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RICOH WOMEN’S BRITISH OPENAugust 3, 2017Michelle Wie WestFife, Scotland COLIN CALLANDER: Good afternoon again, ladies and gentlemen. We have Michelle Wie with us. She's just scored an 8-under par 64, which I confirm is a new course record. The previous record was set by Xiyu Lin from China in the qualifying here in 2013. We will publish a spelling of that because I suspect my pronunciation of Chinese is not very good. Congratulations. Give us your thoughts about the round. MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, it was a lot of fun out there today. I mean, I feel like I got extremely lucky with the conditions out there. It was absolutely gorgeous today. I think Kingsbarns is definitely one of the most scenic golf courses I've ever played, and you definitely get lost in the views out there. It's like just looking out into the ocean, and it was just beautiful. I had a lot of fun today. Q. Did you feel this coming over the last few days? MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, you know, it was good, especially just after the Open. I'm just happy to be playing and happy to be out here and playing at full capacity. Q. You had a few injuries last year; are you injury-free at the moment? MICHELLE WIE: I am not going to answer that question because every time I feel like I say I'm good, something happens. Fingers crossed. Knock on wood. Q. Do you want to take us through highlights? MICHELLE WIE: Second hole, I hit my driver in the middle of the fairway and laid up to the perfect spot and I skulled a lob wedge straight over the green, made bogey. And then 4, I hit driver, 8-iron onto the green, made birdie from like 15 feet. 6, I hit driver, 11-wood to about 15 feet, and I made that. And then 8, I hit driver, 3-wood to the front of the green, two-putted. 11, I hit driver, 3-wood again to the front of the green, two-putted. 12, I hit 9-iron to about 20 feet. 14, I hit 9-wood. Yes, 9-wood. I have a 9-wood and an 11-wood. To about four feet. Made that putt. 16, I hit 9-wood again into the green to about six feet. And then 17, 9-iron to about six feet. 18, 9-iron again, little cut 9-iron to about 15 feet. Q. What are the lofts on those woods? MICHELLE WIE: I don't even know. The 11-wood replaces my 5-iron, and the 9 wood replaces my 4-hybrid. Q. How long have you had them in the bag? MICHELLE WIE: Since KPMG. Q. 64, where does that rank in terms of rounds? MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, it's definitely up there for sure. The fact that they said that I got the course record today, that's a huge honour for me, especially at a place like Kingsbarns, and I'm really proud of myself for how I played today. I really took advantage of the conditions this morning. But yeah, it was a really fun round. It's fun to play good golf. Q. Where did you find an 11-wood? MICHELLE WIE: You know, I was talking to Meg Mallon about it. I was like, you won't believe what's in my bag right now, I've got an 11-wood. She's like, yeah, I won the U.S. Open with a 13-wood. But I think Callaway has done a great job of accommodating me. They had to look back into their archives to find me an 11-wood. But I have an Epic 9-wood and I think XR 11-wood. But they've been great. I definitely had to cut it down, and I've never played such a high-lofted wood before, so they've done a great job of working with me and making it work. Q. How far can you hit it? MICHELLE WIE: It's the same distance as my 5-iron, so 180, and then 9, it's the same thing as my 4-hybrid, so 190, 195. But it doesn't go that far in these conditions. Q. The course obviously suited your eye. Can you talk about how it compares to other links golf that you've played? MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, this is a great test of golf. A lot of pot bunkers out there, obviously very specific to links golf. I felt like I struggled a little bit in the past at British Opens, in the past couple British Opens, so I made it a point to come to the Scottish Open last week and get some good practice in. I felt like that really helped me a lot, just getting used to playing links golf, because it's just so different. Q. Has there been a bit of frustration this season that you haven't been able to get back in the winner's circle? MICHELLE WIE: For sure. You always want to win tournaments and be back in the winner's circle, but at the same time, I've been having so much fun this year playing golf and having fun again. It's just been a real joy just being out there and just having fun, honestly. So I think the results will come. I'm not too worried about that. I just want to keep going out there and keep having fun and keep enjoying each round and enjoying the game because I think that's sometimes what I forget it is, it's a game. So I'm really just playing it like that, and just the results will come. Q. Were you thinking course record after having a bogey? MICHELLE WIE: Not at all. I was like, oh, my gosh, just get it to even par. Man, you skulled a lob wedge. It was definitely a rocky start, but I think that got me a little pissed. I was very angry after that, so I nuked a drive on the next hole, and that got me into a good position. I think birdieing the 4th hole really helped me out. Q. What's the difference this year compared to last year where I presume you didn't have a lot of fun? MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I struggled with a lot of injuries in 2015, 2016, and I started to take things a little bit too seriously. You start to play in pain, you start to grind through things, and you sort of lose sight of it, lose sight that golf is a game. I think sometimes you lose perspective sometimes when you are struggling. I just kind of had to take a step back and realise how lucky I am to be able to play a sport that I love for a living and get to travel to places like Kingsbarns and all this stuff. I live a pretty lucky life, and sometimes I think just having a different perspective on it and just thinking less about the results and thinking more about the process and just having fun out there because it doesn't matter what the results are. If you're enjoying what you're doing, then that's really all that matters. Q. What happened in the U.S. Women's Open where you had to withdraw and obviously your emotions today compared to then? MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, it was tough. I hurt my neck the Sunday of KPMG. I hit one shot and just started getting neck spasms and hurt my neck a little bit. Then I just didn't hit a single golf ball until the U.S. Open. I was doing everything I could, like three physio treatments a day, doing everything I could to get my neck back. But it just wasn't enough time. I think if I had two weeks or so, just unfortunately just these neck spasms were pretty bad. But thankfully I got to see my doctors in New York City after that, got a couple injections, and I feel pretty good. Q. The 9 and 11-woods, are they easier to hit? MICHELLE WIE: It's a lot easier than hitting a blade 5-iron. Q. It's nothing to do with the injury? MICHELLE WIE: No. Q. Do you think perhaps your best years are about to happen, about to come? MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I can't predict the future. I hope so. I really hope that it is. I've been working really hard, and I've been working really hard. I feel like I have a good mentality about things. I can't predict the future, but I hope so. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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