	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

MANULIFE LPGA CLASSIC

August 31, 2016

Lydia Ko

Cambridge, Ontario, Canada

Q. How do you feel this week?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I mean, it's nice to be here where it's really warm. Last week I expected the cold a little bit, but I guess when you're in that part of Calgary, towards the mountains, you could expect a little bit cooler weather. But nice to be back here in Waterloo. The fans have been great. I've seen a lot of juniors out here today even though it's a pro-am day, so it's just cool to see the future stars out here wanting to see us play some good golf.

Q. Have you been able to put down your silver medal yet?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, you know, actually I haven't seen it for a few days. No, my sister is kind of in charge of the medal. Obviously every week is a new week, so you kind of have to get over that adrenaline, get over how exciting it was. But I think even after a year has passed, I think I'll always look to that week and just be proud to be there, especially because it is returning in 116 years. It's pretty special, enough that you can be there when it is returning after that long.

It was such a cool week, and I think I was more worried a little bit last week. I mean, it was a big week for me defending because I love being in Canada. I think that kind of took my mind off the Olympics, but every day is a new day, so I think at the end of the day, you need to focus on the shot you have in front of you and not think about what's happened and what's going to happen.

Q. You had a top 10 last week and lead the Tour in that and a bunch of other categories. Ariya is kind of like climbing up and getting close in a bunch of things, too. Does it feel like kind of you and Inbee last year? Does it feel kind of like that?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I mean, Ariya -- Inbee has played great. Her return was pretty phenomenal, getting the gold at the Olympics. But yeah, Ariya has just been playing really fantastic, ever since her first win in Alabama I think she's got in the confidence where she really believes that she can win at any event. When you have that kind of confidence it's great because you're going out there not thinking about the fear, not thinking about what may have been. You're truly believing in yourself that you can and you can commit to these shots.

When I see her play on TV or when I'm playing alongside her, I can really feel that she is confident, and that's a great state to be in. I think what she's doing for golf in Thailand and especially in Asia in the women's game, I think it's great, because her game is quite different, playing without a driver and being such a long hitter, but also being so strong in the short game. She's just a very well-balanced player, and I think that brings a different perspective.

I know it is much different to me, her game plan would be different to me, and that's why I think it's kind of a great fresh new air. It's been really cool to watch her impressive play.

Q. Speaking of Ariya, in the first major of the season you beat her by one shot. Let's talk about that -- actually maybe one shot because she finished fourth, you finished first. Let's talk about the second to last shot you had on the 18th hole. You had a discussion with your caddie about not going for the green in two.
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I mean, I thought I was a couple shots behind at that position, because you don't know -- you don't have a leaderboard after the 17th, going up until you're really on the green on the 18th. I didn't know what situation I was in. I thought I needed to make an eagle, so that's why I would have gone for it. But I've never gone for it on that hole before, so it would have been something different to how I normally approach that hole, but it ended up working well where my caddie kind of backed me off and then we had a good yardage to the pin.

Q. And then you jumped in the pond; was that just spontaneous? Did you have a little plan to do that, because you went up with the little heart with your two hands.
LYDIA KO: Yeah, it's something you always dream of, and you see so many times on TV, but I don't think you can really practice it. I mean, someone would be pretty crazy to jump in the pool practicing all these different jumps. That's why I asked multiple times to people around there, to people at IMG, and I was like, hey, what should I do, what should I do. But when I kind of saw the fans in the grandstand and there were a few people with the New Zealand flag, I thought it was just kind of like a heart towards them almost.

But no, it wasn't a very high jump. It wasn't an impressive jump. But no, that heart was just for all the fans and everyone watching.

Q. The second major of the season you and Brooke went to a playoff, I think it was the second major, and she beat you with a great approach shot on the playoff hole. I know it's always difficult to lose any tournament, especially a major. What was going through your mind at that time?
LYDIA KO: I mean, I played really good golf all four days. After the first day I wasn't in the greatest position. I was just outside the top 10, but I played really solid the last three days, and at the end of the day, I played pretty good, I think, on that Sunday, being in the last group. But just Brooke played better.

I thought the most impressive part was that Brooke, Ariya and I, all three of us finished first, second and third, and all three of us didn't make a bogey on the last day. To come off with no bogeys around that course I think was a really cool part. But obviously I would have loved to have been the one holding the trophy, but Brooke played great, and that's the kind of thing -- like I didn't play bad and lose. I thought I played good, but she just played better, so it ended up going in her favor. But it was just some impressive play, and her putts coming down the stretch I heard was amazing.

