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OLYMPIC GAMES RIO 2016: GOLFAugust 15, 2016Lydia KoRio De Janeiro, Brazil Q. You've been here 24 hours, your thoughts on being here. LYDIA KO: Well, I'm not staying at the village this week, but on Saturday, the day I arrived, I got to go to the village and meet a couple of the athletes and eat at the food area. And they said it's the second biggest tent in the world, so I would love to see the first, what the biggest tent in the world is. But just to be in the team vibe, wear the uniform, go out yesterday and watch the guys play, it's been really great so far and it's only going to go up the next few days. Q. There's quite windy conditions out on the course. How do you think growing up in New Zealand with the climate that we have has set you up for the sort of conditions you are likely to face? LYDIA KO: Yeah, I think there's actually quite a big change between playing earlier on in the day, around 7.30. Obviously playing later in the day, the wind gradually gets stronger as the morning goes on. It should help me. When I played at my home club, Gulf Harbour, there's not that many trees around. So if you have wind and it's a windy day, then it seemed to blow. Hopefully that can help me out there. Almost when the wind gets up, I think it will almost feel like a British Open kind of type. You'll need to hit those creative shots, knock‑down, high shots. The person that I think can be creative and they are open to hit different types of shots, I think will play well around that course. Q. I see you've already had a picture taken with Justin Rose and the Gold Medal yesterday. What motivation does that give you to get your hands on your own Gold Medal? LYDIA KO: Yeah, you know, I couldn't actually see the finish, because I was just starting to go out on the course. But I could hear how excited the fans were getting and just as soon as I'm finishing, I was able to see all of the medalists, Matt Kuchar, Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose, and to be able to take a photo with the Gold Medalist was very special. Hopefully his vibes came off to me. But it's great. Last week, I think we all got to see some phenomenal golf, and I think that they have already changed a little bit in our game. So hopefully we can be a little bit more of a part in that this coming week. But it's been great. And just to be in that fan's perspective, being outside the ropes and seeing them play has been great. So I think that we all are going to have a good time out there, and I think it's great that us golfers can be amongst those amazing other athletes that are medalists. That's the great thing about the Olympics. Sometimes in tournaments, we can get carried away about who came first in that event. But this week, it celebrates every single athlete. It especially celebrates all the medalists and shows how special a third place is. Sometimes you can get carried away that, hey, you know, this place won this week. But second, third, Top‑10, every player played to their own game and played great. So it celebrates each and every athlete and their countries, and I think that's the great thing about the Olympics. One of my best, one of my favourite quotes from this week was from the founder of the Olympics, Coubertin, where he said the Olympic Games, it's not about winning. It's about competing in it. I think that's great in that perspective that we get to do the thing we love. And to be out here and get the support, I think this makes us appreciate more. Q. Your coach is very critical of the guys who did not come, who chose not to come and play here. Your thoughts on any player, any athlete, who would pass on the opportunity to represent their country in the Olympics, and how important is it to you to be able to do so? LYDIA KO: I think at the end of the day, we all have to understand where we are all ‑‑ where each and every one of those players are coming from. I can't speak for somebody else. Everybody has their own decisions. So no, it's hard to speak for what somebody else made their own decision about. But I think I'm pretty sure that they would have watched the games, watched how the guys are playing, and a lot of them would have said, hey, that's such a great vibe, I wish I was there, too. But they made those decisions. So we can't say anything about it, but hopefully in the 2020 Olympics, I know those players will be able to compete in the Olympics themselves. Q. How important is it to you to be an Olympian and represent your country? LYDIA KO: I've been super excited since they announced in 2009, and to know that right now, in a couple days, I can officially be an Olympian. I think it's amazing. I would have never imagined myself to be in this position. I've always looked and watched the Olympics. But to know that there are people that are going to watch me compete in the Olympics, I think is just a great feeling and just a huge honour to represent New Zealand in the Olympics. It's like you can never take that, being