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LPGA LOTTE CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY J GOLFApril 19, 2013Ai MiyazatoSuzann PettersenKAPOLEI, HAWAII THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome our current leader Suzann Pettersen into the interview room and also Ai Miyazato. You both put together some solid golf. Suzann, 4‑under, one shot lead heading into Sunday. Take me through your day out there and what was really working well for you today? SUZANN PETTERSEN: I found a few little keys yesterday on the range, just to tighten up the swing a fraction after two days in the wind, and I came up the back pretty good. Birdied the first three and just really tried to keep feeding the ball to the hole and trying to stay aggressive. I had one three‑putt, and other than that I played pretty solid. It's definitely on the challenging side out here. It's one thing if we have a flat‑out straight yardage, but if you're in between clubs, in between yardages, you've just got to pick the right clubs to the right locations. It's fun out there. I hope it stays like this tomorrow. It's nice playing with Ai, always a very solid player tee to green, and yeah. THE MODERATOR: Ai, take me through your round. I know it was a slow start and you couldn't get much going early on but still able to put together a solid round and keep yourself up there. AI MIYAZATO: Yeah, it was definitely a slow start, a slower start than Suzann. She had a good start and I was kind of impatient. But it wasn't that bad. I had a good feeling, and I just kept making the putts. It's not bad to do that because of this wind. But after 10 I said to myself, you know, there you go, it's going to come, and I felt a good feeling after that. Overall I played really well. I hit the ball well, and my putting was good, and it was a very consistent round. THE MODERATOR: Suzann, talk about that hot start. When you birdie the first three holes are you thinking really low or with the conditions did you think you had to go really low today? SUZANN PETTERSEN: I was thinking in the 50s for sure. (Laughter.) You know what, I hit good shots, good putts. Been putting good all week, and really not trying to force anything, just let it come to me. I felt like I maybe left a few out there, but still, like Ai says, par is not a bad score around here. If you mix in a few birdies here and there, it really helps. Just really glad I managed to stay with it and kind of finish up. I'm still today again under 30 putts, which for me is pretty good. Yeah, just looking forward to tomorrow. THE MODERATOR: If you look at the conditions tomorrow which I think are supposed to be pretty similar to what they were today, what are going to be the biggest keys to whoever is going to be able to come out of this with a victory? What will someone have to do to win this tournament? AI MIYAZATO: Well, you know, I think just playing really simple. I know it's going to be really tough out there, but if you don't think too much then you'll be fine, I think. There's a number and there's the green, there's the cup. It's just trying to play simple out there. I know my game really well and I know what I need to do, just keep making birdies and try and catch up to Suzann tomorrow. SUZANN PETTERSEN: Good luck. AI MIYAZATO: Thanks. It's going to be a fun day tomorrow. Q. Suzann, have you hit a shot this week that wasn't pretty much exactly what you were looking for? SUZANN PETTERSEN: I think a few. Depends what your handicap is, but I'm playing off scratch. I mean, there's certain shots, but I think the most important key for me is to really try and stay patient, play the course to what it gives us, to where the pin is, where you want to come in from. I got a bit greedy on a couple of locations today and kind of got screwed and I was kind of out of position because they were protected pins, and then you've got to play the putt. But other than that, yeah, golf is not a game of perfection, it's just whatever it gives you there and then. I think Ai is a very good example of just doing that. Q. When you won, you won at 12‑under and nobody else was better than 8. Why are the scores that much lower? Is that just because of course conditions or is there more to it? AI MIYAZATO: I think the greens are definitely softer than last year. I think that makes a big difference. I remember it was really tough to make an adjustment with the iron shots last year. Definitely the greens are softer, so you can be a little bit more aggressive than last year, so I think that makes them a little bit more lower this year. Q. Suzann, the last time you had four rounds in the 60s you won. Do you think that's something you'll have to aim for tomorrow or just kind of take it and see how it goes? SUZANN PETTERSEN: I mean, you would have to go out and shoot a good number tomorrow. There's so many good players in this field. I mean, even today with the conditions there's a few 66s on the board, a few 67s, I think Jessica Korda shot another 66. There's too many good players to start stepping on the brake. But I really hope that they will set up the course in a fun way tomorrow, make the par‑5s reachable. I love seeing us being able to reach the par‑5s and tuck the pins. It makes it exciting; it could be for the good and for the bad. But let us have some risk‑reward. I just think today's pin location at 13, it sets up fantastic if you can actually get there in two. You'd probably see some tap‑in eagles, you can see some narrowly getting up to the top and then coming back down. But it's just ‑‑ I find it personally boring when you hit driver, 3‑wood, wedge, driver, 3‑wood, wedge on back‑to‑back par‑5s when you know the wind is where it is. I hope they'll make it a little bit more playful tomorrow, just mix it up, and yeah, just let us go low. Q. Suzann, you won in China, had a great finish at Kraft. Sometimes we talked about kind of getting off to slower starts, but you've had a few really good finishes. How do you feel about your game right now and do you feel like it's coming together earlier this year than perhaps it has in previous years? SUZANN PETTERSEN: Well, as I look back, I think everything I did early on was pretty good. I could never ask to have felt any better with my game than what I did at Kraft. I had one sloppy round, and that took me pretty much out of it. But other than that I thought everything leading up to it, I decided to play‑‑ get a few more rounds in and under my belt, and it was easy to adjust and kind of do the preparation the week prior to Kraft. I won in China, played very good. Obviously it was very nice to get that win under my belt. But I'm just very happy. I feel like I'm easy on myself, I'm enjoying myself on the course. I have a great caddie that I get along with out there and who's kind of a great asset to my game. Yeah, I can't really ask for more. Q. You were talking in the booth today about sometimes golfers usually don't play their best golf until they reach their 30s. SUZANN PETTERSEN: Yeah, I actually agree. I still think I have the best ahead of me. I really feel like I have the best ahead of me still, and I've been able to be a part of a lot and achieve a lot, probably more than I‑‑ in the reality I would ever dream of. But still, I mean, I wouldn't be here if I wouldn't feel like I had more to give and more to go after. Yeah, hopefully the 30s will be better than the 20s, and I'll be very happy. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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