	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

HSBC WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

February 26, 2019

Michelle Wie West

Republic of Singapore

KRISTEN YOON: Thank you for joining us here at the HSBC Women's World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club. I'm Kristen with the LPGA Communications and I'm here with defending champion, Michelle Wie.

Michelle, last year you had one of the largest come-from-behind victories. You had a five-stroke deficit going into the final round. How did you manage to pull off a 65, fantastic finish?

MICHELLE WIE: You know, I knew that I needed to make a lot of birdies. It's the type of golf course that you need to make a lot of birdies and especially being five shots behind, I just needed to get on a run.

Fortunately things kind of came into place and it was definitely one of the most fun I've ever had on the golf course.

KRISTEN YOON: How would you describe your experience here in Singapore and how do you like the golf course?

MICHELLE WIE: It's great. Singapore is definitely one of my favorite spots out of the year. It's a tournament that I look forward to all year, and it's definitely a different experience coming back as defending champion. It's really cool. It's really awesome to see my picture kind of everywhere and it's like pretty neat, especially coming on 18, I look, oh, there I am.

But you know, I feel especially honoured to be a defending champion of such a prestigious tournament. I feel extremely lucky to even be here this year, so I'm just soaking it all in and having a lot of fun, and, you know, really excited for the tournament to begin.

THE MODERATOR: Last year was your fifth LPGA Tour career victory. You had 83 starts since your last win at the 2014 U.S. Women's Open.

You had a lot of struggling with some health issues. What was that build up like for you?

MICHELLE WIE: It was crazy. It was awesome. Hopefully it won't be 83 tournaments again.

Just the feeling that I felt after last year, it was just incredible. I just felt so relieved. I knew that I had overcome a lot of stuff within the last couple of years. It felt really good.

Q. Did you get nervous -- or do you walk in --
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, there was a point in 2017, right before I got my appendix pulled out, it was kind of a routine. I would go to the E.R. and I would kind of tell the nurse, you need to do this, this and this; I know exactly what I have.

I've just been in so many hospitals within the last couple years; so many MRIs that it's definitely become a routine that I want to break.

But it's been nice. I've been fortunate with doctors, especially going to HSS and having my doctors there, they have been taking a lot of really good care of me. So every time I go in, say hi to the radiologists, say hi to all the nurses. I know all of them now, so pretty easy.

I started hitting golf balls February 1, right before that. I went to New York for a final check up, got an MRI. The surgery went well. Everything looked pretty good. Obviously it's still healing right now and still going through the healing process. Everything came out clean and I'm very excited about it.

Q. Could you just remind us what happened with the hand and what happened in the off-season surgery?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, not a lot of people know this, I guess some people do. I got into a car accident two years ago with my right hand on the wheel and got rear-ended. That's what happened with the neck at Bedminster and I had an avulsion fracture in my right hand. So a piece of the bone had chipped off.

So they just went in there and cleaned it up, cleaned up a little bit of scar tissue since I was with it for almost two years now. So the surgery went good. It was a pretty easy, normal procedure, and yeah, it's taken quite a bit but I think I'm back on track.

Q. Is there anything you did slightly differently in your swing to accommodate this injury?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I'm trying to be a little shallower on the ball. As we all know, my divots are quite ginormous. Trying to keep it more shallow and friendly on my hand just for the longevity of it. Every time I go through an injury, my swing does change because I have to work around it.

But David came when I started hitting golf balls; we're just trying to create a swing that's easier on me so I can play healthier and longer.

Q. Last year, were you hitting it longer here?
MICHELLE WIE: You said I was hitting it long here last year? Yeah, I'm definitely not hitting it as long as I did. I'm still trying to get some muscles back into my forearms and everything, getting back into the swing of it.

I started hitting golf balls three weeks ago, but I feel pretty good about the distance that I'm hitting it and hopefully it will just get longer and longer from here.

Q. Are you practising any mindfulness, wellness?
MICHELLE WIE: For sure. I work out a lot. I work with Kolby Wayne, and just try to surround myself with positive energy.

