BLUE BAY LPGA

March 8, 2024

Hye-Jin Choi

Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course

Press Conference

Q. Wonderful second round. How would you comment on your performance today?

HYE-JIN CHOI: I had a great round today. There were a few difficult moments but I managed to pass it, so it was a good day overall.

Q. So you got birdies consecutively from the 14th hole. Talk about that.

HYE-JIN CHOI: So I started my round with a few bogeys, so it didn't start very well, but from the seventh hole onward I managed to start with the birdies.

I think the most memorable hole was hole 9. It was a difficult birdie to get in, but I managed to get it into the hole.

Q. So you have already the very first place in the leaderboard. Also very good ranking in the tours. What do you think yourself to get the champion?

HYE-JIN CHOI: It was important, moving forward is my mental health and my body condition. I feel that although a win is very important for me, I just want to focus on what's important and what's ahead of me.

Q. So compared with the past years, Korean golf is not that strong as before. Do you still feel any pressure given from the other countries like China and Thailand to push you, more pressure?

HYE-JIN CHOI: As much as the Korean golfers are still doing a great job, the Asian golfers themselves are actually getting stronger as well. More than competition, I think it's a healthy way of growing the game of golf, so I see it as a healthy competition.

Q. So you had a very good result for the first two rounds. Any strategy for this tournament?

HYE-JIN CHOI: I wasn't feeling well on Tuesday, so I kind of rested the whole day. The only time I managed to see the course was during the pro-am round. I feel it's actually a good thing that I came into the first round and second round not knowing much about the course because it's more me just believing in myself and my shots and trying to get the ball into the hole.

More so than the practice, I think it's just believing in myself.

Q. You've have really good golf the past two weeks here. What is it about your game that you feel is really clicking, working well?

HYE-JIN CHOI: In the past I used to think about golf, used to be very serious on every shot that I took, and that led to some overthinking. From this year onwards I'm putting more focus on enjoying the game of golf, on smiling more on the course, and just enjoying the whole process as a whole and I think it's working well for me.

Q. So being Korean and also Chinese, they're going to have improving their English before becoming LPGA player. Do you have any plan to do that? Is it still a little bit struggle for you in LPGA Tour?

HYE-JIN CHOI: I've been learning English before I came up to the LPGA, and I'm also still in the process of improving my English. I feel like that's going to improve as we move along.