KROGER QUEEN CITY CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY P&G

September 10, 2023

Minjee Lee

Kenwood Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: All right, I'm here in the media center with 2023 Kroger Queen City Championship champion Minjee Lee. Congratulations. How does it feel to secure the win?

MINJEE LEE: Yeah, I mean, super special. I feel really happy and I feel like I really deserve this one.

I feel like it's been a little bit of a long time coming after the U.S. Open, and like the past few weeks I've been really close, so I feel like a really deserving one.

Q. Can you just take us through the round? What was going through your head as you were headed down the stretch?

MINJEE LEE: I wasn't super nervous or anything. I just came out with a really good attitude and I was just like, let's have a lot of fun today and trust that I've put in the work.

You know, I started really well the front nine. I think I made three birdies and had a little bit of a -- I made a mistake on the par-5 and made double.

But other than that, I feel like I was pretty solid all week.

Obviously the playoff was really fun to play, especially with a player like Charley. She's very competitive and very aggressive and fears. So always have fun playing with her.

Q. After that amazing par putt on 18, were you ready emotionally to head into the playoff and ready to go?

MINJEE LEE: Yeah, actually. After that putt I just told myself, I was like, let's go and win this one. Obviously at Founders with Jin Young, that playoff didn't go my way so this one I really wanted to make it go my way.

Q. Just because it has been a minute since the Women's Open, where does this one stand at the moment? Is it more satisfying to have to wait for another win or you just happened to get it done?

MINJEE LEE: I think I just happened to get it done. I feel like it has been coming. Like I worked really hard for this one and worked really hard in my game, so I know I deserve this one.

Not that I don't deserve the other ones, too, but just feels a little more rewarding to know that all the hard work you put in has kind of paid off.

Q. 12 I know was disappointing, but how did you and Brad reset after that, maybe miss-club, I don't know, and really walk in the next six holes?

MINJEE LEE: Yeah, I wanted to get the -- I wanted to get that back nine back to par, but obviously I didn't make birdies coming in.

So that was kind of my goal I just set myself after that hole. I try to make the birdies and play to the best that I can every shot, so I was just trusting that I had it in me and just playing every shot with my full commitment. So just trusting the process I guess.

Q. And that second shot on the second playoff hole was trusting the process completely. Just walk us through that shot. What was the line I guess?

MINJEE LEE: I think I had like 145 meters to the pin, but you have to land it like 25 yards short of the green because I was also coming out of the rough. So I just hit pitching wedge and hit it three quarter and it was really -- you can't really predict how far it's going to run so it was just a guesstimate.

I just was like, oh, it's probably going to run this much, so I just need to put it on a good line and it'll probably just roll up there. It was just really trusting that it was going to come out the way I thought it was going to come out and that it was going to roll all the way to the pin.

Q. Only got a handful of events left this season. To be able to flip your momentum this late in the year as we look towards some bigger events in the fall in Asia and CME, how good are you feeling right now? Does this settle you and what you've been working on and allow to trust more that you already did?

MINJEE LEE: Yeah, definitely. This one is the actual -- actually I'm not playing Arkansas and Dallas, so it does feel nice that I finished on a high this kind of stretch of tournaments.

I'm actually looking forward to a couple weeks off and some down time. Going to go back to Perth during Arkansas and Dallas, so hopefully I can enjoy this one back home with my friends and family.

Q. How long are the clubs going to go away for the next month?

MINJEE LEE: Well, I'm playing the Hana Bank event in Korea, so one week off and then Korea and then two weeks off. Maybe I'll have a week off without clubs.

Q. Can you tell us your thoughts about the tournament itself, the country club, the course, and the fans here?

MINJEE LEE: Yeah, I mean, I feel like we didn't quite get the full experience last year because it was so wet, especially come the course. It was in such great condition this year, and I think they said they were going to tear the greens up probably tomorrow or next week, so they really let the greens firm up and it was actually quite fun to play.

Half the time you couldn't predict how much it was going to roll out, so I had a really great time playing the course, especially just the layout I think really suited my eye. I'm quite an aggressive player, so some of the holes you could hit driver and 3-wood and they were going almost on the green.

Yeah, I think for tournament play it was set up really well and I had a lot of fun playing it.

Talking about the fans, I think they were really great, especially with the good weather that we had. I think everyone came out and enjoyed the walk. I think when we come to maybe smaller towns like this and when we go close to big cities like Cincy, a lot of people are able to come out and spend the weekends rooting us on and watching the women's game, so I think these events are really important.

THE MODERATOR: One last question from me. You have an impressive record of heading into the final round with the lead and winning. What do you think that says about you as a player?

MINJEE LEE: I guess I just have a lot of grit. Coming down the stretch I never give up, and I like to think that I'm always putting pressure on my opponents and not giving it up too easily.

So I think I just have great fight in me and really great resilience.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you so much. Enjoy your few weeks off.

MINJEE LEE: Thank you.