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U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

May 29, 2018

Inbee Park

Shoal Creek, Alabama

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to a phone conversation surrounding this 2018 U.S. Women's Open Championship. It is my pleasure to introduce three-time USGA champion Inbee Park. She won her first USGA championship at the U.S. Girl's Junior in 2003, won the U.S. Women's Open in 2008 and 2013, and this will be Inbee's 12th U.S. Women's Open.

Before we jump into what you think of the course, what does it mean to be a U.S. Women's Open champion?

INBEE PARK: The U.S. Women's Open is always the tournament that always wanted to win and always wanted to play well and always look forward to playing in the whole year's schedule.

Obviously, being champion of the U.S. Women's open is the greatest honor. It is some tournament that you definitely want to win as a professional golfer.

THE MODERATOR: I know you were able to get out here yesterday and play the course. What did you think and how does it suit your game?

INBEE PARK: Yesterday was rainy as well as today. The course is very wet right now, but I was really surprised at how the greens were holding yesterday, how dry they were yesterday.

Obviously after all this rain today, it probably is wetter. But I kind of think that this course is playing, you know, I think long at the moment because of the rain. So we are going in with the longer clubs. So obviously with the rain, we will be able to stop the ball a little bit quicker. When the greens are firm here, it's really tough to get to a lot of pins. It can be a little bit different after all this rain.

The greens were in a great shape. They were rolling really pure and true. So they looked like they were in really good position. We don't know what is going to happen for the next few days with the weather. Hopefully the weather holds a little bit and gives us a little bit more dryer condition.

Q. In 123 years, the USGA has never played a championship under lift, clean and place conditions. What do you think the likelihood is that will change this week and that it will go lift, clean and place? And if they do not, how will that affect how the championship plays out?
INBEE PARK: This is probably the wettest conditions I have ever seen in U.S. Women's Open. We just don't know what's going to happen. Coming in to the U.S. Women's Open, I always try to play the ball with the mud or try to play with like a wet ground condition because we've never played lift, clean and place. We just play from wherever it is and however the condition is.

I really didn't expect to play the lift, clean and place this week. But with all this rain, we don't know how bad it is going to be. I'll be surprised if they play lift, clean and place.

Q. Which part of your game is most affected by these wet conditions or does it matter to you at all?
INBEE PARK: Well, I think in the wet conditions, you have to be a higher ball flight and obviously you want to hit it long off the tee, just carrying-wise. So that gives you a lot of advantage going into a little bit shorter clubs into the greens.

I'm obviously not the longest hitter on the tour, so this course is going to play a little bit tougher on me. Obviously I'm having to get to the greens with longer clubs, which is going to be -- the accuracy is going to be the key on the second shot.

I played a player practice round on Monday. Still it wasn't this much rain on Monday, but it still played really long. I went in with a lot of hybrids and woods into the holes. The greens are big, but when they put the pins in the tough positions, it's going to be really tough golf course.

The one good thing about this golf course is the greens are really good and they are really pure. And they are undulated, but I think I really do like the greens.

Q. You kind of surprise us sometimes. You say that you are not one of longest hitters out here. It seems like when you get to these really difficult venues, there's something about your game that steps up a little bit. What do you think it is? A course that may not suit you in terms of length, that you just sometimes shock the world and you are a world beater out there?
INBEE PARK: Length is very important on the wet conditions, but it doesn't mean everything. I think even though your going with the shorter clubs, if you putt bad you are not going to score. If you go into the holes with the longer clubs, but if you putt good you are going to score better.

It really comes down to long hitters have that advantage, but it does come down to really the short games and who holes many putts. It doesn't matter how long of a distance you putt from, it matters who holes the ball, the first in the hole. I think that's just the way the game of golf is played. It doesn't matter how much advantage you have, it's you have to make that to your advantage.

Q. How much when it happens like this, maybe you are not one of longer hitters, does your accuracy come into play with the longer irons and the hybrids?
INBEE PARK: It is really tough to be accurate with the 5-wood, the 3-wood. It's probably the same for everyone. (Inaudible) or 3-woods like that on line with the pin that many times.

So what I'm trying to do is put somewhere on the green and try to give myself an opportunity at a birdie. Even though it is the U.S. Women's Open, it is always good to have a par. You don't have to make a birdie on every hole, you've just got to give yourself some kind of chance at a birdie. That is something that I kind of aim for going in with the longer clubs.

