|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
MARATHON CLASSIC PRESENTED BY OWENS CORNING AND O-IJuly 16, 2013So Yeon RyuSYLVANIA, OHIO MODERATOR: Okay, I'd like to welcome in the defending champion this week at the Marathon Classic, So Yeon Ryu, ranked No. 5 in the Rolex Rankings this week. Welcome. Thanks for joining us. SO YEON RYU: Thanks for having me. MODERATOR: Talk about coming back to the spot where you got your first win as an LPGA member and your second win in your career. Talk about just how you're feeling this week. Once you get here at the course, have you been getting recognized a little bit more than usual? SO YEON RYU: Well, today I'm practice just nine holes and feels really good to be back as defending champion. Also Sunday when I arriving here I went to Chinese restaurant and I get a fortune cookie, and that said, You will get what your heart desires. So I was so happy. I really want to believe it. And also, my heart desires I really want to win the tournament. So hopefully I can get another trophy at here, then now it feels really great. (Laughing.) MODERATOR: I hope that fortune cookie is right. Let's talk about how you've been playing the last couple weeks. Dating back to Wegmen's you were really down on yourself. You said you needed to regroup your attitude, mentally. Talk about what you did specifically to really turn around how you kind of handled the ups and downs of not playing well. You had a top 20 last week and a 2nd and 3rd weeks prior. SO YEON RYU: Well, after Wegman's I just totally reset my mind. This is my second year on LPGA, and last year, I think I couldn't realize it last year, but if I'm look back to last year, I played incredibly well. I finished so many top 10, even top 5. So really hard thing was, Oh, last year I finished top 5 at this tournament so maybe I have to play well. I have to finish better than last year kind of thing. It was really hard. So I just reset my mind. Every year is different. Also every tournament is different. So just forget about last year and then just focus on now. Just think about what I can do right now. So, yeah, I just kind of like if I'm work out, just work out. If I'm practice, I practice. Maybe my putting is not really well. I just find the solution, what's the problem, and then just enjoy it. The thing is I learn is is don't have to compare with anything, not last year or players, other players or kind of just everything. These days I'm just totally think about right now. MODERATOR: Good. Well, if you need a confidence booster, I just looked at your stats and you're ranked in the top 10 in seven statistical categories on Tour. You're in no sophomore slump by any means. 5th on the Money List; 4th in Player of the Year rankings. We get to see your banner over here. Love it. So just in your second year, did you have any goals coming into this and have you reassesed, obviously coming off, like you said, a very strong year, still having the top 10 finishes, did you have any goals that you've set and then reassessed throughout the season? SO YEON RYU: Well, I had two goals. One is I want another major tournament. Then another goal is I want to finish the top 5 in the world. Now I'm playing well so really happy with it, but if I can be more jump up, I wish I can. Also, if I win another major tournament maybe I can jump up like three or four, so I look forward to jump up look forward to hold another major trophy. MODERATOR: Okay. Well, Inbee, you might have to hold her down to maybe do that. You're very close, very good friends. You've been with her every step of the way through her journey this season and what she's accomplished. Just talk about her and her accomplishments and what everybody says has been pretty remarkable to witness what's been going on this year. So as a close friend and someone who has seen all the attention she's getting, just talk about that real quick. SO YEON RYU: Well, you know what? These days a lot of people always asking me, Why is Inbee playing so well? I have a discuss with Inbee and then I said, If I know why you play so well, maybe then I can play more well than you. I don't know what's going on. What's problem with you? But honestly, from my opinion, still last year she finished first money ranked. Her putting was always really great, but honestly last year her shot wasn't really great. So she played still well last year, but her shot wasn't really great. So she's a bit hard to make a lot of birdie chance. So kind of example. If she had a three or five of birdie chance last year, these days, like ten times, eleven times. And she made a putt over 50%, so that's why she play really well. Also, she change everything about her swing. Especially last year she was a little bit worry about she change the swing. But actually these day her fiancee is coach, so they decided to change the swing. She made it totally really well. So that's why her shot and putting pretty well these days. Just a lot of media attention to Inbee, so she's a bit hard to handle it, which is really good thing. One day she told me, Oh, it's really hard to get a lot of attention. It's a lot of interview and have to do a lot of things. I said, You just go. Somebody really want to interview with someone, but they couldn't because they played not really well. Now these days you played super great so that's why you had a lot of attention. You have to nicely represent our country. You know, she did a really great job. She is really great inspire to a lot of golfer. Also she's really famous in Korea right now. But also she's really great ‑‑ I mean, also really popular in the worldwide. So I really want she inspired really good thing for the all junior golfers. MODERATOR: Sure. You think she might have an effect on the younger generation? Obviously you guys are kind of in that group of Se Ri's Kids, in that age group. Do you think there may be a group that's called Inbee's Kids? SO YEON RYU: Yeah, everybody call us the Se Ri Kids, and also Inbee is Se Ri kid. I'm pretty sure already a lot of junior golfer is Inbee Kids right now. I don't want to say it's kind of we're change generation, but anyway someone passed away last week. They did a great job and that's why Se Ri can inspired about with her; then Se Ri did a great job and Inbee got inspired to her. So I really hopefully can getting great and great as all the Korean golf, and I wish all the Korean golfers really just got to be more enjoy the golf. Inbee is different as Ok‑Hee Ku or Se Ri. They are bit really hard to enjoy the golf, because when they really first time came here they couldn't speak English really well and don't really know about American culture. It's different than Korean. But Inbee really know about it, and these days she really enjoy the traveling and playing golf. So maybe the junior golfer has to change the mindset. Not just focus on golf, enjoy it and maybe you can playing well kind of thing. So I think Inbee is probably really