an Olympian away from you. And no matter the result, I think it's just going to be a great accomplishment just to be here and represent your country in the Olympics. Q. How much consideration did you give to maybe walking in the Opening Ceremony before deciding not to, and what went into your decision not to spend the whole time in the athletes village? LYDIA KO: I would have loved to be amongst those bunch of athletes in New Zealand and just walk behind that New Zealand flag, and for everybody in that stadium, and the whole entire world to be looking at you and cheering on for you. That would have been great. But you know, unfortunately because we were the week after, a couple weeks after, I thought it might be a bit too much time. I would have also loved to have spent more time in the village, more time with the New Zealand athletes, or just other athletes in general. And to be able to know and learn more about their sports, but even being at home, I got to watch the Opening Ceremony. It was great. The dances they had on and all the performance factors, too, it's just great, and how Brazil could showcase their talent, too. When I got time, I tried to fit in watching swimming or athletics and I got to see Valerie Adams do in‑‑ not the finals, but the semifinals just before. It's great, and to be able to support them. I think that got me more hyped and more excited to be here on site and experience it all. Q. I know you said that winning isn't everything in the Olympics, but in some quarters at least, a little bit of disappointment that perhaps New Zealand hasn't scored a couple of extra Gold Medals at this stage of the games. Do you feel that adds to the pressure of expectation for you at all? LYDIA KO: Even though we haven't had as many Gold Medals as we would have loved to, I heard that Silver Medal‑wise, it's the most we've had in any Olympic Games. I think that's very impressive. Sometimes that's why I said before, you can overlook just by the results and just by the medal counts. You see by all these athletes, they are amazing athletes and have accomplished so much in their careers and their own sport. You just never know. Hopefully me and all the other athletes that are still to compete, if we can put an addition to that medal count, that would be great. But I'm pretty sure we're not thinking about all the pressure of the Olympics, and just try and enjoy it. If we end up holding a medal, end of the week or end of our last day, I think that's going to be special. I kept asking my caddie, hey, I wonder what it's like to stand on that podium and I wonder what it's like to be holding a medal. That's more the questions I think about rather than, hey, there's so much pressure on me. Q. Having not played in the Solheim Cup, and I'm pretty sure you haven't been in the International Crown, does any part of you feel like you've missed out on the aspect of playing for the flag, and how much does this makeup for it? LYDIA KO: Yeah, playing in the Solheim Cups, you get to be in that team format. I always say in golf, if you don't think about the team surrounding you, it's a pretty individual sport. Unless you play the Solheim Cups or International Crowns, you don't really get to be in that team format very often as a pro. But no, I'm hoping that maybe in a few years, New Zealand will be in the International Crown and I'll be able to compete for my country there, too. I think that's why it's great. Even though this week is not a team format and it's continued on to like a normal 72 holes, 18 holes a day, normal stroke‑play format, I still feel like we are in that team atmosphere. Even though there I'm the only New Zealand woman golfer in this week, I think it's not more about our sport, but just every other athlete and every other athlete from New Zealand. I do feel that team vibe. I heard that some of the athletes might come out and watch me play, and I think even more then I'll be super excited to see the Silver Fern and see all the logos. Q. When is the last time you played for New Zealand, what competition? LYDIA KO: Well, I always play for New Zealand. Probably the World Amateur Team Championships. I got to play twice in Argentina and the last one was in Turkey. I think we ended up being fourth as a team. I thought we did great. I have so many great memories. A couple of my teammates came out to watch me play at the British Open. Just to be able to see past teammates and look back into the memories we've had, it's great. Those are the things that go on with us forever. Q. Just wondering how you would compare a Gold Medal with a major? LYDIA KO: I think every tournament is very special. But the Olympics was probably the biggest goal of mine this year. Firstly, to represent New Zealand and obviously to compete in it. If I end up holding a Gold Medal at the end of Saturday, and standing on the podium, I think it will be extra special. I don't know if I would ever take that medal off. Obviously it would bruise me a little bit if I was swinging with it, but I