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AIG WOMEN’S BRITISH OPENAugust 4, 2019Hinako ShibunoMilton Keynes, United Kingdom SARAH GWYNN: Huge congratulations on becoming the AIG Women's British Open champion. Just try and sum up the emotions going on in your head right now. HINAKO SHIBUNO: First of all, thank you so much. I can't really describe with words right now what I'm feeling. I'm also hungry, and a little nauseous at the same time. SARAH GWYNN: Have you had a chance to speak to anyone back home, any friends or family since winning? HINAKO SHIBUNO: So my father's here, and we took pictures together, but I don't recall if he told me congratulations. (Laughter). SARAH GWYNN: When you approached that putt on the 18th, were you aware that you needed to birdie to win the tournament, and just describe what was going through your head at that point? HINAKO SHIBUNO: I was looking at the board all the time, and knew my position, where I stood in the tournament. That was also true before the putt on the 18th and I was also thinking about if I were to make this putt, how I was going to celebrate. Q. How will you celebrate? HINAKO SHIBUNO: Eat a lot of sweets. Q. What all were you eating on the golf course? HINAKO SHIBUNO: Like fish cakes. Q. It looked like you were really feeding off of the fans. Were you surprised or just what did you think of the support that you got out there, and did you feel like that helped you? HINAKO SHIBUNO: Every time I would make a birdie putt or a par save, a lot of people got up their hands to high-five me, and that was a very happy feeling. Q. Going to the 18th tee, you were high-fiving everybody, and that would be normally an extremely nerve-wracking situation, and then out on the 18th fairway, before hitting a pressure-packed shot, you're laughing, joking, with your caddie. Can you tell us about why you just don't appear to be so nervous like most people would? HINAKO SHIBUNO: I'm not really sure why, but when I was talking to the caddie over the second shot was that if I were to shank this second shot, it would be very embarrassing. (Laughter). Q. So you have an opportunity to join the LPGA after winning today. What are your plans? HINAKO SHIBUNO: I want to play on the Japanese Tour for now still, but if I ever feel like I want to come overseas, I think that would be the day I will make the decision. Q. What would you miss if you were to come over to America or the U.K.? What would you miss from home? Have you got a pet? Have you got brothers or sisters? Just tell us. HINAKO SHIBUNO: Japanese food and sweets, I would miss those the most. It would be a stress. Q. Sort of a follow-up to my other question. What is it about you that you're able to enjoy moments like this so much that would be -- make other people fearful? HINAKO SHIBUNO: I really don't know the answer to that, but last night, I knew that I was going to be nervous, but then also I was thinking that I was going to cope under those situations, and when I was thinking about how nervous I was going to be, starting today, I didn't really feel that nervous, and some putts, I thought that par would be satisfactory. Par would be enough. Q. Cinderella wins "Prince Charming" at the end of the fairy tale. I would just like to know if the trophy is a better prize for the Smiling Cinderella. HINAKO SHIBUNO: A trophy is a trophy, so I can't really compare to Prince Charming, but this is definitely the most valuable trophy I've ever received. Q. And just to answer, do you have any brothers or sisters? HINAKO SHIBUNO: Yes, older and younger sister. Q. Are they nicer than Cinderella's sisters? HINAKO SHIBUNO: Hmmmm ... (laughter). My older sister is very nice and my younger sister is smarter than me, and she also makes fun of me, too. Q. Is the laughing and joking and smiling, is that a conscious way to deal with the nerves? Something you do all the time? HINAKO SHIBUNO: I do consciously do that at times, but other times, I'll just be talking to my caddie/coach, and just talk about very silly things. Q. And you've won a lot of money today. Will you treat yourself? Will you buy yourself something special, and if so, what will you buy yourself? HINAKO SHIBUNO: Could you tell me how much I won? (Laughter). Q. Enough to buy yourself something really nice. HINAKO SHIBUNO: Enough treats to feed me till I die. Q. Only one Japanese player has ever won a major, male or female. What does the significance of that mean to you and where you've just put yourself? HINAKO SHIBUNO: So I was looking online and I did see that it's been 42 years since a Japanese player has last won. I do feel that I have accomplished something great, but I really don't know the reason why I was able to accomplish it. Q. Do you enjoy entertaining people, and do you see that as maybe part of golf, too? HINAKO SHIBUNO: Yes, definitely. Golf we play in front of spectators, and there are many viewers that watch golf on TV and I want them to enjoy watching golf. Q. What will the reaction be like from fans and your family back home in Japan? HINAKO SHIBUNO: So there was a big reaction after the first day, so I can't imagine what it will be like after today. Now that I've won, I think a lot of the Japanese people will know me, but in actuality, I just wanted to live a quiet life. Q. You showed quite a bit of resilience. Yesterday you were six shots down going to the back nine. Today, you lost your lead. What were you thinking that helped you get back in it? HINAKO SHIBUNO: I don't think not many people, include myself, like to be in a situation where you're leading. I feel like it's better to be behind than leading. That was true today, as well and I was able to play easier when I was in that position. Q. You've made a lot of fans and many players smile a lot this week. Apart from you, yourself, who makes you smile the most? HINAKO SHIBUNO: First of all, it's not the manager that's standing over there (laughter). But when I came out here this week, whenever I make eye contact with the spectators and smile, they smile back at me, so I was consciously trying to do that all week. Q. Yesterday you said you were going to go home and watch YouTube. What do you like to watch, and what do you like to do for fun when you're not playing golf? HINAKO SHIBUNO: So I would watch like celebrity -- Japanese celebrity videos or listen to music videos on YouTube. Besides golf, I just really like to eat sweets, sleep and I also like softball. Q. Could you describe the type of sweets that you like so much in Japan? HINAKO SHIBUNO: So it's difficult to pick one out of the many. But I do like typical Japanese sweets that's made of squid or seaweed. SARAH GWYNN: All right. Thank you, Hinako, and congratulations once again. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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