	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

THE EVIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

September 9, 2015

Lydia Ko

Evian-les-Bains, France

THE MODERATOR: I'd like to welcome Lydia Ko into the interview room. It's been two weeks since you've last played. Your last tournament was a win, the Canadian Pacific Women's Open. What have you been doing the last two weeks?

LYDIA KO: Really the first four or five days I sat on my butt on the couch and didn't move, and normally when you have days off you feel really good and relaxed you can but I was on the couch for so long I was kind of grunting when I got up. It was good, and then I had like a week to practice and then I flew on Friday night.

Q. Is that your ultimate stress reliever, just to lay around and relax?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, obviously with golf we're not running around but we still move around a lot. I don't really like to do a lot of physical things outside the golf course, and just lying in bed watching movies is good enough for me.

Q. You said you don't want to do a lot of physical things, but you've been posting videos lately, some dancing videos?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, my trainer's son Brian asked TA if we actually work out during our sessions, but we do work out and then post a couple of dance videos. But no, we're both crazy, a little weird, so I think that's a common thing between us. We have a lot of fun, and we do work hard, also.

Q. Other LPGA players have a lot of fun here. We were just talking earlier about the Tiffany Joh videos that she's posted, but you've made your videos yourself, haven't you?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, there's a couple dance mash videos and my dancing videos, and Danielle and I did one where we're singing. It's a short clip but it's on YouTube. I think it's good. I think especially with the people, the spectators, they see the serious side of us, the golfer side, so I think it's good to show the people who we are outside the golf course.

Q. Now, you already have three wins this year. How would you rate your season overall?
LYDIA KO: You know, it's been a pretty awesome season. I had my first two wins earlier in the season, and you know, have quite a few top 10s during that time. After Swinging Skirts I didn't really play well for a month and a half, but I started getting my feels back at Wal-Mart, and I think that kind of gave me a lot of confidence. Yeah, it's been a lot of fun. I played well, it was my best two finishes in the last two majors I played. Yeah, I think it's been great, and I've been loving the travel. It's only my second year on Tour.

Q. You said you started to get your feels back in Arkansas. Was that one thing that really clicked for you?
LYDIA KO: Like even the first two days I didn't have that feel. That last day I was able to shoot a low score. I was hitting it close to the pins and then when I had the opportunities I holed it. When it kind of goes that way, you end up shooting a pretty good score. I had a low score at that event the year before, and I came second then. So yeah, it was obviously a good week where I could get some fire back and good momentum going to the U.S. Open.

Q. Now, you're paired with Inbee and Stacy for the first 36 holes of this championship. It's obviously a grouping that many people are excited about, but when you're in that grouping does that get you more excited to play?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, it should be a lot of fun, Rolex Ranking 1, 2, 3. I think there will be a lot of spectators coming out to watch, and yeah, I'm sure between the three of us we'll have quite a few birdies out there and hit a few good shots. I'm super excited when I see the tee times, and I don't think we've played together, us three, since the Asia swing --

Q. Singapore, right?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, then, so it's been a while, and a lot of things have happened, and all three of us have played well since then, too. I think we'll have fun out there, at least I will.

Q. Lydia, have you watched the Solheim Cup before?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I watched it when I was actually in Edmonton during that time. I went the week before the Canadian Open, and I was just playing practice rounds and then in the halfway house they had the TV on with Solheim and all that. So I watched that, a lot of it. But I've never really sat down and watched properly because we didn't really get coverage when I was in New Zealand. But definitely next week I'll be in my bed watching it a lot, and I know the time differences will be there, but it will be really exciting.

Q. Does it surprise you that the Europeans have won it twice in a row, or not?
LYDIA KO: I mean, no, not really. I mean, they're both two really strong teams. I wish I could play kind of a teams competition myself, and that's why I guess the International Crown was started last year, because it would give more opportunities to the teams like Asia and all that.

But no, I think both teams are really strong, and everybody has their positives. You just can't count anybody out.

Q. Inbee just before said that she's more focused during the majors. Do you have the same kind of concentration level during the majors and the rest of the tournaments?
LYDIA KO: I mean, I guess my goal, and I think to every player, it's we're all trying to peak at the majors and trying to have some of our best finishes. Yeah, major courses, they're tough. I mean, all courses we play, they have some tough holes and like that, but especially in the majors, the scores aren't crazy low. It shows that you need a lot of concentration, a lot of focus out there, and one shot could lead to being two or three shots' penalties. I'm not sure if I get more focused, but it's definitely a tournament where you do need all your 100 percent of your focus.

Q. You've played quite well here before. The last two years I think it was a T8 and a runner-up finish. What are you most looking forward to about playing this course this week?
LYDIA KO: This course, there's quite a few undulating greens, so it definitely means that you can have some really fast, slopey putts, but at the same time it means you can be a little bit more creative, use the mounds to your advantage to kind of bring it in towards the hole. I think that's a big thing around here. They said it's been a really hot summer so it's been dry, but you can see the rough. They're quite long and lush. So you need to keep it in the short stuff, and I think if you use your creativity, I think it'll be an advantage.

Q. You are just 18 years old and I think you are very strong and you keep your body in tune. What is the secret to keeping your body strong?
LYDIA KO: Actually I don't really like eating a lot of sweet stuff, so even for chocolate, I prefer dark chocolate. When I'm home, I most of the time have Korean food and my mom hardly ever uses too much grease or too much oil, and especially in Korean food there's a lot of side dishes where you use with vegetables. I think where like nutrition-wise, even though I don't need to really focus on not eating those sort of things, it kind of comes with it, and yeah, you know, when I'm in Orlando, I try and work out most of the days I'm there. I can get a little bit more fit, and it's hard to do a lot of strength stuff during the season, but always trying to maintain. I see the osteos during the tournament week, and they kind of keep me loose. I think it's a good kind of a teamwork, and I think that's a good balance to being strong.

Q. So you're not tempted by all the French pastries in player dining?
LYDIA KO: I did have a few croissants, but I didn't eat the dessert at the Rolex hospitality tent, so at least that was good.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you for coming in, Lydia.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297