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CN CANADIAN WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPAugust 24, 2012Lydia KoCOQUITLAM, BRITISH COLUMBIA KELLY THESIER: I'd like to welcome Lydia Ko into the interview room. Lydia, congrats on another great finish today. Can you take us through your day and how you were able to score so well? LYDIA KO: Well, today I didn't make any bogeys, and that was really helpful because sometimes a bogey in the middle of your round can make your confidence go a little down. So it was good. I played pretty consistent, and I made all putts on the front nine, and it's not an easy nine so even score is not that bad. Even though I would have wanted to shoot a couple under. My goal was 4‑under today, and I shot 4‑under on the back nine which is good once again, and I did that yesterday as well. So I think I really like the back nine, and hopefully it likes me too. KELLY THESIER: You have had an incredible year so far, becoming the U.S. Amateur champion, and playing in ten national golf events at 15 years old. People are starting to take notice of you. Tell us about yourself, how you're able to balance being a teen and professional golfer. Do you feel like you're missing out on anything? LYDIA KO: Yeah, I'm definitely missing out on teenager activities. I'd love to go out on Saturday night with my friends and watch a movie, but that happens really like once a year or a couple times a year. Last year I had wrist surgery and that's when I could do a little bit of teenager stuff, but it doesn't happen that often. Now I'm realizing golf is like a full‑time job, and I'm missing a lot of school. At this age I should be going to school every day. But I see my report, for the first time I was there for I think two weeks, so my absent days are like 75 days or something. So this is a full‑time job, and I guess, like me, I don't have anything to lose playing this tournament. I'm just here for experience. But the professionals on the other hand it's about how much money they're going to get by placing. So, yeah, I sometimes really miss going out with my friends and that's why I actually like school because I can see my best friend there. Even though it's school and you have to do work, I get to still see her. KELLY THESIER: Having played two other LPGA events this year, are you starting to feel comfortable playing with the pros? And I'm sure you look up to a lot of them. So who is your favorite and why? LYDIA KO: Yeah, it's nerve‑racking playing with the pros and actually playing against the pros. I'm really here for experience, and it's awesome to see what the pros can do. The biggest thing I actually won was the Australian Open, which is another LPGA event where I played with Karrie Webb, and there was a tree in front of us, and we were pretty much next to each other. I had to lay up and chip it next to the hole, but she hit it over the tree and next to the pin. That kind of shows that she's got a lot of experience, and she knows really what she's doing. I think there was one of the biggest things I learned when I was playing with the pros. Yeah, it's always fun. My favorite player is Michelle Wie and Lexi Thompson. I don't know why, but they both turned‑‑ well, I know why they both did turn professional at a young age. I mean, I really look up to them and think they're awesome players, and coincidentally they turned professional early. I want to give time for college and everything as well. But, yeah, I think they're both amazing players and hopefully they'll have more success in the following years. Q. How much confidence did the U.S. Amateur win give you? Do you think you can win here? Do you feel like your game is good enough that you can beat a very, very good field of pros here? LYDIA KO: Yeah, it gave me a lot of confidence. My putting is really not the strong point in my game. From two weeks ago I putted really good, and Kay Cockerill said you're a short game queen, and they gave me a lot of confidence. I wasn't having a really good day with my long game, but my putting just saved me. That's why I was able to win most of my matches. From there, I kind of realized that you don't need to have the best day in your long game to shoot low scores. It's mostly about putting. That's why people say drives are all for show and putting is for money. Yeah, it gave me a lot of confidence. I mean, I played three events in the states and I've gotten a medal for each one of them. So hopefully I will bring home the medal in this tournament. Q. How much attention are you getting back home in New Zealand? I know it's a rugby nation, but your exploits on the golf course, are you getting a lot of media attention back home? LYDIA KO: Yeah, I think so. I mean New Zealand isn't the biggest country ever, and I'm getting a lot of support. I mean, for the U.S. Open I was shooting 3‑under, 215, and then kind of made double bogey and then triple. So I lost six shots on the last three holes. I searched out my name and saw the media, and it says Lydia bails out at the last three holes. Lydia does something. I was like I better not do that anymore. It was like, oh, that was quite an impact. I guess every shot counts. I've just got to play pretty consistent golf. Q. You talk about