Q. Of all the tournaments that you have won, what is the one that you won in the wettest conditions that you can remember?
INBEE PARK: The wettest conditions? The last two U.S. Women's Open was not wet, so definitely not the U.S. Women's Open. I'm trying to think of the majors. I think a couple of times in the LPGA championship, when we were playing back in Wegmans. I think there was a couple of times it was wet. So that's the last time I can remember being in a major championship being in the wet conditions, but not to this extreme.

Q. And what was it like winning in Korea on the KLPGA? Can you paint a scene for us, what that meant to you?
INBEE PARK: It was a great win. It was just a couple of weeks ago in Korea. Everybody was asking so many questions about why are you not winning in Korea. I really couldn't find a good answer for them over the years for many years. I finally kind of gave them some kind of an answer. They don't need to ask me the same question again. That's really the happiest part that I'm really happy about.

Obviously winning in front of a lot of fans in Korea was a big thing. It was a match play, so I played seven rounds in five days. So that was very tough. I was proud of myself that I have done it in the match play. It is a lot tougher to win than the stroke play. So it was a great week. My family and everyone was there. I was able to share that with a lot of people. That was really great. It was a big relief.

Q. That's a lot of golf. What did that say to you about your health and that your thumb and everything held up for that amount of golf in a short amount of time?
INBEE PARK: Whenever I played the Korean events, I always played like a week after I played in U.S. or British Open or somewhere abroad. I didn't really give myself time to recover or to get ready for the KLPGA events. This time I only played the KLPGA events in the middle of the year. I didn't play the week before or the week after. That really gave myself time to prepare for the tournaments.

Coming in to the U.S. Open, I took another week off before coming this week. I was feeling quite healthy and I'm proud of myself that I'm holding on really well this year health-wise. And mentally and physically, I feel like I'm really healthy. It's a good sign.

Q. Just on the LPGA Tour this year, there's been so many different winners. Does that make this field feel that much more competitive because you have got some really good other players joining the mix as well?
INBEE PARK: There has been a lot of winners this year. I think there was multiple winners this year which means that the competition is strong and high. Coming into the major, there is a lot of notable players that haven't won this year and they are looking to win this year. There is a handful of players who can compete really well this week. It's always about being out on this tour, LPGA Tour, the competition is always strong and different every week. The players that you compete with every week is different. You don't see the same players every week up on the leaderboard. You see some kind of different levels of players, a variety of players on the leaderboard. So I think it is really fun.

Q. I think coming up in July, it will be 20 years since Se Ri Pak won the Women's Open. I know you were really young back them, but do you remember that? Did it have an impact on you?
INBEE PARK: Back in 2008?

Q. 1998, when Se Ri Pak -- I understood that you had been following that as a kid. Is that not the case?
INBEE PARK: Yeah. Back in '98, I was really just a kid. My dad was really a big fan of golf. He was watching golf and watching Se Ri play. I remember my dad getting really excited very early in the morning.

After that there was a big golf boom in Korea and a lot of the girls my age was starting to play golf. I was one of them.

Q. So it did have an big impact?
INBEE PARK: Yes, yes, of course.

Q. What do you like to do on a day off like today? What will you do?
INBEE PARK: What will I do? Just like try to really relax and try to get the energy. I was really busy back in Korea last three weeks. I kind of needed some time to rest and do nothing. This is really the perfect day to get a way from a lot of people and just stay in the room and do nothing. I don't have to worry about anything and do anything. I think that's something that I was kind of looking forward to doing last three weeks that I was quite busy back home.

This is good relaxing day for me, just kind of catching back to the time zone and getting back to a good rhythm.

Q. Do you have a favorite TV show that you binge or a book that you were reading?
INBEE PARK: I watched a lot of dramas and movies maybe three four years ago. These days I really also -- I haven't been watching TV or dramas at all this year or last couple of years. It's just somehow I just didn't. I just kind of surf through the web and stuff, but not much of a movie watcher lately.

Q. When did you get to the U.S.?
INBEE PARK: I got here last Saturday.

Q. Who is with you this week?
INBEE PARK: Just my husband.

Q. Low key.
INBEE PARK: Yeah.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you for joining us over the phone..

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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