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RICOH WOMEN’S BRITISH OPENJuly 31, 2018I.K. KimFife, Scotland MODERATOR: Welcome back to our defending champion I.K. Kim. How has your first year been as defending champion? I.K. KIM: It has been different, for sure. I don't know. This year it was very spectacular, my golfing situation. A lot of things happened on and off the course, and I feel finally in peace. MODERATOR: So talk us through a little bit since you won here last year how your year has been and how you're at peace now. I.K. KIM: I played until Dubai, so I had a very late finishing of the year, long season for me. And then -- and I decided to go to Bahamas and then coming back home I didn't have a club with me because they lost my clubs. And it's been a battle since then with equipment. But looking back I think it's a good thing that now I have clubs that I got to know them a little bit better. I think it helped me a lot in different ways, how to travel safer and all that, and just random things can happen. But it's been a journey. MODERATOR: What have you changed in particular with the way you're traveling with your clubs? I.K. KIM: I have to change everything because I've been using the same club for two years. And they weren't making any more. So I had to get all new clubs. And I had two tournaments to defend titles, and I felt like that's what it feels like to be going to the tournament, and I keep telling myself, this will be my third charm. This could be good practice going into the major and having a chance to defend the title. MODERATOR: So do you feel that this being the third tournament that you defended this year, are you changing things up a little bit this week or same approach? I.K. KIM: I mean this is a different course, first of all. First two tournaments I played the same course, but it's different venue, and I feel fresh, and this is my favorite golf course in the entire world. So just being here means a lot to me. MODERATOR: And is that because -- have you played it before? I.K. KIM: Yeah. I played '09, and I thought it was just the golf course that I turned pro and play golf. So just coming back here means a lot, and defending title, it's just a bonus. MODERATOR: A dream on your favorite course. And what are the elements that make it your favorite course. I.K. KIM: I think, first of all, that it's very tight golf course. And I think it suits my game very well. But in the same time if I don't execute it well, then I'll get punished. But it's just make me think a lot. So I don't get bored on the course which I think that's the secret factor. So Severiano won twice here. MODERATOR: And is he here. I.K. KIM: Yeah. He won here in '88 when I born and I thought it was really neat. Yeah. MODERATOR: Okay. Any questions? Q. When you say that you're finally at peace, can you expand on that, why you're at peace? I.K. KIM: I felt like, you know, I've never experienced winning a major and going through everything, and I think I've gone through ups and downs of emotionally but also mentally and the playing -- just playing golf, I don't know, it's just -- it felt like a lot of work in a way. And I had very unnecessary expectations of myself. And finally, now I feel like I gave a lot of good work into, coming into this tournament. I think there are some tournaments I didn't feel like I was practicing in the right way and I wasn't ready for the compete. But -- so I knew that in May. So I just wanted to be ready for this tournament and going into even Evian, I was looking a little bit longer term. But which it kind of off sided me a little bit because I needed to take care of shorter goals. But I think it's been a long process, and I feel like now that I've put in right amount of work and now I just need to trust in God and have fun. That's how I feel. Q. Would you refresh my memory on exactly when you turned pro and the timeline of after you played here. I.K. KIM: What do you mean? Q. Didn't you just say earlier that playing here made -- you loved this golf course the first time you played here? I.K. KIM: Yes. I mean I've been spoiled. Like '07 when I turned pro, I play at Old Course, and it was first time for the women's to play at the Old Course, and that was my first. And I was like, oh, this is normal for me. And then I come here and I'm like, oh, my God. It was true links. I was going into every bunker and I just cried like crazy, because I've never experienced not getting out of bunker. A lot of times I can get out of it, but not here. But in the same time it was just shocking for me playing a links course. It was kind of first true links for me. So I think that's why it's my favorite. Q. Apologies if this question has already been asked. But are you still working with the NASA scientist? There's a gentleman who used to work for NASA who was helping you on your mental part of the game? Is that right? I.K. KIM: He is still working for NASA. Q. And I'm sorry, could you remind me who that is? I.K. KIM: Matt Park. Q. Matt Park. And how does he help you? I.K. KIM: You can ask him. Q. I could, but I don't know where he is. Could you tell me what you know? I.K. KIM: Well, he's kind of like a life coach. It's not like I talk to him every day like that. But when I need some perspective, I'll call him. He's the person that I'll call. And I have dozens of people that I'll call, which is great, yeah. Q. And who maybe looks after your swing now? Who's your go to for most elements of your game? I.K. KIM: Chris Mason. You know Chris; right? He's here until today and he's going back to California. But he's from here, England. Q. How did you enjoy the journey from Scotland and is it true that it was the first time you saw a sheep? I.K. KIM: Well, I'd seen a sheep before, but not like for four hours. And there are a lot of different looking ones, and I thought, oh, goats, sheep, water. You know, curious. And yeah, it was very nice scenery coming down here. You were on the bus. Q. I was. Last year I think you wore the Beetles marker. You wore it again last week. Is it still here? I.K. KIM: Yeah. Q. What else do you