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KPMG WOMEN'S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

June 7, 2016

Lydia Ko

Sammamish, Washington

KRAIG KANN: Good afternoon everybody, welcome to the KPMG Women's PGA Championship here in Seattle at beautiful Sahalee.

It is a great pleasure to welcome in the current No. 1 in the world for 33 straight weeks in the rankings, in the Rolex Rankings, Lydia Ko. Good to see you. I know you're nervous because you're in a rolly chair, and you're going to slide all over the place. Let's try to keep you still.

What do you think about this place?

LYDIA KO: It's beautiful. I've only really flown through Seattle airport before. I came here a month and a half ago. And the first impression was, wow, it's a beautiful place. And I love the city. And here in Sammamish, it's great. Obviously the course is going to be really tough and tight with some pretty tall trees out there. But we've all been saying, hey, at least the ball fits in there. So I know it's going to be a great week.

KRAIG KANN: What's going to be the key for you? If you look at those trees, if you look at this golf course, and it's been getting rave reviews from all the players, what's the key for you?

LYDIA KO: I think the key for everybody is probably to hit it in the fairway. It's going to be hard if you're hitting out of the rough or in the trees because it's hard enough because there's trees everywhere.

So, you know, you've got to hit the fairway, first of all. And even if you hit the fairway, you need to position yourself on the right side of the fairway. But you need to be creative here. Sometimes you are going to probably miss a fairway. Maybe not if you have Mo Martin stats, but it's going to be tough but challenging. And you can be really creative out here. And I think it will be a very deserving winner at the end of the week.

KRAIG KANN: A lot has changed in one year's time when we did a press conference at this event at Westchester. You've won the last two major championships. You've come here with an opportunity to win three in a row, three major championships in a row. How much have you changed in one year's time as a player?

LYDIA KO: I'm 19. I guess as a player, I think especially during that time I felt, even though I tried not to feel the pressure, I think I did feel the pressure of Morgan's record. And everybody in this room was saying, hey, you've got a chance to break Morgan's record. When is she going to win a major? Is she going to win a major. And I think winning very young kind of gave me a bit of relief. I said at least at the end of the day at least if I didn't win, they wouldn't ask me that question again.

But I think I've been very fortunate with winning Evian and winning ANA. And they've been really spectacular weeks for me. But for this week I'm going to try and play four days this tournament.

KRAIG KANN: I think the odds are pretty good for that.

Specifically, today's Pro Am, you played with some heavy hitters. You played with a lot of star power there. Ken Griffey was in your group, right? John Veihmeyer from KPMG, Condi Rice, that's pretty good stuff.

LYDIA KO: I know, I put out a little Snapchat out there, and said oh, my God, what a group. It was a really fun day. And obviously Ken hit the ball a mile. And actually hit it really straight. So we used a lot of his drives, which made it easier on the course. I was doing a lot of short iron and pitch shot practice. And Dr. Rice and John, they were all having -- they were all playing great.

So I felt like -- even though I was a pro, even without me, they would have still done fine. But it was great fun. And we played good golf and we enjoyed it. I don't think I've had a group like this, this big, before.

KRAIG KANN: You had dinner with --

LYDIA KO: Don Cheadle.

KRAIG KANN: How was that?

LYDIA KO: It was really cool. I met him for the first time at the PGA Pro Am. I haven't seen him for a few years. He's always been supporting me, whenever I've been playing well he sends out these tweets. It's always really cool for somebody like him to keep supporting me, and supporting the LPGA. He said, hey, do you want to come out and have dinner with his wife and his friends. I said, yeah, sure. It was really fun. We laughed too much. My jaw is hurting. It was obviously a good night.

Q. Speaking of driving here, your driving stats haven't been as good this year. What's going on, and is it something that you're even looking at?
LYDIA KO: I didn't even know. Thank you. There you go (laughter).

I don't feel like my driving is worse or better. And obviously we're trying to get it better, get it a bit more consistent. And that's what we're all trying to do. How can we get better every single time. And obviously the more consistent you can be the better.

