CPKC WOMEN'S OPEN

July 26, 2024

Lydia Ko

Earl Grey Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. All right, welcome Lydia Ko back to the media center here at the CPKC Women's Open. Great round from you today. Just give us an overview of the round if the conditions out there this afternoon/morning.

LYDIA KO: Yeah, it was a little less breezy this morning when we first tee'd off. The wind is actually picking up to almost what it was yesterday.

I think because of the breeze the greens are getting really firm, so being on the fairway and having good I guess angle into some of the pin locations is really important.

It's not easy, and I think the scores are showing. Anything kind of under par the past couple days is a really solid round. I'm pretty happy with the way I started this week.

Q. Obviously you won here three times before. Got a lot on the line coming up: Hall of Fame, Olympics. How do you manage the expectations of yourself each week when you know you're such a successful player and have a lot going on?

LYDIA KO: I feel like it's been a lot easier. Some people have reached out and are like, oh, it's going to happen. You're so close. I was like oh, I'm not as stressed as I think people are thinking.

I think, like I said after winning Hilton Grand Vacations, being one point away is so much easier than being two. I know when you're two points away, oh, I still have to have two wins.

I feel like if I keep moving in the right direction and doing the right things, that one point, whether it's -- however, there are so many different ways to get it done, will happen.

I feel like if it's honestly meant to be for me to be in the Hall of Fame and be a Hall of Famer, it's probably going to happen.

So I'm just trying to play the best golf I can. In the past couple months I haven't played the best golf, so it's not like I'm playing with a lot of expectation trying to win I guess because I haven't been in contention as much.

I do feel like my game has improved a lot in the past couple months. Obviously it's a really good time for it to happen, at tournament that means a lot to me with the Olympics and British Open and all that coming up.

Yeah, I'm playing alongside the best female golfers week in, week out. We all know it's not easy to win. Sometimes luck also needs to go your way. So I'm hoping for a little bit of this, a little bit of that, and kind of give myself good chances.

Q. We were just talking to Rose about kind of the scores and where everyone is at on the leaderboard. The fact that 3-under par is inside the Top 5 and only a couple shots back of the lead, is that kind of an odd thing to wrap your head around given the fact that some weeks 3-under might not make the cut?

LYDIA KO: Megan won with I think a single digit by the end of the week last year. It's not easy. The rough is only getting longer. At the start of the week I thought it was pretty playable, but sometimes you could get some nasty lies and can't really go for the green anymore.

And they're significantly firmer than Tuesday with this wind and the coolness. I think the golf course is playing a lot tougher than when we played practice rounds, so I'm not surprised that the scores aren't really low.

Yes, there are some gettable holes but as much as that, there are also some tricky ones. So it's just kind of balances off. I think the scores normally show exactly how the course is playing and it's not easy especially with the wind.

Q. Has your game plan or approach to yesterday's round and today's round, were they different or similar?

LYDIA KO: I don't think they were different at all. The wind direction was somewhat similar, kind of coming off from one direction.

But the wind changed a little bit yesterday, so some of the holes where it was downwind yesterday might have been a little into. That just makes the hole a lot more difficult.

Other than that, I think I've just kept to the same strategy, same kind of clubs off the tee, and I've been trying to play a little bit more aggressive and be a little bit closer to the green if it's a par-5 just because I think some of those pins it is difficult to get to.

So I'm thinking probably the closer I'm going to be is going to be a little bit easier.

Honestly, when you do hit it in the rough, I think that's the big key, is like are you going to have good lies and still be able to get close to the pin.

Q. Do you agree and like the fact that the course is set up tough because it's a national Open?

LYDIA KO: I think it's great that we get to play these kind of golf courses, tough. I said earlier in my press conference that a lot of Canadian Open courses have been very similar to our KPMG Women's PGA Championship style where it's traditional, a little longer rough, tighter fairways, taller trees.

So, yeah, sure. Like we as players want to make as many birdies as we can, and I'm sure the fans love seeing birdies over pars and bogeys.

But you're trying to nail down who is going to be -- who has played the best that week. I think that shows no matter what style of golf course.

But definitely tricky out there. It's a good challenge for us.

Q. When you do run into a course like this and setup like this, do you think your experience helps?

LYDIA KO: Yes, but I think experience is more dependant on the situation you're put in. Like if you're in contention or like how -- I think the experience helps a lot because it's not your first time being in that position.

That doesn't mean you're necessarily going to play good or bad, but just having that experience I think makes you a little bit more comfortable in playing these type of golf courses.

But I think out here, somebody that has really good distance control in their putting and is really accurate off the tee is going to have a really good week and probably the one that wins at the end of the week.

So, yeah, experience helps, but I think no matter what event we play, the person that is very consistent throughout their bag is the one that's going to probably be hoisting the trophy at the end of the week.

Q. They're about to light the Olympic torch and you're going to be having lunch in Calgary. How do you wrap your head around that? Do you feel like you have any sort of Olympic spirit before you're able to get over there?

LYDIA KO: I haven't been to any of the opening or closing ceremonies in the past couple Olympics, so this year is not that much different. I don't remember what I was doing during the opening ceremony for Rio and Tokyo. Could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and to miss it sucks, but I'm really excited to play here.

I made the decision to come and play this event, so not being at the opening ceremony, it's something that I have to deal with. I think as golfers we're very fortunate to have so many -- 30 plus events on the schedule and five majors for us -- to be able to have the opportunity to compete at a high level every week.

Where I know with some Olympians and athletes, the Olympics is their pinnacle event. Then they might actually have to go and do -- like run errands and do other jobs.

As golfers we are very lucky to have these kind of opportunities. Yes, I would love to be there, but I think I'm more focused on this week and excited to be around on the weekend in Calgary.

Q. Like from a golf standpoint, to have a strong week here, can that be a good springboard for you as you try to complete that medal collection?

LYDIA KO: Yeah, I think it's kind of weird. Like sometimes you do want a few weeks off before a really big stretch because you just want to be energized.

At the same time I don't think it's a bad thing to play your way into the big stretch of events. I'll have a few days off next week before I travel to Paris.

For me right now, the more competitive rounds and under par rounds is probably better. And I feel like I've taken a lot away from these past couple days. Feel like the good things that were happening in practice I was able to execute that on the golf course.

So, yeah, I'm pretty sure that will be helpful for the Olympics and the Scottish and British. Yeah, I'm hoping that the good momentum feeds on the next month or so.

Q. Curious, you were asked about Hall of Fame earlier in this presser. Talked about it a ton of times, including earlier in the week. How weird is it for you at age 27 to be talking about a Hall of Fame berth?

LYDIA KO: I didn't grow up thinking I was going to be a Hall of Famer in anything, not even like cleaning the dishes. So to have had this opportunity, especially after a great year in '22, so something that honestly wasn't a goal of mine became a chance.

I know that not every single player or every single athlete has this chance, so it's pretty cool to know and think that I could potentially be a Hall of Famer.

At the same time, I'm pretty sure it's not going to change my life that much whether I am or I'm not. The same people that love me, whether my husband or my family, they're still going to love me no matter what.

So I'm trying to think of it as low-key as much as I can. But, yeah, very grateful for this opportunity. Actually Amy Alcott called me a couple months ago and said she was like really close to getting into the Hall of Fame and they changed the rules years back after she was done playing for her to get in the Hall of Fame.

Somebody like her who is in the Hall of Fame to have called me and kind of give me a pat on the back through the phone was really cool. Every time I see Nancy Lopez or Beth Daniel, Meg Mallon, all the legends, they've been really supportive so I would love to be part of that club one day.

But at the moment it's just literally one shot at a time and one tournament at a time.