COGNIZANT FOUNDERS CUP

May 12, 2023

Minjee Lee

Upper Montclair Country Club

Press Conference

Q. Here with Minjee Lee after her second round. Very similar position to what you were in last year. What sort of mindset do you have heading into the weekend as the defending champion?

MINJEE LEE: I actually haven't really been thinking too much about the defending champion bit, but I mean, I just wanted to have two good rounds to start the week, and I'm in a good position for the weekend. I'm just going to stick to my game plan, hit good drives, hit good shots into the greens, and hit good putts. That's all that I can control.

Q. You also mentioned to Amy about how important it is to play smart. What are some of those smart decisions you've been having to make out here?

MINJEE LEE: I think just some pin placements you can't really go for it. If you go for it, it brings a lot more trouble into play. Just little things like that, I think Mikey and I have been working pretty well just to hit it to the fat part of the greens at times, and have the green light for some of the pins that you have wedges with. Yeah, just things like that.

Q. Returning back here after winning and you shot really low last year and now two good rounds here, what about this course do you think suits your game the best?

MINJEE LEE: I like it when it's challenging, and I like the look of the trees, I guess, so it kind of suits my eye. I think it's quite tight off the tee, so I think I concentrate a little bit more and have better focus. Maybe that's what's been helping me.

Q. You talked about not thinking about being defending champion. Is that a way of avoiding pressure? You're just playing the course and --

MINJEE LEE: It actually just hasn't crossed my mind. I know I like it here, and I would like to be playing well here, and I've put two good scores up. Hopefully I can have a good weekend.

Q. How were you playing coming into this?

MINJEE LEE: Last week was really fun, International Crown week. I got to have a really fun week with the girls. I feel like I had good days and not that great scoring days, but I think finishing off the week I was striking it really well, so kind of brought good momentum into this week.

Q. Are the conditions any different today as opposed to yesterday?

MINJEE LEE: I actually feel like the greens are a little bit firmer. They're just bouncy, a little bit more bouncy, and I think the wind here and there was getting up closer to the end of my round, so they were just bouncing a little bit more than I thought.

Q. I know it's been several weeks for you on the road; how important is managing that fatigue and how do you overcome that to shoot these really great rounds that you're posting?

MINJEE LEE: I think just good sleep and good recovery, make sure your body is not tight, do your stretching and keep hydrated. I think just don't over-practice, just practice the things that you need and do the smart things, now that it's my fourth week on the road.