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MARATHON CLASSIC PRESENTED BY OWENS CORNING AND O-I

July 17, 2016

Lydia Ko

Toledo, Ohio

THE MODERATOR: Well, it took a long time to get in here, mostly due to four playoff holes, which is the longest playoff in the history of this tournament. But here you are; you've won again, and it's 2016, so it's the second time in three years. What are you feeling right now?

LYDIA KO: Yeah, you know, first of all, it's always good to come back to a place where you've well played. The fans have been super supportive every year I come here, and Judd and the sponsors were nice enough to give me a sponsor's invite when I was an amateur. Just a lot of great memories here. To be able to win this tournament again in two years is I think going to make it a little bit more special.

But it's been a fun week. I guess we had to play four extra holes for somebody to be holding the trophy, but Mirim and Ariya all had a great week, so it was hard to say someone deserved the trophy more than the others.

THE MODERATOR: Does it just feel like ages ago when you actually finished your round?

LYDIA KO: Because 18 is a par-5, it takes a little bit more time than any other playoff holes, especially with the 18th being not a very easy hole. It's a dogleg left, and with the wind blowing left to right and the pin tucked on the left, it was probably the toughest it'll play.

But we all played and stuck to our game plans, and we all gave it a good run for it. Our putts were so close and were not falling, and every time I said, hey, the ball is big enough for the hole -- yeah, the hole is big enough for the ball. Right? Either way, it's a long day.

Yeah, so it's been -- it was hard to just see so many putts just slip by. I said, hey, maybe she's going to win, and then it just slipped by; maybe I'm going to win, and it slipped by.

To see that putt drop on the last hole was a cool feeling.

THE MODERATOR: Have you ever been in a playoff like that? You've been in now five. You're kind of hanging on every single putt and having to go back to the tee over and over again?

LYDIA KO: Yeah, the longest one was probably CME Tour Championship a couple years ago where at first it was Juli, Carlota and I and then ended up being Carlota and I, and I ended up winning that playoff. It's hard because it feels like that one shot is all it's going to do. One bad shot, you don't have another hole to compensate for it. It's not one of those three-hole Playoffs. Every shot counts, and I think at the end of the day, we all wanted somebody to make a birdie to win the hole rather than make someone make a par and the others make a bogey.

Q. Did you take the same approach to the 18th all week long? Did you change anything for the playoff?
LYDIA KO: You know, the first day I actually hit 3-wood off the tee, and I got a little lucky, I ended up going almost down to the very end of that fairway. But it's a tricky little hole, and with the wind blowing left to right, you could easily run through or if you pull it, get stuck in that left rough like I was on the last playoff hole.

During the playoff and yesterday, I kept the same club. I hit hybrid off the tee and then hit 3-wood and then hit a wedge in. Also the wedges I hit today, they were all within similar distances.

THE MODERATOR: Must have felt like dÃ©jÃ -vu hitting that putt to win after you had seen almost the exact same putt on the third playoff hole, and you heard you talking to Judd and describing a little bit what you saw. Could you just go over that again?

LYDIA KO: Yeah. Actually when I walked up to my putt on the fourth playoff hole, I said, hey, dÃ©jÃ -vu. I was saying that to myself. I think I was more pin high on the fourth playoff hole, so I thought it would break a little bit more. But the first time on the third playoff hole, I ended up missing on the high side. Ariya I think on the second playoff hole missed on the high side, never on the bottom side. I think it just doesn't break as much as we thought.

But it's a really tricky little pin if you're above it. It's a big breaking putt. If you're on the sides, it doesn't break as much as you want. Jason said the easiest putt you're going to have is probably below the pin, but with the pin being on that little corner, it's hard to have an uphill putt going in there.

THE MODERATOR: Your buddy Henrik won the Open across the pond this morning. Have you reached out to him yet? I know you guys go back and forth; whenever he wins, you win.

LYDIA KO: Yeah, I actually met him at an outing last year, and he was so open, super nice, and actually one of the funniest guys I've ever met. I knew either way today was going to be a great day for Team Callaway. I know Phil had an amazing week, and I can't believe he shot 6-under or something and ended up losing. I saw the coverage earlier on, and Henrik Stenson, his ball-striking was just amazing.

For both of them to hole those crucial putts is something that I learned. But I will send a congratulations message to Henrik Stenson. But they're all top players, and I'm very proud to be alongside them for Team Callaway, and I think it's been a fun day for all of us back at headquarters.

Q. When you sink that putt on No. 9, at that moment you were up by four. What went wrong on the back nine when you weren't able to just seal the deal?
LYDIA KO: My ball-striking wasn't that bad, but I think because the wind was actually blowing harder as we went on, the greens were firming up and I thought I hit a great shot into the par-3, 13th or 14th, and then Stacy and I both landed in what we thought would be the perfect positions and ended up being way long.

