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DIAMOND RESORTS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONSJanuary 16, 2020Inbee ParkLake Buena Vista, Florida Q. I'm with the LPGA Hall of Famer. Inbee, your first round of 2020 is in the books. How would you describe today? INBEE PARK: It was a great day today. Especially having a bogey-free round, it was a great round. Especially being the first round of the year, I felt like I might be a little bit rusty, but I felt like I was doing really good out there. So I'm really happy with the round. Hopefully, three more good ones. Q. You started the season early on purpose, citing the Olympics. Obviously, you won the gold medal in 2016. How did that change your life? INBEE PARK: I think it definitely changed my life a lot. A lot more people recognize me, and a lot more people who didn't know about golf get to know about golf watching the Olympics. Having an influence on a lot of people is just a great feeling, and that really drives me well every day. It's great to be back out here. Yeah, it's a bit of an early start. I felt like I didn't have enough break, but it's great. It's still very enjoyable out here. Q. You've won seven Major Championships, 19 LPGA Tour events. How do you stay so motivated? INBEE PARK: Sometimes it can be tough to get a motivation in when you kind of know like you're going for something that you have already accomplished, but it's always fun to play in a golf tournament and try to win. Every day is a competition. The good thing about golf, you start from zero every day no matter how you played. So that really gets my motivation going. Q. Inbee, that was an amazing first round. Welcome to 2020, bogey-free round. You've got to feel pretty good about how you started your season. INBEE PARK: Yeah, I played really good golf today. I feel like my putting improved a bit compared to last year, so I'm happy with that. Bogey-free round was a great start to start off the season. So, yeah, I'm really happy with the round. Hopefully, three more solid rounds to come. Q. You're known for amazing putting already. How does your putting get better? INBEE PARK: Last year I was a little bit disappointed with the putter. I hit the ball close a lot of times, but I wasn't able to make enough birdies. Yeah, I'm just really happy with how I started today. Hopefully, I can keep that consistency going for the next three days. Q. Did you notice anything mechanically with your putting, or is it feel? INBEE PARK: I've always liked Bermuda greens, and I think it's a great place to start. I haven't really changed anything. I changed a little bit of an alignment because I tend to aim a little bit too much left. I kind of figured that out when I was having an off-season. So I changed things just a little bit. I missed a couple of them right today, though, but it felt like it's a little better. Q. You started the year earlier than you normally do. Did you also start training more seriously early? INBEE PARK: Yeah. I usually started the training early January, but I started end of December this year, which was only like probably three weeks off after my last tournament. So, yeah, I haven't had really a long off-season. I think I'm just kind of taking these first two to three weeks as a warmup, just off-season but playing. Q. Where were you training? INBEE PARK: I was in Las Vegas. Q. This is a unique format obviously. Are you more relaxed out there? What is your mindset out there when you're in this format? INBEE PARK: It was definitely a different atmosphere. It felt a little bit more relaxed. Usually the first tournament of the year, I am a little bit more nervous than I was today. I think the atmosphere helped a little bit to relax, and I was able to play good. Q. Do you have a physical trainer, not just golf? INBEE PARK: I have a physio, but not a physical trainer at the moment. Q. Inbee, you talked earlier this week about really wanting to get back to the Olympics. Can you describe what the experience was like of being an Olympian and what you enjoyed about it. INBEE PARK: It was a totally different level of sports event, the biggest sporting event I've ever been to. As an athlete, I felt so proud of myself that I was able to represent the country, not just in a golf tournament, but there's a lot of different sports playing at the same time. It's like a big parade for athletes. I think you definitely want to be part of it. I think it's a great place to be. Q. Your medal is displayed in your father's company. Do you ever go see it or ask to borrow it? INBEE PARK: Actually, I get to see them because some events that I hold back in Korea, they usually put the trophy, major trophies and the gold medal so that people can see and take a photo. Q. At the tournament? INBEE PARK: At the tournament and like outings and stuff like that. Q. Do you like to see them? INBEE PARK: Of course, yeah. Q. When did you decide you wanted to come back earlier and make that a goal for this year? INBEE PARK: I just kind of made a decision last year, just that instead of just sitting at home and just practising, I just wanted to come out here and compete and not to be bored. Q. Are you going to play in the two Australian events? INBEE PARK: For now, yes. Q. What else are you going to be playing? INBEE PARK: I play Singapore and China. Q. Will you play Phoenix? INBEE PARK: No, not Phoenix. Q. No other domestic? INBEE PARK: Kia. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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