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CME GROUP TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

November 17, 2015

Inbee Park

Naples, Florida

THE MODERATOR: Well, it is my pleasure to welcome in the Rolex Rankings No.2 and the most recent champion on Tour, Inbee Park, into the interview room. Inbee, first off, congratulations on last week, your 17th career victory, fifth of the year. You're coming in obviously on a huge wave of momentum, a lot on the line. Talk about last week and how much you're feeling good about your game. I know the putter was hot, but talk about how you feel coming into this week.
INBEE PARK: Yeah, it feels great, especially after winning, and even better than when was the last time I won in November at the end of the year. It feels really good, and obviously this is the first win after the British. It felt like long, although I didn't play that many events, but the putter was really hot. I really haven't putted that good all this season, and last week was definitely one of my best weeks of putting.
I got a lot of confidence from there, and obviously coming into the last tournament and also the very important tournament, it's good to have good momentum, and obviously good confidence coming into this week.
THE MODERATOR: So much on the line this week: Vare Trophy, Player of the Year, money title, Race to CME Globe, Rolex No.1. I know you said your goal was to win the British and that happened obviously earlier this year. Could you have fore seen coming down to the final event all of this being on the line? Can you even believe that it's so close and so much coming into the last event?
INBEE PARK: Yeah, I think it's almost a replay of last year. Last year I remember coming here and I was so close with Stacy and everything was still on the line for the last event. Yeah, I mean, it feels good to actually have a chance. I thought I may not have a chance at Rolex Player of the Year coming into last week, but after winning last week, that definitely gave me a good chance to look at it this week. It's always good to play for something than nothing else. I think it's good that I actually got an opportunity. I should be very thankful for that. It was already a great season with the two major wins, and all two of them was very special wins.
There's no regrets on my season, even though I don't get anything at the end of this week. Really because I didn't expect anything coming into last week before I won, so I'm just trying to keep that same mindset going for this week, and yeah, I played with less expectations last week with not much play. I haven't played for a while because of my finger, and you know, it seemed like it worked really good, freed my mind up a little bit. Yeah, I'm just trying to keep that in mind going for this week.

Q. You haven't had much of a history with injuries or taking time off and things like that. Was it immediate you knew you had to take time off and get it fixed or were you nervous you weren't going to be able to play the rest of the year? What was the status of it then and how does it feel now?
INBEE PARK: It feels good now. It wasn't like a major injury or anything like that. I just had a it for a while. I played with it for about three tournaments already when I got to Blue Bay, and it just came to the point where I don't really want to play with my uncomfortable finger. I thought that was a good time to do it and take‑‑ because I had to take another week off when they played in Japan, so I thought it was a perfect time, so I thought even if I miss a couple tournaments, I want to play a strong finish in the last couple tournaments, so I definitely gambled there a little bit, but I think it seems like it worked out all right, and it's good that I play without any kind of pain for the last two events. I think that was a good choice to make, sure.

Q. The first time I added up your Hall of Fame points was after you won the British this summer. When did you become aware of how close you are to meet being that criteria, and how much have you thought about that even the last couple days since you won in México?
INBEE PARK: Yeah, I really never thought about it until I won the British Open because after I won the British Open there's a lot of people that's been talking about the Hall of Fame, and only like two points short of Hall of Fame. Everybody was talking about it. So since then I really got started thinking about it because Hall of Fame was probably my last goal of my career, and I never really thought that it was going to come this early, so I never really thought about it at all.
But obviously after winning last week, I came really close. I felt like I took a really big step on the road to the Hall of Fame.
It's definitely my career goal, but I didn't really want to rush it, but it came a lot quicker than I thought. I mean, it's a true dream come true, I think.

Q. You mentioned winning a major tournament, your concentration is up, so how was it last week, and how will it be this week?
INBEE PARK: Yeah, first three days my ball‑striking wasn't that great, but my putter was really hot, so I was able to score well, but the final day I felt‑‑ I said to my husband the night before, I said, I don't think I felt any kind of nervousness for the last couple months since I won the British because I wasn't really never in the last group, I told him.
It might sound weird, but I really enjoyed this nervousness. That's what I said to my husband. He was like, you're weird. And I feel like I really enjoy it out there in the final round, that nervousness, and like the levels that I can concentrate, like the atmosphere makes me concentrate. It has been a while since I played in the last group, but I really enjoyed it out there last week there.

