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U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 11, 2018

Jiwon Jeon

Kingston Springs, Tennessee

Q. It was long.
JIWON JEON: Yeah, it was. It was really long.

Q. Let's go back to your regulation a minute and talk about your putt on 18 and kind of take me through extending the match.
JIWON JEON: Well, I've been putting kind of -- I was having a really rough time with putting like throughout the match, and then 18, I was talking to my caddie, I just need to sink one putt, like one single putt, and we did it the last hole. Well, I was thinking about this is my last chance to continue the match, so I tried really hard to make the putt, and I did it.

Q. How long was that putt do you think?
JIWON JEON: Well, it was like 11 paces, 10 paces, something like that.

Q. So 30 feet maybe?
JIWON JEON: Yeah, yeah.

Q. And then your winning putt, first of all, what did you have in on your third shot?
JIWON JEON: I had 57 yards -- 55 yards to the pin.

Q. And what did you hit?
JIWON JEON: I hit 58 wedge.

Q. And how far do you think your last putt was?
JIWON JEON: It was about six feet. Six, seven feet.

Q. You met Lauren on a recruiting trip?
JIWON JEON: Yes, I did. I met her.

Q. And Kristen, too?
JIWON JEON: Yes. I actually stayed with Kristen during the recruiting, yeah.

Q. Like in her dorm?
JIWON JEON: Yeah, in her apartment.

Q. So what made you choose Alabama?
JIWON JEON: Well, I was just looking at other schools, and then I thought that they had the best golf program, so that's why I chose Alabama.

Q. Who else did you visit?
JIWON JEON: Oh, I didn't visit any other places, but I was actually committed to University of Washington like after high school, but I wasn't eligible to play NCAAs, so I had another chance to look around at other schools.

Q. Was this because of the TOEFL or --
JIWON JEON: Yeah, TOEFL or SAT. I think it's pretty much TOEFL, yeah.

Q. So Kristen must have been a good host then.
JIWON JEON: Yeah, she was. She's really sweet.

Q. Knowing it's a 36-hole final, what's the plan for the rest of the day today?
JIWON JEON: Well, stay hydrated, obviously, and then try to focus on each shot and just stay calm and just stay in the moment and keep going.

Q. When did you move to Australia?
JIWON JEON: When I was 15 I moved to Australia and then went to high school there for three years and then graduated. My high school coach actually suggested me to go to U.S. college, so that's why I'm here right now.

Q. Were you at like a golf-specific school in Australia?
JIWON JEON: It was an international school with the golf academy, so there's just a regular school and then golf academy together, so there's a lot of players in the academy with me.

Q. And then your parents are in Korea?
JIWON JEON: Yes, they are.

Q. So were they staying up late watching this?
JIWON JEON: Yeah, they are probably, yeah.

Q. Do they get the television station?
JIWON JEON: Oh, yes. I think it's live today, so yeah, they are watching. It started at 11:00 p.m. there.

Q. And you kept it going a little longer for them.
JIWON JEON: Yeah (laughing).

Q. What do your parents do for a living?
JIWON JEON: My dad is working but my mom is a housewife.

Q. What does your dad do?
JIWON JEON: He works like selling solar panels and like installs them.

Q. Is he a golfer?
JIWON JEON: Yeah, he plays golf, but I started first.

Q. How did that happen?
JIWON JEON: He knows a lot of people because of his business, and then one of his customers was a golf professional, so he asked me to play golf. So that's how I got into golf.

Q. And how did you get to Daytona ultimately?
JIWON JEON: So after I was -- I knew that I wasn't able to play NCAAs, so the coach at Washington, Mary Lou, gave me Laura Brown's -- the coach Laura Brown's information, so she asked me to go there, so I went there.

Q. Gotcha.
JIWON JEON: And then they had one spot left.

Q. So then did consider going to Washington afterwards?
JIWON JEON: Yeah, I was thinking really hard about it, but yeah, unfortunately I picked Alabama. Sorry for Washington, but...

Q. So your caddie, I understand his nickname is Jesus?
JIWON JEON: Oh, yeah.

Q. Do you call him Jesus?
JIWON JEON: No, I didn't really call his name. We were kind of by each other all the time, so I didn't really --

Q. You didn't call him by name?
JIWON JEON: No.

Q. What's your tattoo say?
JIWON JEON: It says shine your light, in Latin.

Q. When did you get that and why?
JIWON JEON: Over the summer. I always wanted to get a tattoo, but I didn't know where to get it, and I was scared to get it. I went to the tattoo shot with my friend, and I decided to get one.

Q. To make it this far in your first Women's Am, what does that do for your confidence?
JIWON JEON: Honestly, I wasn't really confident before I came here. I was actually not to play this tournament. But I came here, and then now my confidence got really rising. It's like I'm 90 percent or more confident about my game golf right now.

Q. What made you sign up for this championship?
JIWON JEON: I always wanted to play this tournament, and last year I didn't play qualifying or anything, I just -- I don't think I was ready. But this year I was exempt to the U.S. Am, so I just signed up, and I came up this far.

Q. What made you choose those words in particular, shine your light?
JIWON JEON: I mean, I think everyone has a confidence in them. I believe in myself. And I want to believe in myself a little more, so that's why I got this one.

Q. So you believe in yourself more?
JIWON JEON: Yeah, I want to believe in myself a little more.

Q. Who do you look up to in the golf world?
JIWON JEON: Actually Seri Pak. I grew up watching her golf. Men's, I'm a big fan of Tiger for a long time.

Q. Have you ever met Seri?
JIWON JEON: No, no. I went to like two LPGA events and never got to see her.

Q. Which event, in Korea?
JIWON JEON: Yeah, like Hana Bank.

Q. You're exempt into the Women's Open next year; have you played in one before?
JIWON JEON: No.

Q. What will that mean to you?
JIWON JEON: It will be awesome. It will be really awesome to be there. I don't want to look too far away from that, so I just want to play my game tomorrow and try to focus on each shot and then see from there, yeah.

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