GAINBRIDGE LPGA AT BOCA RIO

January 30, 2022

Danielle Kang

Boca Rio Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. All right, here with Danielle Kang. Danielle, impressive effort on this final day. Just your reflection over this past week and the fight that you had.

DANIELLE KANG: I mean, I played some really good golf out there. I hit some quality shots, today and yesterday.

Just couldn't get some of the things kind of going my way a little bit. I flag hunted really well. Hit some good putts that didn't go in.

Yeah, I tried really hard out there. (Laughter.)

Q. You were able to start with two birdies in the first three holes. What was the mindset and what was working so well?

DANIELLE KANG: Honestly, I'm hitting the ball so well that I just keep giving myself birdie opportunities as much as I can. I just look at the quality of the shots and that's the best I can do.

Yeah, even the last hole, that was a really great shot into that pin. Hit a great putt. Didn't break. There -- the greens are really tough to read out here. I don't think I putted bad. Might seem like it because I'm putting all the time.

The three-footers were really hard for my here because keeps sitting into a hole, and I've already hit two putts while in a hole and it bounced out and didn't even hit the cup.

From there I just keep trying to fix it and so the ball stays. I had difficulty with that. It was kind of more irritating than just like -- I just don't want to keep on marking it and fixing it. That kind of rhythm got me into slowing down a lot on the greens.

Yesterday I got very timid with the putts because I didn't want to keep marking the two footers. It is what it is. Today I just kept the speed up as much as I can and then see what happened.

Q. At the top for two weeks in a row. What's been the biggest part of that for you?

DANIELLE KANG: Like I've said last week, I believe that it's still a process, right? It's not about just winning this week or winning last week. It's basically the quality of golf that I want to be better. I want to be able to compete and contend in the tournaments that I compete in basically.

And then, yeah, I'm just excited for the year. I'm excited for a lot of the teams that are building me up to be the best that I can be. So it's still a process of work, so...

Q. The level of play was so good today. What did you think of Lydia's play? How tough was she to beat?

DANIELLE KANG: I necessarily wasn't paying attention to a lot of what she was doing, to be honest, because I didn't even know on 12 she hit it -- had to hit provisional because I got up to the fairway and there was four golf balls and I said, What happened here?

It's just those things that sometimes when you -- even on 15, yeah, I know she mishit that shot and you make birdie from there.

Then I hit a great shot and par from there, so it's kind of -- at the end of the day I can't focus on what she does. It doesn't matter how well you hit it. You have to be able to hit good putts, and she hit a phenomenal putt on that hole. It breaks about three feet on that green.

Even my seven-footer broke more than three cups and I was still low, so those kind of things I was very impressed by. And I loved how calm she stayed throughout the round. Even on the last hole she was going through a little bit of trouble, but she stayed in there.

She hit some really great shots and executed some good bunker shots. I was really proud of her.

Q. Was there a turning point at all that you could point to?

DANIELLE KANG: I don't believe so.

Q. Either for you or for Lydia?

DANIELLE KANG: I don't believe so. We both played solid and she shot, what...

Q. She was 3-under you were 4-under.

DANIELLE KANG: 3-under, 4-under, I mean, it's just good golf. There is no -- I keep thinking about talking about momentum the last couple days. You can't think about, Oh, it's not my momentum or her momentum. You just got to keep executing the shot in front of you and keep playing what you have. That's what I did until the last hole. I wouldn't have done anything different.

Q. Okay. Yeah, was there any time where you think, Man, I'm running out of holes or I can still -- I got this?

DANIELLE KANG: I mean...

Q. You hit a great shot on 17, great shot on 18. You really couldn't have done much more, could you?

DANIELLE KANG: You don't really run out of holes until it's over, right? I had a nice birdie putt to tie up the match, and I wouldn't say I ran out.

Q. So you were in it until the end?

DANIELLE KANG: Well, yeah.

Q. Okay.

DANIELLE KANG: (Laughter.) Sorry, I don't know how to answer that.

Q. Were you surprised on 18 that that ball didn't move more to the right?

DANIELLE KANG: Yeah, because I watched Celine's and it snapped, so I assumed -- I thought I hit that softer where it was going to die, but that putt was fast. Yeah, I thought it was going to break. I hit a good putt, really good putt, just did not break.

Yeah, and then I hit some good putts on -- even on 14. That was a great putt. Just kept on going really firm. It was getting -- the greens kept speeding up.

Q. 15 when it ran past?

DANIELLE KANG: 15 is the slider. No, that one was low. It just kicked right. Not much I can do.

14, 14th hole putt. I knew it doesn't break much, but I aimed right edge and went right, so...

It's bumpy out there. Greens are difficult. It's not easy. It's rolling faster over the weekend, which I like actually. Normally it's super fast on Thursday and then slows down towards the end, which is annoying.

Today it was nice.