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KPMG WOMEN'S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

June 20, 2019

Lydia Ko

Kildeer, Illinois

Q. You survived a long wet day. How do you feel right now?
LYDIA KO: It was wet for the last three holes. I was just talking to Johnny and I said, "I'm pretty sure it says showers, not rain." I played really solid. I felt like I positioned myself really well and a few loose shots on the back-9 but other than that I played solid after the 1st Round. I'm happy to have a good start to this event.

Q. Saw you out there working with new-ish swing coach, David. What are you guys talking about?
LYDIA KO: One of the best things on Tour, I was like oh, maybe I could just kind of get his insight on what he thinks and I think we were trying to simplify it.

He's getting me to understand my swing a little bit more so that even if he's not there, I'm still able to figure it out. It's just trying to get a few key points just to make sure that I can think about it but not think about it too much, and when I'm out on the golf course and swinging freer then I think those are probably the basics and just making sure that every shot I hit I'm hitting with confidence and not worrying about it.

Q. Do you feel like you did that today?
LYDIA KO: I hit the ball really well on the front-9. Couple loose shots on the back. I think we were trending in the right direction and you definitely need to have pretty solid ball-striking because the greens are getting firmer. It's a lot easier to attack some pin positions when you're on the right side of the fairway or on the fairway. So, I think, overall, I did that pretty well and hopefully I can continue on the.

Q. What is the best test of Hazeltine, is it strictly the length?
LYDIA KO: I think it's -- obviously it's not a short golf course and the front-9 and back-9, it's a little bit of a different feeling, water coming into play a little bit more on the back. The front, you know, few more doglegs.

I don't think this necessarily suits a longer hitter or shorter hitters because there's bunkers and rough whatever distance you're going to hit.

I think somebody that's going to be pretty accurate off the tee will be a big thing because some holes if you got a 30-footer it's not really a bad position to putt from so you're not really attacking all of the pin positions.

Q. Were you accurate off the tee today?
LYDIA KO: Yeah. It was great up until 12, my 12th hole. But no, a few loose ones there but overall I played really solid.

Q. What you did do on 3?
LYDIA KO: I would recommend to not go there.

Q. Is that when the wind was picking up and rain was --
LYDIA KO: Wind was picking up. I was wearing my sunglasses. I wonder if it's the sunglasses that were dark. I was hoping it wasn't getting dark. No, it's dark.

The wind was really blowing and at one point when you're hitting straight into the wind I think I hit one of my drives 200 because I didn't hit it very well and went straight up.

It makes -- I think the wind makes the hole play a little bit differently. I think on No. 6 or something I hit my drive way down there so I only had a sand wedge in, where I was hitting 7-iron yesterday.

I think the wind is going to be a big key and because it can be quite open at some of these holes but does start to blow, it can be a huge factor for us.

Q. Lydia, someone who had a lot of expectations on you by the time you turned pro, what advice would you have you for Maria who is -- she's being ballyhooed for what she can bring to this --
LYDIA KO: I mean I don't know what advice I can give her. I mean she shot out of the gates in her pro debut. Played great at the U.S. Women's Open. That's one of the hardest times. She managed herself so well. I saw her play in NCAAs and some of the other things. So impressive.

I don't know what advice I could give her but continue to be her and I think she's going to do great.

Q. If you were the Commissioner for a day in the perfect world, what kind of exposure would you like to see? You guys have a TV contract coming up at the end of this year.
LYDIA KO: If I was the Commissioner for the day I would make sure that we are on TV every single country 24 hours for the whole time all round the world. I know the LPGA is getting more and more popular and we're broadcasted in over I think 100 countries already and I think the more coverage and the more times people see the talent on our Tour, but how incredible these ladies are, I think people will fall more in love about the LPGA and I think it's just a great bunch of girls out here and I love playing out on this Tour and hopefully more and more people will take an interest in it and love it as much as the people who already love it.

Q. What is it like for you to see all the TV showing the Travelers Championship?
LYDIA KO: I guess we get our certain time and the men get their time. So, it's a tough thing but I know that the LPGA is doing everything they can to make sure that we are getting the spotlight that the ladies deserve.

