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KRAFT NABISCO CHAMPIONSHIPApril 2, 2014Inbee ParkRANCHO MIRAGE, CALIFORNIA THE MODERATOR: We're joined by the world number one and defending champion Inbee Park. How is everything going thus far? What does it feel to come back on campus, if you will? INBEE PARK: I feel great to be coming back here in Kraft Nabisco Championship. This course reminds me a lot of good and bad memories. I mean, bad memories because I had few years I played really bad here, because I played so many times here. All sorts of memories. But the latest memory I have here is a very good memory. Coming here this year reminds me of very good things. Obviously the first major of the year, everybody is really excited to play the first major, so as I am. I'm very happy with where I am with my game, the way I'm striking the ball. I haven't won this year. My putting is not going in at the moment. Hopefully I can putt like last year. Just makes me realize how good I played last year. THE MODERATOR: Let's talk about the whole thing of defending champion, not just once, but you get to defend three major championships this year. I know you thought a lot about the majors at the end of last year, but as this year has begun, how does it feel to be defending champion so many times in majors? INBEE PARK: Yeah, I think that puts probably a little bit of extra pressure on you. But I'm just trying to take major just as a normal tournament. I go back to last year and I think about it. I didn't treat majors differently. I just try to treat every tournament by tournament. That's what I'm trying to do, yeah, this year. Last year at the end of the year, I thought too much on the majors, thinking I need to do something special or different in the major tournaments. But I'm just trying to do everything the same this tournament. Obviously there's going to be a little bit more nerves, but I think sometimes it helps your game to improve. THE MODERATOR: You talked about your game coming in this week. Four consecutive top‑10 finishes. You haven't won the tournaments coming in, but that is consistent play. How do you feel about your game this week? INBEE PARK: Yeah, I had a really good start this year, probably more consistent than last year. I mean, last year I won before coming this week, but my game was just everywhere. Some weeks I hole everything and win, and some weeks I just hit it everywhere. It was a lot more up and down last year. This year I feel like I'm a lot more consistent, especially hitting the ball‑wise. I just haven't been putting that well, not as good as last year. I'm just trying to find what is wrong with my putting. I think it's just time. You have to wait and be a little bit, yeah, patient, especially in the major tournaments. If you're confident with your ball striking, you can get close to winning. Hopefully I can hole some putts this week. THE MODERATOR: I don't think I ever could have imagined you saying, I have to find out what's wrong with my putting. We'll take questions. Q. You mentioned you won before last year's tournament here. Could you have anticipated anything close to what you did last year? Did you have a sense that you were on the verge of a big year? INBEE PARK: I mean, last year at this time I probably didn't realize how I was going to play that year. I was just happy to win a major, first major tournament. That was all. I didn't know I was going to win two, three in a row. I realize more how hard three majors, straight major wins are. Coming in here, I try to prepare for this tournament. One tournament is so hard to win, but how did I do three? As more time goes by, I think it's harder. I couldn't believe it. I didn't really realize at the time when I was doing it. A year later I come here and everybody is trying for a trophy, everybody is trying to win. To become a champion of three major tournaments is something, wow. Q. You won a major early in your career, then you didn't win one until you came here last year. Was that just a matter of your game maturing to where you could win a major again or were you putting pressure on yourself to win another major? INBEE PARK: I think it's mostly I needed some experience and I needed some time to get used to the tour. Very big win for the first win. Wasn't really ready for all the attention, all the pressure that was going on. Yeah, I just needed some time to get used to everything. Q. Do you feel much more relaxed as a member of the tour than maybe you did a few years ago? How have you changed in that regard? Do you feel more comfortable out here? INBEE PARK: Oh, yeah, of course. I played LPGA tournaments when I was not a member, and now I'm a member here. This is my eighth year playing the LPGA Tour. It has been a while. I just don't realize how long I played out here. I still remember being the youngest one out here. Time goes really quick. I age a little bit too, older girl. So you get to know a lot of people and you get really comfortable, yeah. Q. Golf can be a fickle game. Good play comes and goes. When you get on a high like last year, do you just simply ride it and see how far it will go or do you think it might not ever end? INBEE PARK: I mean, like last year? Q. When you got