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CANADIAN PACIFIC WOMEN'S OPENAugust 24, 2016Lydia KoCalgary, Alberta, Canada THE MODERATOR: Hey, everyone. I just want to first off say thank you for joining us for this conference call today. We're here with 14-time LPGA winner and Olympic silver medalist Lydia Ko. We'll give the phone over to Lydia in a second for a quick comment on coming back from Rio with the silver and then we will open it up for questions. Going to hand the phone to Lydia right now and she'll give a quick comment on winning the silver medal in Rio. LYDIA KO: Hi, everyone. Yeah, I mean, more so than the medal, it's just that whole experience of being in Rio. Being there amongst the other Olympians was just a dream come true, and to be able to stand there up on the podium on Saturday as the silver medalist, it really couldn't get much better than that. Yeah, it was just a surreal week. It's one that I'll never forget. Q. Have you had to sort of refocus and set a few new goals? LYDIA KO: Yeah, I mean, well, obviously the Olympics was one of the big goals of mine coming into this year, to be able to compete in the Olympics for starters, and then obviously if I get to do well, that's just another set. But I'm almost a little disappointed that the week is all over now. It doesn't really change goals going into the rest of the year. The goals that I have, I don't really like to set tournament win goals or any of those kind of goals. I like to set more minor goals about what I want to work on in my game. Goals, I haven't really done new goals post the Olympics. Q. Do you reflect in particular on those two amazing shots, the hole-in-one and the eagle from the Olympics? They really turned it around for you, didn't they. LYDIA KO: Yeah, I mean, the eagle on the first day when I was shooting even par really put myself under par, and that obviously gave me confidence for going forward from there. The hole-in-one, I've never made a hole-in-one before, so to make my first one at the Olympics, it just can't get much better than that. Really, you know, I think those two shots were probably one of the highlights of the shots of the Olympics, but probably more so the hole-in-one because it was my first, and I really couldn't believe it that it was at the Olympics. Q. And what about life in the village? That must be a lot different from what you experience on the Tour. LYDIA KO: Well, I didn't stay in the village. Yeah, but I was there for one of the days, and I got to meet a few of our New Zealand athletes, and we did the induction there and the welcoming. Just to be there and seeing the other athletes in the dining area was really cool, these athletes that I'd always seen on TV or on social media. Seeing them right in front of me, I thought I was looking through a TV. Q. You were already the top-ranked player in the world going into Rio and had been for a while. But does the silver medal win make a difference in terms of growing the sport back in your home country of New Zealand other than the rest of your success on the LPGA Tour? LYDIA KO: Yeah, you know, going into the week, I said no matter what, I think this is a great step forward going into golf, growing the women's game and just the game in general. Me being a fan of sports in the past, I've looked at the Olympics and learned about other athletes and other sports. I thought that would be the same case for us, and I believe that especially with the exciting finishes with both the men's and the women's, I think juniors in particular would have taken really a big interest in the game and kind of set a goal if they want to represent their countries in the Olympics for golf. Hopefully, especially back at home because golf isn't one of the main sports in New Zealand. Hopefully a couple more juniors are interested in it, and people outside the golfing industry are learning more about the game of golf. Q. You're going now into the Canadian Pacific Women's Open to defend your title. Is the momentum of playing and competing and succeeding at the Olympics any different than any other Tour win you've had, and what do you hope to capitalize on in Canada this week? LYDIA KO: Yeah, I mean, like I said, the Olympics really embraces each and every player. Sometimes you can get carried away about somebody lost to somebody, and even though a second place is good, you can just get carried away just by the person that was holding the trophy at the end of the week. But no matter if you're a medalist or not a medalist, those people there at the Olympics I believe are all winners. I think that's the great spirit about the Olympics. It's more so about competing and being there rather than the medals and the results. What was the second question? Q. Just what you hope to capitalize on, on that momentum? LYDIA KO: Yeah, every week is a new week. Every day is a new day. I think it is good momentum coming into this week, but at the same time, this is definitely a different course to what we played last week, so course management-wise it is a bit different. But I think playing well last week does carry on the good momentum this week. Q. You've had a lot of big moments in your career. I'm just hoping you can describe for me what standing on the podium felt like compared to any other awards ceremony that you've been a part of or jumping into a pond, shall we say. LYDIA KO: I mean, every ceremony, and jumping into Poppies Pond or every win in every tournament is special in its own way. But there I think the podium was something that I'd always seen on TV, other athletes in swimming or athletics being on that podium with the gold medalist's national anthem going up and all three flags going up. Those are the special things that I saw. When I was really at that moment, I almost didn't know exactly what I needed to do, and I said, well, thank goodness I'm not the first one going up on the podium because I don't want to go up on the wrong time, because it's something that I'd never experienced before, and even though it was something that I'd seen on TV so many times, it just felt so different being the one really there to actually do it. Right after everything finished up on Saturday, I went and watched athletics, and I couldn't believe that like all those ceremonies and other athletes being on the podium, I couldn't believe I actually was on the podium myself a few hours before. I think those are the great things about it, and to me just that whole vibe of being there, being there with our New Zealand athletes, it was just incredible. On that last day, I think there were like a lot of New Zealand athletes, maybe close to like 30 -- I think over like 40 athletes from New Zealand, and I just said, wow, this is the Olympics. You're out there supporting one