	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

KIA CLASSIC

March 27, 2016

Lydia Ko

Carlsbad, California

KELLY SCHULTZ: We'd like to welcome in the 2016 Kia Classic champion, Lydia Ko.

Lydia, I know you had a little hiccup there on No. 10 with a double-hit of the ball and it seems like that could be something that would throw you awry, with something like that happening, but you seemed to steady yourself, made the putt and then closed it out really well. What were you thinking at that moment and how excited are you to be here hoisting another trophy?

LYDIA KO: I pulled my second shot into the rough and that's probably the last place I needed to have gone for that pin position. I hit a pretty good shot out there and I said, hey, I'm happy with where I ended. It could be so much worse happened from there.

I don't think I've ever double-hit it, especially with a putter before. So that was interesting. But fortunately I was able to make the second putt and I think that was kind of the turning point. If I didn't make that, I think that I might have switched things around a little bit, and then I made a good par on 11.

It was frustrating a little bit because I didn't have that coming, and I didn't know if I could always prepare that I might double-hit it. So that's something that's hard to prepare for but fortunately I was able to go through that without much drama.

KELLY SCHULTZ: You talked yesterday about having a few-shot lead, but when you look at the leaderboard and when you see Inbee Park charging, did you take notice of that right away?

LYDIA KO: Yeah, I knew, like especially down the front nine, it was quite packed, two, three shots, and that can go within one or two holes. Then I saw that Inbee was continuously making birdie, and Inbee doing Inbee things, she was obviously making a lot of birdies down the stretch, too.

When I looked at the leaderboard, I said, hey, especially 16 being a drivable par 4 and 17 being a par 5, I said, I need to play smart but also try to make some birdies where going down 18 I wouldn't have like a one-shot lead.

KELLY SCHULTZ: 11 career victories now before the age of 19. What do you do to keep yourself motivated and keep wanting to rack up these wins?

LYDIA KO: I think every week you can do a little better. There's always something you can work towards, and unless I hit every single fairway and every single shot that's going to go to the green goes in the hole, you know there's going to be no perfect.

I always feel like even though I played solid, there's always things I can work towards, too. I think that's the great thing about golf is that it's challenging and there's always something you can get better at. I think that's what motivates me, especially with our first major of the year next week, it's an exciting time.

KELLY SCHULTZ: Speaking of first major of the year, we know how much you focused on improving your performance in majors and last year, the last major of the year, you captured that first win. Does that help ease some of the pressures going into next week a little?

LYDIA KO: I think the biggest pressure, obviously there was the youngest record, that was the last time I could do that in Evian. But the big thing is people were saying, when is she going to win a major; is she going to win a major. I think that was the question that was going around. I think that's a relief that I don't have to hear that anymore.

Going into last year, there was Annika's record of the under-par streak, so I had that going on, and I don't have to worry about that going into next week. I think my goal is to have my personal best finish at ANA. That's a good start. I didn't strike the ball very well last year there, so hopefully I'll be able to hit a few more fairways and give myself a good chance, and obviously it helps to have played well here going into the first major of the year.

Q. Going back to the double-hit just for a second, were you able to wipe that out of your mind walking to the next tee? At what point were you not rattled by that anymore?
LYDIA KO: I think it was easier because I had actually made the second putt. If that missed, I think it would have been definitely more complicating, and going into the next hole, I would have been really frustrated.

But I think making that second putt really helped, and just coming off, I didn't hit the greatest tee shot on 11, but 2-putting and coming off with a par, I said, hey, you know, it's not like I made double or triple out there. I could just think, I just miss-hit a shot and I made a bogey.

Obviously making a bogey on a par 5 is not ideal, but I tried to think the positive out of a negative and I think that definitely helped.

Q. How far do you think that putt was, the second putt?
LYDIA KO: I think it was like six feet, yeah, six. It wasn't a very good first putt or the second hit.

Q. Once you had hit that, did you think that you were an indentation; is that why the ball popped up the way it did?
LYDIA KO: It was in a pitchmark. So especially with that pin being at the front, and if you're hitting pitches just around there, there were going to be some pitchmarks.

I kind of saw when I hit my third shot, I saw it kind of trickle down out of the rough and kind of do a little movement, so I knew that it was sitting down and I could see that I couldn't see the bottom of the ball.

So I thought maybe it was just a smaller one, but I didn't check the front of it, and after I putted, I realized that the front lip of the pitchmark was higher than the back. It was an even bigger hill to, I guess for the ball to come out of.