But we're just trying to -- we're not doing any big swing changes or anything, we're just trying to polish it. How can we make it more simple and more consistent. Hopefully I'll be able to hit a lot more fairways, and my fairway percentage this week, because it's a big key around this course.

Q. What do you think it is that enables you to handle pressure so well? Even though we can't tell when you look stressed out, do you feel you've gotten better at that?
LYDIA KO: I think I just try and enjoy it. And I think just in my mind knowing that are the big thing for me is to have fun. And no matter what the result is, to just be out here with the girls on the Tour that I've always dreamt of playing. I think that's a big thing for me. And I say, hey, sometimes I'm going to have those great days, but sometimes it's not going to be as good as I want it to be. But if I kind of take that kind of a mindset I think it makes it a lot easier. Obviously I would love to make birdie on every single hole and play good week in, week out, which is possible. But you kind of have to give yourself a little bit of room to say, hey, you just go out and enjoy it. And I feel like when I do enjoy it that's when I play the best.

Q. What do you make of Ariya Jutanugarn's run? And what do you see as the strengths of her game?
LYDIA KO: I think it's been amazing. Out of the three tournaments she won, I got to play with her the first two rounds of Vovic. She played great. I've never played with another player that didn't have a driver in the bag. But it worked out being perfect. She hits the 3-wood plenty far, 30 or 40 yards further than my driver, anyway. She was hitting it straight and long. And I think that was the key. And making a lot of crucial putts. I almost think that the eagle on the last hole on the third day was the biggest turnaround.

But she's been playing consistently well. We all know she's a great player, so it's always good to see her doing so well. And especially with her being such a nice person, too. I love playing with her and spending time with her.

KRAIG KANN: No driver for her this week, either. She said that earlier in here.

LYDIA KO: There you go, that's the key. If I could drive it as far as her and as straight, I wouldn't -- yeah.

Q. I think I read something that you said that you could see yourself, when you get in your 30s, I know that's a ways off, that you could see yourself kind of walking away from golf and going into the next phase of your life. Is that still part of your long-term plan? What's some of the thinking behind it that and does that create a little pressure, because you're giving yourself such a finite amount of time to achieve your career goals?
LYDIA KO: Not 30s. 30. I said I want to retire when I'm 30. I've still got 11 more years. It's a long time. I'm 19 right now. And it's already my third year on Tour. It's gone by really fast. In the back of my mind I think when I get to 27, 28 I'm going to go, wow, in two years I could -- I'll reach my goal of retirement age.

But just because I'm going to retire from playing at that time, it doesn't mean I'm going to go away from golf and not see golf ever again. But there's a thing -- that's the great thing about golf, is that you can play until you're 40, 50, 60 or in your 20s, like what Lorena did. She was still playing at her best when she retired.

So I think there is no, I guess, certain set number. It all depends on the player. But I don't know why the number 30 came along, but I thought that was the magic number. But to me, I've got more things to worry about and think about than worry about what's going to happen in 11 years.

KRAIG KANN: That's 55 majors for you.

LYDIA KO: That's too much math.

KRAIG KANN: ESPN just recently named you among the 100 most famous athletes, right? What does that mean to you, when you hear that, what goes through your head?

LYDIA KO: I mean it's pretty cool, especially when I get tagged in these photos or these lists, I see some names that I've always seen on TV and I follow. It's really cool to be in that position. And obviously it's all thanks to you guys, to kind of show us out there.

But just to be amongst those big names, I think it wants me to get better, try harder so that I can make one more junior take up the game, and especially in New Zealand, because in New Zealand golf isn't one of the major sports.

So if one more junior can kind of look at TV and look at me and go, hey, I want to play this sport. Or I want to go and play the Olympics, representing my country for golf, I think it's a job well done. It's really cool to see my name on that list. And definitely pushes me harder to get better.

KRAIG KANN: You just gave me a window. Alexa Pano is in the room, here, she won the Drive, Chip and Putt at Augusta in the 10/11 age bracket. And we have those four winners here this week. Seeing their roll models, and you talked about if one junior could do something or you could make that type of impact, how much do you think about that stuff, being No. 1 in the world, winning major championships, being a role model and having that sort of social responsibility, as well?

