TRUST GOLF WOMEN'S SCOTTISH OPEN

July 27, 2022

Minjee Lee

Dundonald Links

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome inside the press room at the Trust Golf Women's Scottish Open. We're here with Rolex Rankings No. 2, Minjee Lee. You played last week at Evian as the defending champion. I know probably wasn't as good a finish as you were hoping for, but how did you feel you played last week at Evian?

MINJEE LEE: Last week was quite up and down. I feel like I made a lot of birdies, but I also had some quite large scores on a few holes and made a few soft bogeys here and there. You know, I could take the positives and also reflect on the things that I could do better.

You know, this week is a new week, and excited for some links golf.

THE MODERATOR: Happy to be back in Scotland, I'm sure.

MINJEE LEE: Yeah, great weather so far.

THE MODERATOR: How do you -- how do you prepare yourself? Obviously being from Australia, the wind is your friend. You're very familiar with it. But how do you prepare yourself playing a golf course like Evian last week and then coming here to Dundonald?

MINJEE LEE: I think totally different mindset, really. You kind of assess the golf course when you practise it -- when you play your practise rounds. Like Evian is totally different from obviously golf in Scotland. So I think I don't even think about, you know, what I did there and what I did -- what I'm doing here.

So yeah, I just focus on the things I need to do here for like links-style of play, and just prepare that way.

THE MODERATOR: You've had a big season, two wins already, one of those being the U.S. Women's Open Presented by ProMedica at Pine Needles. Assess your year. You played ridiculously solid, and played ridiculously solid up until Founders Cup where you finally got that win. How would you assess your year overall?

MINJEE LEE: I think it's been quite solid. You know, I've been striking it pretty good, even after the U.S. Open and finished well at KPMG, and you know, probably didn't strike it as good at Evian.

But I think that maybe it's just the frame of mind. Maybe I had a little bit too many expectations for myself, and especially when you're defending, I think you have that little bit extra pressure.

Just going into this week, I'm going to just, you know, try and have a bit for fun on the golf course and be able to like imagine my shots a little bit better. I think it's going to work well for me for links golf.

THE MODERATOR: You had that first major win last year. Obviously backed it up this year with another and then another win. How do you manage those expectations, when you feel like you're starting to reach the pinnacle of your game and finally see that hard work pay off?

MINJEE LEE: I feel like it's probably a day-to-day thing. You know, your expectations can get really high but I think that just shows how much it means to you. So I just try to, you know, ground myself every -- every day and just focus on the things that I -- that are my goals, and just take it one step at a time, really.

Q. How would you describe your feelings toward links golf, and when did you first feel like you understood it?

MINJEE LEE: I think I still don't understand it but I don't think anybody does because, you know, it can give you -- it can really give you anything. Obviously the weather is really dependent on how tough like links golf can play.

So I think the beauty of it is that it's always different. So I don't know what to expect on the day, so you've really got to take it one shot at a time, and that's kind of -- I think that's what makes it so great.

Q. Do you think your patience as a person in general helps you, like your overall demeanour?

MINJEE LEE: Oh, definitely. It's definitely a test of patience if it's windy out there or raining, or you could have both and it could be the most horrible day, but still you've got to play.

I think definitely patience as a person plays a really big part in like links golf in general.

Q. What have you heard about Muirfield?

MINJEE LEE: My coach said it's really quite a tough track, but I'm not sure how they are going to set it up for the women's compared to the men's. He's only been to men's events. I know it's going to be a really great test of golf and it's going to be really good test of golf.

THE MODERATOR: This is your sixth appearance in this event. You say you're not sure day-to-day but you've played well on links-style golf. Your highest finish here is solo second in 2018; 2017, you finished 8th when it ws here at Dundonald.

MINJEE LEE: Oh, I did?

THE MODERATOR: It's been a while. What do you do to adjust?

THE WITNESS: When I was playing this golf course, I couldn't really remember the holes. So I'm not sure if they changed it since then, but I only remember like three holes.

I don't know. I don't think I really need to adjust. I think because it's a different type of kind of style of golf that you have to play, I think you just don't think of it as the same way you would play it on a regular golf course.

So I don't know, I just take it one shot at a time and I think that's all you can do, really.

THE MODERATOR: Do you think having -- growing up playing Aussie golf, do you think having that knowledge of playing in the wind and playing when it's really hardpan and really windy, maybe that helps you at all?

MINJEE LEE: The hardpan is not the same. Like, I didn't really play that many courses that are linksy growing up. I played off kikuyu grass which is very weedy and fluffy.

But in terms of wind, I did grow up in quite windy conditions and obviously in Texas now, it's windy every day. Edge just controlling the ball a little bit has helped me, like growing up in the wind.

THE MODERATOR: You've played this event, this is your sixth appearance. How have you seen this event evolve over the years? Trust Golf and VisitScotland have both put a lot of time and energy. How have you seen the championship get better.

MINJEE LEE: I think maybe just marketing the tournament in general, I think a lot more people have come out to watch over the past couple years or the few years that we've had the Scottish Open.

I think in the beginning it was probably not as big an event than it is now, and I think just the calibre of players coming to play, I think just shows that the tournament's getting better and better.

THE MODERATOR: It's been a big year for Scottish golf obviously with the 150th Open. How excited are you to be part of some of those big events and basically the country where golf was started?

MINJEE LEE: I think watching The Open at St Andrews, I've never been there and I've never played there, so I'm hoping that we get to go there soon.

But it just -- I don't know, it's just different. Just watching it, and I wish I was able to experience it in person, because my brother did play. Maybe next time.

It's just pretty cool to be in Scotland, and it is the Home of Golf.

THE MODERATOR: Let's chat a little bit about next week. This is such a big stretch of golf in the women's game. You have four majors crammed into a couple of months. What's your energy level? You've had those two wins. Where are you at with your energy right now and how are you conserving it with one more major test left?

MINJEE LEE: You know, last week, it was quite hot, and the week -- couple weeks before that in Texas, it's been really, really hot. So I think I'm a little bit tired from that but I think the cool weather will, you know, maybe balance my energy a little bit.

So I think I'm just trying to conserve energy for next week obviously but I think depending on the weather it just depends on how much practise I do, so if it's super windy, I probably will do a little bit less, so that's pretty much how I'm going to go about it.

THE MODERATOR: We'll just end it here. I mean, just some of your goals this week. Obviously where this is in the calendar is really great because you can get yourself back used to links golf in this event, play a really top-notch event and then head to AIG. How much will you use this as a tune-up for next week and get yourself comfortable for links golf.

MINJEE LEE: I think the golf course is not playing too hard and fast at the moment. So I'm not really sure what it's going to be at Muirfield. In terms of the wind, I think it will be good to imagine ho the ball will react in the wind and how it's going to react on the greens.

So I think in that aspect, I think it will be a good prep for next week.

THE MODERATOR: Good luck.