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COATES GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY R+L CARRIERS

February 6, 2016

Lydia Ko

Ocala, Florida

Q. Were you happy to be finished?
LYDIA KO: You know, both. It's been a long day, especially with the weather the last few holes, but Ha Na finished so close in so many events, especially last year where we both came tied second, I think, so it was great to see her play well and finish classy with a nice birdie.

Q. Was it the weather today or something else?
LYDIA KO: No, I just couldn't get anything going today. I wasn't hitting the ball great, and the putts weren't dropping, either. When those two combinations go, you know you're not going to make a lot of great birdies, but I finished strong, made three birdies in the last four holes, so I'll take that, and I feel like there's still a lot of positives to take from this week, and I feel like it's a great start to the season.

Q. What else do you take from this week?
LYDIA KO: I feel like during the middle of today's round I didn't hit the ball very well, but overall I've been striking the ball really good even in the rain today, so that's a positive, and I feel like I'm stroking the ball well with the putter. Not many dropped, but that's another thing.

You know, I feel like the off-season practice was -- it paid this week, and that's why I've just got to be positive, and it's a long season.

Q. I saw you on the range yesterday with David Leadbetter. He seems to have a little bit more input and you're talking a little bit more, asking questions about your own golf swing. Is that correct? Do you feel like you've elevated to that level with him?
LYDIA KO: I feel like obviously David and Sean won't be able to have at every event, so at the end of the day I need to be in charge of what I'm doing and I need to know my swing like they know my swing. When something is going on, I should know that this is why. I think that's why I've been learning a lot from him, and David is obviously a golf guru. I mean, I'll never be able to learn half of what he knows, but I always just have fun learning and just spending some time with him.

Q. It looked like you made a pretty good run there. I know you wanted that birdie on 14.
LYDIA KO: Yeah, to be honest I thought I was completely out of it, but it was that kind of a day where not a lot of things were going right. But no, the last few holes I hung in there and made some good birdies, and I'm pretty pleased with the way I finished. I know that it could have gone much worse. Obviously it could have been much better. But hey, Ha Na played well all week, and yeah, there's still a lot of positives to take from this week, and I'm looking forward to going and playing in New Zealand next week.

Q. What happened on 7?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I told Jason I don't know how many trees I hit, about 50,000. The ball looked pretty scruffy by the end of that hole. No, I came out of there with a good bogey in the end and it could have been a double, but after that I made another bogey and another bogey, and it lipped out, and you land in the water. That got in the way in kind of the middle of my round. In the rain, I played great. It almost reminded me of playing in the British Open, so I'm looking forward to Woburn five months early.

Q. You seemed really happy for Ha Na. She had four runner-ups last year. How excited were you?
LYDIA KO: We both finished tied second here last year. She finished really, really close to winning so many times. Even last week she played well just throughout the year last year, and you can see she's a hard-working player. It was great to see her win and obviously everyone is happy for her, someone who really deserves it. I think it's just great. She's super talented, so she really deserved this, and I mean, I think we were pretty happy that Ha Na ended up being the winner and we were really happy for her.

Q. Is that the best winner celebration you've ever seen with spinning the putter?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I've never seen that before. I don't know how anyone can beat that. It was almost kind of like James Hahn's Gangnam Style a few years ago. But no, that's a pretty cool ceremony. I don't know who would think of that. But yeah, obviously she loves doing it to celebrate, and you can see by her fist pumps during the round, too.

Q. 61 in New Zealand, do you think you can beat that this year? Do you have anything planned?
LYDIA KO: 61? Dang, the only numbers are 60 and 59. But no, that day I shot 11-under, I feel like everything was just going to go in the hole, and I did think about that dream number 59, but I mean, I'll just have to see. I've got a long flight, so I've just got to stay positive. There's still a lot great to take from this week. Yeah, I've just got to play one shot at a time, and it's a great field, so you just never know what's going to happen.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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