KPMG WOMEN'S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

June 22, 2022

Lydia Ko

Congressional Country Club (Blue Course)

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Here with Lydia Ko, already a winner so far this year. Excited to have you with us, Lydia. Thank you for joining us and for being flexible.

You've seen Congressional under dry conditions, but sounds like from everything we're hearing, this is going to be an absolutely major test. Tell us what Congressional looks like, if you don't mind.

LYDIA KO: It's a beast. Obviously, it's held other major championships before. I think it's the first time that the women are playing here. KPMG has put up a great line-up of courses for us to play. I feel like every one has been a very different test.

This one just in photos before coming here reminded me a lot of the golf course, I think, Hazeltine where Hannah won. It's different, but there are similar looks of it.

I was saying yesterday during The Pro-Am I don't think there's a single hole where you are, like, okay, this one I can breathe, and this is like an easy par or going to be a definite birdie opportunity.

I think, to my knowledge, the PGA of America along side the LPGA normally does a good job of mixing up the tee boxes and just making the holes different and just play differently depending on the conditions and outside of just what the standard score card number is going to be.

I'm excited. I think the person that wins this week is definitely have played four solid rounds of golf, and I think this course is going to be a true test to somebody who really has their game on in all areas.

THE MODERATOR: Something we've heard from other players is this course doesn't really seem to suit maybe one type of player. It's more of a well-rounded player that you think will come out this week?

LYDIA KO: I hope so. That's the type of golf course I like. I felt like Pine Needles was a clear example of that where it didn't matter if you hit it shorter or longer or straighter.

Obviously, you want to tick all the boxes. It doesn't fit one, and I think that's great because it just makes for a very interesting leaderboard, and I think that's what happened at the U.S. Women's Open. Hopefully that will be the case this week.

The holes are long, so definitely if you do have an extra bit of distance and having shorter clubs would be helpful, but I don't think -- it doesn't play away from somebody that doesn't necessarily hit it as long.

THE MODERATOR: You come in playing well. You were just one stroke out of the playoff last week in Meijer. What's the state of your game as you get ready for this season's third major?

LYDIA KO: I had a very solid stretch of events. I don't play many four weeks in a row, so hopefully I'm going to cap off this stretch well.

I had my second best finish at the U.S. Women's Open in my career this year and then coming off a couple of solid finishes the last couple of weeks as well.

I think I finished off the tournament really well, whereas I don't think I've started my first round as well, so hopefully I get off to a better start this week.

At the same time I think the golf course here, you're not expecting to see super low numbers, so I think being super patient and I think when I am out of position, like, taking my medicine is also really important and just enjoy this week.

It's such a beautiful golf course. We have to hopefully have our A-game, and even if you don't have that, try and manage your way around the golf course, but I'm excited. This has been one of the best majors and championships that we get to play. We're excited that the world's best are at one of the world's best golf courses.

THE MODERATOR: One last question from me before I open it up for questions. You talk about the world's best playing at the world's best golf courses, and for one of the world's biggest purses, the big exciting news yesterday from KPMG and the PGA of America that they're doubling the purse. What does that mean to you as a player, but also, does is generically, generally, as a female athlete, to see your talents being recognized in this way?

LYDIA KO: Yeah, I think it's pretty -- I think it's cool that -- obviously, when you are part of the TOUR and I get to play along side these ladies, week in, week out, and you see some of the shots that this player hit and you are, like, wow, there's just so much talent, and I feel like sometimes you don't see that until you are there and actually part of it.

And I think it's why so many people that come out and watch go, wow, these girls actually hit it a lot further than it looks on TV or look at their short game. It's just, like, to see and have these partners like KPMG this week or ProMedica at the U.S. Women's Open, or AIG did a big jump as well and the many other partners. Not just our majors. For them to believe and see what we see and believe in women's golf and go for that woman's empowerment is very special.

