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RICOH WOMENâ€™S BRITISH OPEN

August 3, 2017

Michelle Wie West

Fife, Scotland

Q. Setting the pace day one of the Women's British Open. Very well played. How much fun was that out there?
MICHELLE WIE: It was fun. Any time you shoot 64 on a golf course, especially knowing a place like Kingsbarns, it's pretty fun.

Q. We're going to have a look at your finish. Heading out in 34, coming home in just 30, 16 birdies. We'll have a look at 18, your finish.
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I had a tough little downhill lie and I cut a little 9-iron in, and I felt great to make that putt. It was a little bit longer, and it felt really good to finish with that.

Q. Let's go back to 17. You liked the look of this, didn't you?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, it was fun. Yeah, same again. They moved the tee up on 17, which made it a lot easier. I've usually been hitting 9 wood in there, but I had 9-iron today, so yeah, it was a lot easier.

Q. You had a nice little reaction here.
MICHELLE WIE: It was such a bad lie. I thought it was going to -- I was trying to play it like past the hole, and it just came out a little bit lower.

Q. How much are you learning to embrace links golf?
MICHELLE WIE: I love it. You know, I just felt like I struggled a couple of times at the last British Opens, and I made it a point to really come early. I felt like the Scottish Open was a great way to get into links golf, and yeah, it's definitely a different way of playing, so it was good to hit a couple of shots that I haven't hit before. But I love it. It's so much fun.

Q. Physically are you feeling good and ready and good to go for the rest of the week?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I feel good. It makes it a little bit tough with the hard lies, and a couple of times it jars it a little bit. But it felt great. Scottish Open was a great week to get back into it. I felt like I didn't hit a golf ball for a long time before that, so it was a good warmup. But I can't complain.

Q. If the weather stays like this, the sun shines, how excited are you to challenge for the next few days?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, it's beautiful. It's so gorgeous out here. The weather is nice like this, the views here, it almost feels like I'm playing back home in Hawai'i with the ocean views and everything. But things can change in a moment here. It is very weather dependent, so we'll see how it goes the next couple of days, and I think it golf course is going to be a challenge, whether it's sunny or windy.

Q. How enjoyable was today?
MICHELLE WIE: Oh, it was amazing. The views here are just spectacular. Especially when the weather is good like this, it almost feels like playing back home in Hawai'i with the views. It was gorgeous out there. I had a lot of fun today.

Q. I've never heard Scotland compared to Hawai'i before. You turned at 2-under par and then just caught fire on the back nine. You had eight birdies in your last nine holes, finishing with three consecutive birdies.
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I skulled a lob wedge on the second hole, which is nice, straight over the green, and then started with a bogey. Kind of got me a little pissed for a little bit. But it was fun out there. I had a great group out there. I love playing with Brooke and Lydia. They're great conversation. We always have fun out there, so just had fun, and it was great.

Q. You've had some really impressive performances this year. How good is your game right now?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I mean, I was really happy I came over to Scotland a week early. I thought playing the Scottish Open I hit a lot of great shots, and especially coming back from injury, it was just nice to come play a week. But yeah, I'm just very grateful to be out here playing and just always excited to really play at a place like Kingsbarns. It's just always a great experience.

Q. How are you? Are you back to full health?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I can't complain. Yeah, I'm definitely making my way up there. It definitely makes it a little bit tough with the hard ground sometimes, but I can't complain. I feel good.

Q. What did you do to sort of recoup from the neck injury?
MICHELLE WIE: You know, I went to -- thankfully New Jersey is very close, so I just hopped over to New York City, and my doctor is over there, and had an epidural and a block injection, and it went very well, was very successful. It was good. I went to Scotland playing one day before I left, so that was interesting. First couple of practice rounds were iffy at best, but it feels great to be back and playing at full capacity.

Q. Is there any hesitation at all when you're hitting a shot that you might feel some pain, or do you feel like you can put it in the back of your mind?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I'm pretty confident out there that my neck is going to hold up. It's just a couple of times, it's so hard here, it's just sometimes it feels like you're hitting into concrete. It kind of vibrates a little bit, but it's never to the point where there's pain or anything, so I feel extremely lucky.

