THE MODERATOR: Please welcome back to the interview area Minjee Lee. I'm not sure earlier in the week anyone saw a 66 out here. Talk about the conditions and your play.
MINJEE LEE: Yeah, I thought the golf course was set up really well for moving day, round 3. There was a lot of opportunities for birdie out there, but obviously if you're not on the fairway, it's a little bit tougher for pars and high scores.
Yeah, I just thought it was a really great job by USGA setting up today, and I had a lot of fun walking around today with Yuka.
Q. Talk us through the eagle on 7 and which clubs you hit.
MINJEE LEE: I hit driver. The tee was up. Hit driver, hit 6-iron, pulled it a little bit, hit the rough, got an amazing kick to the right and just rolled all the way to the pin about one foot for eagle.
Q. Today just looked easy for you. What was clicking so well? We know you're a great ball striker, but was there something else you were seeing out there that made the golf so simple today?
MINJEE LEE: It didn't feel super simple, but I just tried to stick to my game plan, tried to make birdies. Obviously I wanted to have a good score on round 3, moving day. I knew there was going to be some opportunities with some of the tees up for birdies, so yeah, pretty much I just tried to take it step by step as you do as a U.S. Open and just stayed in the moment.
Q. Having been here before, maybe some others haven't been in this position, what are you leaning on from your win in 2022?
MINJEE LEE: Yeah, I think a couple others are probably going to be on the same score as me, so maybe a shootout, depending on how the course is set up tomorrow.
I'm sure they're going to make it a little bit harder than today. But looking forward to the challenge and really looking forward to tomorrow.
Q. Heading into this week, did you have expectations that something like this could happen, that your game could show up like this? How has your play matched your expectations for the week?
MINJEE LEE: Yeah, obviously a major championship, it's hard to get like super high on your expectations because it's always a tough -- it's tough if you have super high expectations and the course is hard and difficult.
I tried to just keep it pretty calm, and I just tried to be patient out there. I feel like my game has been trending in a better -- week to week, it's been getting better and better in all aspects of my game.
I feel like it has been coming together for the moment I am in right now.
Q. When you exercise that patience on the golf course, what helps you do that? Is there something that you think about or something you talk to your caddie about on the course that helps you stay patient?
MINJEE LEE: I just really try to embrace all the moments today. There were a lot of fans out there, a lot of supporters. They were pretty much talking to me the whole day out there. I pretty much just tried to acknowledge them in some way or say thank you or just have a good time. Especially playing with Yuka today, I was quite comfortable.
Q. When you have a late Sunday tee time, which is what everyone wants, what have you learned about your routine and what works well for you to kill all that time?
MINJEE LEE: Yeah, I mean, I've done it for 10 years now, so just kind of try to get a coffee in the morning, just have a bit of a stretch. I feel like time kind of goes by pretty quickly. Come in, maybe have some lunch. I'm pretty chill, so I don't really do anything too much.
Q. What's your plan for the rest of the night? Are you going to try not to think about the golf? What's your plan?
MINJEE LEE: Yeah, as I said, pretty chill. I don't really overthink too much, and I've done it for quite a while now. I have one U.S. Open under my belt. I'll maybe watch some TV, maybe read a little.
Q. You've been out here a long time. You've obviously gone through ebbs and flows with your game. Is it hard to maintain solid form when you've got it, or re-summit that mountain once you've fallen off?
MINJEE LEE: Good question. I think in both senses, it has difficulties. Like when you're on good form you try to ride the momentum out, but there's always going to be a little dip here and there. I think maybe coming out of the dip is a little bit harder.
But golf is such an unpredictable game. You never know when that's going to happen. You just try to keep the momentum going as much as possible, and when you get in a little bit of a funk, just try and depend on your team.
I have a great team around me so I can really -- they help me a lot. Yeah, hard question.
Q. Whenever you are in a rut, what do you do to try to get out of it?
MINJEE LEE: Sometimes I just try to practice it out. Just grind. A lot of it is grinding, but also sometimes you have to take a step back and be like, oh, why am I struggling and which part of my game do I have to work on, or is it mental, is it actually my swing or my technical stuff. I think you need a good balance of that, and I feel like I've been doing a pretty good job.
Q. You're going to be in the final group, so I'm not going to ask whether you prefer that or not, but what does that change about your preparation for tomorrow and your mindset going into the round knowing that you have the last say?
MINJEE LEE: I don't think I'm going to do too much differently. I've played in a few last groups before. I'm sure I'll have nerves. U.S. Opens -- even that last putt on 18 I was nervous. It's a lot of people watching, and I'm just going to try and stay in the moment.
It's always nice to be in the final group. It means you're contending.
Q. Are you someone who tries to fight nerves, or do you try to harness what they bring?
MINJEE LEE: Yeah, definitely embrace it. I feel like you don't always get to feel these feelings, so just kind of try to embrace the best that you can, adrenaline, a lot of the good stuff. It brings a lot of the good stuff, too.
Q. You mentioned reading. When you're on the road, what kind of books do you like to read?
MINJEE LEE: You know, I'm a bit of everything. Right now I'm reading "The Open." It's a tennis book, an autobiography, Agassi book. It's pretty good. I'm enjoying it.
But usually -- sometimes I do fantasy, sometimes I do mystery. Just depends on what I'm feeling like.
Q. What about TV shows?
MINJEE LEE: Right now I've been watching "The Rookie." I thought that was kind of fun.
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