U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN

December 8, 2020

Sei Young Kim

Champions Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome back. We are pleased to have Sei Young Kim with us in the interview area for the 75th U.S. Women's Open. She won the KPMG Women's PGA Championship earlier this year for her first major victory, she has 12 LPGA Tour wins, and is currently ranked No. 2 in the world. This is her seventh Women's Open start.

After a few practice rounds, days out here, how are you feeling about the week and the course?

SEI YOUNG KIM: I got a chance to play the practice round a couple times two weeks ago. At the time it was a bit damp and rainy and I felt the course was quite long.

This week because of the weather it didn't feel quite long, but it still feels like a difficult course. As I understand, this is the first time having two different courses at a U.S. Women's Open, so pretty busy this week with the preparation.

Q. What would it mean to you to get to No. 1 in the world?

SEI YOUNG KIM: Obviously it would feel incredible. Since I was young, I dreamt of being No. 1 in the world one day, and I'm glad that I have a chance to do that.

Q. How does it feel different being at a major having already won a major now?

SEI YOUNG KIM: I think there's a bit more pressure being a major champion coming to a major tournament, but again, nothing is going to change with my preparation. I'm going to try to stay composed and try to finish strong.

Q. Even though you're not ranked No. 1, you're certainly considered the hottest player in the game right now. Do you feel like you have an advantage over the rest of the field given how you've played this year?

SEI YOUNG KIM: I felt like previously my game fluctuated quite a bit throughout the season, but this season what's been different was I was able to be consistent with my performance. And because I'm playing well, I just want to continue on this momentum and try to finish strong every tournament.

Q. Every win that you've had has been incredibly dramatic, whether it's holing the putt at the CME or holing the shot in Hawai'i. How is it that you're able to perform at a higher level in those dramatic moments?

SEI YOUNG KIM: Of course I didn't prepare to get myself into those dramatic situations, but I'm glad I was able to overcome it. There's definitely pressure when it comes to those moments, but what I try to do is enjoy the moment, even during the pressure.

Q. There's been a lot of PGA TOUR players Tweeting their support of the U.S. Women's Open this week, and I'm just curious if you would like to see some mixed events with PGA TOUR players and LPGA Tour players, and if so, who would you want to play with?

SEI YOUNG KIM: That will certainly be an exciting event if it ever happens, but I heard Rickie Fowler was a fun guy to be around with and exciting, so he might be a good partner, or Rory McIlroy or Tiger Woods, one of the top players. That would be great.

Q. Do you watch men's majors like the Masters or the U.S. Open, and do you think they watch women's majors?

SEI YOUNG KIM: I try to watch as much as possible. Certainly if I'm having an off week, I would definitely watch a major tournament, the men's tournament. To answer your second question whether I know they watch our game, that I'm not sure.

Q. You have won setting a scoring record and you've won on one of the most difficult golf courses that we've played. Is there a particular kind of course that suits your game, or does your game meld to everything?

SEI YOUNG KIM: It's hard to hand-pick a particular course that suits my game, but just looking back on this season, I feel like the KPMG Women's PGA Championship up at Aronimink was a great course for me, and for me to score that low to win the tournament was amazing.

Q. How important do you think it will be and it was to come here early for you prior to this week? And then how many rounds will you play on the two different courses these two days?

SEI YOUNG KIM: I took the week off last week. I actually came here two weeks ago to play two rounds of golf, so that was good as far as the preparation.

This week I played 18 holes yesterday, 18 today, and I plan to play nine tomorrow, and certainly I'm not used to having two courses at a major tournament. The preparation has been different, but also trying to conserve energy for the week, as well.

Q. Will the nine be on Cypress tomorrow?

SEI YOUNG KIM: Jackrabbit.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, and good luck this week.