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HSBC WOMEN'S CHAMPIONS

March 6, 2009

Jane Park

TANAH MERAH, SINGAPORE

DANA GROSS-RHODE: Thank you for joining us today, Jane. Great round out there in the second round of the HSBC Women's Champions. You and Paula both in your group, and kind of going back and forth. And again, tied for the lead.
JANE PARK: Yes, we had a very, very hot day out there. It wasn't as breezy, and I think today was just all about trying to stay hydrated. It's really easy to, you know, be so drained out there with the heat.

Q. Would you say that was the main reason why the scores are not as low as they were yesterday?
JANE PARK: I feel like the greens were a little slower today. Obviously, fatigue might come into play a little bit because of the heat. But it was a bit more tough.
The conditions, the pins were not as easy as yesterday. There were a lot more yesterday than today. In terms of hitting longer irons into the greens, you really can't hold them.

Q. You talk about your goals yesterday for today. But I presume no complaints to be still sharing the lead?
JANE PARK: Yes, absolutely. Like I said, I just want to take it one shot at a time, and that's exactly what I did. I had a great time out there. Angela and Paula are two of my dearest friends out here. So it was very competitive, and we had an awesome time.

Q. A bit of a lovefest in between shots?
JANE PARK: Oh, yeah, absolutely.

Q. What do you feel you did different today than yesterday? Or did you do anything better today?
JANE PARK: Well, obviously I didn't make as many birdies. I wasn't very accurate with my irons or as accurate as I would have liked to have been. But for the most part, I think it's only Friday. It's not the day to go super low, even though that would have been great. But obviously Saturday is moving day, you either move up or down the leaderboard. Yeah, tomorrow hopefully we'll make a move.

Q. Different song today?
JANE PARK: Nope, same song, yeah. I got Angela on that song, too.

Q. Singing it together?
JANE PARK: No.

Q. Did you go to the concert last night? How was it?
JANE PARK: It was fun. I only stayed for about five songs because it was getting late. But came home pretty early around 9:45. I only watched them play five songs. It was great, but I really was really bummed that I had to leave early.

Q. You have Angela Park, you have Jane Park from the United States, you are various Parks from South Korea. Is there something about that family, that name that like gives you special golf talent? What's going on there with all the Parks?
JANE PARK: You know, I don't know the answer to that question. But Park is just very similar to the American name Smith. It's just very common in Korea. I guess Parks can play.

Q. Is it something in Korean ancestry. Your parents are from Korea?
JANE PARK: Yes, yes.

Q. I see a lot of South Koreans on the Tour here. Is it something about Korean society? What do you think explains so many Korean players, players with Korean ancestry?
JANE PARK: Well, a lot of people talk about the Korean work ethic coming into a golf tournament and into practice. You know, you see the Korean girls grinding out there. I don't grind as hard as they do. So maybe I should.
But yeah, it's all about work ethic. They are very strict and very focused, and I think that has a big thing to do with it.

Q. You are competing in the heat. Would you prefer the rains tomorrow?
JANE PARK: Rain? No, I'd rather take this much rather than rain. Because when you're dealing with rain you've got to wear rain gear and deal with the umbrella, and fiddle with your yardage book and your glove. It's a big mess playing in the rain, so I'd rather play in sunshine.

Q. Lorena is 2-under-par. Do you think you can forget about her coming back to win?
JANE PARK: You can never forget about Lorena. The girl is crazy. She makes putts from everywhere. She is the number one player in the world and you can never count her out. She's number one for a reason, so she's still very much in this.

Q. Is the leaderboard in the back of your mind when you play?
JANE PARK: I don't concern myself with the leaderboard right now. It's a little too early. Probably on Sunday I'll be looking at the leaderboard a little more often. But right now, not really.

Q. Without getting too far ahead of yourself, what would it mean to you to win on Sunday? And you mentioned about work ethic, can you talk a little about maybe what your career goals are? What your realistic goals are for you over the next five to 10 years?
JANE PARK: Well, obviously everyone's out here to win, and getting my first win here in Singapore would be awesome. But like I said, not getting too ahead of myself.
My career goals, I'd just like to play the best golf that I can and see where that takes me. Obviously to win as many times as I can, and getting that first win, I know, is going to be the toughest one.
But just, you know, having fun, seeing the world. I've got the dream job and I'm very, very blessed.

Q. You said that Paula and Angela are your closest friends. Does playing with friends actually help your golf game or is it more of a hindrance instead?
JANE PARK: Well, if you don't handle it correctly, I think it can be a distraction. I obviously, I talk a lot with Paula and Angela today. I talked a little more with Angela. But, yeah, it can be a bit of a distraction.
But if you control yourself, it can actually be of help to you just to take your mind off what is going on. And talk about things that you've done together or something. So it's a good time.

Q. You talked yesterday about how you can produce a couple of good rounds, but haven't always put four together. Did you see anything in how you handled yourself last night and today that makes you think you might have a good weekend in yourself, in your game and mentality?
JANE PARK: Since yesterday. Well, I didn't do anything different. Well, I went to a concert, but that's the second concert I've been to in my life. But I think it's just all about staying focused. You know, you have fun when you have fun, and when it's down to business you're down to business.
I think I'm a little better at focusing now on business when it comes around. So, yeah.

Q. So you do feel maybe?
JANE PARK: Maybe a little better with that. It's my third year on Tour. First year I only had conditional status and only played 10 events. But last year I had a couple of great finishes, a lot of learning experiences. So I'm trying to bring that all together.

Q. Could you tell me a bit about your playing with Paula given you're going to be in the same group with her tomorrow. I understand you were cup teammates before?
JANE PARK: Our history, you mean?

Q. Yes, with Paula?
JANE PARK: Okay, well, we both played American Junior Golf Association from when we were from age 13 to about 17. Played junior golf. We were always competing with each other and playing in the final group together or something in various championships on the AJGA. And we've played U.S. Girls Junior together, the USGA.
We've played Match Play together at the Women's Amateur. I played one Curtis Cup with her in 2004. And she turned pro, and I played another Curtis Cup without her.
Then we've played, let's see, the USGA World Amateurs Championship in Puerto Rico in 2004, and yeah, I think that's it.

Q. Is there anything about her that you notice that she does, where you think you can capitalize on at certain points?
JANE PARK: Paula has got one of the greatest mental games and obviously golf games out there. And I can learn a lot from her, not just from the golf game but with her mental game. I really admire that about her. You know, she has a bad hole, she recovers in a matter of a hole or two. It's good to see that. It's good to play with that so you can learn from it.

End of FastScripts

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