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BANK OF HOPE FOUNDERS CUP

March 18, 2018

Inbee Park

Phoenix, Arizona

THE MODERATOR: It's my pleasure to welcome in INBEE PARK, the 2018 Bank of Hope Founders Cup champion.

Inbee, congratulations. This is your 19th career LPGA win. How does this one compare to the 18 others?

INBEE PARK: This one feels as good as the other 18. Obviously a win always feels great. You know, starting the season in Singapore I felt like I was hitting the ball quite solid, but I didn't know when the short game and the putting was going to come around because I just felt like that was just really rusty from taking some break from last year.

It came quite quickly this week, and I was able to putt really well in some rounds of this week. So that gave me some confidence going into the season.

Having a win this early in the season always is very helpful starting the season off really well. Yeah, I'm really happy to have a win early in the season and that just puts so much pressure off me.

Yeah, feels so much good.

THE MODERATOR: Take us through the round today. You birdied the 1st hole and had a long stretch of pars, but you were able to really catch fire on the back nine.

INBEE PARK: Yeah. I had to be really patient on the front nine. After the 1st hole I gave myself a lot of opportunities, but I wasn't able to hole anything.

At some moments I was getting a little bit frustrated, but I always just try to keep myself calm and just keep telling myself that it's going to come, it's going to come. It's going to drop at some point.

It started dropping on No. 12. It was a relief, yeah.

THE MODERATOR: How special was it to win in front of some of the LPGA Founders? I think I heard one of them say you were the best putter in the world.

INBEE PARK: Yeah, it's always a great feeling to play in front of the Founders and show them our golf. It's because of them that we are here competing in such a high level of golf. Women's golf has grown so much since they founded the tour.

It's always a special feeling to play in front of them.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Considering that in your off-season you actually were wondering should I come back or not, how much does that make this meaningful, more meaningful?
INBEE PARK: Well, you know, I was just trying to figure out whether I am good enough to win again or not when I was having a practice in this off-season.

The reason that I am competing and playing is because I want to win and because I want to contend in golf tournaments.

This week definitely proved me I can win and contend and play some pain-free golf. All those three worked this week, so that gave me so much confidence.

Q. Are weeks like this and days like the last two, is that the reason you came back?
INBEE PARK: Yes, I would say so. Yeah. It is always fun to have a lot of birdies on the golf course. I think it was just really a little bit of ball striking, but mostly the putting that was kind of on and off last two, three years.

When I was putting good I was able to contend and win; when I wasn't putting good it was kind of hard. Especially on this golf course where the par-5s are reachable for the long hitters, but I'm not the long hitter. It was really hard to make a lot of birdies without a good putter.

Yeah, with the putting falling, that didn't really became a problem.

Q. They got within one of you and then you just pulled away hard. On that back nine were you starting to feel like the Inbee of old? What were you feeling as you were pulling away?
INBEE PARK: I think just on the back nine I just felt like nothing has dropped on the front nine, so I was just thinking to myself, It has to drop at some point. They just started dropping, dropping, dropping, so I was like, I think that's just making up for the front nine.

That was what I was, just trying to keep myself a little bit more calmer. Yeah, just yesterday and today when I was rolling the putts good, I felt like I was putting a really good stroke on it and I was able to see my stroke a little bit better with the Anser style.

Even if I go back to the mallet style I now kind of know what kind of stroke is a good stroke and the best stroke. I think that's going to help me, yeah.

THE MODERATOR: Inbee, you're already in the LPGA Hall of Fame. What are your goals for the rest of this season and the rest of your career?

INBEE PARK: Well, of the important goal for this season was to win a major championship - major championship or just win a golf tournament. I did one, so hopefully I can play some good golf in the major championships.

We haven't started with even one yet, so I'm really looking forward to playing in the first major of the year.

Q. How much are you paying attention to where you are in the Rolex Rankings and trying to maybe make the Korean International Crown team this year?
INBEE PARK: To be honest, with the world rankings, I don't think I have even looked at them since the Olympics. I know I'm somewhere in top 20, somewhere in there, but I didn't really think about making up or going to No. 1 again.

My main focus was just playing some good golf, and that just brings little rankings up anyway, so...

Q. I know I've asked you this a couple times, but maybe an answer has come. I've asked you how do you explain that you can take these long breaks and come back and win almost right away?
INBEE PARK: I don't know. It just happened. I just think I hit the point where I needed some break. I should say my body needed break; my mental needed a break.

I think it really worked well as the timing-wise how the injuries happened and how I took some time off from golf. Even if I didn't have an injury, I think I was just really getting tired mentally and physically.

Think that really worked well. That's why the breaks has been working really well for me. After the break I just feel like I am refreshed and I feel like I want to play again. When you just keep playing golf for ten years nonstop you kind of want to take some time off and just think about something else and do something else.

Injury actually made me do that. At that point I was like, Why is this happening to me? Why do I need to take a break when I don't want to take a break?

In the break I was just kind of thinking a little bit more positive and trying to take what I can take from that break. That has been working good. I might have won more tournaments even if I didn't take the break, but I don't think I was as happier a person than I am now today, so...

Q. Inbee, the last 36 holes I think it was 63, 67, no bogeys. Can you tell us about Saturday and Sunday? Pretty magic 36-hole run there.
INBEE PARK: Yeah, good 36 holes without a bogey. I didn't even think about that today. Yeah, I mean, this golf course kind of make you that it is possible to do, and this year somehow the fairways were a little bit softer and the greens were a little bit softer.

The golf course is playing a little bit longer, but I was able to stop the ball a little bit better. There was a lot of pins that I can attack and I can make a lot of birdies out there, but at the same time, a lot of the other girls were making a lot birdies.

I think it's just the concentration level was really good this weekend compared to the weekdays. Yeah, it just happened.

Q. What do you do during the long breaks? Do you do anything really fun or just relax?
INBEE PARK: Mostly relax. The most thing that I really enjoy is that I don't need to travel. Yeah, I really enjoy my time with my dog and family. I said to my mom and dad, I don't think I ever stayed in Korea summer to fall, you know, August to September when actually the season changes and you see the leaves falling and you see the changing colors of the mountain.

I told my mom, I don't think I've ever seen that for maybe 20 years, but I'm finally seeing that. It's just that kind of things. Just ordinary things, but just something that I haven't been able to do.

Yeah.

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