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RICOH WOMENâ€™S BRITISH OPEN

August 2, 2017

So Yeon Ryu

Fife, Scotland

Q. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We have the world No. 1 So Yeon Ryu with us this morning. You've seen the course in good weather and bad weather. What is your assessment of the golf course?
SO YEON RYU: Yeah, well, actually when you play a links style golf course you expect really, really hard and fast greens, firm greens, but because of all the rain when I played the last few days the greens were really soft, so it was kind of an awkward feel to play a normal style of golf on at a links-style golf course. But so far the scenery is beautiful up here, and the fairways are really wide and greens are really big, so I have a feeling it's going to be a matter of where we're going to land the ball and all about the short game, as well.

Q. You proved a couple years ago at Turnberry that you can handle the bad weather, as well.
SO YEON RYU: Yeah, because Scotland I always expect bad weather, not really good weather because the weather is always unpredictable. Wind is so strong, always rain coming, and you can sometimes have a really strong wind from the south. All of a sudden you can have a wind from the north, always blowing so much.

Yeah, I always expect kind of harsh weather, so even with the bad weather, I never really complain about it.

Q. And clearly you are coming in here on great form after two wins. You must be very confident.
SO YEON RYU: Yeah, well, I've been playing well at the major tournaments, as well, this year, and also I always wanted to win big tournaments no matter what, like since I first started playing this tournament, I always felt like, okay, this is the one some day I really want to win. So yeah, I always kind of like nervous to come to big tournaments because my expectation level is quite high, and this is the home of golf, and it's going to be so special if I win in Scotland.

Q. You've been at No. 1 for five or six weeks now; can you talk about what it's been like? Are you comfortable in the role? You seem very comfortable in the role.
SO YEON RYU: Well, it's kind of a weird feeling because I always dream about becoming No. 1, but once awe chief it, it feels like, all right -- I felt like all my hard work paid off, and I was really so happy about it, but after that, you just feel normal. You cannot really feel any different. Yeah, maybe I have to have more interviews and I've got more focus with other people, but everything is the same. I'm still the same going in here, and I'm still looking for something I want to achieve. So yeah, I feel like I cannot really feel any different before I become a No. 1 and right now.

Q. Which hole is the most interesting this week?
SO YEON RYU: Well, every hole is really interesting. It's hard to pick just one hole. Well, actually the 14th par-3 is the most beautiful hole for me, and I just cannot pick only one hole that I really like or I don't like.

Q. Could you tell us something about your past experiences of playing links golf, and also, have you played at Kingsbarns before?
SO YEON RYU: Yeah, I played the pro-am yesterday and the practice round on Monday, and seems like when I play this tournament I always learn better -- my ball better to be close to the ground as much as I can. So it's a very different golf style than what we normally play. Let's say I can hit my 7-iron to 150 yards, but it's a links style golf course, you'd better have a 100-yard, 120-yard shot, so you have to be creative. It's just totally different golf, and it's all about being creative, especially if wind is going to be really strong. Sometimes you have to chip around the green pa 3-wood or utility, 5-iron. It's so much fun. It cannot be boring, and you always can expect some fantastic shot or some ridiculous shot, but it still could be really great, and sometimes you can be really frustrated because it can be easy to make a big number, but at the same time, even though you make a big number, you still have a chance to win the tournament. That's why I love to come here.

Q. When did you first play on a links golf course?
SO YEON RYU: That was the 2012 Ricoh Women's British Open at Royal Liverpool. Also that was the worst weather I ever played in in my life.

Q. What sort of score do you think would be possible out there this week?
SO YEON RYU: Yeah, well, I'm not going to lie, this golf course is pretty soft right now, but I think it's still tough even with the tough conditions, so I'm not predicting super low scores. If we're going to have really good weather like without rain, maybe we can expect double-digit numbers, but the weather is supposed to be -- I think it's like strong wind and a lot of rain, so in this case I think around 5- to 6-under. But if the greens stay soft.

Q. Would you like a mixture of conditions? Is that good or bad?
SO YEON RYU: Yeah, I think I really enjoy this golf course. I always enjoy the links style golf course, and I always enjoy the really big greens because you still can see so many different shots. Yeah, if I can be really patient, I can play well.

