DIO IMPLANT LA OPEN

April 20, 2022

Inbee Park

Wilshire Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: All right, welcome everyone inside the virtual media center here at the DIO Implant LA Open.

Pleased to be joined by Inbee Park. Inbee, welcome back to LA.

INBEE PARK: Thank you.

Q. What's it like to be back at Wilshire Country Club?

INBEE PARK: Yeah, this was definitely one of my favorite course of the year, and I think this golf course really, really suits my game really well.

Really close to Koreatown. It's like we're playing back home. Feels very comfortable. The weather is great.

Yeah, I'm really used to the west side of the country, so glad to be here.

Q. You have a number of top performances here at Wilshire Country Club. I think T15 is the worst in your last three here. You say this course suits your game. What is about it that you just feel more and more comfortable on it?

INBEE PARK: This is like in a city and then the course is narrow and the course is running, the greens are very small and very tough. I like tough greens. They're poana greens, very tricky. It really reminds me like a bit of Aviara. The courses in California, I like the dry courses and tough greens, so I think it's going to be good.

Q. How would you saw assess how your state of the game is as you enter into these back-to-back LA events?

INBEE PARK: Yeah, not too bad. I mean, just got to get everything together I think. I feel like I am playing pretty good. Was hitting the ball okay; just didn't get that much up and downs last week.

But except for last week, I think everything else has been pretty solid. Just, yeah, trying to sharpen up a little bit.

Q. How much of a challenge was last week with the gusts of winds? For me not being in Hawaii but watching on TV, definitely looked like...

INBEE PARK: Yeah, it was a new golf course and I wasn't really used to the golf course. It's just not my type of golf course. With the wind obviously made it really challenging and just my body condition just wasn't there last week.

Yeah, just had a good time in Hawaii since I had a couple days off and I'm here fresh, so...

Q. Feeling refreshed. Good.

INBEE PARK: Uh-huh.

Q. How are you? Sorry I'm not out there with you.

INBEE PARK: It's okay.

Q. I know this is as close as you get really to Koreatown. There are Koreatowns in many of the cities that we visit. What makes this one special?

INBEE PARK: Well, this one is like I think really true Koreatown. Just so much -- I think this really reminds me of just Seoul. I'm staying in K-Town which is really in the middle of everything.

So it really we minds me of Seoul where I live. I was really surprised that we had this ant termination guy and I was expecting a non-Korean guy for that job, but it was a Korean guy and he recognized me, so I was really surprised. (Laughter.) Yeah.

Q. So will you eat a lot of native foods this week, and what else do you think you will do?

INBEE PARK: For sure. I mean, I'll definitely eat probably the best out of all the weeks on tour. I think just the atmosphere and we have a Korean sponsor this week. Played the program with all the Korean people who came from Seoul, Busan. Yeah, I don't know if you know we're in America.

It's a bit confusing, yeah.

Q. How comfortable do you feel in an environment like this, especially as you talk about kind of the sense of being in Seoul? Does that make it just even more special, and does it make you more confident and comfortable as you you head into back-to-back LA events?

INBEE PARK: Yeah, I really love this area. And, I mean, especially reminds me of a lot of home. The food plus like the drive. You know, drive from the place where I'm staying to here is like pretty crazy drive with tough left turns and tough parking. It's just like Korea.

So, yeah, everybody parks on the curbside. Yeah, it's the same as Korea. I'm used to it. My husband and I were kind of joking. We were like joking that it's tough driving in the city. We were like, Yeah, but we're Seoul drivers. This is nothing. (Laughter.)

So things like that. Just funny, yeah.

Q. I love that. How nice is it to have the back-to-back events in LA? It's the first time we've ever had something like this on tour.

INBEE PARK: Uh-huh.

Q. To be able to not go too far way and be playing next week at a course also like Palos Verdes.

INBEE PARK: Yeah, I never played next week's golf course, but I think it's going to be pretty similar to what we see here this week or Aviara.

Yeah, I love these kind of golf courses, so I'm really excited to play two weeks in LA, especially in the end of April which is the best weather of the year.

Yeah, glad to be here.

Q. As you look ahead to the rest of your summer swing, we're getting into the swing of things. No pun intended. With that, how important is it as you structure out the rest of your schedule? Are you going to be playing a lot or is it one of those that you'll have to be strategic?

INBEE PARK: Yeah, I think I'm going to play a bit in middle stretch there with the U.S. Open and the KPMG. I think I'm really going tom concentrate my game to build up to that point. Obviously we have some important tournaments coming up in Europe, so that's the two stretches I'm really looked forward to.

Q. Quick question for you. You mentioned your pretty happy overall with the state of your game. What would you be looking to, say, clean up just to maybe get up to the next level of your play?

INBEE PARK: Yeah, I mean, you know, I feel pretty good about my ball striking or putting, everything about my game. But like the tournament days, when it hits the tournament days like I don't feel like my putting is going in as well as I want it to be going in.

I mean, even though I'm stroking the ball well, it's just somehow not finding the hole. So I'm just trying to find that time. Obviously just hitting it a little bit closer and probably trying to make a few more putts is what I'm trying to do.

Putting has been a little bit disappointing this -- for a couple of events. Trying to get that fixed.

THE MODERATOR: That will wrap it up for us here. Best of luck this week.

INBEE PARK: Thank you.