PELICAN WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP

November 22, 2020

Sei Young Kim

Pelican Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, good evening everyone wherever you're calling in from with the Pelican Women's Championship champion, Sei Young Kim.

Just a quick reminder before we get started, if you have a question, please comment in the chat function of this call.

Without further ado, the inaugural Pelican Women's Championship champion, Sei Young Kim. Sei Young, congratulations.

SEI YOUNG KIM: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: How good does winning No. 12 on the LPGA feel?

SEI YOUNG KIM: Feels, yeah, win is always great. Feel great, yeah. And then I'm very happy to win the 12 tournament, and then after win the major tournament, so it's means a lot to me.

So, yeah, I'm very, yeah, happy with that, yeah, win the 12 tournament.

THE MODERATOR: You got sprayed by quite the amount the champagne bottles by some good friends after.

SEI YOUNG KIM: Yeah.

THE MODERATOR: What was that celebration like? Take us through the final moments after just to celebrate.

SEI YOUNG KIM: Yeah, my friends are champagne, put it in my head, and then my t-shirt and everything feel like take a shower in the champagne. I'm still smell.

Yeah, and then drink a little bit and feel -- feels, you know, like little drunk. (Laughter.)

THE MODERATOR: That's great. You're the first player since Ariya Jutanugarn in 2016 to win her first major and then win her very first event immediately after winning her first major.

SEI YOUNG KIM: Oh.

THE MODERATOR: I know obviously the goal is to win every week. Was there any maybe more pressure to perform at such a high level after winning your first major?

SEI YOUNG KIM: Not really, because this week I just trying to feeling same as last tournament. Then I played great golf course. Feel like very -- it's great when I walk on the course, so I wasn't any pressure.

But after back nine my feeling wasn't good, so Ally was going really good. It could be she chase me. That was -- that's my thought. So when I turned the nine hole I was a little bit pressure before made the 14 birdie.

After made the birdie hole 14 little more comfortable and then, yeah, I feel back, good feeling back.

THE MODERATOR: Specifically on No. 9 when you hit your approach over the green, had to chip on, and then you two-putted; that cut the lead down to three. Just on that hole as you took the walk over to 10, what was running through your mind.

SEI YOUNG KIM: Yeah, starting on hole 9 my feeling bad. Not bad, just wasn't good. Not perfect as much as last three day.

So I trying the good feeling back, so a little bit of struggling in my instincts. So, yeah, but after, yeah, make the 14 birdie everything, yeah, everything good.

THE MODERATOR: How much different did the course play today? It seemed like the wind was quite a bit different.

SEI YOUNG KIM: Especially today it's not much wind, but the last three days really gusty wind and the strong wind. Was tough to judge the number.

Wind today it was really, yeah, very challenging golf today. Yeah.

THE MODERATOR: One of the programs this week, through the tournament they host a Birdies For Babies charity program; $50 for every birdie donated to the healthcare system BayCare.

SEI YOUNG KIM: Uh-huh.

THE MODERATOR: What was it like to be part of that cause this week and pour in quite a few birdies to help?

SEI YOUNG KIM: Yeah, try to make a lot of birdie today, so, yeah, if I make the birdie and then that birdie help some -- help the charity, some people, yeah, that's good thing.

So I try to make the more birdie. Yeah, but I couldn't today. Not much. Yeah.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Congratulations.

SEI YOUNG KIM: Thank you.

Q. You had a lot of great up and downs early on the back nine. Which one do you think was the most important?

SEI YOUNG KIM: I think 14 got good momentum. Yeah, because I mention about it before.

Q. What about the par saves?

SEI YOUNG KIM: And then when tee shot hole 9 feels like wasn't good, so, you know, yeah, and I tried to get good feeling back and struggle myself.

When I play the last group if you feel like not perfect it's very nervous and then got extra pressure, especially final round.

So after 14 everything, yeah, come back.

Q. And when you were in Korea and you had two weeks to do nothing but sit in your room, did you visualize what the rest of this year might look like on the golf course and winning more tournaments?