To be part of that generation of how much the tour has grown and how much it's going to continue to grow is really cool to be a part of that. Even if it may not be while I'm playing, but to kind of keep seeing this growth and like our Founders, they made the TOUR for us. If we can leave the TOUR a little better than when we found it, I think that's kind of the founder's spirit that we all try and have on our back while we're playing.

THE MODERATOR: Clearly the tour is in good hands. We'll open it up for questions.

Q. Playing four weeks in a row, is that a bigger test physically or mentally?

LYDIA KO: Oh, I think both. Especially when you are in contention, it feels like the week is longer than it is even though it's the same 72-hole or 54-hole event. I think a major, even though it is the same, I think there's just that extra little bit of pressure, little bit of mental focus that can wear out on you a little bit, but I think it's just both.

I feel like you don't feel the fatigue when you are out there playing because all your focus is on that shot in front of you. I feel much better than I thought I would be at the end of this four-week stretch.

I think I played four weeks in a row last year or something leading up -- or maybe three weeks leading up to the KPMG again last year, and I felt pretty tired, but I feel physically good, and I'm excited for a fun week here, and hopefully I'll get to finish my stretch of events well.

Q. Secondly, having experienced this golf course and seen it and U.S. Opens have been here, PGA Championships have been here. As a player, do you feel that history and tradition?

LYDIA KO: Yeah, it's really cool. I have seen some shots that men have hit here. I heard that the course has changed a little bit. They used to have a lot more trees.

My caddie Derek said he has been here, but he couldn't recognize some of the holes because I heard they did some stuff to the course.

It's pretty cool that we're able to come to these golf courses, and KPMG has taken that lead to take us to some of these golf courses that, I guess, before only the men played. I think the women have the talent, and we are definitely -- I think the women's best are here, and we all deserve to play at these kind of championship golf courses.

I'm excited. I mean, we played Aronimink, Hazeltine, here. I don't really know what's ahead, but even for our U.S. Women's Open just to see some of the spots that we're going, it's really exciting. It's exciting that for us we can showcase women's golf and women's talent on these historical golf courses.

Q. In terms of your game, three top teams the last three starts. Is there any aspect that you're not quite happy with that you worked on for this week, or is everything feeling really good?

LYDIA KO: I think all in all it was all pretty solid for the most parts. I think the first day of ShopRite, I didn't feel like I played that bad, but I made some careless mistakes, and then also the same the first day of Meijer.

I think when you look back, you go, oh, man, I made -- that was such a silly mistake, but at the time being it didn't feel silly. When you look back, all we can seem to do is criticize if it doesn't go your way.

But I think for the most parts, it has been solid, and hopefully that kind of good momentum is something that I can take on to this week.

Q. Just to follow up, I think last week it was your 100th Top Ten finish in your career. I'm not sure how much was made of it at the time, but were you aware of that stat?

LYDIA KO: I didn't know. I normally don't know these things until somebody tells me and most of the time highly likely through social media.

I was, like, man, somebody is at the back having to go through all these stats and having to count it. Thank goodness that's not me that's doing it. Yeah, pretty cool.

When I'm out there playing, I don't really think much of it. Top Ten, obviously, is a great result and something that I try to shoot for a lot of the weeks. It was more of, yeah, I played really solid last week and gave myself a run at it rather than, whoo-hoo, my 100th Top Ten.

Hopefully I'll be able to go to 100 -- I don't know if I'll be playing as long as to 200, but if I do reach 200 in the time span that I'm thinking, I'll be very impressed.

Q. I was curious, looking at your stats this year, you're No. 1 in putting on the LPGA Tour. What tends to be your key to really good putting, and also what would you advise for us recreational golfers at home to improve that stat?

LYDIA KO: I don't consider myself the No. 1 putter. Sometimes when I'm having a bad putting day, I'll tell myself you're the best putter in the world, but then I laugh because I haven't holed a single putt that day. (Laughing).

