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DIAMOND RESORTS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

January 20, 2019

Lydia Ko

Lake Buena Vista, Florida

Q. So the ball striking looked good right up until 13. So what -- was that accurate, and what happened there?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I hit the ball pretty good, and then on 13 I tried to carry it over the bunker. And seeing my second drive, I should have just hit a normal one and not try and bust one because I could still get over and get home for two. I thought I needed to hit it really hard to carry the bunker. At the end of the day, it was unnecessary.

So, yeah, I went there, and I missed a few short putts just throughout the week. So that's going to be something that I'm going to try and work on. Overall, it was pretty solid. I had so many putts earlier in the day that I thought at least one of them would drop. It was that kind of day where just nothing was dropping, and I was missing putts, I was missing putts. I know, when I hit a loose one, it was loose. It wasn't a very good combination at the end.

But I enjoyed playing this week. It was probably one of my favorite events, I think, on the calendar for us. It's just unfortunate that I hit a few loose ones out there that cost me quite a few shots.

Q. Despite the outcome, having yourself back in contention, leading in the final group on the final day, how does that make you feel again being back here?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, it's, obviously, the more times you're in contention, I think the more you get to be more comfortable just being in that position. Obviously, it wasn't easy out there with the wind. I knew that was what I was facing going into today. But I feel like there were a lot of positives to take from this week. Just apart from maybe three, four holes, I played the rest, 68 holes, really well.

So, yeah, I feel like the work we've done in the off-season has been good. It's nice that we get a couple more weeks off to work on a few things before my next event, which is going to be the Australian Open.

Q. So speaking of the work that you've done, you're hitting it a lot longer. Is the miss that push?
LYDIA KO: I think my miss is more of a push, yeah. But today my misses were a hook. That hook's not very good. Yeah, I think there were some shots that I thought I missed but hit it on the heel and it just didn't go very far, but still I was able to keep it on the fairway. So that's always nice when you're missing it but you're still able to keep it in play.

Obviously, I think the more I get to practice and the more competitive rounds I get to put in with everything that we're working on, I think the more comfortable and the more confident I can get.

But, no, I do feel like, when I do hit it pretty solid, it's going further than I did last year, and I think it's just a combination of all the amazing things that the engineers and Mr. Parsons thought up with all the new driver and the thing we've been working on with Ted.

So, yeah, I think not a great Sunday. However, a lot of, I think, good, positive things to take away from this week.

Q. I apologize for making you relive it, but I didn't actually see 13. Was it a tee shot that went left?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, it was the tee shot, and just nobody was able to spot it. Probably even if I -- there was like a million balls in there, so it makes me feel better that I wasn't the only one that hit there. But I couldn't find my ball. So we couldn't just find it.

Q. Did you hit provisional out there?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I hit provisional, and then I didn't really hit it -- I just hit it my normal speed, and it carried the bunker plenty. And I hit a normal 3 wood, and it went on the green, and I was like, well, that was stupid. Because I could have just hit a normal driver, and I probably wouldn't have duck hooked it and it would still be able to be in play.

I guess there's moments I thought it was necessary, but then it wasn't. But, hey, you're always going to have some of these failures along the way, but I've got to learn from it. It's good to know, when it's downwind off the right, I can carry a bunker that's 345 at least.

Q. Did the wind take your ball on 18?
LYDIA KO: I pulled it. I mean, there's one place you can't hit it on the 18th. I hit it there. I think I got pretty lucky that I was -- that I hit it far enough that I could drop it on this other side. But even with the knee drop, I didn't drop it on a very nice lie, which you would think it would be easier because you're so much closer to the ground. But, hey, it just wasn't my day. A lot of good things to take from this week.

I was invited to play this event prior to this year, and I feel bad I didn't play the previous years because it was so much fun.

Q. Now you know.
LYDIA KO: Yeah, now I was telling Coach -- you know, Brian with Diamond Resorts that I just want to win an event, not just for the sake of winning, but just to be able to play this event. I think they do such an amazing job of hosting not only us but the celebrities and the family members. It's not that many events that you're allowed to bring in four guests and they're treated well. I think the fans are treated really well. I think that's the really cool thing about an event like this.

Q. Can I ask about Eun Hee and just what you thought of her game today? Are you guys close? Are you friends?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I mean, she's more like my big sister than like, oh, she's my friend. I think I've gotten closer to a lot of the Koreans since playing Inbee's event. Most of the time we're playing against each other or alongside each other. Just being in that team format, I loved. She was our big sister on the team. We went out and ate dinner a bunch of times last year, and she's got such a cool personality. She's very chill.

I think she's one of those players that nothing really fazes her. I played with her quite a few times when she won. I played with her in Taiwan a couple years ago when she won, and it had been a while since she was -- since she had her last win. I said to -- I was joking to Martin that she could have stopped playing and me played another nine holes that maybe I would have caught up to her. That's how good she was playing.

She's just all around very solid, very consistent, and a really good putter. I think that's why she was playing so steady to shoot even around even and now the under par on a day like today is pretty impressive.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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