hot with the three majors, do you think it might never end or do you see how far you can ride a hot streak like that? INBEE PARK: I mean, if you're really like on the hot streak, you're really playing well, you think that this is your year, nobody wants to stop that year. Everybody wants to see how good you can be. Yeah, obviously try to keep that going. THE MODERATOR: Talk about being number one in the world. You've held that for quite awhile now. Unfortunately, Suzanne is not here. Stacy has been playing great. The pressure you deal with now on a regular basis of being number one, what is that like for you? What has been the biggest challenge to being number one? INBEE PARK: I mean, for sure it is the place I want to be, a place I've been dreaming of. I would never want to go somewhere else than this. Yeah, I mean, the biggest test will be a lot of stuff I need to do outside the golf course, just trying to concentrate on golf. That's probably the toughest thing. You get to have a lot of responsibilities. You have to represent a lot of things. There's extra stuff you need to do, but otherwise I'm trying to enjoy everything else. That's where I want to be. THE MODERATOR: Next week you have the Golf Writers Association dinner, honored as Female Player of the Year. Have you ever been to Augusta National or the Masters? INBEE PARK: No, I never been there. I really looking forward to go there and seeing the men play and getting an award. THE MODERATOR: Will you be there for the whole week? INBEE PARK: I'm going to watch on Thursday and head off to Hawaii on Friday. Q. You mentioned good memories here from last year, and maybe some not as good memories from earlier. Did you have to learn how to play this golf course or is it your game has gotten better? INBEE PARK: You need a lot of lessons on this golf course, that's for sure, especially like the lines off the tees. There's a lot of ridges on the fairways where you need to land. You get a left kick or a right kick. The more you play this golf course, the more easier it gets, I think. There's places you can miss, places you can't miss. I play so many times on this golf course, now I know where to miss. This year it's playing a little bit differently than the last few years with the rough not being so long. I think that's going to have the scores go a little bit lower than the last few years. The greens are very firm and nice, but I think just the fairways are playing a little bit wider with the shorter rough this year. Q. At Media Day everybody talked about your putting, but you said it was your ball striking that you remembered the most. As somebody who struck the ball well last year, would you rather see more rough? INBEE PARK: I mean, this golf course I think definitely needs more rough. It's a major. We're used to seeing narrow fairways on this golf course. I still feel there is a rough still, but it's not as long. Even if you're in the rough, you can go at the green. Last few years you couldn't go at the green. You just had to punch it out. It's tough because you have to allow for a lot to release. Obviously, you know, how I've been striking the ball, I really want it to be longer. But it's all right. I mean, it opens up a little bit more to the field. A lot more players can win now I think. THE MODERATOR: We joke around a little bit about your schedule because you won so many times last year, it might be tee it up in a golf tournament, go to a Media Day, then do it again. Your schedule is probably more hectic than last year. Is that a tough thing to deal with or do you feel like you're managing that well already? INBEE PARK: Well, I think I got probably like two out of the way now, so I have about four more to go. It's obviously very tough because sometimes of what you have to do during the tournament week. America is not exactly a little country. There's a lot of places I need to go to. But if somebody asked me because of the Media Day do you not want to win, that would be no. I still want to win. I would go every week trying to win some tournaments. THE MODERATOR: Officially you'll be at every Media Day, okay. How has your relationship grown with the media? When you came to the United States, you probably didn't realize all that came with playing on the LPGA and winning major championships. Is that something you embrace? Do you like it or is it difficult? INBEE PARK: I'm getting used to seeing the golf writers, a lot of the medias, knowing their faces. I think that really helps because you get to relax a little bit more with the medias. Obviously knowing in person definitely helps a lot, I think. You're trying to treat them like friends, yeah. THE MODERATOR: The biggest thing this week heading in for you? Do you feel pressure to successfully defend or do you feel relaxed? INBEE PARK: Yeah, I just feel relaxed. I'm just waiting my time for putts to fall. I'm trying to keep my ball striking level. I like the way I'm striking the ball at the moment. I'm trying to keep that going and waiting for the putts to fall. THE MODERATOR: Last year was special, you had a great year. Have a great week this week. INBEE PARK: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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