school. It's summer holidays here, but back home school is in, right? LYDIA KO: Yeah, I go back home on October 3rd, so I've still got a while to go, and I left in June. So I'm not at home much. Our school is divided into four terms. I'm going to miss the whole of three, and when I go back home in two weeks I've got Cambridge exams. It's pretty tough. It's hard to catch up, and I need to pass my exams to go to the next A‑level academic. It's hard to catch up, but I'll enjoy it when I go. Q. Do you follow the leaderboard when you're out there? Did you notice what Chella Choi was doing behind you? LYDIA KO: No. The only time I really looked at the leaderboard was on 15. Yeah, suddenly people with the cameras were coming and I was like are they actually going to take footage of me? And I was like oh, man. And I took a peak at the leaderboard and my name was at the top, it was like, oh, my God. I am actually playing pretty good. I kind of lost confidence after my front nine. But my birdies on 12, 13 and 14 just made me go way up there. Q. You talked about the business of golf. Everyone says it's a business. How important is it to remember to have fun out there? Obviously, bogey free golf is fun, but having the love of the game which keeps you going? LYDIA KO: Yeah, I enjoy it. I mean, even if I have a bad day and I might feel really bad, I'm sure inside there are always things to learn, and from there I can develop my game further. Yeah, I'll probably have more‑‑ as an amateur I'll probably have more fun than the professionals, I guess. Nearly 99.999% of the players out here are all enjoying their golf. It doesn't matter what they shoot. I guess we all love the game, that's why we're playing and everyone's working so hard and putting so much time into it. Q. The success that you're having, you talked about Michelle turning pro young. You talked about Lexi as well. Michelle went to Stanford a little later on in her teenage years. Have you decided the path you want to go when you decide to go? Do you want to play college golf or follow Michelle's route? Have you figured that out? LYDIA KO: I graduate in 2014, so I've still got a bit of time left to think over it. It's like coincidentally they both turned professional early. I just like them separately, but I never knew that they turned pro early. I mean, they wanted to know it because they really enjoy the sport and wanted to turn pro and everything. But, yeah, I don't want to hurry anything. Like I said, I enjoy school a lot. Personally, I think you need to study and it will help with your game. Like if you do math, it will help you read the lies or whatever. That's what my mom says so, yeah. That's why next year I said okay, I'm going to drop math, and she's like, no. I thought, oh, okay, maybe not. But, yeah, it's nice. I want to go to college definitely and somewhere in California, and I want to go to Stanford. I like Michelle Wie because she went to Stanford. I don't want to go to Stanford because she went there. It's just I like Stanford, and she actually went to Stanford, so kind of that direction. Yeah, but then I'm noticing as the years go by Stanford is such an academic school, and I actually talked to a girl, Shelley Watson at the U.S. Amateur how she felt because she goes and studies at Stanford. She said it's actually doable. So I'm actually really thinking again. Because people are saying there is so much homework, there is so much this, and you can't have a lot of time to practice golf. There are many great schools out there, and I think that's the great thing about the states because in the country there is a college in pretty much every corner, and in California it doesn't snow, so I want to go there. Q. So what was it like having someone from Vancouver as your caddie who knows the course and can give you some information that way? LYDIA KO: It was good. Two weeks ago at the U.S. Amateur my mom caddied, and that is kind of a different feeling because she's your mom and you have to listen to her. It was really comfortable having my mom there, but it's also really relieving and comfortable to have someone that knows the course off their hat really. He's been here for I think ten years, so he knows where not to go and where to go. There are quite a few tricky greens, like green lies, and I kind of read it right to left, but Brian said, no, it's left to right, and he was right. So, yeah, he's definitely helpful. I'm sometimes really unsure because I could be like in just the middle and I'm not sure, and he could push it or pull it a little bit. But with him there, I really have nothing to worry about. Q. On that note, you might have answered this, but do you find it a challenge to get a good caddie at the tournaments that you've been going to? LYDIA KO: Yeah, fortunately, I don't know why. I think it could be luck. Everywhere I've been I've met nice people and all my caddies have been great. I don't think I've had a caddie that's been horrible. I think it's pretty much luck. That's what my mom says. You're lucky to meet so many great people along the way, and that's always helpful. I've been here in Vancouver, but I haven't played golf over here, so it was also really nice to come over here. Everyone's friendly, and it felt like home. Q. The