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CANADIAN PACIFIC WOMEN'S OPEN

August 20, 2015

Lydia Ko

Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada

Q. What is it about the karma, a place you've won here before, a little bit different this time around?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, a little bit. I think the biggest difference is me. I don't have the glasses, and I feel much older. But it's great to come back to a course where you've played well and the spectators have been great and they've been supporting me today, even in the practice rounds. It's definitely a great where you feel really welcome.

Q. No glasses, you're not an amateur anymore, you don't have Bruce Alexander on your bag, but I heard you saw him this week?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I saw him. He's actually carrying for sue Kim. Hopefully they'll have a great week. It was a very special memory in 2012, and I hope they can have a another special memory together.

Q. Tell me about 2012 and how it catapulted you to where you are now?
LYDIA KO: As an amateur, winning the U.S. Amateur was really one of my big goals. I played really solid there and became a champion of the Championship. I had a week off, so I kind of came here early and tried to get used to all of this. Coming into the week I said let's have fun, try to make the cut and get a good experience. But it was more than a great experience. I had so much fun playing alongside the girls, especially playing alongside Stacy and Jiyai was fun a little bit.

Q. You've had some magic in Canada too because you won the following year as well.
LYDIA KO: Yeah, it was great to win in Edmonton, but I just always feel very welcomed when I come to Canada. I feel Canada is quite like New Zealand, so I love coming back here. When I was younger we nearly moved here.

Q. We could have claimed you?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I could have been a Canadian, but New Zealand golfers are here this week.

Q. We'll still claim you.
LYDIA KO: Either way (Laughing).

Q. You're not officially the defending champion of this tournament, but does it feel a little bit like you are because the last time it was played here you won?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I didn't play well last year at the London Hunt, but I tried to just say, hey, this is a whole new year. Like I said before, this is a great golf course. It tests all different parts of your game and the rough is getting thicker. And I love coming back to a course where I've played well at and where the fans are excited as much as us.

Q. You finished birdie-birdie; is that right?
LYDIA KO: Yes.

Q. That's always nice, obviously?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, hopefully that will give me good momentum tomorrow. But playing in the morning and then afternoon tomorrow there is quite a bit of wait, but I've just got to keep the positive attitude going. Hit one shot at a time and just have fun out there.

Q. How did you find the greens today? Were they firm?
LYDIA KO: They're firm and slippery, especially when you're above the hole. You can get some very testy little putts. With some of the greens, especially on the front nine, being a little slopy, a three-footer might be just as hard as a 15-footer going straight up the hill. So it's part of this course. You're never going to get the straight putts, so, like I said, it's definitely testing all elements of your game.

Q. You talked about you changing a lot in the last three years. How do you feel different this year in 2015 than you did three years ago in this position?
LYDIA KO: Obviously, I have a different caddie, a different coach, different look, I'm older, a lot of things different. The only thing is I have the same name. Yeah, that's the only thing that is the same. But change is -- sometimes there is a saying if it's good, why do you fix it? But we fix it sometimes to try to get better. But it was a lot of fun in 2012. I'm hopefully trying to keep that same positive attitude and have fun again this year.

Q. Did some of the memories when you were out there playing this golf course and competition again come back from 2012? Did you remember some of the moments that you had three years ago?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I think I birdied the last hole last year to shoot 5-under or something. So I said, hey, why don't I do it again today, and just some of the holes. Especially during the practice round where I was walking I was trying to live what I did. I played really solidly in that last day, and I was saying to Jason, I can't believe I played like that. It's really a tough out here. I think at the time I really just concentrated on my game. I just tried to enjoy it. When you enjoy it, everything kind of just goes with the flow.

Q. Last week wasn't as successful for you. What's it like coming off a tournament that didn't go so well to a place, in this case, where you've done very well?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, early last week I said it's quite similar. They're both traditional courses last week and this week. But I tried to shake it off. Last week I felt like I played good, but then a couple holes just didn't go with me. My putting, green speed, wasn't that great. Especially on courses where it's just not very long, you kind of need to hole a lot of putts and I wasn't doing that last week. But I try to think of this as a whole new week and it is. So just tried to take the positives from 2012 and this week.

Q. When did you get the tattoos?
LYDIA KO: Oh, I got this in May last year.

Q. What does it mean?
LYDIA KO: My first win date.

Q. So your first pro LPGA?
LYDIA KO: Yes, first win on the LPGA as a Tour member.

Q. Because you won here too.
LYDIA KO: No (Laughing).

Q. Does it excite you to start a tournament like this?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, obviously, it's great to get into a really good start. But you can see there are some other really good scores and everybody's playing their best. It's going to be tough. I said I don't know how I won by four strokes in 2012. I don't know if I could ever do that again.

But I've just got to play my own game. I know that throughout the week there are going to be these 67s or maybe lower, so all I can do is just play my game and that's really it.

Q. When you have an early start like this and you go off late tomorrow, what is your plan?
LYDIA KO: I'm going to get treatment, I'll see my osteo, and have some dinner and just chill out. I don't really like to do a lot of things because we're always walking and doing stuff anyway. So I just like to chill out and watch TV and that's what I'm going to do.

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