Q. When you changed your swing with Cameron McCormick, you really worked a lot on your ball flight. How will that help you this week?
SO YEON RYU: You know, we played ladies Scottish Open last week, and I had great preparation for this tournament. But according to last week, judging by last week, I think my ball had a nice trajectory for side wind right now. I think before my ball was going quite high, so the wind is coming from -- of course into the wind, helping, it was still the same, but especially when wind is coming from the side, I just didn't know what to do because I would hit the ball way too much. But yeah, I think I can trust myself that my ball flight is good enough and strong enough. It's not going to affect the side wind much. That helped me to manage this golf course really, really well.

Right now I feel more comfortable hitting a low shot and hit different chip shots. It's going to be more fun to play.

Q. How are you feeling about becoming the world No. 1?
SO YEON RYU: Yeah, when I first time I achieved my dream, I thought it was going to be really special. I was like, all my hard work has paid off and I was really happy. But since then, I still cannot really feel any difference. I still work hard to achieve my other dreams and I work hard every day, and I still enjoy my game.

Yeah, so far I don't think I have any extra pressure. I just want to keep doing what I normally do.

Q. Do you think the names at the top of the leaderboard show the talent in the women's game at the moment?
SO YEON RYU: Well, I think I'm the one trying not to look at the leaderboard too much. Sometimes it helps, sometimes not. I just try not to look at it too much and just think about my game.

Q. Could you tell us how long you've worked with Cameron McCormick and how long it took to make the swing changes?
SO YEON RYU: I started to work with him since 2016 January, and I would say I got used to my swing, well, maybe since last year like August. Yeah, so Cameron and I have to work really hard like about six months to change -- like complete my swing changes.

Q. How often do you see him now?
SO YEON RYU: When I'm in Dallas, I see him like three or four times a week and even when I'm on the road I frequently send my swing to Cameron, then Cameron just checks all the different things. Yeah, that's about it. And sometimes he comes to major tournaments.

Q. And your putting has improved tremendously; what do you put that down to? You've had some help from Ian Baker-Finch?
SO YEON RYU: Yeah, since I started working with Ian, Finchy, I think it's my mindset that's changed, especially when I practice. When I practiced I was still like, okay, I have like three hours out there to practice, like two hours of putting practice, and I'm going to do some short game and long game for an hour.

But right now I just changed my goals. It's like, okay, this is a drill I want to achieve, then once I achieve my drill, no matter the time, I'm just going to done my practice, and I think he somehow just taught me to enjoy the practice instead of, okay, about like time frame things. Yeah, Finchy helped me out so much to enjoy my game and enjoy how to practice, plus Cameron has always helped me out to see all the technique stuff and mental stuff, as well, so I think I'm having a really good balance about technique and mental when I practice on the putting green.

Q. Have you met Jordan Spieth through the connection with Cameron?
SO YEON RYU: We met a few times, but we always have like an hour lesson time, so we haven't really talked a lot. Well, somehow pretty much after he won the tournament we had a chance to get to see each other. We always congratulate to each other. Also Cameron had a lot of experience through Jordan, so he helped me out a lot to be No. 1.

Q. Is it exciting for you to have a chance to become a second Open champion for Cameron?
SO YEON RYU: Yeah, that would be nice. When Jordan played at the Open, I was in Scotland, as well, so I watched a lot of it. Well, I was amazed by how strong he is. To be honest, on Sunday his long game was not really great, but still, his mentality was so strong he was able to fight back. He's young, but how he plays is just like very good strong level, so I'm always amazed by how strong he is.

Q. Going back to what you said about Ian Baker-Finch making practice more fun for you, if you had one piece of advice to give to people who don't like to practice, what would it be?
SO YEON RYU: Set up the goal. It's just like maybe you can do something -- he just taught me to be really disciplined. Let's say set up the three-foot putt, about like five about the ring and just make a goal like, okay, I'm going to make 30 in a row, then I'm going to done my practice. You would think it could be really easy to make 40 in a row or 30 in a row, but no matter how easy or difficult it is, after you achieve your goal, you're going to feel like you achieved something or you improved something. Yeah, I'd suggest to always make a goal to achieve when you practice.

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