I think there are plenty of putters that are much better than me. Imbee is probably -- not just in the women's game, but one of the best putters that ever played golf. Cristie Kerr, she's holed her fair share of putts. That would probably be a better question for them.

I just try and do a lot of -- for me I had to spend where my ball-striking was not as great, and I think that was a lot of pressure on my short game, and that bit improved. It kind of became a club that I could really rely on, but I really don't have a secret recipe, to be honest. I just try, and I think I do a lot more short putt practice just because if I know that my long putting speed is not great that week, if I'm confident with my short putts, I'm still able to get it in for two, in two putts.

I just focus more on that. I really don't do any technical thing much. Just, yeah, I just keep it really simple, and I think with anything, people tend to overthink. In my experience, when I overthink, I kind of go down a path that I don't necessarily need to.

So just kind of knowing my stroke, knowing my tendencies is probably a big thing, and I think that's for a recreational golfer as well. Just because somebody swings -- has a putting stroke in the arc of 4 degrees to 4 degrees, that might not work for you. If you have a tendency to cut the putt, then you just read the lines just the way that you stroke it.

I think you just have to find the best way for you and the way you do things rather than try and be like me or have a putting stroke like Justin Thomas or have a putting stroke like Jessica Korda.

I think it's trying to do a good job at trying to manage with the way that you play things is probably the best way to put it.

Q. Definitely. As a quick follow-up: Sands saves, you're No. 1 ranked on the LPGA right now. What tends to be your right mindset for bunker play from the green-side bunkers?

LYDIA KO: One, I hope I'm not short-sided because when you're short-sided, it's tough no matter who is hitting that shot.

I think I try and get creative when it comes to short game. Just making sure that I know where I'm going to pitch it and how the ball is going to react from there, but it's different. The sand here is different than last week, and last week is different than the week before, so just making sure that I'm adjusted to it.

I think the big key is literally not putting yourself in that much of a difficult position where it is pretty hard to make up there.

Q. Lydia, I wanted to ask you two questions. One, what is in your mind an ideal major championship test? What characteristics do you like to see?

LYDIA KO: On the golf course?

Q. Yeah.

LYDIA KO: I think for most parts it's not too quirky, and when I feel like you need to be really sharp especially at major championships. Like Pine Needles on the last day, some of the pin positions you need to be really precise on your numbers because if you are 3 feet long, that's not much, but now you're back over. Where you are 3 feet short, and now have you to putt up and over.

I think it takes precision more than any other golf course, and I think there are so many different types of major championship style golf courses. For Carnoustie it's so different to here, but it's not to say one is better than the other, I would say.

It's just like precision, and as player you need to be sharp and able to be super creative that when you are out of position trying to put yourself back in position or hit shots that normally you wouldn't, and it's why I think being a major championship winner -- being able to win on tour is incredibly tough, but being a major champion is a whole new level.

Q. My second one: You played a lot of weeks in a row. What's your routine like with Sean in terms of keeping up with everything? What does that look like, and I know this golf course has changed a lot, but did he tell you anything about being here in the past?

LYDIA KO: We didn't talk about this golf course specifically. At the U.S. Women's Open I think he called me every morning. It was literally sometimes about golf, but most of the time not. Just very light chat, and then it was kind of the way I started the week.

A lot of time when we talk, we haven't been super technical. Like, okay, I should do this, this, or this. More like, okay, I'm trying to be out there and try and hit it with conviction, and I think that's been a big key for me is that everybody hits missed shots, and I don't want to hit a bad shot because of my thought process going into it.

It's kind of going to be the same as the U.S. Women's Open of having tentative lines, but being super aggressive to those kind of lines and being super committed to it. I think that is when I am able to play most freely. That's all I can do at the end of the day, and I don't want to be out there trying to control it, and just put my 100% and see what I get back.

THE MODERATOR: We've taken a lot of Lydia's time. Thank you so much for your flexibility. I appreciate it. Go out there and have fun.

LYDIA KO: No problem. This is a great place to do it. Thank you.