoy it. That last day playing alongside Ji-yai and Stacy, it was a lot of fun. I learned a lot from them. It was just a great experience.

One of the big things was the thing after I made birdie on 16 I think Stacy said, You can do it, or something along those lines and that really gave me a boost. For somebody that I think of as a role model to say that was such a great experience was a very special moment for me.

Q. Lydia, obviously you're someone who has won at a young age, Brooke with her win last week is the same. What kind of advice would you give her as to how to handle what's coming next?
LYDIA KO: I'm not really sure if I have much advice for her. She's definitely improved her skills and everything outside the golf course too. So we're pretty much on the same page there. So I don't really have much advice for her.

Q. Back in 2012, Inbee Park finished second and she got the first place money. Is she a player you began following when you played competitive amateur golf, and have you ever joked about the fact that she got the first place money that you had to pass up as an amateur three years ago?
LYDIA KO: No, I don't think we've ever talked about first and second. No, when you're playing as an amateur, you know you're not going to get the prize money. When I was out there playing in any professional event, I'm not thinking about how much would I be earning if I was a pro. I guess those are things that come after you finish. We've never really talked about it, and I'm pretty sure it will stay that way.

Q. Is she a player you followed growing up? She's a few years older than you, obviously.
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I kind of model Se Ri Pak, because she really brought golf to Korea, and what she's done for women's golf, and golf in Korea has been huge. So, no, I kind of modelize more of her. But I had heard of Inbee and knew what kind of player she was. She won the U.S. Open at a young age too, so, yeah, she's very talented. But I think it was really one of the first times I had actually seen her face-to-face was here.

Q. You're obviously now chasing her. She's No. 1, you're No. 2. Is that a big deal for you to regain that No. 1 ranking? How are you feeling about the state of your game as you head into this week?
LYDIA KO: No, there's no doubt Inbee really deserves to be at the top of the ranking right now. She's been playing so solid, and solidly, consistently good. No, she's definitely a tough player to beat. I know all I've got to do is just concentrate on my game and be a little bit more consistent, and that's all I can do at the end of the day. If another player plays better than you, there is not much you can do about it.

But Inbee has been playing awesome. She won the British Open, a career grand slam, so I think that's really exciting. Hopefully I can be a little bit more better and get my chances out there again.

Q. After your win here, the club made you an honorary member; is that correct?
LYDIA KO: Yes.

Q. What's it feel like to be an honorary member of this club and the display they have in the clubhouse of your win?
LYDIA KO: It's really awesome. I know for you to play well here and to know that anytime of the year you're welcomed and you're coming to like a home club of yours. It was so nice of the golf club to do that. And I know Vancouver Golf Club is definitely one of the best golf courses in Canada, so it was great that I can come here, do some practice, it will definitely help me with my skills.

Hopefully I can come here during the year where I don't have to come for an event and just practice. It was definitely very nice of them. I went to see some of the pictures from 2012. It brings up memories. Seeing those pictures does make me feel old again. It's not great to know that it's already been three years. Time really flies.

Q. I was wondering about the coming Olympics next year. Majors, of course, are the focus in golf. But how important is it to you to represent New Zealand at the Olympics next year?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, the Olympics is -- well, first of all, to represent your country at any event is like a dream come true, and the Olympics is where the world's best international players are there. They're out there trying to get the Gold Medal. The Olympics, ever since it's been announced, it's always been my goal to play in the Olympics, and to represent New Zealand would be an awesome opportunity.

I'm not sure if I'll have time to watch any other sports also, but I think it was a couple years ago that they said, hey, golf will be in the 2016 Olympics. It's really only around the corner, a year from now. So, yeah, I'm super excited. I guess for it being the first time that golf will be in the Olympics, I think everybody's really excited to represent their country.

Q. Just as a follow-up, you moved to New Zealand when you were a young girl and you've had New Zealand citizenship since you were 12 or thereabouts. What is your relationship with South Korea where your parents are from, and also South Korea as a golf power?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I mean, when somebody looked at me, you wouldn't think of me as a Kiwi. But I think that's a really great thing that I've been very fortunate about two great backgrounds. They're totally two different cultures, but I'm so lucky that I've been getting the love and support from Korea and New Zealand. Now I've been loving it. I think New Zealand has great facilities to grow your game in New Zealand, and I think we've been very fortunate with that.

I think -- I don't think I would ever be able to choose one to say one is better. But with my accent, the New Zealand accent comes along. I've been losing it though a little bit hanging around with too many Australian and American people. But, no, I think it's so hard to choose a dominant one, but I think I'm just so fortunate and I feel very proud to play with the New Zealand flag next to my name.

Q. Obviously, you mentioned the influence of Pak on South Korean golf and global golf really. What makes South Korea such a strong country golf-wise?
LYDIA KO: Everybody's been asking me why the South Korean players have been so dominant, but I really don't know. I don't know why. I don't know if there is a secret recipe or whatever behind it. I know that the girls out here, everybody, we all work hard. I think working hard is really a big aspect, but I would never be able to tell anyone why the South Korean players are playing well.

But it doesn't mean that a South Korean player is winning every week. We've got a Canadian player winning one week and an American, and so on. I don't think it's just one country that's dominating on the Tour because you really never know who is going to win at the end of the week.

Q. When you were younger playing junior golf in New Zealand, who were the players that were around that you noticed that you thought were either already accomplished like Michael Campbell or Pampling? And did you know Danny Lee when he was a kid, and did you ever play with any of these young New Zealand kids that turned out to be such good players?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I had heard of Danny, but I had never met him. I actually met him for the first time this year in April when we were in Dallas. So I had heard of the name, but I just never put a face to the name by really meeting him. I guess there were quite a few great players, you know, Michael Campbell and so on.

So I never got to meet Danny, but I knew of him. I knew that he was a great player as an amateur, and he's still playing great. But we were from different provinces, so I never really got to meet him. When I went into the high performance squad, he turned pro. So our generation was a little different.

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