HANWHA LIFEPLUS INTERNATIONAL CROWN

May 7, 2023

Ariya Jutanugarn

Moriya Jutanugarn

Atthaya Thitikul

Patty Tavatanakit

Harding Park

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We're here with our champions of the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown, Thailand team. Congratulations, ladies.

My first question is for our MVP, Ariya. At the beginning of the week, you said that this team was going to be good because you had these three players alongside of you. How has that changed, that mentality changed now?

ARIYA JUTANUGARN: You know, I'm always believing in my team, and I still feel that way. To me, it can't be only me doing hard work, doing a good job. It has to be all of us.

I think this week, we put ourselves in a really good position all the time. I think the vibe between us, can't ask for better.

Q. Mo, how great was it to play with your sister again? I know you guys play together in match play almost every year, but how good was it to be in this team event and play alongside your sister every day?

MORIYA JUTANUGARN: Of course every time when I had her as a partner, it's like my -- like I had more confidence, and it felt more relaxed on the golf course.

Of course we try to get each other's back, helping each other sometimes, and I'm not really helping sometimes, as well. We try to support each other, and I think that's like a good feeling of having my sister for these four days.

Q. Patty, you had a brewing battle this morning, really battled it out with Lilia and just came out strong. How tired are you feeling, and how happy are you to have really dominated this second match?

PATTY TAVATANAKIT: I would say I'm not as tired as I thought I would be in the afternoon round. I'm not sure why. Maybe the adrenaline.

I'm just really happy that we pulled it off, all of us. And to be able to kind of get a head start to go up on Hannah early I think kind of gives them a little bit of a sense of security that we already kind of is ahead in one match, we just need one more.

Q. Was playing alongside Lilia this morning -- and being in match play, did it remind you at all of your college days?

PATTY TAVATANAKIT: Yeah, we played together a lot. She's solid. I think we're both just really tired, but we did our best. It was a good match.

Q. Atthaya, this is your first event. I know Patty's, as well. Was International Crown everything you thought it would be coming into this week?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: I mean, I not really expect that we're going to going for win that much coming into the week. But I think when I come into this event, when we had a practice round with my team, I feel like I had more confidence, we had more good vibes, and I think we just had fun. We really had fun out there, especially in the practice round or tournament round. Like we had so fun.

I think it's good memories for us forever.

Q. Just curious what this says about golf in Thailand, what quality of players your country is producing for you guys to win this as convincingly as you did?

ARIYA JUTANUGARN: I would say when I'm growing up, when I'm turning pro, I always want to inspire the kids back home, and right now I feel even better because not only me right now, I have Patty, Atthaya and Mo, and we're just going to keep doing the same thing.

Q. May, you mentioned in an interview with Golf Channel that you've been working towards this since '14, to get this victory. Did you feel pressure over the course of your career to win this tournament at some point before your career was done?

ARIYA JUTANUGARN: No pressure at all. When you have a chance to play in this event, you already feel great. You feel like you be able to representing Thailand, and I would say no pressure because we just come out here, have fun, and of course when we have chance to play in final, we really want to win this. I always believe in my team, and I know we can do this without pressure.

Q. Was there any pep talk between the semifinal and the final? What did you all do between beating Team USA in the finals?

ARIYA JUTANUGARN: All we do is we have to write down the pairings, like who going to be first, second and last. All we do is -- because we're winning every match, and Mo doing it, so we just tell Mo to do it and hand it to me -- to tell me. That's all we do.

We worry, we thinking about if we're going to be able to win or not, but before we go out and warm up we just say, you know what, we're going to do you our best, and let's not thinking about the result. Because if we do our best, we know the result going to be great.

Q. Patty, you only lost one match all week as a team. There's wins, and then there's domination. Can you appreciate how strong of a performance this was for Thailand?

PATTY TAVATANAKIT: Yeah. I mean, we all played really well, and we always appreciate every great round, but at the end of the day, we worked for it. Like we played well. We won matches. We made putts. We executed shots.

Yes, we appreciate it, but we also deserve it.

Q. May, I just want to know what was going through your head on that final little shot to really -- the shot you holed out to really close out the match?

ARIYA JUTANUGARN: Actually on that hole, we just talk about do we have to keep playing. Like we don't know what's going on. We know they already won, so I don't know if I have to keep playing or not because I felt like I pushed to the right; Mo hit bunker in the rough.

