HUGEL AIR PREMIA LA OPEN

April 20, 2021

Minjee Lee

Wilshire Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to the virtual media center the 2021 Hugel Air Premia LA Open.

We are joined today by Rolex Rankings No. 11, Minjee Lee. Thanks for stopping by, Minjee.

MINJEE LEE: Thank you.

Q. LPGA obviously didn't make a stop here in Los Angeles last year because of the virus. You are still the defending champion of the Hugel Air Premia LA Open. What are the feelings and emotions of coming back to Wilshire to defend your title?

MINJEE LEE: Yeah, actually when I parked the car and walked down yesterday, down the stairs, all these memories came back. It's really nice to be back. The golf course is -- like I really like this golf course, the layout. It's kind of tricky and unique. I do really like coming back here, and I'm glad we got to come back here this year.

Q. What do you remember most from your win here in 2019, and was there a turning point or moment that stood out on your way to the winner's circle?

MINJEE LEE: Yeah, I don't think there was like one moment that really stood out to me. I just remember every day was really quite consistent under par or even -- I'm not really sure. I just remember being pretty consistent throughout the whole week and just played really good golf.

Yeah, that's pretty much what I can take out of it.

Q. If you play really good golf you can find the winner's circle pretty easily. What makes Wilshire Country Club a unique golf course?

MINJEE LEE: I think probably the bunkering. We don't really go to a golf course with that kind of bunkering I think, so I think that's what makes it unique.

There is just a mix of like hard holes and short holes and just a mix of everything. So it's a little bit of a challenge, and definitely when the wind gets up a little bit it's much more of a challenge.

I think that's pretty much what makes to a good track.

Q. We didn't play here of course in 2020. How great is it to be back in Los Angeles and to have the support of both Hugel and Air Premia to return this event to the LPGA schedule?

MINJEE LEE: Yeah, with COVID it's been tough, and I think L.A. has been in a couple of lockdowns. I think it's really nice to be back here and we're just really grateful to have the opportunity to play again the L.A. Open.

Q. Missed the cut last week at the LOTTE Championship. That's something that doesn't go together very often, Minjee Lee and a missed cut. Your first time not playing the weekend since the 2019 Evian Championship. There are worse places to miss a cut than in Hawaii.

MINJEE LEE: Yep.

Q. Shot 2-under, but the scoring was obviously crazy. What did you take away from the week and the result?

MINJEE LEE: You know, I was pretty disappointed. You never really want to miss a cut, so yeah, I had 2-under, but obviously wasn't good enough for how the scoring was that week.

Been striking it really good. Just have to make more putts. I think that's the bottom line here for me. Yeah, just been grinding and hopefully have a good week this week.

Q. 2-under, you were right on the cut line.

MINJEE LEE: Yeah.

Q. What were you able to do? Were you able to enjoy Hawaii at all?

MINJEE LEE: You know, I actually went to practice. I didn't do much sightseeing or anything. I been there a lot of times now, so, yeah, I just wanted to, you know, get a little bit more confident with my putting.

So I just did some practice.

Q. Absolutely. And I feel like the putting is kind of going to become -- obviously it's a big factor every week -- but the greens here and some of the trickiness like you say when the bunkers come into playing, being able to score well on the greens I would imagine is a big factor this week?

MINJEE LEE: Yeah, for sure. The greens are actually quite small here, and obviously poana is a challenging type of grass to putt on.

So, yeah, I think maybe the speed. Sometimes the greens get a little bumpy in the afternoon, so just got to trust it's going to go the way you think it's going to go and putt.

So, yeah, it's just one of the challenges of this week.

Q. This is your last domestic event until the inaugural Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play in Vegas at the end of May. What are some goals you have this week before heading overseas to Singapore and Thailand?

MINJEE LEE: Yeah, I would like to have a good week here. I been striking it good. Been hitting it pretty good too this week.

Yeah, hopefully I can put a couple scores together and have a good week.

Q. We're obviously in L.A., so if you had a celebrity that you could meet, who would it be and why?

MINJEE LEE: I would like to meet Beyonce. I just think she's an empowering woman and has just done a lot of things. I sort of look up to the things that she's done.

It would be kind of cool to be able to meet her one day.

Q. She's got that women power.

MINJEE LEE: Yeah, just very powerful and such a great role model.

Q. You started the year off -- back to golf -- with a pair of -- Top 5 finish at Kia Classic and then a top 25 at the ANA. What's something maybe that you been working on to see why you are game continue trending in the right direction or something you have noticed that's working well early in the year?

MINJEE LEE: I mean, over the off-season I've been working on my -- like my swing, long game, so I definitely see it has improved, and my driving has improved as well.

So, yeah, that's probably trending in the right direction, which is nice to see.

Q. Last one for you: The Aon Risk Reward Challenge is the par-5 15th this week. From your experience on that in the past and this week, what makes that hole both challenging and how do you personally attack it?

MINJEE LEE: Well, the 15th hole there is like a big hazard in the -- in front of the greens, so if you do go for it you got to carry that maybe onto the green but then there is also a drop-off behind the green where there is a hazard.

So, yeah, so obviously there is a lot of things that could come into factor. But usually it does play a little bit downwind so you can go for it in two. When the tee is up you have an iron in.

So that's going to be a good risk and reward hole I think this week. Obviously if the tee is back it could play a three-shot hole with no wind. Yeah, good par-5.

Q. Good luck this week defending your title.

MINJEE LEE: Thank you. Thank you so much.