think every tournament is special in its own way. I would never want to take away the two majors I won, but I think that's going to be the same for the Olympics. No matter what event, to be able to win a championship alongside the best players or the best athletes, it's something you can't take away from, and that's why every moment is so special. Q. Did you get to watch any of Ryan or Danny, and have they passed on anything they may have learnt over the four rounds? LYDIA KO: Yeah, I watched Foxy and Danny yesterday. Got to watch maybe five, six holes for both of the players. It was really cool. I've never really watched Danny play in person, always through the TV. I've only really met him twice before. But Foxy, we've been to the world ams together before and I've played alongside him. I actually told him, hey, remember the time we both played at WATC and we definitely play different games. I'm a lot shoulder and he's a lot longer. It's just a lot of great memories. And just to be able to see them play, and say, "Go Foxy, go Danny." And I was going to have this celebration: "Give me a D! Gave me an A!" But I ended up not doing it because I thought it might embarrass them. It was great. I don't think I've ever been such a huge fan to be out there. And I normally love my sleep, but yesterday, I slept a little less and then went out and watched them. I told them both, I don't think I've ever woken up at 7.00am to watch someone else play. It was great. I really enjoyed it. We all took a photo together and it just felt like, hey, team New Zealand, New Zealand golfers, we're representing all of them from back home. It's great, and they said how much they enjoyed the week and how much they are going to work forward to seeing me play through the TV because I know they are both competing again next week. Q. Did you play the course yesterday? LYDIA KO: Yeah, I played five holes, six holes. Q. When were you able to go off, right after? LYDIA KO: Yeah, the course kind of opened to us from two o'clock, but I ended up going at 3.30, so almost by when the last group was on the 18th. Q. And secondly, this was probably the first time since Pinehurst that you've played the same course right after the men. What do you recall from how the course was set up then and what are you expecting now? LYDIA KO: I think then, a lot of the worries were, hey, are there going to be a lot of divots and are we going to go in their divots. At Pinehurst, we realised, there were no divots. I can't recall once where I was even close to where the guys are. I think even when the USGA set it up there, and I think it's what the people tried to do here, is that we are coming into the green with similar clubs. So I'm pretty sure I do not hit a 9‑iron at the same place Bubba Watson is hitting a 9‑iron. I don't think those things are going to worry us. It's pretty firm out there. So you hardly ever really see a huge divot. But I think the course is playing in really good conditions and normally, especially coming off during July, June, it's super hot at that time of the year in the States. It got firmer and drier as the week went on, and I think that just depends on what weather we have this week. But it seems like it's forecasted to be pretty nice all week. So I'm pretty sure it's going to play good. And you know, if it does get firm, it means we'll have a little bit more roll on the fairways, which is not a bad thing. Might make it a little tougher to hold on the greens. But that's the thing that we've got to play with and that's why I think it goes back to the creativity, because sometimes you might have to hit lower shots that land short and run up, where higher shots that land over the mound end up staying there. Q. Golf etiquette is still catching on here in Rio for the fans. Are you worried that someone might pick up your ball, and has it ever happened to you before? LYDIA KO: No, nobody's picked up my ball, yet. I've had a dog run away with my ball and I got penalised. (Laughter) But I still love dogs, even after that. But you know, I think by seeing on TV, and you know how many people were out there yesterday, I heard they were completely sold out of tickets, so that shows how many people wanted to come out and see. I think that's great, and that's great for the game of golf. I know golf isn't one of the main sports in Brazil, but this way, more juniors and more people outside of the industry want to take part in it and get more interest in it. So I think it's going to be great. Sometimes there might be a camera flash, you know, when you're setting up, but I think as players, we would rather have this many crowds and a lot of people coming out to support us than think about, hey, I'd rather have two people coming out that's not going to flick the camera. They are taking those photos and videos at the end of the day because they are excited to see us, and they want to have it as a memory. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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