I just try to make lists every day of what I'm grateful for, especially the last couple years have been pretty tough. You know, with injury and got down a little bit, so every day, I just try to think about the little things that I'm grateful for. Like this week, I'm just grateful that I'm here. So I'm trying to soak in everything. Just trying to keep the good vibes going.

Q. What's on the list of gratefulness?
MICHELLE WIE: More things I'm grateful for? Grateful that I'm able to travel, able be to here. You know, grateful that surgery went well. I mean, you know, as unfortunate as the car accident was, it could have been a lot worse, too. Fortunate to be alive.

And yeah, just fortunate that my parents are healthy, and there's a lot of good things in my life. So I feel good about it.

Q. The bad thing, What would be the top three --
MICHELLE WIE: Injuries, injuries, injuries and more injuries.

Q. Have your goals changed since the injuries, targets?
MICHELLE WIE: No different targets. I still want to win golf tournaments. I want to win majors. The goals are still the same. I just want to be healthy and just take it day by day and just work hard and see where that takes me.

KRISTEN YOON: Hard to believe that at the age of 30 you are considering yourself as a veteran out on the Tour.

With battling injuries and stuff, how important is post round recovery, taking care of yourself off the golf course, what's that like and how important, obviously, it is, but talk us through that.

MICHELLE WIE: I guess as an old person now, a veteran out on Tour, physio and recovery is key for me. My life kind of revolves around it.

I travel with my private physio and we have treatment every day, whether it's getting needles in, whether it's icing; I have my devices that I carry around with me. It's everything. It's eating right, drinking right. It's just a whole thing.

Q. Do you ever do ice baths?
MICHELLE WIE: I refuse. That just sound like misery. I draw the line somewhere. I'll put my hand in the ice bucket but full immersion, I don't know. It would take a lot for me to do that.

Q. Give us your point of view on the new rules regarding flagsticks, in or out. Does that affect your game?
MICHELLE WIE: I'd have to say tapping down spike marks is quite satisfying.

Leaving the pin in, I think it does help the speed of play. It is nice to have it in on long putts.

In the off-season, I did try to putt, I guess, with short putts, and me personally, I just didn't like how it looked.

Dropping, I did my first drop last week and I was pretty nervous about it. It kind of felt really awkward. I didn't know what I was doing. Wasn't quite sure if I was perfectly knee height or not but thankfully I had a rule official there to tell me higher, lower. Did that a couple of times.

It's kind of funky, but I think any time something changes and you're so used to one thing, it takes some time to adjust, but I think overall it is helping the speed of play.

Q. I think everybody is keen to have more mixed professional events. If you could play with two active players in the men's game, who would you like to play with, a threeball out on the golf course this year?
MICHELLE WIE: On any tour? I mean, I guess it would be with my friends, Rickie, Justin, my friends down in Jupiter. Yeah -- is there a third or just a threesome? Justin Thomas.

KRISTEN YOON: I know you don't like oversharing your goals, but any in particular for this season, and any events that you have kind of more targeted in your scope?

MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, obviously the majors, for sure. It's a Solheim year, and I definitely need to make some points. That's my -- you know, one of my top, top priorities is to make the team again.

So definitely be keeping my eye on that. But yeah, just staying healthy, really. Play a full season would be great.

Q. Are you still travelling a lot in your downtime? Are you still painting?
MICHELLE WIE: Not as much unfortunately because it was my dominant hand that was injured. I did learn how to become ambidextrous in the off-season. I can use chopsticks in my left hand. That's a nice little party trick. It's not a cool party trick, but it seemed cool in my head before I said it and then it didn't seem very cool (laughing).

Q. Can you use brushes?
MICHELLE WIE: Unfortunately, no.

Q. Chopsticks?
MICHELLE WIE: Using chopsticks in my left hand. It's very crucial in my life. I'm right-handed.

Q. What else can you do with your left hand?
MICHELLE WIE: Eat. Brushing your teeth left-handed is very -- it's an adventure. You end up using your face a lot to do it.

KRISTEN YOON: Thanks, Michelle, and good luck this week.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297