Q. Your form is pointing to something special. How would you describe things coming together in your game?
MICHELLE WIE: You know, this year has been fun. I think this year I've been building a lot of confidence and just taking it day by day and just working towards something, been working towards playing well, and just want to have fun out there, not really thinking about too much of the future, whatnot. I'm really happy about the way I played and set myself up for the next couple of days. I'm just trying to continue to have fun. You never know it, it might rain, might be windy the next couple days, I'm just going to take whatever comes at me.

Q. What was the best part of your game today?
MICHELLE WIE: I think we just had really good game strategy today. I think Matt did a really good job of navigating the course today, and we just played it safe on a couple holes, just played with -- you've just got to adapt to the conditions here.

Q. Will we see regular grip, left-hand low, anything else --
MICHELLE WIE: No, I came over to Scotland last week and it was so windy that I couldn't really do the claw. It just was moving all over the place, so just tried to figure something out that I could putt on links. So I'm glad I came over last week so I could figure all that out.

Q. You had some great conditions out there to play in and took advantage of it. You seemed to enjoy it. How much did you enjoy it?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, it was gorgeous out there. Sometimes you get lost in the views out here. It's just so spectacular. But it was a really fun golf course. I am really proud of myself for taking advantage of the conditions this morning.

Q. It seems like the course suits your game. How does it compare to some of the previous venues for the Women's British Open?
MICHELLE WIE: I think we've been very lucky with the British Open. We've played some great venues like Lytham and St. Andrews obviously, and this is our first time being here, and this definitely is one of the great ones, as well. It is a really great golf course.

Q. You had a taste of links golf last week at the Scottish Open. How big a part has that played in your preparation and putting together a score like this today?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I'm really glad I came over last week. It's different. Links golf is different, especially from where I live in Florida. It's a really different game. So I'm glad I came over last week. The conditions were extremely difficult last week, so I'm glad I went through that.

Q. Will you sit and watch some of the later starters maybe struggle a little bit this afternoon?
MICHELLE WIE: No, I actually don't really watch golf. I'll probably take a nap for sure.

Q. Incredible start here; how would you describe the round?
MICHELLE WIE: I had a lot of fun out there today. The views were just so spectacular here, you kind of get lost in the view sometime. I'm really proud of myself how I took advantage of conditions this morning. You never know, it might change tomorrow, Saturday, Sunday. So I'm just going to take whatever comes at me.

Q. We don't see many of these links courses throughout the year. How do you change your approach or a game plan on a course like this?
MICHELLE WIE: I think sometimes in the past I've maybe tried to work a little bit too much with my game to fit the links. I think you've just got to just play with it and not change too much. Sometimes I try to do too much with it, so I just kind of just played it.

Q. Do you enjoy the challenge of being creative out here on this type of course?
MICHELLE WIE: I do, I love it. I'm putting with my 11 wood, chipping with things I never would in the States, bump-and-runs. It's fun.

Q. You're already a major champion obviously with the U.S. in 2014. What would it mean not just to win the Women's British but also to win it on a good old fashioned links course.
MICHELLE WIE: For sure. Winning the Women's British Open has always been a huge goal of mine. I think that's a long way from now. I'm just really proud of myself for how I set myself up for the first day. It's a marathon, so a lot of golf from here to Sunday, but obviously winning the British Open would be just a dream come true for me.

Q. It certainly is a marathon, and you've had some really good conditions out there today. The wind has been pretty kind to you guys this morning, sun has been shining. We only had a few spots of rain. Do you envisage anybody else being able to shoot a 64 this week?
MICHELLE WIE: I think so. You never know out here. I think that it's playing very playable right now, soft greens, like you said, and low winds. But that can change in an instant here. I don't know if that'll happen tomorrow, Saturday or Sunday, I'm just going to take whatever comes at me.

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