LYDIA KO: To me, I've -- I feel like I've had so many great role models on Tour that before I came on, and even now that I look up to. Without players like Annika or Se Re or Juli Inkster or the founders and pioneers, there may not be us right now. So I feel like, man, you know, if I can make a little bit of a difference and make the Tour a little better than when I found it. When I found it it was in a pretty amazing place, that's my favorite thing to hear. Obviously I would love for somebody to say, hey, you played great today or your putting was amazing or whatever. But to me the most favorite thing to here is for a junior to come up and say, hey, you're my role model, I want to be like you. It pushes me to get better. And it makes me enjoy it more and say, hey, you know, I'm doing this and one more junior can take it up and have more fun. And it could make a difference in ten years and for the next generation.

Q. You've had some success on the West Coast, winning in Vancouver twice. What do you take from winning in Vancouver that you can bring to this course?
LYDIA KO: Actually when I first came here it reminded me a lot of Vancouver Golf Club. My caddie said it's not very far from here, either. I obviously have played well at Vancouver. I don't know, something about the West Coast I really love it. I would love to live on the West Coast later in my career. And maybe that's the thing that kind of brings it out. But obviously coming here and realizing that it's a lot like Vancouver I think it gives me a confidence and I think to give me the confidence to trust my game and just enjoy it and say that I can play well at these type of golf courses.

KRAIG KANN: You can retire there at age 30.

LYDIA KO: Yes, maybe. I would love to retire at Carlsbad, to be honest.

KRAIG KANN: Really?

LYDIA KO: Yes.

KRAIG KANN: Then you can be a tournament director for us. That would be good. We've got a job for you.

Q. You're all set to represent New Zealand in the Olympics. A number about of players vying to make the South Korean team are in quite a fight to qualify. What do you make how intense that battle is for those players to make that team?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I mean you see in media or social media, you see that the rankings can just change so quickly. And there's one player was in one week, and then the week after you see she's not in anymore. You never know for sure who the top four will be representing their country until the end of the U.S. Open, I'm guessing. So it shows how great those players are playing, week in, week out. It's really cool to see.

I'm kind of glad I'm not amongst that. But it just shows how well the South Korean and the American players are playing to I guess get the last few spots for the Olympics.

Q. What are you and Don Cheadle talking about at dinner that's so funny? What's some insight there?
LYDIA KO: I heard how he met his wife, Bridgett. They were with friends. And we were talking about golf and outside of golf. It was just a really good night. To me, I don't really go out to restaurants that often. So we try and stay at hotels, where they have kitchens or stay at little houses. It was really cool to go out and go to Seattle and eat at a restaurant with great company. I think that was the really cool part of it, even though there was a lot of traffic.

Q. What was the most surreal celebrity moment that you've had so far. You've met a lot of famous people?
LYDIA KO: It's so hard to choose one. Don always says, hey, I know I'm your No. 1 actor. So, you know, I think if I met like Don now I think I would have been more star struck than when I was like four years ago because even then I hadn't known much about what was going on. Wow, he's someone from Hollywood. And I think now I would have been even more star struck. When I posted my photo on social media all my friends are like, oh, my God, you took photo with War Machine. Because that was his role at Iron Man, and the Avengers, the Marvel movies. So I think that's why our generation kind of kicks in.

I mean everybody, I'm so star struck. And even like Andre Iguodala, Steph Curry, someone like them who is doing so great in their sport, for them to keep up with what we do. I look at Golf Channel or keep up with us is really cool to see. So I guess it's hard to choose one exact person.

KRAIG KANN: Have you been touch with Steph at all, have they kept in touch since that media day for Swinging Skirts?

LYDIA KO: No, I didn't get their numbers. But I've been supporting them, watching the games. And it's been really cool to see. And I think -- I've always been a fan of basketball, but to have actually met them kind of took me as a fan even higher. And it was an amazing experience. It's exciting and obviously the Cavaliers have been doing really great, too. It's going to make it very interesting, especially as they're playing in Cleveland now the next two games, it's going to be fun. But I think it's a great time for golf fans and basketball fans.

KRAIG KANN: Good job playing both sides and keeping LeBron on your side.

