U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN

June 5, 2022

Mina Harigae

Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club

Flash Interview

Q. Mina Harigae, 1-over 72. Can you talk us through your round today?

MINA HARIGAE: I think that was probably one of the top rounds where I was really nervous. But I think I handled it pretty well for this situation. I'm proud of myself.

Q. Obviously you came up just a little bit short of that top goal, but what are some of your main takeaways from this week?

MINA HARIGAE: The main takeaways are I really am able to handle myself out there. I belong up there.

Q. What was going through your mind at the finish when you realized that you'd just won a million dollars?

MINA HARIGAE: I'm not going to lie, my stomach hurt the last couple holes coming down. I was really stressed out, but I was really just focusing on one shot at a time, making solid contact, and just hitting good putts.

Q. Had you looked at the leaderboard to see how stacked it was in second?

MINA HARIGAE: I did, I looked at it on 14, 15, and then my birdie obviously helped on 16, so that's when I saw that I had a two-shot lead in front of third.

Q. On the topic of money, I think it's right that you're the first woman ever to win a million dollars at a tournament by finishing second place. That's pretty cool, right? Not just for you but the women's game.

MINA HARIGAE: Yeah, that is really cool. I didn't really think about that. If this is the trend where women's golf is going, I think it's great.

Q. Did Minjee ever feel accessible to you today or did she feel like she was solid? Was she off in her own stratosphere?

MINA HARIGAE: Kind of pockets here and there. Obviously she got off to a very hot start. Maybe that bogey on that par-3, maybe it opened a tiny little -- cracked open the door for me a little bit, but she was just super solid out there.

Q. You had a 30-shot turnaround from the first time you were here as a teenager, 2007.

MINA HARIGAE: I didn't remember, but I do remember making the cut when I was a teenager, so I think that was pretty cool.

Q. Talk about your tee balls this week off the -- was that a key to your round keeping the ball in the fairway?

MINA HARIGAE: Yes, I believe so. I was hitting my driver really well this week. I don't think I missed more than five fairways, maybe six, so I think that definitely helped a lot this week.

Q. I know you didn't win, but is this the highlight of your career, and if so, what does this mean to you?

MINA HARIGAE: This is definitely top one or two highlights of my career, obviously, just the prize money, but solo second in a major, and that's my best by far. Really happy with it.

Q. I saw you were showing some emotion as you were being embraced by Lizette off the 18th green. What were you feeling there at the end?

MINA HARIGAE: I think just a lot of relief and just having a friend, a really good friend like Lizette, be there for me, even if I didn't win, that she was just there for me and she's proud of me, and it made me really happy and emotional.

Q. I noticed you and Travis off to the side of the green when it was all over. What was that exchange like, because you two have been through a lot together in the last four years or so?

MINA HARIGAE: Yeah, I think it was just very short and brief, but I think a lot of it was a big sigh of relief. It was just like, good job, great week, and I put my head down a little bit because I didn't get the job done, but still really happy with the result.

Q. Will you buy a house or a yacht or what will you do next?

MINA HARIGAE: Yeah, maybe something like that, but for sure I'm very happy with my week.

Q. The shot into 15 that kind of clinched it, was that a good angle? I think you had 106 yards in.

MINA HARIGAE: Oh, yeah, the par-5. Yeah, with the downwind and how firm it was, it was a perfect sand wedge for me, as long as I caught it solid I knew it would skip up there, and I pulled it off.

Q. You got down immediately by two more shots two holes in. Were you thinking it was out of reach or you just wanted to keep it together like you said yesterday, hang in there? What was your thought process?

MINA HARIGAE: Yeah, I wanted to hang in there. It's a major championship, and anything can happen coming down, but she was just way too solid today. She didn't miss many shots or putts. I think I was just really concentrating on solid contact and hitting fairways and greens and giving myself a shot at second.

Q. You were the top American finisher; does that mean anything to you with some of the talent that's out here?

MINA HARIGAE: It definitely does, it means a lot to me, especially having played on the Solheim Cup last year, wanting to play again. It means a lot to me.

Q. Was there a point in the round where you pivoted trying to chase down Minjee versus hang on to second place given how much money was involved?

MINA HARIGAE: I think just from the get-go, I played No. 1 well. I was just very nervous over my first putt, which is understandable. But I was just trying to play my own game, hoping or really trying to execute my shots and my putts. Didn't really work out that way. But I was just trying to play my own game today.

Q. How many times do you think you've played Pebble Beach over the years?

MINA HARIGAE: Oh, people will be jealous, but I think over like 30 times.

Q. What's your best score out there?

MINA HARIGAE: I shot a 7-under 65 during the Callaway Invitational there. It's always played during the TOUR Championship, so whenever I wasn't in that event, I would go play there, and I just have so many great memories at Pebble Beach, and it's my favorite place on earth, so I'm really looking forward to it next year.