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HSBC WOMEN'S CHAMPIONS

March 1, 2017

Lydia Ko

Republic of Singapore

THE MODERATOR: Thanks for coming in. You've had two tournaments so far this week. Can you talk about that?

LYDIA KO: Yeah, I struck the ball pretty well in Australia and the ones I did miss, I kind of missed it on the wrong holes. I was struggling with the putter, so I wasn't really able to score.

But going into last week, I knew that there were a lot of positives from Australia to take from and that's the kind of mind-set I tried to take. I ended up getting the first Top-10 finish of the season, so yeah, you know, it's just been a lot of fun and obviously a lot of changes. But it's been more exciting rather than getting worried about, is it going to work or is it not.

The MODERATOR: Tell us about what you did for the last tournament at the end of last year over Christmas break and how you've prepared.

LYDIA KO: I worked on getting my clubs for the season and then I took the whole of December off, spending my time in Korea, going to bowling, spending time with my friends and that's what I've been doing the past few off-seasons. I kept it pretty similar and obviously it's nice to go see family, too. I came back to the States in January and I spent a month there getting prepared for my season.

THE MODERATOR: When did you make your decision on the clubs? How long did it take you? Was it quite harrowing or was it quite an easy process.

LYDIA KO: When I first tried the PXG clubs, I really liked them. Obviously changes are really big when you like the clubs that you're trying, it's always nice I think to change it up a little bit.

It gives your mind some, I guess, breath of fresh air, and I just heard so many great things about it and that's why I wanted to try. That's what I experience, too. It's just really cool to be out here with the girls and being part of the PXG troops.

THE MODERATOR: What particular attributes do the clubs have?

LYDIA KO: The irons I think are a little bit more forgiving. I feel like I've gained a couple yards with my driver, which is never a bad thing. It went further without hindering accuracy, which is always a good combination, so I'm busy and I'll still in the process of trying to learn more about my game right now. But I think it's been good and we've been going the right direction.

The MODERATOR: This year we're playing on a new course. How have you found the new course and what do you feel you need to bring to this course?

LYDIA KO: The Serapong and Tanjong are two different golf courses. Obviously the Serapong was a really nice golf course but Tanjong I think is more suitable for the average-length LPGA player. I think it's good.

I think coming into this week, we all were eager to see what this new course was like and I think it's pretty nice. It is quite different to Serapong. I think we need to focus on where to hit it and go from there.

The greens have a little bit of very subtle undulation, so even though it might not be a very long putt it could break three different ways. So I think the person that normally holes a putt is going to end up on top and I think that's going to be the case again this week.

Q. The No. 1 ranking this year, what's it been like? Do you feel like you always have a target on your back over the last 12 months or so?
LYDIA KO: If you're obviously the top-ranked player, everyone is trying to work up the rankings, and if you're No. 2, you obviously want to try to improve to get to No. 1 and from 3 to 2, and 2 to 1. I think that's how everything works.

I feel fortunate to have been in this position. And it's always been one of my dreams to hopefully become the No. 1 ranked player. To have been in this position and to be in it now is really cool. Sometimes there is expectation of people thinking you should play well every week, win every week, but it's more about consistency.

Obviously everyone is trying to get better. Even though I am the No. 1 ranked player, there are still a lot of aspects of my game that I need to improve on, too. So at the end of the day, I don't think it's all about trying to chase the person in front. I think it's more about trying to improve on your game, and if those aspects improve, I think naturally the results will come.

Q. Are you one of these people that switch off after you take a shot and relax as you walk up the fairway, or are you always sort of thinking about the next shot?
LYDIA KO: Depends, if I'm under a tree, might need to think about the next one very deeply. But no, I like to switch on and off. The girls are so nice out here. We really have a good time and I share my fruits that my mom packs me. We have a joke, we laugh and we talk about what we had for dinner. I think even though we're all trying to make as many birdies as we can and play the best we can, I think we're still having a good time in between. I think that's the kind of way that I lean towards.

Q. Does it surprise you when you have a good time like the other night when you're dressing up for that photo shoot; it really looked like genuine friendships. Would you say that's what they are or is there something different about that?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I think so. I think that's the great thing about the LPGA is that most of us really get along. Everybody really likes each other and I don't think there is certain group where, oh, I wish I wasn't paired up with her. Everyone gets excited to be paired up with each other and just have a good time.

You know, you can see by some of the social media posts where we go out to dinners or we go out and watch a movie. I think that's great. Golf is obviously what we do on an every day basis but it doesn't become completely work-work, and we get to enjoy each other's company, too.

