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ABERDEEN STANDARD INVESTMENTS LADIES SCOTTISH OPEN

August 6, 2019

Ariya Jutanugarn

North Berwick, Scotland

TOM BENBOW: Welcome to Ariya Jutanugarn, our defending champion at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open. You won here in a quite impressive way last year, one shot over Minjee Lee. How does it feel to be back in Scotland?

ARIYA JUTANUGARN: It feelings great. I played this morning with like rain and this course, new course, I didn't play this one last year.

So it's really tough still. I feel like I don't really like links course. It's not because the course not good, they great, but I just feel like it's so tough for me. But when I come back here, I keep complain to my caddie, so tough, so tough. He told me just be patient and told me just learn new thing every day and feel better.

TOM BENBOW: You made it look easy last year, 13-under par. You say it's tough. What is it specifically you think you struggle with?

ARIYA JUTANUGARN: I would say everything on the links because I felt like especially already played this morning nine holes and I feel like the fairway is pretty narrow and if it's windy, it's going to be so tough, of course, and the green is just like unbelievable tough.

I feel like every green, you have only five yards to stop the ball, so it's pretty tough, and every hole, also.

TOM BENBOW: Obviously the men's Scottish Open was here three weeks ago, and a lot of the men were saying it was softer and didn't quite play as a links. Can you fly the ball in, and does it help you?

ARIYA JUTANUGARN: I would say no, because when I play this morning, I feel it's really tough and really firm. We have to make sure we know where the slope is because we have to like sometimes land 20 yards short or sometimes it's better to be over the green or finish on the left side, and actually, every hole has to have something all the time, so it's pretty tough.

TOM BENBOW: Did you play the front nine?

ARIYA JUTANUGARN: I played the front nine.

TOM BENBOW: Did you see the nice holes out by the coast? What do you think of the view?

ARIYA JUTANUGARN: It's so beautiful. Yesterday I saw with Instagram, all the players shared, they keep posting it and I thought, oh, I want to see it. I saw it today and it's so beautiful. This place is great.

TOM BENBOW: It's been a year since your last win. It was this time last year, but you've had three runner-up finishes, handful of top fives. What do you think you need to do to try and defend this title this year?

ARIYA JUTANUGARN: I would say not try to defending like my title, but I felt like I still have so much thing to work on and I have to improve a lot, especially this year, because like the way I play, I'm getting much better the last few months but still have to improve so much.

Q. Obviously it's a new venue, but Gullane is not far away, where you won last year. Were you texted to stop on the way through to get some nice memories?
ARIYA JUTANUGARN: Actually, you know the car picked me up at the airport, I passed the course and I point at my sister, oh, that one, I won there. I didn't stop there when he drove past. I saw it and bring all the great memories here.

Q. You've been very consistent this season without a win. Is that a big goal, to get a win under your belt again?
ARIYA JUTANUGARN: I would say one of the big goals this year is not about winning a tournament but how to like manage myself and balance myself like golf and life. And I feel much better and getting much better, but I still have so much things to work on, especially my commitment. Because you know, when you close to win the tournament, you start thinking about outcome and start to play not well, not good enough to win the tournament because I'm thinking about the outcome too much.

I just have to come back and work on the same stuff and I hope it's going to get better.

Q. Hinako winning at Woburn, she seems to have captured people's hearts. You smile a lot, but she seems to smile even more.
ARIYA JUTANUGARN: She is amazing. I watch her play the last few holes like on TV and I felt like when I watch her play, she not have like nerve at all. I mean, she might be excited but I don't feel like she nervous at all. She's so cool. Because I won that course before, to me, that course so tough. When you see other player won that course, you know how good they are. They are great, yeah.

Q. Can they be good for golf around the world, someone new coming on in the global game, another new star?
ARIYA JUTANUGARN: Of course. When I saw she play, I feel like she going to be new star because like the way she play and it's going to help the golf in Japan, also, I'm pretty sure.

Q. How hard is it to manage golf and have your life, especially I think this is your 10th tournament in the last 12 weeks?
ARIYA JUTANUGARN: Yeah, too much. Yeah. (Laughter).

Actually, I feel like the way to manage life and golf is not me like, I have to play less. But I felt like when I play not good, I just feel bad and I feel like everything is just bad; I'm not happy at all. But when I say I have to separate or manage my life better, even I play bad, I still can be happy, because I know the people around me is going to keep supporting me. I'm going have my sister and I'm going to have my mom anyway. The way you say, I have to manage my life, I have to understand that no matter how I play, I still can be the happy person.

Q. Does it make it easier when you are playing so well like you are now?
ARIYA JUTANUGARN: You know, but I just learn this last few months, and when I'm getting more happy, spend time with my sister and my mom, do something else more, I realise that my golf is better, too.

Q. What are you going to do this week with them?
ARIYA JUTANUGARN: This week, went to the supermarket. We walked like two or three miles yesterday and carried a lot of stuff back to the house. I just feel like normal. So this week, my sister is going to cook, and I know she going to have fun and I'm just waiting for her to cook for me. That was it.

TOM BENBOW: What sort of stuff will she cook this week?

ARIYA JUTANUGARN: She always cook like Thai food, yeah. She thought she really good, but she's okay.

TOM BENBOW: Do you cook a little bit, as well?

ARIYA JUTANUGARN: Me? I have no clue how to cook. I just eat. My mom cleans. My sister cooks. All I did is just watch drama and eat.

Q. You were working last year with Gary Gilchrist. Is there anyone you're working with at the moment?
ARIYA JUTANUGARN: Right now I work with Chris Mason for my swing coach more than one year. I started work with him actually last year after British Open last year, and I work with Vision 54, like four years already, and Gareth.

Q. With Chris, is there anything in particular that you've been working on?
ARIYA JUTANUGARN: Nothing much. I mean, because like you know, I never want to work much with my swing, anyway. I kind of like feel player. I'm not really mechanic. I not work much with him but sometime I feel something off, I send a video to him or he come see me, like at my house.

TOM BENBOW: Best of luck this week and we'll see you later on in the week.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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