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LPGA Q-SERIES

October 31, 2019

Yealimi Noh

Pinehurst, North Carolina

Q. I was going to ask you what your best costume was as a kid. Did you ever dress up as LPGA player?
YEALIMI NOH: No.

Q. Darn. I was going to ask for a picture.
YEALIMI NOH: I just remember I've only -- I remember one costume, it's a cat.

Q. A cat?
YEALIMI NOH: Yeah.

Q. That's not really all that --
YEALIMI NOH: Yeah. Oh, and like Cleopatra.

Q. That would've been a good one.
YEALIMI NOH: Yeah.

Q. And now an orange skirt.
YEALIMI NOH: Yeah, and too much candy.

Q. Are they giving candy out?
YEALIMI NOH: Yeah, like every day.

Q. So I got to ask, the way you started off this round was probably less than ideal. Take us through what that was like and then how you rebounded so well.
YEALIMI NOH: Yeah, so I was kind of thinking about that yesterday, too, just like planning out for tomorrow. I'm starting on the 10th hole; I know there is the water on the second shot.

I hit a really good drive down the middle and I was like, Just go left, just go left. I went in the hazard, like a yard in, and it didn't carry, so I had to come all the way back.

I didn't want to go in the water again, so I clubbed up. Hit another club left. I almost went in the water again on my fifth shot. I was like -- I didn't know there was hazard back there.

Yeah, it wasn't my ideal start, but I was able to bounce back with a birdie on the next hole. It's kind of weird. Like for me, like I don't believe in like jinxes or superstitions. I try not to, because it's like -- you try not believe it.

Sometimes for me it's like when I start with a bogey I'm like, Ah, I don't really like starting with bogey. I've never really started with a double, so I was like, You know, I don't really know this kind of feeling. It's okay. I kind of had peace of mind. It was really weird.

I was able to bounce back with a birdie and then just kept really steady throughout the whole rounds. The 9th hole I was able to birdie and get it back to even, so it was a good start.

Q. I was talking to your caddie and he said you were really able to use that mentality, a very professional mentality. Were you thinking of other experiences of maybe just how to feel and how to rebound from from kind of a...
YEALIMI NOH: Mistake.

Q. Yeah.
YEALIMI NOH: Yeah, I've obviously started with bogeys before - not doubles but bogeys before, and I think I let it get to me too much like in the start. You can't let that define your entire round. I think for sure like before -- like even last week just that final round got me focused.

I have a lot of birdie opportunities out here, so just to get through the 1st hole and just kind of -- you know, you can't have a perfect round all the time. Like I played well yesterday, but it wasn't perfect. I still had a bogey, and same with today. That was my only mistake.

But, yeah.

Q. You were in a group with Yamaguchi and Mina Harigae. One was a 2019 rookie; one has been on the LPGA for a while. Have you, as you've kind of played in a lot of events, been able to pick up pointers or anything from other players about the eventual transition to hopefully the LPGA Tour?
YEALIMI NOH: Yeah, kind of. And then like when I played couple the LPGAs earlier this year playing with a lot of -- like playing with the No. 1 player and like a lot of top-ranked people, it was fun to see. It was nice to see that my game was ready to be where they are, too.

I didn't know, but Suzuka played last year in the U.S. Junior that I won. She was there, too. It was really weird. She looked really familiar, so I was like, yeah. It's cool.

Q. Oh, wow. I saw you guys walking and talking together. I was like, I wonder if they knew each other before this.
YEALIMI NOH: Yeah, it's funny. She lost to person I beat. It was like, cool. It was just cool that she was there. She looked really familiar before. I know she was on LPGA and her name was familiar, but I was like, Ah, we played like a couple junior tournaments together, so it's cool.

Q. Given how close you were to winning this year on the LPGA, was there a part of you that was kind of annoyed that you had to do this whole Q-School thing?
YEALIMI NOH: If I'm being honest, yes, of course. I mean, if I won it would've been straight through. I mean, this is tough starting at stage two. I was kind of hoping I could at least start at stage three so that I wouldn't have to come here as soon as I finished Korea. That was the only thing. I was like, Please, I want to start at stage three.

Got second. (Indiscernible) do anything, didn't really, like at all. I was already in stage two before any of that with rankings and stuff.

So I was little disappointed, but, I mean, it's all a part of the learning experience. I learned a lot at stage two and to just get through it. Everything happens for a reason, so yeah.

Q. I'm noticing some beautiful jewelry. Have you splurged on some purchases out here?
YEALIMI NOH: No, I haven't. This is a gift, yeah.

Q. It's beautiful.
YEALIMI NOH: Thank you.

Q. Thought maybe you treated yourself.
YEALIMI NOH: Maybe after this I will, yeah.

Q. Gotcha.
YEALIMI NOH: Just so that I have something to celebrate with, yeah.

Q. What would you do? What would you treat yourself with?
YEALIMI NOH: I'm going to go to Korea. I was doing that just for like training purposes and stuff, but to have some fun and just relax. I've been working all year and this is probably the hardest like year/month I've had ever in golf.

I mean, I was a junior last year so it was pretty easy then just playing tournaments for fun and stuff. This year was really tough for me just outside of golf and in golf. I learned a lot. I know where my game is at now, so I think I really deserve a break.

Q. I was talking to Muni yesterday about the fact that she would be a junior in college right now. I said, Does it seem like it was a long time ago? She said, Feels like college was ages ago. So much has happened in the last two years.
In a way for you does it feel like junior golf was a long time ago given how much you've been through this year?

YEALIMI NOH: Yeah, it does feel like a long time ago, but it's literally like a couple months ago, not even a year yet.

Yeah, I've been through a lot this year. I'm just -- even before I'm an LPGA member I think I had of experiences that LPGA players would have, contending and stuff like that.

So I think it's been such a great year for me, like a lot more than I expected. Like I wasn't excepting it to be like this. But just to have all that experience before getting my card, and then getting my card, I think next year I can really just start off as -- like just trying to get a win as soon as possible. Like not trying to adjust, like tournaments. Pro life will be different, stuff like that, but I think I've adjusted to that this year a lot.

Q. Last thing from me: Haley Moore's father is dressed as Mr. Incredible.
YEALIMI NOH: Oh, is that him? (Laughter.)

Q. Could you imagine your parents ever dressing up like that?
YEALIMI NOH: No. No. I wouldn't let them. Just kidding. I don't think they would do that.

Q. It's pretty awesome.
YEALIMI NOH: That's funny though. I didn't know that was her dad. I thought he was someone's caddie. That's cool.

Q. It's her dad.
YEALIMI NOH: Where is Bolt?

Q. I'm sure he got a good laugh.
YEALIMI NOH: Yeah.

Q. Thank you very much.
YEALIMI NOH: Yeah.

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