Q. What do you make of the pot bunkers?
LYDIA KO: Pot bunkers, British Open (laughs). Don't go in them.

They are deep. But obviously pot bunkers we don't really face on a normal basis. The biggest tournament that we would see it is probably at the British Open but even between British Opens, there are some courses with it and some without it. I think last year it wasn't super-deep bunkers like what we with find at St. Andrews. Every golf course has its own character, but if you find yourself in a pot bunker, you're trying to I guess take your medicine and kind of go from there.

Q. Your best finish in this tournament was a 15th and a second, and you talk about Tanjong being for more average-length pros. Do you feel that your game is more suited to this than Serapong? And also, in the past it's close to 20-under for the winning score. What do you think the winning score will be on Sunday?
LYDIA KO: It's really hard to say the winning score in any tournament, especially because you don't exactly know what the weather is going to be like. With the Tanjong golf course, there's not that many holes where it can block the wind. So you know that it could get windy here, and if it does blow, the course is going to play completely different. That is also with the rain. If the course plays softer, obviously it will play much longer, too.

I think the big difference with Serapong to Tanjong is with Serapong, not all of -- the majority of the holes, it didn't necessarily mean you should tee off with a driver. You might need -- I remember Michelle hitting an iron off the tee one of the par 5s and here I think you can go a little bit longer and a little bit more aggressive. I think those are the bigger differences within the tee shots.

Q. Do you feel that it suits your eye?
LYDIA KO: I can tell you on Sunday. But it's nice. I had a good time with my Pro-Am group this morning. I think we got these butterfly pins with every birdie we make. I got four butterflies and I was excited about that. It's a nice course.

Yesterday I was trying to get my head around the difference and get used to what we have in front, because it is a new course. Obviously the greens are a little firmer than a course that has been settled in for many, many years.

Q. Regarding the Olympic venue, women members could only play on certain days of the week, what are your thoughts about that?
LYDIA KO: I think especially in past generations, golf was to be a men's game. And I think especially on the LPGA, you see the amount of talent level in the women's game is immense. The courses that in the past that have been only, men-only member courses, have slowly changed, and you can see that not only in golf, but in everything that happens around us.

Golf in Japan, I think is pretty big. I played a JLPGA event before and obviously the TOTO LPGA Classic last year. The fans we had were incredible. The support and how popular women's golf is in Japan, I think maybe around the time of the Olympics or hopefully in the future, they will be able to change that rule. But that's my opinion but I guess I can't talk for somebody else. But when I go to Japan, I realise how popular golf, especially women's golf is. I think slowly those things hopefully will change in the future.

Q. Talking about men and women, if you take the driver out of the equation, how would you compare your game with, say, the newly-crowned men's No. 1?
LYDIA KO: Dustin, he's a lot stronger, a lot longer than me. But I guess we play a certain-length golf course, and because they are long, they obviously play longer. I think people think that, oh, because guys are so long, they must not be good at something; or because we're shorter, we must be better at this.

I think to be those top-ranked players, you've got to be solid in all aspects of the game. You know how Dustin Johnson has played especially in the past couple of years, I think he has had a PGA TOUR win repetitively for many years. So that just shows how consistently well he's been playing.

Hopefully in the future, maybe the LPGA and PGA can come together and we can play a game or a tournament together. But I'm a fan of the men's golf, and I regularly enjoy watching it on TV.

Q. Who would you want to play with of the men?
LYDIA KO: Phil Mickelson is one of my favorite players, and I got to meet Henrik Stenson before. He was super nice and one of the most down-to-earth, funniest person I've ever met. So those two would be my picks, yeah.

Q. Carrying on from that question, if you were to take on Dustin or one of the top men in a chipping or putting contest, how close would it be? Would you expect to win?
LYDIA KO: I would say hopefully it's similar. You know, his short game and especially his putting has been great. I'm sure there is some aspects of his game I would love to learn personally. But you know, I think it would be a very fun match. I've actually never met him before, so -- well, I have met him before; I lied. I met him at the Masters last year, which was kind of cool.

So it just shows that golf, it's not suited for one type of person. It's for long hitters, shorter hitters and I think that's the great thick about golf is that you can be tall, you can be shorter and that shows in the winners of the PGA and both the LPGA, too.

Q. So let's say it was a team of players and you had six of the top men versus six of the top women in purely a short game, chipping and putting contest, who would win?
LYDIA KO: It would be pretty close. But with how well Shanshan and Inbee normally putts, I might put it towards us (laughs).

THE MODERATOR: Thanks so much, Lydia, for your time.

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