love about coming to the UK? I.K. KIM: I was so happy I lost my bag and then I found this. Someone brought me the bag and they didn't take this. So coming here, I don't know, I just love the breakfasts a lot. It's my favorite breakfast. And you mean about golf or -- Q. Actually, more personal. I was thinking you said you're at peace as well. Is there anything else that changed in your personal life or is it purely on the golf course? I.K. KIM: I think just being surrounded by nature and not surrounded by buildings, I think that helps me a lot with staying calm. It's not like they planted trees or flowers to look or. Pretty, but there are some wild bushes and flowers and things that I normally don't see, and last week I was looking at the hay. I don't know what you call those bushes. I'm like, oh, my God. Q. Gold. I.K. KIM: They're gold. I've never seen it before. It's just good to look at. And I think they are peaceful. Q. You said you used to have ridiculously high expectations. What are your expectations now that you have won that major, are your goals now? I.K. KIM: Just giving my best. I think I trust what I have now. I mean it changes every day, and it depends on the wind and everything, but I think because every day is so different here, that helps me to have less expectations and have a plan. And too much going on because every day is so different. Q. I'm curious, when you won here last year and you're feeling so relieved. You finally got over your major hurdle. It's obviously taken you a year to get used to being a major winner. Are you surprised at how you reacted, that you were relieved and carry on? I.K. KIM: I didn't know about -- it's my first time, so I didn't thought -- I mean winning a major is great, but winning every other tournament was amazing, too. But I think the whole thing around me changed, and I didn't know winning a major was that big deal, to be honest. And because I think it was British, it has so much history, and I think that really made it even extra special, and I didn't get used to be a favorite in the tournament and things like that. So I think that put me in the position where do I have to keep working, you know, taking a day off or going away was a little bit harder, I would say, because I -- who does like to be criticized? And I think I was the biggest criticizer, and I've really been hard work and discipline, integrity, so I think that -- I heard that this morning, too. Is it world war three? At least we got top bunkers. (Laughs). Yeah, winning a major, I think, seeing my face everywhere, I'm not used to it. And yeah. And I try to not make this like a norm, because also that, you know, this is not why I play golf, end of the day. Q. So can you describe the journey to get to the point where you then won your major? I.K. KIM: Yeah. I didn't even know I was going to win a major. I kind of not even thought about it. If I just enjoy playing golf if I would or not, but I think it really changed -- I thought I was okay with it, but I think I wasn't in a way, then that's what I figured, and that was I think very difficult for a couple of months that I didn't even look at myself. I didn't even -- I was just blocking, I was not listening to anything. And then I realized that part of me, and I think that hit me a little bit. Yeah. Q. You strike many of us as having a lot going on in your head. You think you're very cerebral. You think a great deal. Is that what makes you so good, because you are a winner on the Ladies European Tour, prolific winner on the LPGA Tour. You're a major champion. You're one of the best South Korean golfers. What is it that makes you so good that you win? What would you put it down to if you really had to nail it? What is it that makes you so good? What is your secret weapon? I.K. KIM: Well, my mantra for a long time was that I love playing golf. Yeah. And then that's kind of scares me a little bit. Why would I like playing golf since I've played since I was nine. And then I think it keeps growing and growing, and I feel like I've transformed so many parts of me playing golf that I've learned a lot about me, and also I learned who I wanted to become, and I think because I've gone through a lot of different things that I wish I would not want anyone to go through, but in that journey I think I've learned a lot. So I related to a lot of people. Not just golfers, but I related to more people, I think. And then we all try to strive for our best in our whatever we do in different areas. And I think it is very difficult to not get the result, and it's hard to keep going -- move on and be okay with it because I totally gave my best. But sometime I get frustrated, you know. Even though I get better, sometimes I want the results to come out, especially what I do. Going and just trusting that giving my best is enough, I think that's why I'm involved with Special Olympics. You know, they're not playing for something else. They just purely love playing golf. When I go there, they don't even look at me hitting a ball. They just want to hit balls. So I learn a lot from them. And one thing that I like about Scotland is people like say at the hotel, a lot of Americans travel all the way here to play eight days 36 holes and go home. And I get to do that. And I think that's pretty cool. Yeah. Q. I.K., am I right in saying you gave your pink hat from last year to the R&A museum? Yeah? I.K. KIM: Yes. I could have given all my clubs if I knew I was going to lose them. Q. How long was it before you got a new shipment of pink caps to wear and were you without the pink cap for a while? I.K. KIM: That also was kind of tricky. I wore pink cap I think the week before, a couple of tournaments before a major, but everybody was remembering my hat more than anything. And I felt like should I wear it or not wear it because people think of me as major champion. So that was a little bit not used to it. It overwhelmed me a little bit, but now I just wear it because why not. I like pink. Right? FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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