So maybe I should have chipped it and kind of hit like a good fat and kind of get it to trickle down there. But no, in that kind of situation, I mean, it's hard to predict that you're going to double-hit it. I kind of thought I might do that, but I still thought, no, that's a small chance and that small chance kind of happened. Especially in those situations, I know how I could have prepared for that.

Q. Did you know immediately that you had double-hit it? I know you were talking to your caddie.
LYDIA KO: I hit it and thought I heard another sound. I was pretty sure that I double-hit it, but just in case, I wanted to get it checked. But in my mind, I already knew that I double-hit it, and that's why as soon as I putt it, I looked at my playing opponent, Sung Hyun, and my caddie and said, hey, I think double-hit it.

Q. The other putt that seemed critical on the back was 16, when you kind of blow it by the hole a little bit and you've got a little bit back. What were you thinking over that putt? And again, to me, that seemed almost as key as the putt on 10 because you kept momentum?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, because I was only one ahead I think at that time, and just hitting it, I knew I hit a great tee shot, and especially when it's downhill, I knew the greens were going to be fast. But I hit it and I said, oh no, that's too hard.

I think that was a key putt. If I miss that, who knows, I might not have made the two birdies coming in. But that putt dropping kind of gave me a little bit of relief going into 17, and then obviously making the putt on 17 kind of gave me a little bit more of a relief going down 18.

Q. The approach on 18, did you mean to be between the flag?
LYDIA KO: That was not on purpose (laughter). There's actually, the K900 is there, and then there's two Kia signs left of it. So today I said, hey, I'm going to go at the left one out of the two, but it was a fade lie, and then I hit it -- I thought I hit it fairly well. Yesterday I fatted it a little bit.

But I said, oh, okay, and I looked up and it was cutting and I said, well, thank goodness I aimed enough left or that would be in the water. But no, fortunately I aimed left enough and then ended up landing just left of the pin and then because of the fade it kind of kept trickling right.

But it's always cool to finish off with a birdie when all the fans are there watching, too.

KELLY SCHULTZ: Speaking of that K900, now you walk away with another car and still a learner's permit. So what are you doing with all of these cars and when do you think you'll finally be able to drive them.

LYDIA KO: I haven't got in any practice really. Obviously in Asia or in New Zealand or Australia, it's on the other side, so I'm not going anywhere near the steering wheel.

The last few weeks, we have a really big car, especially with a very, very, very poor driver like me, I wasn't going to try and park or go anywhere near the driving seat. So I think when I get back to Orlando, I'll do some practice. But it's pretty cool. I've heard good things, great things about the k 900. For now, I think my mom, my sister and my dad has got the car keys.

Q. At the age of 18, usually we are all still trying to figure out what we want to do with our lives and you're now stacking up 11 LPGA Tour wins. What do you still need to learn about yourself and your game as you go forward and how much better do you estimate that you can get?
LYDIA KO: I think there's always something I can get better at. My trainer, T.A. says, better every day. We are just trying to get a little better every single day. That's kind of my goal and the quote that kind of motivates me. But there is just endless things I can get better at.

I said if I didn't play golf, I didn't really know what I would be, who knows, a chef or definitely not a singer, if you guys saw Callaway Live the other day.

It's been a really cool opportunity to play on the Tour that I've always dreamt of playing, but that's why everything, I mean, I can get better at everything. Unless I have, like I say, hit every tee shot where I exactly wanted to and every single putt goes in or every single second shot goes in, there is no perfect.

The team, my coaches and I, we're going to work hard to try and get better. It's been a really cool experience so far. So I'm really looking forward to the next 12 years on Tour, yeah.

Q. Obviously you won in New Zealand, but was there a part of you at any point, gosh, am I going to win on the LPGA this year; are you feeling any pressure for that? Because you came close so many times already.
LYDIA KO: That was kind of at the back of my mind. That's when I kind of go into today, I said, I do have a three-shot lead, but I've played good on a Sunday and just got -- somebody else played better before. And I said, hey, who knows, that might happen today.

So that was kind of at the back of my mind. But I just said, all I've got to do is play solid golf myself, and if the other player plays better, then it's really out of my hands. But it was at the back of my mind, so you kind of always wonder, hey, when is that first win going to come for the season. Especially me playing really solid the last few weeks, that was at the back of my mind. So it's cool to have the first win of the 2016 season.

KELLY SCHULTZ: Thank you so very much. Congratulations and best of luck next week at the ANA Inspiration.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297