AIG WOMEN'S OPEN

August 22, 2020

Minjee Lee

Press Conference

OLIVIA McMILLAN: Another lovely round of golf here for you at the AIG Women's Open, a 69. Can you talk us through your round out there today.

MINJEE LEE: Yeah, I had two birdies on the front nine, so I think I had them pretty early. Then I just played pretty solid par golf until one hole I made bogey and then the hole after I came back with a birdie, so that was nice. I finished the day with a couple pars, so 2-under I finished.

OLIVIA McMILLAN: In a really lovely position heading into the final round. How are you feeling and what will be the game plan tomorrow?

MINJEE LEE: I'm feeling pretty good. I think I'm going to be probably a couple shots behind at the end of the day. So I feel like I can maybe play a little bit more aggressively if the wind doesn't blow as much, and maybe I can hole a couple putts out there.

Q. You had some heartbreakers there that looked like they couldn't miss and somehow they did. Still not sure how they stayed out.

MINJEE LEE: I know.

Q. You were rolling it really well out there. What do you take from those near misses and what could have been a much lower round?

MINJEE LEE: I think a couple of them were probably out of range. A couple of them would probably have been lucky to go in but when I saw it like lipout, I was like, oh, I wish it went in. But hopefully I have a couple more chances tomorrow to get them back.

Q. Your first Open I think was at Birkdale; is that right?

MINJEE LEE: Yes.

Q. What was that like? That's a tough golf course and a tough week, what was your first introduction to Open golf?

MINJEE LEE: That was a tough week. I missed the cut, but I think I hit it in like every single bunker and that's pretty much all I can remember. I remember it being a really tough week and I was like, I really enjoy playing links golf even though I didn't play very well that week. But I just really love the challenge of the wind and just the lay of the land. It's just lovely to look at the ocean and yeah, I just really enjoy playing links golf.

Q. What would be your ideal weather tomorrow then?

MINJEE LEE: My ideal weather, probably maybe something like the first or the second day. I mean, I feel like a challenge is good, but I don't know what the weather forecast is going to be tomorrow. It's probably going to be a little less wind but either way, I didn't think my game plan is going to change.

OLIVIA McMILLAN: You've had some nice results in the majors over the last few years. Do you feel like there's any experiences that you've learnt from those championships that you can be drawing on tomorrow?

MINJEE LEE: Definitely I think maybe when I played Turnberry, I got to play with Inbee when she won, so I feel like that really gave me a lot of -- I think experience in terms of just being aggressive and just being able to play in that kind of conditions and to perform in those conditions, as well. I think the past couple years with the weather, sometimes the weather was bad but most of the time it was pretty good. I feel like I could draw a couple things away from just the experiences that I've had before.

OLIVIA McMILLAN: Obviously the first two days, the weather was horrendous, and today it's been quite a mixed bag. Can you talk about how different the course has been playing for you?

MINJEE LEE: I feel like when we first started the week it was playing pretty soft anyway but today with less wind, I think we could really tell that the greens were holding pretty well and just a little bit of moisture in the greens, and even on the fairways, there's not too much run. And there was not too much wind today, so everything was a little bit more manageable and I think just with your shots, you don't have to look at too much right-to-left or left-to-right wind in comparison to the first two days.

Q. Lindsey Weaver is out there without a caddie. Can you imagine being out there in these conditions, especially the first two days in a major championship on your own?

MINJEE LEE: But she's been doing pretty good. I think she hasn't had a caddie for the past couple weeks. She's probably -- maybe she's better off just making her own decisions. She doesn't really have to like ask anybody or, you know, have any doubt in like her decisions. Maybe it's better that way for her.

OLIVIA McMILLAN: Obviously a long way from home. What's the support from back in Australia been like, and do you think there will be quite a number of people tuning in to watch the final round tomorrow?

MINJEE LEE: Definitely. I always get amazing support from everybody back home. Just I think a lot of Australian fans are always behind me and always want me to perform well. So I feel like I just feel very fortunate that I've got such a great support base, fan base, and yeah, I do think a lot of people will be rooting for me.

OLIVIA McMILLAN: What do you do tonight? Are you going to be nervous, do you think? How do you relax and unwind and get mentally prepared for tomorrow?

MINJEE LEE: I'm a pretty relaxed person. I don't do anything in particular. Maybe just watch some Netflix or just have some food and just chill out I think.

OLIVIA McMILLAN: Thank you so much for your time. Very well-played today and best of luck tomorrow in the final round of the AIG Women's Open.