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KIA CLASSIC

March 26, 2016

Lydia Ko

Carlsbad, California

Q. A third round 67, when you get to hitting the ball like you did today, almost with complete control and extreme accuracy, which we're used to seeing at times, how do you prepare yourself mentally for tomorrow to try to repeat the same thing?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I struck the ball really well on the first day. I struggled a little bit on my back nine yesterday, but I was able to hang in there and have a good few scrambles here and there.

Today I struck the ball really well. So I think almost the harder part was that because I was giving myself a lot of opportunities, it almost felt like I wasn't putting good; but I was stroking good and holing a few putts here and there. I'm really proud with the way I played today. Obviously I've got to take the positives and the confidence going into tomorrow.

Q. A lot of people watching will never know the feeling of hitting the ball like you are right now and having such control over it. When you're hitting it like that, do you still feel pressure?
LYDIA KO: Yeah. I fatted it on the last hole with my 5-iron. I think that was probably the biggest missed shot I hit today.

You've just got to have the confidence. Obviously there is nerves coming down the stretch because it's a tough finishing hole. Holes like 16 or 17, you think you're going to come off with a birdie, so there's kind of the added pressure. I kind of just tried to trust my swing and just take it simple and just have fun.

Q. I know you were talking about how well you were striking it today. What's been the biggest key in your swing of late?
LYDIA KO: I think we've been trying to just make it simple. No swing thoughts and how -- or like just one key thought that I'll do throughout the week. I think that way just makes it more simple and I'm not thinking about every component in the swing and I think that's been the big key. I struck the ball really well last week.

So it's good to continue that kind of form into this week. I struggled a little bit on the back nine yesterday, but it was really good to come back today where I was striking it well and I was confident with the club that I had in my hand.

Q. Did you have to work on anything in the back nine yesterday?
LYDIA KO: No, I just did some putting. I said, hey, I could either go to the range and probably hit balls and go, hey, it feels good and wake up tomorrow and go, man, it feels bad today. That's the thing, where like just overnight, anything can happen. I might feel the same thing but the ball goes a different way.

I just said, hey, just because I'm going to bash like 15, 20 balls, obviously it would be good to just check the swing out but I was thinking it wouldn't make a huge difference.

I think the big key around this course to putt well. It's tough greens to read, so I just worked on my putting a little bit and went home.

Q. Talk about that last putt. It looked like you were almost afraid to look at it after you struck it.
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I hit it a little too hard. I knew it was downhill but it was on a steep slope. I thought it was going to be a little by but then it kind of kept trickling and trickling even further and further and I could see that with Jenny's chip, too, where it was good but then it started coming back down. When it's those situations, you kind of have to laugh over it. You can't rehit it or get a mulligan.

I tried to focus on the second putt and I thought it was two good pars to finish with Jenny and I.

Q. What have you learned about playing with the lead?
LYDIA KO: You don't get that many opportunities where you're going into the final round with a few-shot lead. But I'll take it. I'd rather be a couple shots ahead than a couple shots behind.

But the girls are playing great golf. The course is tough but still, the scores are out there. So I've just got to focus on my game. Anything can happen. I think there was a really low score here last year, I think Dori had one of the course records or something.

Who knows, someone might do that and they are three or four or five shots behind. I've just got to focus on my game and play one shot at a time and hopefully I'll be able to hit some good shots and give myself some good looks at birdies.

Q. Do you feel like the setup was much more difficult today?
LYDIA KO: I don't think the course setup was more difficult today compared to yesterday or the day before. Because they are growing the rough out, I think that's the toughest thing. You could get lucky, like for me on 17, I got a good lie, so I was able to go near the pin. But sometimes you can get some funny lies where it's actually hard to even go towards the green.

The key is to obviously hit the fairway, and then when you get an opportunity, try and grab it. But being in the rough, green-side or on the fairway, it's tough to make up-and-down.

Q. There was chatter on the TV about 16, whether you should go for it, you shouldn't have gone for it. What was your thought process on 16 as far as what you wanted to do?
LYDIA KO: I was trying to go for it. I just miss-hit it a little bit. I just left it out there a little bit and that's why I kind of started a little too right, which made the ball not go straight down. It was obviously a little funny chip but I got lucky where it bounced up.

My first putt, it was probably the worst stroke I did all day and I'd been stroking it fine and then I just pushed that one. You kind of feel like a shot or so has kind of gone out of the way, especially when it's a drivable par 4. But I don't know what they are going to do tomorrow, but if it is, I'm going to hopefully hit a good one tee shot and yeah, give myself a good look.

Q. Did you hit 3-wood off the tee?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I hit 3-wood.

Q. Is driver too much?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, driver was too much. It was 217 to the front of the green with the downhill, so you've got to land, what, ten, 15 short of it. It's a confident 3-wood; that's fine. I think last year, I hit my driver in the water there before, so I knew driver wasn't the club.

Q. There's a lot of low scores early in the morning, but you shooting a low round in the afternoon; does that tell you the fact that that score is there and that as many good girls behind you, that someone could come catch you?
LYDIA KO: I don't think there's a huge difference between playing in the morning and afternoon here. Obviously when there's a lot of players around the holes, I guess makes the greens a little bumpier than I guess when they freshly cut it.

But the greens and everything have been in really good conditions. It's not like it's blowing a lot in the afternoon, too. Condition-wise, I don't think it's a huge difference. That's why especially around a course like this, someone could have a hot day and they could go really low and that could kind of switch things around. I've just got to focus on my game, and I know the girls are playing really good golf, so hopefully I'll be able to do the same.

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