another, and even though it's an individual game we're doing, we're like a team. Q. Among those athletes, were there any that sort of made you nervous having other people watching you that maybe you'd read about or seen in other places? Was that sort of an awkward feeling? LYDIA KO: Well, actually on the first day, Richie McCaw, who is the former captain of the All Blacks, he was out watching me play, and at that moment I didn't know, and he watched me play the first seven holes, I think, and I said, well, thank goodness he watched at least saw one birdie because I didn't play very well those seven holes. But thank goodness he at least saw a birdie. Just like even on that Saturday that final day, there were a few gold medalists, Eric Murray, Hamish Bond, and people from all different sports, rowing, hockey, rugby, and when you see all them, and especially because I'm not home often and I don't get to cross paths with them a lot, just to see them there was as if I was in another area and I was like in a fan zone, fan girl. Q. Question about the medal: You joked at the Olympics before that if you won the gold you might not take it off. Can you just tell us about what it was like to have that medal, how long did you wear it, where is it now? LYDIA KO: I almost wore it that whole night. I took a shower, and I was still worried, and probably the shower and the bathroom is the one place I don't take it. So I kind of rested it on the New Zealand flag. And then we went to the New Zealand house right after that, so I wore it during the whole time there, doing media and seeing the other athletes, and then when I went to athletics I still had it with me, and I almost -- I didn't know what to do with it because there was security and I knew that it would beep if I wore it. It was different to wear the medal that I'd won at somebody else's sport, but I had it with me the whole night, and it was right by my bed the next -- until the next morning, and even after athletics I watched TV, and the whole time I had it around my neck. I think that's why my neck is a bit tight. Q. Where do you keep all your trophies, and will the medal reside there, also? LYDIA KO: Well, the medal is actually here with me today. It's only like 10 minutes away -- 10 meters away. My sister has got it. And yeah, you know, my trophies and everything, we don't really have a special area at home. It's right by our TV, and the thing -- it's kind of like a book stand by both sides of the TV, but we started putting our trophies there. So yeah, I'm sure it will be next to the other trophies I have. Even though this is a silver medal, it's going to be one that's as special or even more special to me. Q. By home, do you mean your New Zealand home or the home you have in Orlando? LYDIA KO: Orlando. Q. With a bit of time to reflect on things, what do you feel about the format of the Olympics? Do you feel they've got that right as far as golf is concerned? LYDIA KO: Yeah, I think especially for the first time the women's golf has been returned in 116 years, I think it was great. Especially for it being returned, it having the 72-hole stroke play format, I think it was pretty good. It wasn't like it was something we saw every day. The players and all the Olympians there, we made it exciting up until the last moment, and you really didn't know what would happen. Yeah, I thought it was exciting. Maybe in the future I think it would be cool to have a team format, but I think it would still be good to still keep this stroke play format. Q. You're obviously pretty excited about everything that's happened, but I presume you're pretty keen to have a crack at Japan 2020? LYDIA KO: Yeah. You know, I'm super excited, and hopefully I'll be there for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Especially after experiencing the first ones since it's been back and my first Olympics, it's been more than great, more than what I ever imagined and dreamt of. To know that I have the chance that I could maybe be in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics I think would be another dream come true, and I'll be working hard for the next four years for that. Q. When do you think you'll be back in New Zealand next? LYDIA KO: To be honest, I'm not sure. You know, our season ends at the end of November, and currently we haven't really planned anything right now for the off-season, so it's really hard for me to say. Q. Do you think given how golf went in Rio, do you think there might be a bit more enthusiasm among the game's leading male players for Japan? LYDIA KO: Yeah. I think the things we worried about, about Brazil and Rio, I think ended up not really being an issue. I think the players that decided to withdraw for those reasons I think are definitely going to work hard to be there for the 2020 Olympics. For both the men's and women's week, I thought it was a great success, especially seeing how awesome the men's week was. I was super excited for our week, and I thought our week went great, too. Yeah, I think a lot of players will be working hard to be there in Tokyo. Q. We saw a huge reaction from Inbee Park and Shanshan going home, just being mobbed by fans and the media when they landed. You obviously didn't go home, but what kind of reaction have you seen, and were you surprised to hear from anyone? LYDIA KO: Yeah. You know, I don't think my phone has ever been that busy. Ever since that Saturday, social media and just texts, private texts, and it's just really cool to even get congratulations messages from other Olympians and other fellow medalists. It's just been really awesome. Sometimes when you come second, they say, hey, good playing, but this week I've been hearing, hey, congratulations, that's so awesome. That's the thing about the Olympics; it embraces every player, no matter what the result is. Just to hear those things I think just shows the great thing about the Olympics and how it celebrates each and every player. Yeah, you know, it's been really awesome just to be here and hearing congratulations from volunteers or fans or anyone. It's been really cool. Q. You've accomplished a lot in your young career. Where do you feel like winning the silver medal ranks in terms of your accomplishments to this point? LYDIA KO: It's definitely one of the highest ones up there. I can't take away the two majors I won. Those are very special, winning Evian and ANA Inspiration, but also this one, even though this one is a silver medal, it's just as special. Everything is so different in its own way, but it's definitely one to remember. I think it's just more so the atmosphere and the vibe of the Olympics that I just enjoyed so much. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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