Q. One question about the Olympics. I think after the second round you were not near the top at all, and I was thinking, maybe Lydia is not going to do anything, and then all of a sudden you get in here and play well in the third round and especially the fourth round. Did you know what position you were in going into the third round?
LYDIA KO: I had an okay first day, second day, but the windy conditions on that third day, because I wasn't first -- I wasn't last out, I wasn't as affected by the wind as obviously the last groups, but it was still windy all day. Yeah, you know, to be honest to shoot a bogey-free round there and to shoot 6-under, really put myself in good positions. I think I gave myself a good position where I could go for the gold in that case.

But Inbee just played incredible that last day. Everything that she lined up, her putts were going in, and when that's the case, it's almost like a fight for the silver and bronze. It was cool how great Shanshan was playing, and then it made it very exciting until the end because you didn't know if there was going to be a playoff for the silver or if it was going to end up silver and bronze.

Q. Going back to the Olympics, a couple weeks ago you were in Brazil, then you were in Calgary, now you're here. How do you prepare yourself for this tough schedule?
LYDIA KO: I think traveling all around the world is part of what we do. I think we're very fortunate that we can play all over the world like in South America, Canada, here, and then go to Europe in a couple weeks and then go to Asia in a couple weeks after that. It's part of what you do.

I personally like the travel. Obviously if you're on the road for a little bit, it does get tiring, but I think it's something that we're fortunate to be able to do so that we can play all these different courses internationally, and you can even see by the LPGA Tour, it's a global tour, it's not just a tour by the American girls or just by one country.

Q. You won back in 2012, won the Canadian Open as an amateur, and you came back in 2015 and you took the title, too. What was your favorite Canadian moment so far?
LYDIA KO: Probably 2012, only because it was my first ever LPGA win, and it was something that I never expected. Just going there as an amateur, you're thinking of, okay, just trying to make the cut, enjoy the experience of playing alongside these girls. I could have never imagined myself to have been the one holding the trophy at the end of the week. That's why returning back there last year to see some of the familiar faces that I had met a few years before, I think it's always great to go back to a place where you've played well and just have a lot of special memories there. Probably the 2012 Canadian Women's Open would be the most special, even if I could win another one in the years to come.

Q. What is it about Canadian bacon that appeals to you?
LYDIA KO: I mean, I'm not a huge fan of bacon, and I'm not a huge fan of BLT to be honest, but I was really hungry at that point, and that's why it tasted even better than it was. But our whole group agreed that it was so good. But no, it wasn't like thin-cut bacon, it was like ham, good crackling on top. It was fancy mayonnaise, too, like pesto mayonnaise, which was something I've never tried, and like lettuce and tomato. It was perfect. I could definitely have another one of those.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about the consistency of your game, how you're able to do it at an age so young? How do you manage that?
LYDIA KO: I think that consistency is probably the biggest thing I work on within the game, and results, too. At the end of the day, I think if you're consistently putting yourself in good positions, I think you've got more opportunities to win and to give you a chance to be in contention. Sometimes consistency is really the hardest thing because even from day-to-day or even if you're playing two rounds in one day, it can change so much. One day it feels great, one day it doesn't feel the same. It's cool and it's the challenging thing about this game, and I think that's what I'll continuously work on, trying to get more consistent. I think it just creates more opportunities that way.

Q. Would you consider yourself a workaholic or do you have some time away --
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I like to take some time off. I think the more you're on Tour, I think you realize it's good to have that balance. You can't have the golf mode on 24/7 for 365 days. I take the whole of December off, go to Korea and do things that I normally wouldn't do throughout the season. It's always good to, I think, switch it off. But every player is different in how they approach their off-season.

Q. What do you do in Korea when you're there?
LYDIA KO: Last off-season I went to watch concerts and I went on a trip with my friends. There's just a lot of downtime to do things that I normally wouldn't be able to do. Especially because I'm not home, I don't get to spend a lot of time with my friends, and it's good to see people outside of golf.

Q. What concerts?
LYDIA KO: It was just music concerts.

Q. What style of music?
LYDIA KO: I watch Lee Seung-Cheol.

Q. Which is what?
LYDIA KO: More of like -- not my generation but like a generation older, but he is just like the most amazing voice, and he has a lot of famous popular songs.

Q. Korean popular songs?
LYDIA KO: Yeah.

Q. Older generation but he's still popular?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, still people in my generation still like his style of music.

Q. Can you compare it to somebody in North America that we might have heard? Would it be like Michael BublÃ© or somebody like that?
LYDIA KO: I don't really listen to like older western songs. He's more like R & B.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297