good role model to all the junior golfer. MODERATOR: Perfect. Any questions? Q. Having one year on the tour behind you, does that make this year just a little bit easier to play in just having a routine and knowing courses and things like that? SO YEON RYU: Well, it's definitely easier because i don't have to do the rookie hours. I spend a lot of time in the rookie hours last year. Also last year I totally didn't know about the golf course, so I have to play the full 18 holes every morning. This year I already know about the golf course, so I can have more spare time for me. Hardest thing is a lot of people start to compare to last year. That one is hard thing. Without that, everything is really great. It's really great opportunity to visiting all the country and all the cities. So, yeah, be more easier than last year. Q. What did winning the U.S. Open do for you, and what do you remember about that week in Colorado? SO YEON RYU: You mean 2011 one? Well, yeah, after U.S. Women's Open a lot of things change, because before I played in KLPGA but now I play in LPGA. I wasn't really popular in the States but people start to recognize me. Then I living the States and really choose big different thing. Also last year the U.S. Women's Open, the one thing I learned is last year I played the U.S. Open as the defending champion. It was really too much pressure. A lot of people really focused on me. My mind was, Oh, maybe I have to play really well. It was really not great effort to when I played U.S. Women's Open last year. That's what I learn about it. Also this tournament I'm here as defending champion, so might be I just do my regular thing. I don't have to, Oh, I'm a defending champion so I have to do like different way. I already learn about it, so I just want to focus on this. So that U.S. Open teach me a lot of things. Q. When you won the tournament last year, you just destroyed the course the final day. What did you learn about that as far as trying to win this tournament again? SO YEON RYU: Really hard one is last year last round I made a six in a row birdie, so for me, now feels like, Oh, maybe was really easy but really isn't. Hard to make six in a row birdies. After I made a six in a row birdie, next hole I made a par and all the spectators face was like, What's the problem with her? Why she hit the par? But my mind is totally like that. Last year I finished incredibly well, so maybe I have to really play well as like that. But, well, just nothing really different, because I just want to focus on my ball and focus on each hole. I think last year the last round my putting was really great, so these days I'm going to be more focused on my putting work. MODERATOR: I want to follow up. Since last year when you won here you had a big accomplishment: college graduate. Talk about that and having that, accomplishing that goal. You always said you always wanted to go to school and get your college degree. How important was that to finish that while playing on the LPGA and balancing all that schedule, and what do you hope to use that degree with maybe after you're done playing? SO YEON RYU: Well, I studying about the physical education, I really always studying about what's the different as Korean physical education and American physical education. Then these days I'm traveling a lot and I have a chance to visit a lot of high school and elementary school so I can compare to what's really different. It's not just about the paper. It's really great opportunity to me I'm playing in the States. MODERATOR: So you stop at elementary schools and high schools when you travel and watch gym classes and stuff? SO YEON RYU: Just sometimes. Also when I was here at media day I went to elementary school and I see what are they doing at the summertime like that. So it's kind of really great study for me. It's not just in the university, but it's really great chance to be learn everything in here. Then if I retire as a golfer, I want to studying about sports marketing. (Laughing.) Yeah, I'm a big move up to my interesting, but I think the LPGA is really great role model to me. Also the LPGA sign is, See why the LPGA different. I really like that banner. It's really a lot of right sentence. So I want to studying about that. So if I have opportunity, I really want to working at the LPGA. MODERATOR: I'm sure we'll hire you. SO YEON RYU: (Laughing.) Yeah. Or I'm trying to working at the KLPGA. Now LPGA and KLPGA is kind of a little bit different, so I just want to working for Korean golf development. MODERATOR: Perfect. Great. Any other questions? Q. Jumping a couple weeks ahead to St. Andrews, talk about how excited you are to go to that course. SO YEON RYU: It's really historical place. Also, I'm even not ‑‑ I never playing with the (indiscernible.) I'm not really like old generation so maybe I really don't know about golf history, but it's really great chance to be I can feel it what's like hundred years ago golf, I can feel the really big different as these days and before technology things. I can't wait. These days I'm searching a lot of things about St. Andrews. I saw the picture, and it's really, really nice playing. So I can't wait to going there. MODERATOR: You have to make sure you get a picture on the bridge. That's the spot. SO YEON RYU: I will get a picture. Q. This year it's supposed to be a lot hotter during the tournament. Do you prefer when it's hotter? What kind of conditions do you like to play in? SO YEON RYU: Actually I'm like to play to the hot weather, so I think it's perfect weather for me. But I was surprised temperature so big different from last year. It was rainy and it wasn't really hot. But now it's really hot. Even really hard to putting practice. Everybody is really wet. But golf is, we playing at the totally nature, so we have to handle the rainy day, windy day, sunny day. So maybe a lot of the people should just focus on golf and not really care about the weather. MODERATOR: Good advice. Anybody else? Q. Do you see people accepting the global personality of the tour than maybe than they did in the past and kind of embracing that? MODERATOR: Do you see the tour embracing the global nature, all the different countries going around the entire world? Do you see the fans embracing that and accepting that more than maybe five or ten years ago? Even though she wasn't on the tour. Q. Right. SO YEON RYU: Oh, absolutely. Yeah, you know, before I don't have any opportunity to showing my personality or showing my game, but these days I'm playing at the worldwide golf tour, so I have a really great opportunity to showing my golf skill. These days it's really, really great, so it's really great opportunity to show who is So Yeon Ryu and what type of person is So Yeon Ryu. I can represent myself. It's a lot different than as like five years ago. MODERATOR: All right. We're all finished. Thanks for joining us. SO YEON RYU: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|