HSBC WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

April 30, 2021

Inbee Park

Sentosa Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We are here with Inbee Park. On the broadcast, your first birdie of the day, I felt like I saw a giant sigh of relief, was that what you saw as well.

INBEE PARK: Yeah, it was a little betrayal of my putter today. Misread a few putts, but I still feel like I fought pretty well, especially the front nine, 1 through 6 was pretty tough with a lot of opportunities given but nothing was going in. I was just trying to get my momentum going, and No. 7 definitely did it and from there, the round was a bit easier. A little rough start.

THE MODERATOR: Once you got that momentum going on 7, how did that boost your confidence?

INBEE PARK: It really helped. I was hitting so many great shots but not holing any of the putts. I really wanted to make it happen and having birdies on 7, 8 and 9 was a big help. Obviously there was a lot of opportunities on the back nine was well but it wasn't my great putting day today. Hopefully better days to come next two days.

THE MODERATOR: You said it was more of a betrayal of your putter, but other than that, are there any factors that were the difference makers on the course between yesterday and today?

INBEE PARK: Not at all. Everything has been very consistently good. My driving to my iron shots to everything has been pretty good. I could have easily shot 7-, 8-under par if my putter worked a little bit better. But today was just not the putting day.

THE MODERATOR: You talked all week that your husband is on the bag and keeping up with the heat, how nice is it to be able to get that confidence from your husband when maybe the putts aren't dropping as you'd like them to be.

INBEE PARK: Oh, it is, you get good days and not as good days on the golf course. It's always nice to have good company with you and somebody to talk to when you don't feel as good as when you're playing great. Yeah, it was great having him.

THE MODERATOR: You and Hee Young paired up together, both tied for the lead at the moment. What was it like trading the birdies back and forth when it got rolling for both of you?

INBEE PARK: Yeah, Hee Young and I are almost the same age and we are a little more oldies on the Tour. We were talking about, the weather is just killing us because we are not as young as like ten years ago. We had great fun out there with Hee Young. She played great. She always has a great swing and she's a great ball-striker. I'm looking forward to playing with her tomorrow again and hopefully we play good golf the next two days.

THE MODERATOR: When you realize that the putting isn't dropping as much as you want it to be, what do you do after a round like this to prepare for another round tomorrow?

INBEE PARK: I think I'm just going to work on my rhythm a little bit, but not outside, in the room.

THE MODERATOR: Back in Korea, you had your own putting mat. Do you bring anything with you?

INBEE PARK: Putting stroke is enough. I'm just trying to get the rhythm going again. It was mostly not the best stroke today, it was mostly the read and the putts were very confusing today. One moment it was looking like it was going to break but it didn't and yeah, it was very tough. I think I was just pacing myself, like those ridges where is it going to break or not and like in between, yeah. It's really tough to judge after just one day but I think I made a lot yesterday and obviously today made up for it a little bit I guess.

Q. You talked about with having your husband on the bag, having to work through yardages, extra work on the reads, but what's the difference in how you feel on the course having your husband on the bag versus Brad?

INBEE PARK: Obviously yesterday we read the putts so good and he was really confident with his putting reading and I was, as well.

Then today after sixth hole, he was like -- after four holes, he was like, oh, I think you should just read the putts now, I think he was maybe feeling sorry or not feeling confident. After that I started reading my putts.

Like I said it is a little different to having a professional caddie obviously but he definitely has a good side as well. I think it's just good fun. I wouldn't say he wants to do it all year. It's just a once a year thing he needs to do. It's going to be too hard on him. Watching from outside is probably a lot easier for him than watching it so close and being part of the game is quite different. So I don't want to give him a hard time every weekend out.

Q. What's been the hardest part for him?

INBEE PARK: I think when I miss putts, I think he just gets really sad and he really thinks that he does something wrong. I told him, it happens and it's okay and I was just trying to calm him down.

THE MODERATOR: Has Brad been watching? Has he sent you any advice or anything when maybe these putts aren't going in?

INBEE PARK: Every day he's been texting me and getting the cheers from him. Yeah, I'm sure he's watching on TV and he said -- we just told him how hard it is in this hot weather and he said it's only going to get better as the day goes on, and I think he was pretty correct.

Q. Some said that hole 13 is the most difficult on the course but you managed to make birdie. Could you talk to me about how you managed to beat that hole?

INBEE PARK: Which hole was that?

Q. Hole No. 13.

INBEE PARK: 13 was the par 5, isn't it?

Q. Yeah.

INBEE PARK: 13, it's not the toughest hole because they moved the tee up for two days. It was reachable in two. So I think a lot of the girls took an advantage of that hole with shorter yardage in to the hole, and a lot of the girls got on the green with two.

Q. Talking about your cold putter today, was it just the reading or was it any technical issue?

INBEE PARK: I just think it was reading. First four holes, you know, my husband and I thought that we read the green perfectly and then it just betrayed. Obviously just didn't go where we read it. This is one where these little ridges where it's just very confusing. You don't get those days many times but you get those days where you put yourself in between, it's going to go right, it's going to go left, and it's just one of those days.

THE MODERATOR: You talked about you'll go to the hotel and work on the putting stroke, without having to go outside and use the putting green. Is there anything else you focus on to cool down when the temperatures are soaring so much like this?

INBEE PARK: Acai bowl, that really helps. I've been having it every day -- not every day, probably three or four times this week. It definitely hydrates you and having some fruit on top of it, and acai is great. It's like ice cream but healthier.