Q. A few months ago you said you were monitoring the Zika situation in Brazil. Is that something that is still on your mind as the Olympics are sort of inching nearer?
LYDIA KO: To be honest I'm more excited, you know, about the Olympics, about the ceremony, about just being in that Olympic vibe than worrying about the Zika virus. There are so many experts that are taking care of all that. We've got a great team of people that are doing it that. And obviously there is a vaccination. I think everybody is taking care of it.

So for us it's more important that we enjoy it and we're excited about it. And to all the girls that I've talked to, that's kind of the response. We're all excited to go to Brazil and represent our countries and be there amongst the other Olympians. It's unfortunate with what's happening with the Zika. We all trust the people that are taking care of it. We've just got to trust them and it's in their hands now.

Q. You had talked a little earlier about how we had kind of put pressure on you to win your first major to break the record. How about winning your third in a row, feel any additional pressure?
LYDIA KO: Oh, thank you. I'm going to roll away now (laughter).

Especially the ANA came to me -- Evian came to me as a surprise. But more the ANA because even until the last hole I didn't know what was going on. And even until I got to the green on the last hole and looked at the leaderboard I saw what position I was. Almost like they were both a huge surprise to me.

So I think I just have to kind of least expect it and just enjoy it. Like I said during the ANA I'm going to think of it as just another event. Obviously it is one of the biggest events we play on our calendar. But I've just got to go out there and just play my own game, have fun. There is more things I need to concentrate on and focus on than saying, hey, maybe this could be my third major win. I'm just going to play my own game, hit that one shot at a time and have fun. And I think that's the key thing. When I think about it as, hey, this is a major, everyone wants to play well at a major, I think there's just too much pressure.

Q. Speaking of that, where would you rank Olympic gold among goals in term of is it bigger than a major, is it equal to a major? Where would you put it?
LYDIA KO: Every tournament is special in its own way. All the majors have its own special traditions. And that's why every tournament is different. But to me Olympics is probably my No. 1, only because ever since they announced it I said, hey, I want to go to the Olympics. I want to represent my country and be there amongst the other athletes. And I think this is a great way on golf growing as a fan perspective before. I've turned on the TV and said, hey, I didn't know that sport was part of the Olympics. I didn't know about that athlete. Maybe I'll research about them. That's another way for these juniors or people outside of the golfing industry to know more about the sports.

I'm super excited about it. Obviously the medals, it would be great. But like the Olympics, there are so many things to enjoy about than think about all the medals and everything. But I can't believe it's already around the corner in two and a half months. And it comes by really fast. It's going to be spectacular, and I think this is a great way for golf.

KRAIG KANN: Life moves quickly. Last thing before we let you go. I want to focus on you at 30 in that rocking chair in retirement.

LYDIA KO: With a walking stick.

KRAIG KANN: Whatever you envision, 12 wins, two major championships, chance to go for three in a row this week, I won't put any pressure on you on that.

LYDIA KO: You already did.

KRAIG KANN: 30 straight weeks as No. 1 in the world. When that time comes down the line and you walk away from golf as a competitor, what do you want to be known for? What do you want to have accomplished? What are the biggest things that you have to think about that we talk about, but you only think about.

LYDIA KO: To me, I don't really have, like, in how many tournaments I would like to win. I don't really like to say a number goal. Because I could possibly be playing great golf but somebody could be playing even better than me. There are some times like that. I don't really like to say a number goal on how many tournaments I would love to win before I retire. Obviously every week I would love to give myself a good opportunity to put myself to contend or be around the leader.

But to me the most important thing and the special thing for me is if the fans could think of me as a very approachable player, as someone where they could -- someone where post round they could come up to me and take a photo and talk to me.

And I think that's the great thing about social media these days. I think the fans experience more -- a lot more about us, not just hitting golf shots and hitting good shots or how to hit punch shots, about what we do to train, to meet our friends, what our famous food is, who we like to hang around with. And I think that would be a really special thing for me if fans can think about me as an approachable player, where they feel like they got to know Lydia, not the golfer, Lydia.

KRAIG KANN: Thank you so much for your time today. Best of luck this week in this Major Championship.

LYDIA KO: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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