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BANK OF HOPE FOUNDERS CUP

March 22, 2019

Lydia Ko

Phoenix, Arizona

Q. Solid day for you. What was going right for you on the course today?
LYDIA KO: Actually hit the ball really well, especially in my back nine. So I set up a lot of good birdie opportunities, and down the stretch I hit a few not-so-nice lip-outs. Hopefully I'm saving it up for the weekend.

Our whole group of making a bunch of birdies, so we were really in a good momentum, especially in our back nine.

So, yeah, it's nice when you're playing with two other people and everybody is playing really well and you play out there knowing that there are birdies.

So, yeah, it was a good first two days.

Q. Does it kind of motivate you playing with two other people like that to just go out and push a little bit harder to climb the leaderboard a little bit more?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, going into yesterday I knew that I was in a really good pairing. They're both playing super well. The No. 1 player and also Shanahan, one of the most consistently really good players.

So, yeah, it's nice when everyone is playing well. I think we feed off each other, especially a course where there are a lot of low scores at times and a lot of birdies. You're just trying to make your bunch, your share of them.

Yeah, it was nice. Obviously playing in the morning it's a little bit calmer than its afternoon. You kind of have to take advantage of that, too.

Q. Is the weather on your mind? It was a little bit chilly yesterday and the sun came out at the end of your round today.
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I thought it was not Phoenix this morning. It was super cold. I had my jacket, another shirt, and like my beanie, which I've never worn at this time of year out here.

Yeah, it was nice to see the sun. Started warming up pretty nice. When it gets warmer the altitude kind of plays a little bit, so not hitting it a little longer, which obviously makes it nicer because you're coming in with shorter clubs into the green.

Q. Just a general overall question about your game and how you feel about where it's at maybe compared to the last couple years as you've worked on some new things.
LYDIA KO: Yeah, no, obviously didn't come into this stretch of events playing extremely, well but I had pretty solid finishes in Thailand and Singapore. I knew there were a few things going right.

I felt like my scores were not as good as I was playing, which obviously comes down to the putter at times, which was probably the biggest thing I was struggling with over in Asia. Nothing was going right it Australia. We can skip that. Apart from being in Australia. That's great. I love it there.

I knew there were a lot positives. I was hitting the ball pretty well. Sometimes the hard thing is to put it all together. Sometimes you putt well and your ball striking is not there, and sometimes your ball striking is there and you don't putt as well as many opportunities you get.

But it's nice to be in the weekend here for this week. I missed the last two days last year. Nice to have some good rounds under my belt. Obviously the golf course is known to have some low scores. You just have to go out there, try to play your game, and maybe play a little bit more aggressive than any other golf course.

I feel like as along as there are holes in front of you there is always birdie opportunities. Trying to stay positive and confident when I am out there playing.

Q. What's the challenge of this golf course compared to others? Not a lot of the water.
LYDIA KO: Yeah, the greens are getting pretty firm. The greens aren't super fast, but it's firm. It was firm when I first played this course last Sunday. Sometimes when it's downwind or when it's a front pin it might be a little tougher to get to.

But, you know, everyone is playing the same golf course. We've had super nice weather, so it's pretty normal for it to dry out a little bit.

Yeah, no, being a little firmer, sometimes you might not be able to attack a certain pin position because the greens are fairly pure. If you have a 15-footer, you've still got a good chance of holing it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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