On 16 I thought I landed it exactly where I wanted it to, but because I was coming out of the rough and the greens were firm, I ended up being long. The putts that were dropping on the front nine weren't dropping, and those putts that were lipping out or close, those that do go in and don't go in, even though they're an inch different difference, they could make a huge difference at the end. Ariya and Mirim were making birdies on the back nine, and I wasn't. I think that just turned around.

I tried to have a good run for it on the last two holes, but they both didn't end up falling like they did for the other two girls.

I think putting, people think it's the easiest part of the game, but at the end of the day, those few putts that lip out or lip in, those can make a huge difference.

Q. After so much frustration with the putting in the first couple playoff holes, what were your emotions when the putt finally went in on that fourth playoff hole?
LYDIA KO: I think we were all getting a little bit physically and mentally tired as we were continuing to play the same hole. Just because it isn't the most straightforward par-5, we still do need to think about the shot that we have that's going to come up and the shot we have right in front of us. I just tried to keep being patient. Ariya had a good chance for a birdie to close it out on the second playoff hole, then Mirim on the first hole, me on the third playoff hole, so all of us were so close, but they all didn't end up falling.

Just to see a putt drop for birdie I think kind of got my emotions going. I'm not really a huge fist-pump kind of person, but I think it's probably the biggest fist-pump I've ever done.

Q. What kind of challenges did Ariya and Mirim present to you in that playoff?
LYDIA KO: What kind of challenges?

Q. Yeah, as far as their game, what you had to deal with from them.
LYDIA KO: I mean, Ariya and Mirim are actually much longer hitters than I am. They're some of the longest hitters on Tour. You can see even Ariya, when she won her three tournaments in a row, she didn't have a driver in her bag. I can't imagine it without my driver in my bag.

They were definitely playing different game plans than me. Even on the 18th, they were going much more aggressive, much more to what their game plan is, and I knew even if I did go down there, I wouldn't be able to reach the green for two.

That's why it's different for each player. Everybody has to play to their own strength. It's pretty cool to see them hit it so far down there and get really close to the green, and the closer you are, the best chances you're going to have.

I think the good thing is everybody stuck to their game plans. They didn't change because one other player did something.

Q. After last week's U.S. Open when you had the lead on Sunday and you ended up not winning, how do you put that behind you and move on to the next week? What's your approach and all that?
LYDIA KO: I mean, I've never really -- it's never really clicked for me at the U.S. Open before. The best finish I had was at Lancaster, and it was a top 15 or something. At the end of the day, when I looked back, I said, hey, I had a tied third place at the U.S. Open. I mean, I told my coach, I said, hey, if they said, hey, you're definitely getting tied third at the Open, I would say I'll take it.

My coach said, no, you shouldn't take it. But you know, I thought all in all, it was still a good week. I got some unlucky breaks, and I was plugged in the bunker on 14. I didn't hit a great shot on 8 and 9, and that cost me three shots.

But I knew that overall I played solid. We had a very deserving winner, Brittany Lang. Anna was so close, too, but it was hard to say I was the one that really deserved it.

Hopefully I'll have the chance to be in that position again and maybe be able to pull it off that time. But it was still a great week.

CordeValle was a fantastic golf course. It was probably the best weather we've had all four days, and it was just a really great experience. It was definitely a different type of U.S. Open course to what I've played before. It's not like a Pinehurst where it's dirt-lined past the fairways or like Sebonack where it's two joint fairways. It was definitely unique. I just enjoyed it. I love California. I love Ohio. There's a lot of good memories, and I knew that I was still playing solid, so just got to stick to my game plans, and every round is a new round and every hole is a new hole.

THE MODERATOR: Is there something about this place? Is there something in the water? Do you sleep better here? You're playing very consistent.

LYDIA KO: My agents live in Ohio.

THE MODERATOR: And he's here.

LYDIA KO: I have three agents. But no, two of my agents live here, Jay and Michael, and whenever Michael comes to tournaments, I say, hey, you're bad luck. But this proves that he is not bad luck. He is good luck. Especially I think it was cool for him because Ariya is another one of his players, so just for both of us to be in that position, I think it's a cool week for team IMG, too.

No, as an amateur I never really got to play much over in the U.S., being from down under in New Zealand. I got to win my first big amateur championship, the US Women's Amateur, at The Country Club in Cleveland, Ohio. I think Ohio brings me a lot of good memories. I know that winning the U.S. Am there has given me a lot of confidence, and it gave me the confidence to win two weeks later in Canada, too.

Just a lot of great vibes. I like Ohio. The people have been great, and even though -- I mean, there are a lot of fans walking out there with us. I said, hey, it's because Ms. Stacy is a hometown girl, but one of the fans said, no, we've come to watch you play. Just to hear that is pretty cool. Everyone has been super supportive, and they always support me coming back to this state.

THE MODERATOR: For the record, you didn't know he was here.

LYDIA KO: So technically --

THE MODERATOR: It doesn't really count. Well, thank you, Lydia. Congratulations again.

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