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CN CANADIAN WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPAugust 22, 2013Charley HullJennifer KirbyLydia KoEDMONTON, ALBERTA THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. We'd like to welcome one of our featured pairings today. We were talking about how the youth was kind of rising in this grouping, and they seemed to deliver on the golf course, as well. I will introduce, we've got to my immediate left, Charley Hull, shot a 1‑under 69 today; Lydia Ko, defending champion, who shot a 5‑under 65 and is currently tied for the lead; and then Jennifer Kirby, who may be known to you, she's from Canada, she shot a 3‑under 67. Great rounds by all three of you today. Lydia, how does it feel to get off to such a hot start in defending your title? LYDIA KO: You know, I started off really well with a birdie, but when I have a birdie on the first hole I haven't really played that well. So yeah, I was kind of nervous that I did make a birdie on the first. But I guess birdies are good, and I think I played pretty solid today. Yeah, but I think I played good because the whole group seemed to play good and make lots of birdies, so we were in a really good rhythm as a whole group. THE MODERATOR: Charley, you're coming off a great week last week at the Solheim Cup where you played very well. I know probably not the finish you wanted today, finishing with two straight bogeys, but just how overall your round today, how did you feel about your game and how you played? CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I played pretty solid. I just hit one on 17 and then I missed a silly little putt on 18. I just feel tired because I haven't been home for six weeks because I had quite a few competitions coming into the British Open, and I was back home for four days and then I come here, and then Solheim. I'm feeling pretty happy with my game and just going to practice some short putts after for a bit. THE MODERATOR: And Jennifer, great start for you, as well. What is it like when you come back playing in these big events here in Canada? JENNIFER KIRBY: I think that it really helped that I played in the Manual Life earlier this season and I had a good tournament there, so I think that kind of eased the nerves into this one. I felt very comfortable out there and ended up making a few putts, and good round. THE MODERATOR: I have to ask you, as well, you're playing with a 17 year old and a 16 year old, and at 22 you definitely would be considered one of the younger players in the field. How did it feel to be the elder statesman of this group? JENNIFER KIRBY: I think that they're wise beyond their years and they're both great players, so it wasn't too bad, and I didn't feel too old. THE MODERATOR: And overall what was it like to have a younger pairing? Did it make any difference to be playing with people who were around your own age and who might not have as much experience as some of these other players on the LPGA Tour? CHARLEY HULL: It didn't really feel like young players. I think we're all kind of like mature. JENNIFER KIRBY: And quick. That was nice. THE MODERATOR: What is it like when you get going, and Lydia, you're making birdies, and Charley, you're making birdies and everybody was getting off to a good start. What is it like in a grouping when you're feeling the momentum of everybody else having a good round, as well? JENNIFER KIRBY: Yeah, like Lydia said, we just kind of fed off each other and there was a lot of birdies and everyone had a lot of good chances, so it was nice to see. Q. Lydia, could you go through your round a little bit? LYDIA KO: Up to the seventh hole I went birdie‑par‑birdie‑par, that kind of pattern, and I made par‑par on 8 and 9 and then birdied 10 and then par all the way until the par‑5, 14th, and then I bogeyed 15 and then just pars coming in. Yeah, I wouldn't mind the color ratio on my scorecard if I looked on the computer. Q. I was just wondering if you had any really long birdie putts. LYDIA KO: I had a tap‑in one on 3, and most of them were just reasonable distances. It wasn't extremely long or extremely short. Q. Do you stay in touch with Brian Alexander, your caddie last year? And talk about how you got in touch with Bruce, your caddie this year. LYDIA KO: I know last year I had a local caddie in Vancouver, and that was Brian, and we kind of did the same thing here, decided to get a local, and Bruce has been a member here for many years, so we decided to have him on the bag. Q. What's it like being on Tour with so many youthful players? LYDIA KO: Yeah, I used to be one of the youngest ones out here, but I was really happy to see I think Brooke Henderson, she's younger than me, so I think that's how I kind of got off the youngest girl out here. I think like when you see the players on Tour, it's definitely getting younger and younger, and I'm not sure why that is happening, but yeah. But especially when we're playing, I don't think it's all about age and