	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

HSBC WOMEN'S CHAMPIONS

March 2, 2016

Inbee Park

Republic of Singapore

MEGHAN FLANAGAN: It's my pleasure to welcome back to the interview room world No. 2, Inbee Park. Thanks for coming in this afternoon and welcome back to Singapore.

Let's just talk about first, last year here, what a week for you, bogey-free. I don't even think I knew that, I had to look back at that. What do you remember most about that week and that performance for you? It was a huge week.

INBEE PARK: Yeah, it was. I never had a tournament where I didn't make any bogeys for 72 holes. It was the first time in my career. So that was very special, and I had all my family here last year with me, so that made it even more special. I always really, really enjoy coming here in Singapore, and playing good golf really definitely helped the trip.

MEGHAN FLANAGAN: Now you've been here every year since the tournament started. My first question is: How have you seen it evolve? Obviously the best players in the world come here consistently, and second is, what is your favorite thing to do here in Singapore.

INBEE PARK: Since the first year I started coming to Singapore, I thought this tournament was like something special. It just gets special every year, and we get such a strong field here. We get all the players in the top every year, and it's a great competition. We get a pretty good field of not just the LPGA players but players worldwide.

We play a little bit of a different field, and yeah, I mean, the golf course, Tanah Merah and here, Sentosa, they are both great golf courses. I really enjoy coming here and playing golf. It's a great place to come.

MEGHAN FLANAGAN: Now the list of winners is impressive. There's obviously major champions, a bunch of LPGA winners. What are the keys to winning here, and why is it so tough and why do such good players usually finish toward the top of the leaderboard?

INBEE PARK: Singapore golf courses never seem to be too wide. They are not a huge country -- I don't know why, but somehow the course is pretty narrow. So you need to be pretty accurate off the tee and to the second shots to the green. It needs accuracy, and obviously the greens are pretty grainy here with the tropical weather.

So they are fairways and tough greens, so it makes it tough and the wind coming into play this week is going to make it even tougher. I don't think I've seen Singapore this windy in the last six, seven years. I think it has been the last three days pretty consistent wind for three days, so probably expecting wind the next four days, too.

Q. What's the feeling like coming into this tournament? Do you think defend the tournament this time around?
INBEE PARK: Yeah, I wish I'm ready but I just came back to competition after about of month of break after having a back injury. I feel like I'm definitely in better shape than I was last week or a month ago. It's just getting better and better, but I just don't want to rush for anything.

But I really love this golf course and I have the confidence, and I know I can do it. So I have good confidence level building up now. Yeah, hopefully this week can give me a lot of confidence.

MEGHAN FLANAGAN: You did say usually take that first month to dust off the rust a little bit. Do you think the rust is starting to come off? What parts of your game do you think are coming together more so?

INBEE PARK: Well, I think just it needs -- everything kind of needs to come together a little bit more, ball-striking to short game to putting. Everything is just a little bit not exactly where I want to be right now. But I definitely see some improvement last week.

Yeah, it's just going to take time, and we have a long season, and especially I'd like to play well in the summertime. So I really like to get myself -- build myself and get ready to play in the summertime.

Q. You used to play in wind. In fact, do you like the cold wind in the British climate, or are you happier in this warm wind?
INBEE PARK: I think playing-wise, it's easier to play in the warm wind than the cold wind for sure. But I have been getting good results in the British Open in the cold wind, so I can say it doesn't really match what I like, the warm wind. But I like both windy conditions, especially when I'm feeling quite confident.

Q. With your back, it must be better in the warmth?
INBEE PARK: Definitely. Warm weather is not irritating my back as much as the cold weather. So it is a very comfortable condition to play for me.

MEGHAN FLANAGAN: Now I want to talk about the win last year again. It was the spark of a huge year for you. It was your first win and you did it against that final grouping of Stacy and Lydia, pretty much a dream, marquis group of No. 1, 2 and 3, and you obviously came out on top. How big was that win to start off the year early and to snowball into a five-win year and winning the Vare Trophy later on?

INBEE PARK: It was quite early to meet the two girls playing great there in the second tournament of the year I thought. Being able to play well with Stacy and Lydia definitely gave me a lot of confidence going into the season, and that definitely made the season so much better.

I started off the season really well at the HSBC Women's Champions last year, and I ended up winning two majors and two more tournaments after this tournament.

So it has been really my lucky charm, so I would really like to get that going this week, as well. Even if I don't end up holding the trophy, I would really like to take something from this tournament, like some confidence. This week is such a special week, not just about golf, but this tournament is showcasing something else, like something that no other tournament's done before. Yeah, I'm really happy to be part of it.

Q. With the Olympics this year -- is there any family pressure not to go?
INBEE PARK: It's probably more me worried about it. My family is not so much worried about it. We said it yesterday, I'm sure the Olympic Committee and IOC, they have been really looking at the conditions and they said that there is good condition to play or not for the athlete. I'm sure that they will make the right decision. I mean, I don't think -- nobody will be going if it's not dangerous. So I'm sure that they are going to make you safe. Hopefully, we're six months in time, so things are going to get better so we can compete.

Q. You won last year. Each tournament is always different, but just the fact that you won last year, do you feel an extra bit of confidence for this weekend, or are you putting it behind you and starting each tournament afresh?
INBEE PARK: I always thought Sentosa Golf Club was a pretty tough golf course to play in. Definitely last year's results gave me confidence that I can play well on this golf course. I always thought it's a pretty tough golf course. It's tough to shoot under par around this golf course.

I prove to myself that I can do it. Hopefully that does help me this week, and yeah, this week I'm going to keep that mind-set going and yeah, try to play some good golf.

Q. What about Lydia? Lydia is definitely wanting to win this tournament this time around. Is there any pressure on your side for that?
INBEE PARK: Well, 80 people in the field is trying to win this week, so I'm not worried about one player. It's just the whole field. It's more likely you're playing your own game. If I play my perfect game, I can win the tournament. I think golf is just trying to bring out of yourself.

Q. Do you take an interest in watching the girls technically, but when you notice somebody as big and tall as Lexi Thompson, when she's walloping the ball 380, 390 yards. How does that strike you?
INBEE PARK: It's just a different type of a golf game. There is many ways to get to the hole, and obviously like Lexi and the long hitters on the Tour are going at it a different way than us obviously. That's really the fun part about golf I think. No matter how far you hit it, no matter how short you hit it, it just matters how many shots you're going to hit into the hole. I think it makes the game so much interesting.

It's going to make their game so much easier than the short hitters obviously. They are having three or four clubs left. That's a big advantage. We are trying to, well, I'm just the average hitter, so I'm just trying to be better on the greens to make my yardages up. Yeah, hopefully that can help.

MEGHAN FLANAGAN: Thank you for coming in. Good luck this week.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297