I feel like if I keep doing this we might have to play to 18, so I'm like, okay, what we have to do. So that shot, I just really want to make it because I want to finish.

Q. Ariya, you were really aware, Thai golf took off, and you're sitting up there with three great Thai players. How does this win at the International Crown really solidify Thailand's place in golf and the future of golf in Thailand? Patty I guess, or Ariya.

PATTY TAVATANAKIT: Like I said with Tom on Golf Channel, I think it does a lot already, and like me being one of those young kids who looked up to them, coming to this stage and trying to make a name for myself, us winning this event is huge for golf in Thailand.

It is already growing, and I think this is going to inspire a lot of people, even more than what we feel inspired 10 years ago.

I'm really excited to see the future of Thai golf.

Q. Patty, I know it's been a hard couple years, but you've been playing some really good golf as of late. What does this do for your confidence as you look ahead to the rest of the season?

PATTY TAVATANAKIT: Yeah, I gained a lot of confidence this week just playing alongside Atthaya; I see a lot of good shots, so I was able to replay that in my head and try to execute and commit and just feel confident when I hit, which it's a good feeling to be able to feel like I'm myself again on the course, which is nice.

And to be able to do that and represent Thailand on the same week and just kind of like getting all those feels back is really incredible.

Q. Patty, I know you just referenced this, but how much did the Jutanugarn Sisters influence you? You guys obviously did this as a team, and it shows some depth in golf from Thailand. How much did you being here, how much did they sort of inspire you when you were coming up?

PATTY TAVATANAKIT: Yeah, I remember the year that she won three times -- three weeks in a row. I think I was still a junior and I played AJGA at the time, and then I was like, oh, she won, so I want to win my tournaments, too.

I won I believe it was the Rolex Tournament of Champions, Lake Oconee in Georgia. I can't remember the year.

Then later on she had another -- I think she won a major, too, that year, and then later on that year I was like, oh, I need to win another tournament to get Rolex Junior Player of the Year. I think it was 2016 when I did that.

So yeah, just seeing her play well inspired me to kind of follow that stuff, as well, because she did get those awards, as well.

Q. Jeeno, when you were growing up in golf, did you also look up to the Jutanugarn sisters? And if so, how did they influence you?

ATTHAYA THITIKUL: Yeah, I do. Obviously all the Thai golfers in Thailand do look up to them, what they -- because what they did, it's pretty huge for our country.

I think it's just a kick start for Thai golf. Obviously look up to them and try to be like them one day and trying to inspire all the juniors in Thailand to coming up to the States. We love to see all the Thai players coming up.

As you can see this year we had a lot of new faces coming up from Thailand. It's good news, and hopefully more and more coming.

Q. May and Mo, the first tee when you guys were there, did you see Se Ri Pak, and what was it like seeing her? I know you guys have both played with her, too. What was it like seeing her for the first time in a long time again?

ARIYA JUTANUGARN: I feel so lucky even because a few years ago I have a chance to play with her before she retired, so I feel so lucky because she's the first one that won U.S. Open for her country and she inspiring so many kids back home and even me because of the way she played and who she is.

I feel like any time I have a chance to play with her I learn so much, not only how she play golf but the way she act to other people, to other players. I feel like that more meaning than win the tournament.

MORIYA JUTANUGARN: Well, of course everyone knows she's such a legend, and I got a chance to play with her the last few years that she played on Tour. It's such an honor that we get to play with her. From knowing her for a long time, it's like very, very happy to see her like show up for this event and support LPGA.

It's just like when you see her, you feel like you see a big sister and like role model. I was very, very glad to see her today.

Q. How happy are you to just have the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown back on the schedule, how much you enjoyed your week here?

MORIYA JUTANUGARN: Of course it's so much fun this week. Very, very enjoyed it. We take a lot of good things and confidence and learned a lot.

Everything more than I could ask for, and I'm very, very proud of all of the girls.

PATTY TAVATANAKIT: It's our first time playing, so I think I'm just really happy to know before coming here, to know that we're bringing this event back because I feel like we don't have a Solheim Cup, we don't have a Presidents Cup. This is another stage for us to play match play. Not only that but play for our country, so that's even better.

I'm just really happy to be here before the week, but now winning and having the crown with my teammates, it's unreal.