THE CHEVRON CHAMPIONSHIP

April 20, 2023

Lydia Ko

The Club at Carlton Woods

Quick Quotes

Q. An up-and-down day today for round 1. How would you describe the day overall?

LYDIA KO: I actually drove the ball really well. I think from the fairway onwards was a little bit -- it wasn't my sharpest, but to start off at under par I think is a good way to start this week. It's not easy. I feel like some holes you say, oh, just hit a drive and then hit it on the green. But I think the front nine, the greens can be a little bit trickier, and the back nine driving is well is key. I'm trying to do a good job all around, but yeah, I think to finish off with a birdie on the last after bogeying 16 and 17 was -- it's definitely going to make lunch taste a little better.

Q. How do you tackle a new major venue like this, learning those sort of intricacies and getting out there and learning how this course lays out for you?

LYDIA KO: I actually came out on the weekend prior, so it was nice to kind of see the golf course. I didn't really know what it was going to be like. I saw on Instagram some of the shots of 18 and that, but you never really know until you're exactly here. To be honest, I struggled the first few times I played around this course, and I was like, I don't know how I'm going to do this.

But I feel like when you start playing, even if you don't hit it the best you can, you can just manage your way around and not try to make it perfect, just try to shoot the best score, and sometimes I know it may not look pretty, but I'm just scrambling my way around.

But yeah, I think there were a lot of positives, more positives than I thought. I wasn't like the most confident going into today, so to start off like this, I think there's a lot of good things to take, and hopefully I'm going to take all the good for the next few days and take the not-so-good stuff and polish it up a little bit.

Q. As the 2016 winner you got to attend the Champions Dinner on Monday. What was it like being with the other champions who have been part of the history of this event?

LYDIA KO: Yeah, I think I've only gone to the Champions Dinner a couple times prior. Obviously since COVID it really wasn't as big as it was before, but the last couple years Chevron has started the tradition again, having Chef Keller come out and to have a Michelin -- multi-Michelin Star chef come out for the Champions Dinner, I think everything about it is super special.

Yeah, to me it's just really cool to see the different ladies from Sandra Palmer, Dottie Pepper, Juli, some of the players that are playing here this week. Yeah, it's just a really kind of a goosebump kind of scenery, and you don't really get those kind of opportunities like that.

I know at the founders some of our pioneers and generations before come out, but I think it's a very special memory. Yeah, I think it's a really cool thing about this event, and I'm very proud to be a past champion here, and I look forward to many more of those Champions Dinners.