BMW LADIES CHAMPIONSHIP

October 20, 2023

Minjee Lee

LPGA International Busan

Quick Quotes

Q. So you are currently leading the game. Congratulations. Please tell me about your round. How was it?

MINJEE LEE: Yeah, I played really solid. It was really hard conditions out there. A lot of wind swirling around the valley. So sometimes we had really strong gusts, and I had to back off. But overall I had a really good finish.

Q. So I saw in an interview that you mentioned you want to win in Korea. So how do you feel, you actually play in Korea, and now you're in the lead? So how does it feel?

MINJEE LEE: Yeah, I mean, my parents are Korean, and I have a really deep heritage here. So I always love coming back and playing. And being at the top of the leaderboard is always nice, and being in contention is always my goal. So hopefully I can have a great weekend.

Q. There was a lot of wind today, and you are known for always having excellent strategies. So what strategy did you use to navigate the course?

MINJEE LEE: Actually, it was really, really difficult. Like I feel like we had every single direction of wind. So it wasn't one direction. So it was very hard to adjust as you go.

But I think you just have to play one shot at a time, and when the wind comes, you have to assess it as it is. So I think I did really well today.

Q. So when you reached on the green on the 18th hole, there was a lot of wind, and you seemed to be a bit hesitant. So how do you feel before the putt?

MINJEE LEE: Yeah, I waited until a gust went by. And actually it was a pretty straight putt. So I didn't really have to look at too much break, but I just putted when it was straight downwind. So I think it helped.

Q. Which part are you going to focus for tomorrow?

MINJEE LEE: Yeah, I mean, my motto is always play my game and do whatever I can control. So I'm just going to take one shot at a time. And if the wind blows again like today, I think that's really, really important. So I'm just going to go out there and try and have as much fun as possible.

Q. The story of the day are these winds. As Lydia said, it kind of was hitting every single direction on a compass. Just how do you think you were able to weather the storm that was?

MINJEE LEE: Yeah, I mean, I don't know. It was just like everywhere. There was no one direction. Or it said it was northwest, but it was south, it was going to north, west, east. I don't even know.

So I think it just really bounces around the trees and the valley. So pretty much just with every shot I had to assess the wind. And we just kind of went from there. And if it started to gust, we would back off.

And then obviously that's why play was probably a little bit slower than yesterday. But I think overall I was able to hit the shots that I wanted and just really commit to every shot.

Q. Despite the bogey on 5, to have the birdies that you did coming in, just overall how proud of you of the effort that you had, especially with these swirling winds?

MINJEE LEE: Yeah, I mean, obviously the par-5s, a couple of them, you can really be quite aggressive. And I got on for two on -- what is it, like 15? So that was nice. It was a two-putt birdie.

And the -- I got pretty close, I just tugged it a little bit, but I only had like a 40-meter shot into the par-5 before. So I think I just tried to take as much advantage as I could when the wind was behind us. And obviously the birdie on 18 was just like cherry on top. So it was nice to finish on a good note.

Q. Walk me through that last, and I know you waited a bit for that gust to kind of clear on the putt there.

MINJEE LEE: I even waited on the shot as well. It started going a little bit like the opposite direction. It was like left-to-right, then it was going right-to-left. So I waited and then hit it when it was left-to-right wind. I don't know.

And I hit a really good shot in. Hit a three-quarter 7-iron and then I had like 11 feet or something for birdie. So it was a pretty straight putt. And like I said before, I just waited for the wind to blow right-to-left, and it was straight downwind.

Q. To end the day currently with the clubhouse lead after 36 holes, I mean, how does that feel for you going into this weekend, knowing that some conditions will be a little bit similar, a little bit not, but knowing that you've got kind of the experience to boot when you're out there at the top of the leaderboard?

MINJEE LEE: Yeah, I mean, it's always nice to be at the top of the leaderboard. Obviously contending is always my goal every week. So, yeah, I just feel like I kind of know what to do now in that situation. I've been there a few times.

So, yeah, I'm going to try and go out there and have a lot of fun and just, you know, play to my best ability. And I always give my 100 percent, so hopefully I can have a good result on the weekend.