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SHOPRITE LPGA CLASSIC PRESENTED BY ACER

June 5, 2019

Jeongeun Lee6

Galloway, New Jersey

Q. It has been quite the past week for you. What are your feelings now that the U.S. Women's Open is over, and how are you feelings after winning?
JEONGEUN LEE: I apologize of all of you guys, that I really want to speak in English but I can't. Next time I improve my English, I will definitely speak in English. On though I win the tournament, but I still wanted to play well in the rest of the tournaments, and I want to play consistently on the course and then you know, my goal is to just finish Top-10 the rest of the tournament as much as I can.

Q. You were quite emotional after your win, and it kind of took the golf world by storm. How are you feeling now that the win is kind of under your belt, and also, the fact that your first win was a major championship?
JEONGEUN LEE: I mean, it is very unforgettable moment, and also, like winning, I won the six tournaments on the KLPGA and also I won two major tournaments on the KLPGA. This is such a different feeling, winning in two major tournaments in KLPGA comparing to LPGA, and so I feel super grateful, and I feel really lucky that I won the tournament.

Q. It's only been a couple days since the U.S. Women's Open, but have you been able to celebrate your win at all?
JEONGEUN LEE: Not yet. I celebrated with two of my manager, and we ate dinner together, especially sushi, because she loves sushi. I was really busy with sending all the messages to my fans and family and to everyone out there, and yeah, it was pretty busy day and very long night.

Q. So there's a quick turnaround for this tournament. What's your mind-set going into a three-round event like this one?
JEONGEUN LEE: So I mean, you know, I played on the course, and then my shots were pretty good. It's pretty all settled. It's not that bad but I just have to focus more on the course management, and it feels weird, playing three rounds, because I like playing the four rounds because I have things to make an improvement.

Playing three rounds, I think I should focus more, and then play well as much as I can.

Q. The last few years, all the Rookie of the Years have come from South Korea. Do you feel any pressure coming in that you had to keep up the tradition?
JEONGEUN LEE: So, I mean, like you said, Jin Young Ko and Sung Hyun Park, all the players out there, they were rookie players before. By looking at that, it kind of inspires me and makes me want to play well and I want to be just like them.

Q. The U.S. Women's Open is very tiring physically and mentally. Have you recovered from that yet? Are you fresh or are you still a little bit tired?
JEONGEUN LEE: I feel a little bit tired. I know I had a Pro-Am today, and I'm probably going to get some rest tomorrow and get ready for this weekend.

Q. The Women's Open is very tiring mentally, maybe more tiring than physically. How were you able to deal with the stress and the pressure of the event, and deal with it so well when some of the other players were not able to?
JEONGEUN LEE: So, I mean, even though I'm tired, I'm still a rookie player. Even though I won the U.S. Open, I still wanted to play well the rest of the tournaments, and I really want to focus on other tournaments and play well. I don't want to think about, oh, I won the major tournament, so I'm good. I really want to play the rest of the tournaments.

Q. Do you feel any different after winning the U.S. Women's Open? How do you think that will affect your confidence level, your game kind of going forward this week and the rest of the year?
JEONGEUN LEE: You know, back when I was in KLPGA, I played pretty well straight three years, but winning a major tournament, LPGA, this is such a different feeling, and it makes me feel more confident than when I was in KLPGA. So I feel like, you know, I want to be relax and play consistent.

Q. What about not only playing golf but just extra stuff like this, like Friday when I go out to play, they are going to say your name and then U.S. Women's Open champ after that and people are going to applaud and go crazy. What about all the other stuff, the added recognition, more media, fans, expectations, that sort of thing.
JEONGEUN LEE: So I mean, it would have been different because like you know when I played in KLPGA, I have so many fans out there. You know, I felt a little of the pressure because there's so many fans and I really wanted to play well in front of them, and even though, if I have a lot of fans in America, I mean, I wouldn't feel too much pressure. I think I would feel more confident playing on the course.

Q. When did you get into the Atlantic City area, and is it just going to be golf this week? Are you going to go over to the casinos at all or do anything special like that; you have extra money to win, something like that?
JEONGEUN LEE: So I mean, I cannot go to casino. I'm not allowed (laughter). And I mean, even though, like, you know, I played well, and I'm still a rookie player and I still wanted to play well and try hard this year, because this is my first LPGA, and so yeah, and I'm really physically and mentally tired, too. So I don't want things to be too much, too crazy.

Q. What was the reaction to your victory like in Korea, and how many people did you hear from? Were you just spending all your time just answering texts from people?
JEONGEUN LE6: Yeah, my fingers were tired, it hurt a lot, because I've been sending so many messages and e-mails and phone calls to everyone.

But yeah, I feel super happy that all my fans are proud of me, and even my family, and even here, the people who are big fans of me.

Q. We want to wrap up with this question for you. With your play at the U.S. Women's Open, we were able to hear about your story, about your father and about your family. How has it been like, now that that story is kind of out in the open, and what have you seen from the reactions from people or from even your family? How does it feel to have your story be told here in the US, and all around the world?
JEONGEUN LEE: Yeah, I know a lot of people talked about it, talked and asked about my father, but my mom got jealous, actually, so if people could ask about my mom, too (laughter).

I know my background is a little bit tragic, and I know it's kind of hard to say, but I totally understand why people are curious because obviously, you know, people don't really know about me because I just became an LPGA player. And so I wish everyone, you know, could ask about me more than my family.

Q. How do you learn a new golf course that you've never played before?
JEONGEUN LEE: I mean, I usually, if I get the yardage book, I usually look through everything just to make sure, trying to imagine myself like playing on the course, and also, there's a Web site that you can see the course, like the pictures of each holes. So that's why I kind of like assume like what kind of course this is.

Q. Have you played this course yet?
JEONGEUN LEE: No, but I practiced.

Q. Have you picked a partner yet for the Dow tournament in Michigan?
JEONGEUN LEE: Yeah, so by looking at all the schedules, I just need like some time to need a break, and so that's why I chose not to play Dow is to prepare for the major tournament.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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