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U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 10, 2016

Lydia Ko

San Martin, California

LYDIA KO: I played really solid for the first seven holes, couldn't get some putts rolling. But just to be 1-under through 7, I was in a good position.

I made kind of a dumb bogey on 8 and found some trouble on 9. And I think that kind of took me off a little bit. But I tried to have a positive mindset. There were still nine more holes to go. And you just never know what happened.

Unfortunately, I am not the one holding the trophy. Well, we still don't know who is going to hold the trophy at the end of today. But I feel proud of the way I played. I wasn't in any good position after the first day. And even to be leading after three days, I think, was a good performance.

So I'm proud of the way I played. And this is the best finish I've had at the U.S. Open. So I think there's a lot of positives. Yeah, I loved it. The fans have been great. They've been cheering my name on, go Kiwi, go New Zealand, go Lydia. It's been a really awesome experience.

Q. Did the bogey on 8 affect you on 9?
LYDIA KO: I don't think so. I decided to hit a full driver on 9 and pulled it. And it was pretty thick there. I think I should have judged the lie a little better and maybe played a little smarter and laid up short of the hazard. And then just lay up again and try and make up-and-down for par.

But I don't think it necessarily affected it. Maybe the few holes after because of my pull on 9 kind of continued that way. But I don't think the bogey on 8 affected me to hit not a great shot on the tee shot on 9.

Q. How about being on the clock?
LYDIA KO: We got on the clock on 11. But we fell behind a little bit during the middle of our front nine. But I kind of felt bad, because I almost felt like it was a little bit more of my fault, because we were looking for the ball. I was trying to get numbers and lay ups. It is tough to be on the clock when it is so windy and when every shot really counts. But we fell out of position and that's the consequences with it.

Q. What was your reaction when both your competitors helped you in that hazard to try to find your ball?
LYDIA KO: You know, I think it's great. And I think it shows how much respect we have for one another. And I think that's the great thing about Tour.

But I think all the other Tour players would do that, try and look for other people's balls. But I really appreciate it for them to take the time to kind of look for it. I knew it was really thick in there, and there might be rattlesnakes, who knows. But for them to go down and look for my ball I think was very nice of them to do that.

Q. Did you fell like you had a fairly clean hit on that hybrid shot?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I hit it pretty good. It wasn't like I hit it too behind it. But I think it was pretty juicy in there. And I should have judged it to be that thick in there. And I think the easiest thing was for me to just lay up short of it.

Even though the 9th is a par 5, it wasn't playing easy at all with the wind being into. And I think it got a few players -- I wasn't the only one that kind of found that trouble. So it kind of happened at the wrong time. But I think I should have just moved on better. Hopefully just forget about it, but I think it was kind of looming at the back of my mind.

Q. What about the course conditions today?
LYDIA KO: I mean, it was tough. It was a little firmer than yesterday, just because the weather has been super nice. The sun's been out all week. The wind is drying out the course.

So even the 18th hole, it's a tricky pin position to go near. And I had to have a magical Karrie Webb, ANA kind of shot to even put myself in the playoff. But it was tough.

But I think at these major venues, I always say, not a crazy score is going to win it. It's always within that 10-under, if it's a great score. So I think we all expected it to be tougher and a lot firmer as the week went on.

Q. When you're leading a big tournament like this and it starts to slip away, how does that feel?
LYDIA KO: I just try to put a smile on my face. I knew that even though I did find some trouble there, I knew I had plenty of holes to cover-up for it.

I knew that 15 was a reachable par 5. 18 is another par 5 you could possibly make birdie. And you can always, if you play smart, and I think if you always stay positive, you can always get those chances.

Even though I knew I was falling more and more behind, I didn't want to say, hey, I want to give up. Because at the end, even though it was a very small chance, you know, I could have still made the wedge and gone in the playoff. I think that's why it's a true statement to say you can never really give up until the very end. You just never know what's going to happen. And you don't know what other players are going to do, too.

Q. How do you think you're going to feel tomorrow? Obviously --
LYDIA KO: Probably better than today (laughter).

But I think -- I'm flying to Toledo, I think, overnight, I'm taking a red eye. So it's been a really long week. It's been a fun week. So I think I'll be craving sleep.

But even though it didn't finish the way I wanted it to, I still feel like there's so many positives from this week. This is the best finish I've had at the U.S. Open. I've never been in this position before. So this has been really fun and I said hopefully I'll have more opportunities to be in this kind of position and next time pull it off.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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