everything. Obviously there is respect for people who are older than you, but other than that, age really doesn't mean as much as it would maybe in just a normal life situation. Q. What's it like for you other girls? Is it comfortable with so many youthful players on the Tour? CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I think it's pretty good. I just see age as just a number. That's how I see it, because I feel like we're both mature. It's good to have something because then you can just talk about stuff outside golf, but like on the golf course, no, I don't think Lydia plays like she's 16. Q. Is there much interaction between the veteran players and the younger players? JENNIFER KIRBY: I think a bit, yeah. I would say also with the younger players, for me at least, growing up, I've been playing with them through college and then the younger Canadians that are out here, so it's almost more comfortable to see as many familiar faces around. Q. Can you talk about the gallery you had out there and what it was like and how it would compare to what you've seen recently in the Tour, and the conditions of the golf course and all that sort of thing and how this tournament feels to you? JENNIFER KIRBY: I'd say we had a great following today, especially for such an early tee time. It was nice to see, and a lot of people out there following for the majority of the round, so that's always nice. CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, I'm still kind of‑‑ from the Solheim I am kind of used to the greens being a bit faster and more bouncy because I only got to see the golf course once and that was on Tuesday, and I was pretty tired then, because I wasn't in the pro‑am yesterday. So it was my first time out today and still getting used to what clubs to hit off the tees and stuff. But I think the course is in great condition. The crowds, we had a nice following out there today. The crowds at the Solheim were absolutely massive, so I don't think anything will be as big as that. LYDIA KO: Yeah, we had crowds‑‑ well, it wasn't huge, but we had people watching even from the first hole, and personally if one of the players were playing, I wouldn't go out at 7:00 to watch people hit. It was really good seeing that people came out to support us. Yeah, the course is in really good condition. I came here early so I was able to see kind of the progress. The greens and stuff was pure when I came, but it's definitely getting better and better. Q. Lydia, coming in as defending champ, did it change anything how you approached the round today? How were you feeling coming into the first round of this as defending champ? LYDIA KO: You know, it was a pretty special week last year. No, I didn't have that week coming. So to kind of have that kind of week again this week would be like a double miracle for myself. But yeah, I did feel a little bit of pressure, not from others but from myself thinking because you're the defending champion people are going to expect more and I'm going to expect more from myself. I called my dad a couple days ago, and he said just relax. You can't control everything, and just play the game that you want to play and that you planned. Q. Jennifer, who were your role models in your career so far? JENNIFER KIRBY: I mean, I love Tiger, and the fact that I work with Sean, who also works with Tiger, I mean, he's always been a great golfer to look up to. For the women's side, I mean, obviously Lorie Kane is a huge role model for the younger Canadians, and she's very sweet and very comforting to all of us when we're out here. I would say those. Q. You're obviously very calm individual. Is that your mother's side or your dad's side? Where does that come from? JENNIFER KIRBY: I would probably say my dad's side. Yeah, my mom is usually always pretty nervous when she watches me play. Q. Lydia, how much did it help getting here as early as you did? LYDIA KO: As you say, when you're on your home course you know the course really well. Because I got to play a couple times more than the other players, I was able to obviously get a better feel for the course, but that doesn't mean I'll always play better in saying that. But yeah, it was really good to see the course like a week ago, and yeah, I can notice that the rough is getting longer, the green is getting faster. Q. You were talking about the comfort level. While you don't play like your age, you probably do have similar interests in terms of being the same age. Any good conversations out there today about topics that maybe you guys kind of share a common interest in? JENNIFER KIRBY: For me there wasn't a ton of conversation going on. LYDIA KO: Yeah, when I tried to wake up this morning my eyelids weren't coming up. I said, oh, my God, I'm just tired. But after you've woken up, you're fine, you're ready to go. THE MODERATOR: Congratulations, ladies. Great playing today, and thank you for joining us. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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