THE MODERATOR: Welcome everyone inside the virtual media center here at the Pelican Women's Championships.
I am pleased to be joined by Rolex Rankings No. 12 Jeongeun Lee6. Welcome back.
JEONGEUN LEE6: Hi. Thank you.
THE MODERATOR: So take us back to when you realized that the LPGA was going on a break? You played in Australia in February, but then went back to Korea. So what went into the decision to go back home?
JEONGEUN LEE6: I was scared COVID-19 so I wanted to go home, but I don't have home in states, not yet, so I wanted to go home. Yeah.
THE MODERATOR: And then did you expect to be home for as long as you were?
JEONGEUN LEE6: Yeah, I didn't expect to be that long to stay in Korea, but I was just waiting for to come back to the States and play on the LPGA Tour.
THE MODERATOR: I love that. There was a break in golf around the world for a few months. Before you competed in tournaments again, what did you do with your time away from the game? Did you spend time with family? Did you learn a new hobby? Did you put the clubs away at all?
JEONGEUN LEE6: Fortunately they had games in Korea, so through the KLPGA tournaments I was able to prepare myself for the LPGA tournaments.
So I also took a few breaks in between.
THE MODERATOR: Did you learn any new hobbies? Did you spend time with family?
JEONGEUN LEE6: Yeah, I'm spend my family and I learn English. Yeah.
THE MODERATOR: I can see. I love it. So you did play in a lot of KLPGA tournaments. You earned five top 10 finishes from May until October, and then you finished 11th on their Money List.
What was it like competing on the KLPGA again, and what was it like to compete during the pandemic?
JEONGEUN LEE6: Actually I didn't do well in Korea. I wanted to come to the States after winning some tournaments but I didn't, so I prepared hard and I hope it pays off.
THE MODERATOR: That's awesome. Nothing like some competitive golf to get you ready for the LPGA Tour.
JEONGEUN LEE6: Yeah.
THE MODERATOR: What are some of the things you worked on in your game?
JEONGEUN LEE6: I think my shot and my putting was weak this season in KLPGA, so I worked on my shot and short game. I focused on changing my swing and putting speed. Yeah.
THE MODERATOR: When did you decide to come back to the U.S. to play on tour and why? And how does it feel to be back?
JEONGEUN LEE6: Watching the games in Korea I really wanted to play and come but I didn't, but I was a little scared to come.
But I didn't give up the U.S. Open, so I really wanted to play as defending champion. Yeah.
THE MODERATOR: How cool is it that you're still going to be able to play in the U.S. Women's Open as the defending champion? How cool?
JEONGEUN LEE6: (Laughter.) I'm a little bit nervous and excited. I really want to play well as defending champion.
THE MODERATOR: That's awesome. What did you miss the most about the LPGA or who did you miss the most on the LPGA Tour?
JEONGEUN LEE6: Just I missed playing at here and missed perfect weather and perfect practice range. Yeah.
THE MODERATOR: I love that. So this is your first week back. What are some of the expectations you have for this week?
JEONGEUN LEE6: I can play three tournaments now, if it I can play well I can compete the last CME tournament. Yeah, I really want to play the CME tournament and I'm aiming for that.
THE MODERATOR: That's good. With only four events left, is that your main goal of the season, to get into CME?
JEONGEUN LEE6: Yes, yes.
THE MODERATOR: Awesome. With that, I know we have some questions.
Q. Hello, 6. Your English is fantastic. Well done.
JEONGEUN LEE6: Thank you.
Q. How did you practice? What did you do to get better at English?
JEONGEUN LEE6: So I just prepared everything, like what everyone was going to ask me the questions, so I just been working on that with my tutor, so...
Q. You watch any English TV shows?
JEONGEUN LEE6: Yes. I watched Netflix.
Q. What shows?
JEONGEUN LEE6: Emily in Paris.
Q. Got you. What would you say in terms of your golf game right now? How would you assess the best part of your game right now and the part you're working on the most?
JEONGEUN LEE6: I'm going to focus on my shot accuracy, and this course is par-70, so I focus on my middle, long iron.
Q. What did you think of the greens here? I understand they're pretty difficult.
JEONGEUN LEE6: Yeah, green is difficult, but greens speed is normal, not fast. So, yeah.
Q. Why was coming back to defend at the U.S. Women's Open so important to you?
JEONGEUN LEE6: It is first tournament as defending champion for me and U.S. Open is very big tournament for players, so I want to play well.
THE MODERATOR: All right. Thank you Beth Ann. With that, I just have one more question. What did you miss most about the LPGA and are you excited or are you more nervous?
JEONGEUN LEE6: I'm a little bit nervous coming back to the LPGA Tour because back when I -- for the past few months when I played in KLPGA tournament I wasn't really satisfied with my game, so hopefully I can play well this week.
THE MODERATOR: All right. We have one more from Beth Ann.
Q. I know the time difference is pretty big, but did you watch the LPGA majors that you missed? Did you keep track of the ANA or British Open, KPMG, and how hard was it to be on the other side of the world when that was happening?
JEONGEUN LEE6: Yeah, so I did not watch the live but I watched it -- like I watched it on the other days, like the ANA and KPMG tournament and British Open, but especially the ANA. I really wanted to go there and I wanted to win that tournament.
It was a very unfortunate for this year so, hopefully I can play next year and win the tournament, ANA.
Q. Did you just not feel safe coming over with COVID? Was that the bottom line?
JEONGEUN LEE6: Yeah, so I made a decision to not travel and not to attend those tournaments because my parents were worried about me traveling to different countries and the States. So that's why I decided to, yeah, not to attend those tournaments.
THE MODERATOR: All right, with that, I think that's everything from us here. Thank you. Thank you everyone for joining us.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports