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KPMG WOMEN'S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

June 29, 2017

Michelle Wie West

Olympia Fields, Illinois

Q. Very big smile on your face. Why so happy today?
MICHELLE WIE: Just had a lot of fun in tough conditions. I had a great group, a really fun group today. It's tough out there but kind of have to laugh off the mistakes a little bit out here. I mean, it's a tough golf course.

Q. Take us through your highlights, your second shot from the 10th, what did you see here from the fairway?
MICHELLE WIE: Sand wedge. I hit a sand wedge, and I was really hitting my irons great on all the front nine and that was the shot that clicked for me.

14 was a little 79-yarder, a little high 70 shot. You know, just felt good.

Q. This one has to be fresh in your mind. Just happened about 15 minutes ago, your second shot here at the 18th?
MICHELLE WIE: It was into the wind and I really thought I did a good job just getting to the front. The wind died down and I got a little surprise, I got all the way there. Really good shot.

Q. So when you see it from back there and rolling up and you get on these greens, the greens are rolling beautifully. Showing the birdie putt now at 18, how big is it to end the day with a birdie on 18?
MICHELLE WIE: It was great. That first putt was super tricky, so I left myself a little 4-footer, spike mark in the way. I was happy I made it.

Q. You were joking before we came on, that you have to pick the way you put and get after it with some conviction. So how do you go about your business on the greens?
MICHELLE WIE: I literally just go and I'm like, this feels right and I just go with it.

Q. Is that the way you're going to continue?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I have been. It's just kind of a whatever thing. I'm not really thinking too much into it.

Q. Last time I talked to you was at ANA Inspiration, and you told me that your key that week was fairways and greens. You certainly started that off right this week, after making the turn at plus one, what was your mind-set and how much were you pressing on that back nine?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I felt like I drove the ball really just the my irons did not feel got front nine. But it was nice to make a good birdie on 10. That kind of clicked for me and built that confidence coming in.

Definitely with these tricky greens, the irons have to be right on point, so like I said, at ANA, just hitting greens, fairways, really important.

Q. You look like you're having a really good time out there. Five top 5s so far this season, and four in your last five starts. What do you think the difference is for you this season?
MICHELLE WIE: You know, I kind of was sick of playing bad golf honestly. I was just sick of being down, and really started this year with a really good sense of determination and motivation, and I just want to be happen and I have fun out there. It's a long time to be out there to be miserable. So I just kind of made a pact with myself that I'm going to have fun, and if I hit a bad shot, brush it off and just have fun out there.

Q. You've been one of the most talented players in this game for quite some time, for you to get back to the winner's circle and to dominate like you know that you can, what do you think it's going to take this week?
MICHELLE WIE: You know, just need to make some more birdies, because fairways and greens, just keep trekking along. If I just keep playing the golf that I know I can play and just believe in myself, hopefully it will happen.

Q. Pretty happy with today?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I can't complain.

Q. How do you like the golf course, having gotten a competitive round in?
MICHELLE WIE: It's great. Olympia Fields is a really pure golf course. It's playing great right now. It's playing really challenging. The greens are definitely very tricky, but it's a great golf course.

Q. How was your speed today? A lot of people were short uphill and short downhill worried about speed.
MICHELLE WIE: I kind of blew a lot of putts past unfortunately. But yeah, I mean, the greens are tricky. You've got to keep them below the hole.

Q. How was the wind for you?
MICHELLE WIE: It was windy. It was windy for sure.

Q. You were switching around with your putting grip on the course. What's going through your mind when deciding which grip to use?
MICHELLE WIE: Honestly not much. I kind of just go with it.

Q. How proud are you about the turnaround?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, it felt good. I didn't feel good about my irons at all this morning. I didn't feel like I attacked a lot of the greens. After I made birdie on 10, I had a good short birdie putt. Yeah, I just kind of rode that confidence in. I think with the way these greens are, you kind of have to have sharp irons out there.

Q. And Stacy said it seemed like you believe in what you're doing right now; is that true?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I think you really have to believe in yourself and the process out here, just because it's a tough golf course, and especially in majors, you have to just commit to it.

Q. Is this one of the better courses you guys play?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, for sure. I think it's a great golf course. Very old school, a lot of history on them. It's challenging, for sure.

Q. You said you got sick of playing bad golf. Can you expand on that?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, 2016 was an awful year for me. It just wasn't fun at all. I kind of just had a new sense of motivation this year and just trying to have fun out there. Trying to treat it as a game. It's a fun game. I'm extremely lucky to be able to do what I do for a living. And just have fun out there.

Q. When did you realize you were back on track?
MICHELLE WIE: I mean, I played well towards the end of last year, so just been trying to build confidence every week.

Q. How did you play 18?
MICHELLE WIE: Driver, 3-wood on the green. 2-putt.

Q. How much did the swing change affect you last year?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I think last year, it took some time to get used to a change of my ball flight. I was a draw player all my life. I could shape it both ways, but predominately I was draw and I changed that midway through the year. It took a long time to get that comfortable.

But yeah, I feel good about it, especially when it's windy like this, sometimes on left-to-right wind, you really have to commit to starting it left, but it feels good.

Q. You said that you were looking for more consistency, hitting more fairways -- I would think that would be more important in major championships. How much was that directed at getting ready for majors?
MICHELLE WIE: For sure. I used to be really long. Distance was really important to me. I think now, just with the fade, just trying to hit more fairways, just like I said, you've got to hit fairways and greens. Like I said at ANA, especially with the greens being so challenging here, you kind of have to put yourself in position and hopefully the fade kind of helps that.

Q. How much distance do you think you sacrificed?
MICHELLE WIE: I think quite a bit. I mean, I could still bust one out there, but I don't know, getting old now. It's kind of hard to do that.

Q. And how many putting grips are you using at the moment?
MICHELLE WIE: I don't know. Don't try to figure it out. It's going to be really hard (laughing).

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