win you had, was it the Open? Is that the tournament you won? LYDIA KO: Yeah. Q. How much will you draw upon that experience knowing that you've already won a significant event? LYDIA KO: Yeah, I think so. Actually at the U.S. Open the last round everyone didn't have the greatest round, but I shot 3‑under till 15. That showed that I was able to handle it along with the pros. So that kind of gives me a confidence. But New South Wales Open was a European Tour event, and the win helped me and gave me confidence that I could beat the pros. You never know what's going to win. We've still got two holes in two rounds to go, and there is still half the field needing to play. Yeah, it's going to be helpful. I don't know what position I'll be after everyone's finished, but it will give me a boost. Q. I ran into a couple from New Zealand who know you and extended their holidays so they could watch you play. You've got some support out there, right? LYDIA KO: Yeah, Joe and Bren, we've known them for a while. And Joel is actually originally from Canada, so they always have this trip in the middle of the year to come over and to see their girls. I said I'm playing the Canadian Open and they decided to extend their Holiday. It's always good to have people back home supporting, but also people from your country at the place to support you. There are a lot of supporters other than them as well, so it was good to see them. It's always nice to see the New Zealand flag going up. Q. What would you say was your toughest hole today? LYDIA KO: I think the toughest hole normally is 15, but I made par both days. Today I didn't feel like one was really tough, but I think 7, finishing it. It's a par‑3. In the practice round, I didn't really have any stress and I hit it on the green. I was putting for birdie. But yesterday I was putting for bogey. I was putting like a six‑foot putt for par. So it was a tough hole, and I don't know why. I guess it's like tournament pressure and things you don't really see, you kind of see here. Q. You mentioned some of the women out there that you look up to turning pro at a younger age. Obviously, as you go on here those questions are going to increase. Have you seeked their advice and had a chance to ask them about the positives and the negatives of the path they chose in terms of spotlight and all the different things that come with it? LYDIA KO: No, I'm too scared to talk to them (laughing). I look up to them so much and respect them so much. Yeah, hopefully, if I have time and if they have time I will ask them those kind of questions. The few players out there that did turn professional at a young age. But to me like lots of the players that I used to play with, they went to college right after high school, so that kind of got me into saying I want to go to college as well. That's been my goal. One of my goals since ages ago. I don't think that would change. After I won the U.S. Amateur there were rumors that I'm going to turn pro in a year or something. But I'm going to turn pro in a couple of years, not a year. Q. I think you mentioned October 3rd going back. What are your plans after this? What do you have lined up? LYDIA KO: I've got the British Open, then I've got the world Championship. So I've only got two tournaments left. But I've got kind of a break in between, so I'm going early to both events and practicing. Yeah, but after that I'm going to Korea for a week, and I haven't been there since I left Korea, so it's been like nine, ten years. So it's basically going to be like a new country, because I don't really have memories, and I can't remember things from two years ago, so no way am I going to remember something from nine years ago. Q. Are your parents traveling with you, both of them? Who is traveling with you, and what are those arrangements like throughout this since June to October? LYDIA KO: My mom's been traveling with me from the start. Most of the time she goes with me anywhere I go unless I go with the New Zealand Golf Team. My dad never, ever travels with me. It's not a bad thing. It's just he's always at home, and he never really travels. If I'm in New Zealand, my mom most of the time caddies for me, so my dad really doesn't have a reason to travel. I've also got my sister who looks after him and he looks after her. Q. So what grade are you in? LYDIA KO: I'm in grade 11. But New Zealand goes to grade 13. Q. Do you do any school work on the road for extended stretches like you are now? Are you doing any school work or do you catch up when you get home? LYDIA KO: I printed a couple of papers and brought a few books. But to be honest, I haven't done much. Especially like two weeks ago I'm playing 34 holes, 35 holes and a full 18 holes, and it's pretty stressful with me doing extra work will probably kill me. Q. I just wondered about the whole Stanford thing. It seems like you're not going to high school much. Are you going to be able to get into a place like Stanford? LYDIA KO: I'm going to work hard. I've still got two years. The actual scoring counts from this year. And I've got 99% on my last exams, so that's not too bad. I'm not going to talk about that with you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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