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ANA INSPIRATION

April 2, 2016

Lydia Ko

Rancho Mirage, California

Q. How come your caddie was lining you up on some putts?
LYDIA KO: He normally does that. I'm not the best with alignment. Alignment and those things are actually the basics, but I easily get off line. It was good to -- like when he lines me up, he doesn't really turn me over a little bit, but he just said, that's good, and it gives me the confidence to just put a good stroke on it.

Q. Was speed an issue out there?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I've been leaving my putts short the last few days, and there were a few where I was perfectly online and I ended up short, and I said, when it's short, it's never in, so might as well hit it one or two feet by. I think the green speed has been one of the key things we've been trying to work on the last few days.

Q. It looked like tee to green you're hitting the ball really well, and your distance control seems to be really on point. Do you feel the same?
LYDIA KO: I felt like I struck the ball much better today and I hit a few more fairways, so the less time you're spending in the rough, the better. I feel like today I was able to control my shots and kind of have an idea where the ball was going to go. Especially around a course like this, it's good to have that.

Q. Much better ball-striking today; overall how did the round go?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I thought I struck the ball really good. I think hitting the fairway on 1 kind of set my confidence a little bit with the ball-striking, so the less time you spend in the rough, the better, especially as the greens were getting firmer today. You know, I left quite a few putts short today, and when it's short, it's never in. Hopefully I'll be able to get some green speeds dialed in a little bit tomorrow.

Q. Did you have a target score in mind when you started?
LYDIA KO: Not really. You know, I just wanted to focus on my game. I know at the back of my mind I was a little worried about my eye, but it was great today, no problems. That's one thing that clicked that that's something I don't need to worry about tomorrow. But obviously -- there was flies here yesterday. I swear it's not me. As long as I'm not eating them.

No, any under-par score around this course I think is a good score. Obviously the lower you go, the better, and I saw there was some 66 out there, so that's a pretty good score around here. If you can hit the ball fairly well and make a few putts, I think that's what's going to bring the scores a little lower.

Q. 18, a lot of people were going ahead and going for it, bouncing it into the grandstands up here. Is it just kind of not comfortable distance for you?
LYDIA KO: I kind of left my driver a little right, and I was in the short rough, and I had 220 to the front left, and 220 is a perfect yardage for my ball to go in the water. No, if I had hit the fairway and hit my driver a little better, I think I would have gone for it, but being that 220 number, I knew I needed to tee it up with a driver for me to go for it.

Q. This is the best three rounds you've ever playing here. Is there something that's different this year? Are you just more comfortable with the golf course?
LYDIA KO: I don't know. I think obviously winning last week helps with the confidence coming into the first major of the year, but I've been trying to just have fun out there, enjoy being out there with the girls, and I think that's a big key for me, and obviously in a major but any event, just enjoy it, just enjoy being here. California is just one of my favorite States to be. I've just got to think about all the positives, and I think that has definitely helped this week. But obviously the more time you get to play a course, you kind of know, hey, this is the side not to go, this is the hole if you come with a par, it's good. But I just really -- I'm a little bit -- I was a little bit more comfortable coming into this week than last year, and I think that's because there's no stats and all that, too.

Q. Speaking of no stats, you're the youngest everything; you'd be the youngest person to win back-to-back majors.
LYDIA KO: Thanks. Thank you. But I can't believe Evian was last September and we're already in March. Time just flies. Evian Championship was a really special week for me, and when this week kind of came, I said, wow, I can't believe it's already the start of our major swing. But I just -- if it happens, it happens, but there's still a lot of golf to be played. I mean, there's so many world-class players at the top of the leaderboard, and around a course like this, somebody a few groups behind could shoot a 66, 65, who knows. I've just got to focus on my game. I don't know who I'm going to be paired up with tomorrow, but just enjoy it and just enjoy being in the final few groups at the first major of the year.

Q. As it stands right now, you're paired with Ariya. Have you played with her before?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I've played with Mae. She's so sweet. I have fun with her. Just both Jutanugarn sisters are so nice. I played with Ariya I think for the first time during the U.S. Amateur when I won in 2012, and I played Ariya in the semifinals. I just heard from people that, wow, she's this phenom and she's this great player, and I was getting worried just before my match, but she's -- so we've kind of had this friendship since then, but she's a really nice player, and if I get to end up pairing with her, I think we'll have a lot of fun.

Q. Every day this week you walk past Poppies Pond. Do you allow yourself to imagine an ending in there?
LYDIA KO: You know, I haven't really imagined it. I just kind of look at it and I go, wow, the water is clean; somebody is probably picking up the leaves or something there overnight. No, you kind of see the jumps that the other players have made, and I think that's the special thing about this event is that you get to jump in there, not only yourself but with the team that's kind of involved, with your parents or with the caddie, and I think that's a really special thing about this event. And you're wearing a robe, and that's a really cool thing. I mean, it'll be a jump that I would love to take. I don't know if that's tomorrow or if it's ever going to happen, but if it does, I think it'll be a very special moment.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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