LPGA MEDIHEAL CHAMPIONSHIP

June 12, 2021

Lauren Kim

Lake Merced Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. (Regarding birdie on the last hole and final group Sunday.) How comfortable will you be feeling tomorrow?

LAUREN KIM: Oh, gosh, probably pretty nervous. Yeah, I never played in the final group on Sunday and just going to enjoy it as much as I can. Come into this week was just to try and shoot under par every day, and I've done just that.

See hopefully can get another one tomorrow. Conditions were tough today, so I'm proud of way I played. Had some kind of mistakes coming in, but, yeah, to make the birdie on the last was really fun. I had no idea that was going to put me in the final group, but that's pretty awesome.

Q. (Indiscernible - wind.) Did you ever think it would finally come to fruition?

LAUREN KIM: So close to home, not really. You just never know when you're going to have a good week. But I had a feeling that I was close and you're just kind of always on the edge of something with golf, and I had that feeling.

So I think coming into this week I just kind of let it go, just trying to see what happens. I really have nothing to lose at this point so it's kind of a blessing -- not in disguise -- but a blessing that I'm playing this week.

Q. You looked comfortable out there. Is the exterior matching what's going on on the inside?

LAUREN KIM: A little bit. It's fun to have familiar faces out here. I see my family standing behind the green or friends that have come to watch, and it's nice to see that.

It kind of brings me comfort and reminds me that I am at home and I get to go sleep in my own bed. So stuff like that, little reminders here and there.

But I felt some nerves this morning and going into the afternoon. It's just fun. I'm just enjoying it as much as I can.

Q. You were in the final grouping today. As you got to the first tee you just told Golf Channel you had a little bit of nerves. How do you think you fared in this round three?

LAUREN KIM: I think I fared okay. I didn't lose my position. I kind of just kept going and plugging along. I had a tough couple holes out there. You know, you just kind of have to take it as it is and hope that you get more birdies coming in.

But, yeah, just kind of took it in stride.

Q. You were talking to Karen about how much it means to you to be doing so well close to home. You talked yesterday about just sleeping in your own bed, how much that helps. How much do you think that helped as the Karl the Fog rolled in today and you had some different winds than you might have had the first couple days?

LAUREN KIM: Yeah, I think it's just -- I mean, just playing at home you just kind of understand that that's part of what happens here. Like Karl can come at any time. He can just show up when you least expect it.

So I think just -- I don't know, just knowing that, and kind of understanding that part of it is just mentally so freeing because you kind of -- you just expect kind of the worst. You expect the coldest, the windiest, foggiest. Yeah, the expectation was there that it could -- I was warming up and you saw it crawling up No. 1. It's not going to burn off at any point. The weather stayed okay until the last few holes. Then I got a little chilly.

Q. And I've got to ask, you really rebounded after that first hole there when you looked up into the tree and couldn't find the ball. Just take me through your thoughts on that first hole.

LAUREN KIM: That was Leona's ball.

Q. Leona's ball, never mind.

LAUREN KIM: Well, then we had a whole discussion about it and it was -- her ball was stuck up in the tree and then it fell down and it was her ball that fell down, and then we were trying to figure out what the timing was, whether it was a lost ball and all that.

I just felt just awful. Like Danielle and I were talking about it, and at the end of the day we felt like it probably was more than three minutes.

But, you know, in those kind of situations it's just kind of -- you just kind of have to say the hard thing to say and kind of move on. But I felt so bad. I was so excited for her because as I was setting up to my putt it fell out of the tree. I was like, That's great. We found the ball. Let's move on.

And then it turns out it was the timing issue. So, yeah, that was a challenge.

Q. We saw those, but you were still able to rebound off that bogey. What did you think led to that comfortable rebound, being able to mentally reset?

LAUREN KIM: I mean, it's the first hole. You have 36 holes left, 35 at that point, and it's just a lot of golf. Anything can happen. I mean I doubled 10. A rough start to both nines.

Yeah, just kind of proving to myself that I can shoot under par still and I know the birdies are out there. I'm putting it well, hitting it well. I think just staying confident in my game and not being phased by it.

Q. How proud are you of yourself playing in your first final grouping tomorrow, of the work you put in to get to this moment?

LAUREN KIM: Yeah, it just feels really good. I think anything that happens tomorrow I'm just going to really enjoy it. I'll probably being feeling nervous the entire way around the, but it's just really cool. I am so grateful for the opportunity, and just to be able to say that I was there and I played in the final group, it's a really cool experience.

So, yeah, just taking it in stride and enjoying it really. Just smiling the whole way. And seeing my family and friends out here is just, there is nothing better. It's really exciting.