Q. What about this week?
INBEE PARK: Yeah, this week, it should be, I think, a pretty tight race for the start of the tournament. It doesn't come like all the time, but I try to take the best out of myself. Yeah, you don't really feel that nervous in the first couple days. For most of the people it's just hard to make that happen unless it actually comes the last tournament and you're leading the tournament. I think you just can't make the situations, but I obviously try hard to bring out my best.

Q. You and Lydia statistically, you're so close in virtually everything. You're 2 and 3 in putting, greens in reg there's only a couple players separating you. Everything is so close. You have different swings, but what similarities do you see?
INBEE PARK: You know, I think we are both very good short game players, and we're not overly long off the tee. We're just probably average off the tee and pretty accurate.
Putting, she's a very good putter, and so am I. I think we're good short game players and not long hitters, but we can hit it straight, and obviously I think we're very‑‑ mentally very similar, staying calm on the become. We don't get too mad or too frustrated out on the golf course.
I said earlier in Korea, the most scary thing about Lydia is she's so similar to me. I can't really see that much difference with me. Exactly I don't know what her plan is and what she's thinking, but it's almost the same as me, so that's the most scary thing about her, I think.

Q. Lydia said you win in the poker face, though. She said you win it by far.
INBEE PARK: I don't know, but she's pretty poker‑faced, too, I think.

Q. Obviously fans love it when a couple of players are vying for the top of anything, male or female, in sports. How much fun is it for you to be in that situation as one of the protagonists?
INBEE PARK: Yeah, just like my husband said, I really enjoy those situations. I experienced it last year, and it was a little bit unfortunate last year, I wasn't able to hold anything at the end of the year. But I really enjoy being in positions where I feel the nervousness, I give excitement to other people, and it makes everyone very excited. It makes me excited, too. I think it's good. I'm really happy that I can play for something this week, and it's just going to be so much fun whether I do it or not.

Q. Having won the Open Championship, the British Open, you seem to thrive on the tougher the conditions, the biggest the event, that's right up your alley. You may keep that poker face, but doesn't it feel good coming to an event like this with everything on the line? This is why you play? This is the kind of event you like to be involved in?
INBEE PARK: Right. Not everyone gets an opportunity to play for everything at the end of the year events. I'm happy, I mean, because I get to play for everything the last three, four years in the last event. I always got a crack at it, even though I really haven't done that well in the last tournament. But always experiences help you to get better, and obviously I had a couple years of good experiences here, so hopefully that's going to help me go through this week. I always believe that experience always helps you to improve.

Q. I know most players want to focus on their own games, but how difficult will it be for you despite the fact that you've been here before not to pay attention to what Lydia is doing?
INBEE PARK: Yeah, I mean, it's so hard when you actually have like one competitor to‑‑ you want to play better than that one person. Not every tournament we have that kind of feeling, but especially the tournament like this where we have everything on the line, and it's so important what Lydia is doing can affect so many things and what I can achieve. It's hard, but there's nothing I can do. I can't make Lydia play bad or good. I can't do anything like that. I've got to do good and then just see what happens, but then Lydia has been playing such great golf that it was almost unbeatable. The last few events she's played, it was just amazing.
I mean, she definitely deserves to be up there, and I think‑‑ yeah, I think it's good to have a competitor like that.

Q. Meghan mentioned everything that's at stake plus the $1 million bonus. If you could pick among all of those, which title, honor, season‑ending award would you pick and why?
INBEE PARK: Well, I really think if I win one, I win it all. If Lydia wins one, she's going to win it all. I don't think we get to choose one. Probably if one person gets that, she's going to get everything.
But if I had to choose, I'd say‑‑ I don't know, I think Player of the Year Award is I think definitely the one that I really wanted to get, and the Vare Trophy is obviously very important, too. But it's just a unique award, and yeah, I'd like to have a crack at it.

Q. Do you like the way the LPGA Player of the Year Award is set up in that it's a points‑based system and not a vote?
INBEE PARK: You know, I kind of do definitely agree with what the LPGA is doing, because like this year who would players have picked? It's such a hard choice to make for everyone. I think the point system is probably fair. Otherwise I don't even know who to choose, so it'll be too tough a choice for everybody, I think.

Q. Not the player with two majors?
INBEE PARK: I don't know.

Q. Who would you vote for if you had to vote?
INBEE PARK: I know two major tournaments is very important part of the season, but you know, what Lydia has done is definitely very amazing, too. What do you guys think? I really don't know. But you've got to give her credit, too. She's only second year on the Tour and she's only 18, 19 years old. So I don't know.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you for coming in, and best of luck this week.

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