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U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 2, 2019

Jeongeun Lee6

Charleston, South Carolina

THE MODERATOR: Good evening. It is my pleasure to be here with our 74th U.S. Women's Open champion. 6, just tell us a little of what's going through your mind right now.

JEONGEUN LEE6: I apologize that I cannot speak English. I'm still trying really hard. I'm still studying for English, so next time if I win the tournament, I will start speaking English.

Thank you so much for all the organization for the U.S. Women's Open tournament. I appreciate it with all the support, especially volunteers, staff, security, and fans. Also, I sincerely thank my sponsors, especially Noble Land, the president of the Noble Land and the vice president of Noble Land. And apparel sponsor Fantom, and the Class Hyo Sung, Panasonic, Shinhan PWM, and Callaway and Nike, who have been supporting me all the time.

And, of course, I want to thank my family, who's in Korea right now watching me on TV and supporting me all the time. I couldn't imagine it without you guys, with all your support.

Coming to play the U.S. Women's Open Championship is such an honor. I can't imagine winning a Major tournament in the LPGA.

Q. 6, do you think it's kind of destiny that you won at 6 under?
JEONGEUN LEE6: Well, when I first tournament in KLPGA, I shot like 6 under, and this is kind of really interesting how I finished 6 under as an LPGA tournament. So this is really lucky number to me.

Q. Can you just take us through the rush of emotions that you felt when you realized that you'd just won this tournament? What that felt like, what was going through your mind.
JEONGEUN LEE6: As I'm a rookie player, I thought -- I mean, I just wanted -- I didn't even expect to win the tournament this fast. I think this is very lucky that I won this Major championship tournament.

Q. Were there any concerns or nervousness those final three holes, when maybe you were not playing as well as you had been much of the day?
JEONGEUN LEE6: Like I said, I was nervous starting 16, 17, and 18, and I knew that, like, if I make all pars on those holes, like I knew that I'm going to win this tournament.

Besides that, back when I played at MEDIHEAL, when I played the playoff, I know I missed the putts. And imagining that, like, I just wanted to not think about those. I just wanted to win this tournament and try as best as I can.

Q. You had difficult circumstances very early in your life. What do you think qualities you have that have allowed you to persevere throughout what was, at times, a difficult journey to get to this point?
JEONGEUN LEE6: Sorry, could you repeat that?

Q. I was asking about the family tragedy, the accident when she was only 4 years old. I was asking about how she had to deal with this difficult situation growing up. Does that make playing golf on a tough course seem not so hard in comparison?
JEONGEUN LEE6: So by looking at my family situation back then, I thought about wanting to play golf because I wanted to support my family no matter what. And after I became like successful in KLPGA for three years, thinking about that, this makes me want to play more and kind of wanted to play in the tournament enjoyable.

Q. I just wanted to see what you thought about your week in Charleston overall and the course. And if they asked you, would you want to have another Major at this course?
JEONGEUN LEE6: Yes, I would love to play on this Charleston golf course again because the course condition was pretty good. This is a really good course to play, and it's very enjoyable. A lot of players also enjoyed it too. So, yes, I would love to play here again.

Q. For those of us who aren't familiar, could you explain the attachment of the number 6 to your name.
JEONGEUN LEE6: There's six different players who have the same name, Jeongeun Lee. It goes by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. I'm the sixth Jeongeun Lee player, and that's why they put it down as Jeongeun Lee6. But this is my lucky number too, so I would love to put it down as Lee6 as my last name.

Q. What's your first memory of watching the U.S. Women's Open back in Korea? Does any champion in particular stand out over the years?
JEONGEUN LEE6: Comparing to KLPGA, the Major championship, and LPGA Major championship, I mean, not a really big difference. All the Major courses are always hard, especially the greens are really hard and fast. So, yeah, she didn't really think of it as a big difference?

THE MODERATOR: Any memory of watching the Women's Open?

JEONGEUN LEE6: So back when Se Ri Park won the U.S. Women's Championship, I remember that she took off her shoes, and she hit her shot. That's the most memorable that I've ever seen back then when I was little.

Q. Speaking of your family, it would have been very easy to stay in Korea and come over only for the Major championships. Can you tell us about the decision to come over and play in America full-time?
JEONGEUN LEE6: So playing in an LPGA tournament -- I mean, my family's been watching me through TV, but I told my family that I wanted to play the LPGA for a long time because this is the most I've ever enjoyed playing the LPGA tournament so far.

So when I was in KLPGA, I actually wanted to stop playing because I wasn't really enjoying too much about it. But when I came to LPGA tournament, like I started wanting to play more for a long time.

Q. Why didn't you enjoy it there?
JEONGEUN LEE6: When I was in KLPGA, a lot of players are very competitive, severely competitive, so I didn't really enjoy it that much. But when I came to LPGA, a lot of players, they really enjoy playing on the course, and she has a good vibe with a lot of -- playing with the LPGA players.

Q. Congratulations, Jeongeun.
JEONGEUN LEE6: Thank you.

Q. I was just wondering if you were aware of Hank Haney's comments and what you thought of them.
JEONGEUN LEE6: When I heard about the news, I didn't really think about it, and I didn't know any English. I didn't really understand him that much. So I didn't really think about it. All I've been doing was just to focus on this Major championship and just wanted to play well.

Q. Do you have any big plans for your $1 million?
JEONGEUN LEE6: So my goal was, if I win the tournament, I can eat ramen (laughter). That was my goal. If I finish the top five, I can buy shoes. But I can buy shoes and eat ramen. So it's a double.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations.

JEONGEUN LEE6: Thank you. Thank you so much.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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