SEI YOUNG KIM: Well, not really. After tournament I just want to relax and then feel fresh, make myself feel fresh, so don't think about golf. Just, yeah, just fun thing to do. Yeah.

Q. Congratulations.

SEI YOUNG KIM: Thank you.

Q. You guys have a really busy few weeks of golf coming up and the purses are just so big in back-to-back events. I'm wondering what it feels like to be playing so well heading into that? Does that give you a lot of confidence?

SEI YOUNG KIM: Yeah, definitely. You know, always after win always got the extra confidence, so when you play the -- when I play, standing on the golf course it feels very -- yeah, feels happy when I walk on the course. Yeah, it's really great.

Q. That's awesome. Do you like that those two events, the U.S. Open and then the CME, are back-to-back? Do you feel like if you get into a good rhythm you can just make it last for two weeks?

SEI YOUNG KIM: I hope so, but U.S. Open course is very challenging and difficult. So, yeah, if I keep doing same as last two tournament I think, yeah, that's possible. Uh-huh.

Q. Yeah. How do you feel heading into the U.S. Open having won your first major? Do you feel very different compared to majors in the past, or not really?

SEI YOUNG KIM: Yeah, I think so, because after win CME and then I got more confident in that I believe able to more relax even major tournament in the KPMG.

So I think that major win very help for another U.S. Open major tournament. Yeah.

Q. And that feeling of relaxation, you feel like you play best when you're most relaxed?

SEI YOUNG KIM: Uh-huh. I realize and I think I'm more confident, yeah.

Q. Cool. Thank you.

SEI YOUNG KIM: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: On the schedule is the Volunteers of America Classic. You call that area home, your second home. How exciting is it to be able to not really have such a crazy travel schedule over the next couple weeks? Celebrate the win a little bit but also prepare for the end of the season at your home away from home.

SEI YOUNG KIM: Yeah, I'm not playing Dallas.

THE MODERATOR: Oh.

SEI YOUNG KIM: Yeah.

THE MODERATOR: I thought you were. (Laughter.) Scratch that. Okay. We will go to the next question.

SEI YOUNG KIM: Okay.

THE MODERATOR: Such a different year 2020 has been. What it was like to walk up 18 today with the amount of people that were there gathered?

SEI YOUNG KIM: Yeah, I just trying, yeah, focus until the last putt. Because if, yeah, if I lose my mind it could be big mistake.

So I just protecting that. Yeah, just walking and relax, but still keep focus on myself. Yeah.

THE MODERATOR: I know that the Masters has a nice tradition with a green jacket. I think we've got to start a tradition with a blue jacket. Do you think so?

SEI YOUNG KIM: I love that. I like that.

THE MODERATOR: What size do you need?

SEI YOUNG KIM: Small. (Laughter.)

THE MODERATOR: The first champion of the Pelican Women's Championship. Congratulations, and enjoy it.

SEI YOUNG KIM: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: We got one more. Beth Ann asks: You're so close to reaching No. 1 in the world. How important is that ranking to you and what would it mean?

SEI YOUNG KIM: No. 1 now?

THE MODERATOR: Not yet. You're so close to reaching No. 1 in the world. How important is that ranking to you and what would it mean to you?

SEI YOUNG KIM: Yeah, it's mean a lot because world ranking No. 1 is my wish list in this year, so that's my biggest goal in this year. Before Olympic gold medal was my biggest goal in this year but it cancel. Might be next year.

So I change my goal and fix my goal, and then, okay, I going to do world ranking No. 1 my wish list.

THE MODERATOR: Your wish list over the holidays. We'll see if Santa can deliver. Thank you, Sei Young.

SEI YOUNG KIM: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: Did you watch any of The Last Dance last night?

SEI YOUNG KIM: I didn't.

THE MODERATOR: No?

SEI YOUNG KIM: not last night.

THE MODERATOR: Maybe next week.

SEI YOUNG KIM: Maybe tonight. Not tonight. Maybe be next week. Yeah, next week.