CME GROUP TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

November 18, 2022

Minjee Lee

Tiburon Golf Club

Quick Quotes

THE MODERATOR: Here with Minjee Lee. Coming off of her second round here at the CME Group Tour Championship. Take me a little bit through your round today. Lots of birdie opportunities out there. How are you finding those?

MINJEE LEE: Yeah, when I started this morning, it was really windy, so I think I started maybe with a string of pars and then made two birdies on the front nine and then had two birdies -- three birdies and a bogey on the back nine.

So, I mean, pretty solid day. I wish I birdied 17 and parred 18, but it's golf. So hopefully get it tomorrow.

THE MODERATOR: I know it was a little windy yesterday too. Maybe not as much as you started later yesterday, but how did you manage the wind differently today?

MINJEE LEE: It was the same direction. It was just a little stronger, so it wasn't like it was a totally opposite wind or anything. It was pretty easy to adjust to. Maybe just half a club more than yesterday. It was nothing too crazy.

THE MODERATOR: I'm wondering if you had a little bit of a confidence boost coming into the day after winning the ANNIKA Major Award last night?

MINJEE LEE: Yeah. I mean, actually, the video that they played actually gave me goose bumps. So I was, like, oh, that's just so cool. It just gave me a little bit of inspiration I think coming into today and the rest of the week. It was just really nice.

Q. A couple of things. I know you're used to being in pressure situations with a lot on the line, but this week is a little bit different with the Player of the Year in addition to everything else. Do you find yourself thinking about that at any point during the day in the round?

MINJEE LEE: I didn't today while I was playing. Yesterday I thought about it a little bit just here and there, but, you know, I don't think it really helped me. So I just was, like, I'm going to go out there and just do my very best like I always do, and that's pretty much what I did today.

Q. The Commissioner announced the schedule today and that purses are for the first time are going to be totalling over $100 million. What does that milestone mark mean to you?

MINJEE LEE: I know we've been going from strength to strength over the years. Just to be able to, I guess, be over $100 mil, I think it's just a milestone in itself and just a testament to how well our, I guess, Commissioners and our sponsors have stepped up to put up that money.

So I think it just closes a little bit of the gap between the men's and women's tour. I know we've always been saying it so much, but we've only been going from strength to strength, and I think it's only going to keep going up from here. I don't think it can ever go down now.

Q. When you look at there's a huge gap in the beginning. Not a lot of tournaments, special full-field events, but then it gets crazy, and there's four majors in the span of eight weeks. What do you think of kind of the flow of the schedule overall, and how you'll decide what to do?

MINJEE LEE: For me personally usually I don't play the first few events of the year and start in Asia. So I think it really helps with all the craziness that we kind of have to go through with the majors in the middle of the year.

So I know it's a great schedule for everybody who maybe lives in Florida to play the first couple, but for me it just doesn't make sense for me to come back for one event.

You know, it's always difficult to pick and kind of set your schedule the way you want it. Sometimes it changes while you're playing. You might feel like playing or you might not feel like playing as much.

I think having a lot of options is good, and especially maybe for the girls who like it play a lot, it gives them more opportunities to do that. So I think it's good.

THE MODERATOR: One last question about your round today. I'm wondering if you can take us through any of your most memorable birdies today?

MINJEE LEE: I hit a really good shot into -- what's the hole before the par -- 15. It was just a nice three-quarter cut 7-iron, and I hit it to, like, 3 feet and made birdie, so it was nice.