So, you can't win on all aspects. It's great that golf in general is becoming more popular and so I think sometime down the road if there's a PGA/LPGA mixed the event I think it will be super exciting and about to play the CVS Charity in a few days so I'm super excited for that. I think we're trending in the right direction.

But hopefully more time for us on networks.

Q. Talked to Michelle briefly and she got pretty emotional talking about how she wasn't sure how much longer she was going to be able to do it.
What was it like for you playing along side of her icing, clearing having a difficult time?

LYDIA KO: Michelle has always been a role model of mine. Because of her I wanted to go to Stanford and she was out in the spotlight at such a young age and one of the few players that played an event on the PGA Tour and she was the first of many things and obviously we wish that she gets the speedy recovery and back out for the next event with less, I guess, less pain as time goes on.

But, no, I saw a bit of her press conference and she said she was so inspired by Klay Thompson and Steph Curry watching the Warriors and I was like man, you know, she's such a fighter and I think she's an amazing role model to many girls and boys and I think she's showing that nothing is impossible and you can see that she's grinding it out but still, you know, smiling.

She's such a great person I think for our Tour and we're just wishing that hopefully the pain will be less and less and a speedy recovery but definitely kind of an honor to play with her in her first event back out there after awhile and I think she's an inspiration to all of us and gives us the motivation that nothing is impossible, you know. I think the only thing that stops you from your boundaries is yourself and I think she's showing what kind of a class fighter she is.

That's my teeth. My teeth thing.

Q. Lydia, do you admire -- she could just retire, she has nothing left to prove to anyone. She clearly still has a passion for the game, the competition. Does that show through even on days like this?
LYDIA KO: Yeah. I mean clearly she loves the game and she's passionate about it and she's not out there just because she's a golfer, professional golfers. She loves it. She loves being out here with the girls and that's why even though she's -- she has to go through the treatments and everything, she keeps coming out and trying, and I think it also shows what an amazing sport golf is but she's definitely got nothing to lose.

She's proven herself in all different levels. She's a U.S. Women's Open Champion, but it shows how much she loves the game.

Q. You say she was smiling, trying to stay positive today?
LYDIA KO: She was positive. She's got a great smile so even though she has the ice and put some cream in between, she's smiling, saying good shots when Minjee and I hit good shots. It just shows what kind of a class player she is.

Q. I was just curious as you searched for a coach, what has that time really been like?
LYDIA KO: I think I've been getting -- trying to get a better understanding of what works for me. Just because it looks like the world's prettiest swing it might not necessarily work for me even though I wish I had swing like Adam Scott. That day I will retire.

No. I think I was able to get a better understanding of what was going on and why my misses were like that and even when I saw David, I said -- I said oh my swing when I took a video it looked like this is this, and he said you pretty much have a really good idea of what was going on, and I think that's when the coach kind of comes in and goes these are a few drills, something you can work on to kind of help that.

I think I've been getting a better understanding of my swing and why I hit pulls or cuts and why the good ones are good, and it's not been a terrible few months.

I think it's been a period that I've gotten to learn more about myself and my game and also I think it's also made me think more carefully about my decisions going forward.

Q. What's the most important thing that you feel like you've learned about yourself?
LYDIA KO: I think one of the big things is how important confidence is for me. I said that a bunch last year. But when your confidence is out and you're worried before you're going to hit the shot, most of the time not going to hit a good shot in that mindset.

So, I read a book -- I read where Brooks Koepka said he just tried to make the cut when he first came out on Tour and then he said, okay, I'm going to make it to Top-10 and then he said he thought all right, maybe I can win this and then the mindset changed and then he was doing what he was trying to I guess visualize and set his goals by.

I think that's just a great example of, you know, if your mind is in the right place and you're confident and you believe in yourself, then you be patient, I think you've got a better chance of committing to your shots and I think the worse feeling in the world is when you don't have that authority over the ball and no matter what, you should just hit it with a 110 percent of confidence.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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