THE MODERATOR: Welcome to the media center at the 2025 HSBC Women's World Championship. I'm joined here by 2025 Champion, Lydia Ko.
I'll ask a couple questions and then open it up here. Lydia, this is your 23rd LPGA Tour victory. Can you just describe what this week at the HSBC Women's World Championship meant to you.
LYDIA KO: Yeah, you know, it means a lot. I think when you come to the same tournament, the same kind of venue, you get to know the people here.
You know, I've made some great friendships and some junior girls that always come with signs with my name on it. They truly make it very memorable. Sometimes I've had good weeks out here, and sometimes I haven't played so well.
But regardless of whether I'm teeing off No. 1 or No. 10 or what time, they are always there for me. I think that's been the special thing about this event, and obviously this one is called Asia's Major, to kind of add Asia major to my major collection is really cool. Overall it's just been a fun week, and I think I just focused a lot on myself. I think that was the big key on winning this week.
Q. Can you just talk about your emotions, what was going through your head, especially on that back nine today?
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I just wanted to play steady. I started off really consistently. I hit a lot of greens, and I think that was going to be the big key. I knew that Jeeno and Charley hit it much further than me.
So you know, the distance wasn't going to be to my advantage, but as long as I played steady golf and just give myself good looks for birdies, I felt like some of them were going to drop. Making my first birdie on 6 and having three in a row was definitely good momentum going into the back nine.
You know, the good thing about getting the pin positions the day before, you can kind of gauge which holes are playing a little tougher or easier. I felt like today, nobody was going to shoot an ultra-low score. So as long as I had a number in my mind and just focused on that, that was all I could do. I did that really well, and I think I'm really proud of that.
THE MODERATOR: You have a gorgeous thing around your neck. Can you just talk about that? That's a special piece here at the HSBC Women's World Championship.
LYDIA KO: Yeah, the necklace is part of the history here. Obviously there's been so many amazing winners. You can kind of see on the steps when you come up to the clubhouse, and to kind of add my name on to that is very special. You know, this necklace is part of this event, and you know, the perks of winning this event.
It's obviously a very memorable piece. I'm not known to be the most stylish person. So it's a little bit of flair, but I'm just grateful for this amazing opportunity and for everyone involved to make this experience always a very top level for us.
Q. When you made birdie on 15, was that when you realised you achieved your dream?
LYDIA KO: I mean, it was a long putt. My big goal was just to 2-putt. I honestly didn't think it was going in until it lipped in. Those things, when those kind of things happen, you think, oh, maybe it is -- maybe it is going to be my time to win the event.
But with 16 being a reachable par 5 and a couple good holes to finish, I didn't really want to get too ahead of myself, and just focused on how I was going to approach all of the holes coming in.
But yeah, that would be nice to hole a really long one and kind of give myself a little bit of a cushion. It's the length where a 2-putt is not automatic. But to hole that one, it's almost like a 1 1/2-shot swing for me.
Q. Can you talk about how you made that putt? It was so long.
LYDIA KO: Yeah, I actually hit that putt a few times similar, about three times in the practise round. I hit it short and long compared to where this one. I remember saying, I hope I don't have that in the real tournament round.
I hit it there and I was scratching my head a little bit. But I did somewhat practise this putt and I knew it was going to be right-to-left. I hit it and I knew that it was going to be decent speed, and I wasn't going to have a really long come backer.
As I was walking, it looked like it was tracking but I didn't really know if it was going to keep breaking or stay straight. It ended up being perfect.
That's why I think practise rounds are really important, and even though it is a golf course that I've played frequently, you just want to get a better idea of how greens are rolling and with the speed and slope as well.
In this case, my bad practise round putts ended up being effective as a good putt in the tournament.
Q. You've been in the last group here before. How does it feel to finally get across the line this week?
LYDIA KO: I think I've been in the final group a couple times. I remember one of the worst one was we hit our drive on the 18th and we were on the 18th hole, and they blew the horn because of thunderstorms, and none of us in the group were going to win. That was a very odd experience, knowing that you have a hole and you're the final group out there, and the winner is already set pretty much. I think it was Inbee that won that year.
But yeah, because I had that experience, it didn't feel very new but there were a lot of people and I rode all the support they were giving me. I had some really poor rounds out here, too. So I knew that I know the golf course really well, and I think that played into my favour; that I've been there and done that. So it didn't feel like a completely new experience.
Q. The weather over the past two days, how did you cope with it?
LYDIA KO: Honestly the wind was a little bit stronger than we had the past few years. It's hot, don't get me wrong, but I've been here where it's been hotter. The wind obviously made it a little bit tougher for us to play physical.
When you're coming over to play these events in Thailand or Singapore, you're expecting it to be pretty warm. So just making sure that I'm energised and conserving my energy is really important. I kind of kept my practises really short and sharp and did what I need to and just get out of there. I think that's such a big key around these tournaments because it can be really draining.
Q. A lot of players talked about the condition of the course and how it's pristine and perfect. How did you find the course conditions?
LYDIA KO: It's honestly one of the most consistent courses we play with regard to the conditions. The greens tend to get firmer throughout the week just because of the heat and the wind. But the course is always in immaculate conditions, and it's been that way since we played both courses.
You kind of know what to get here, and it's not like you come and you're not sure if you're going to have firmer greens or softer, muddy fairways. So it's really consistent. In that sense, it's easier to prepare because you've already played it in similar conditions.
The greenskeepers and the whole team here do an amazing job. We're practicing in the morning. We see all of them in their mowing carts and just driving by. It doesn't take just a handful of people to make the course in this kind of condition. It's the whole team and what they to throughout the year to make it look good for this one week.
I would guess that if I came here six weeks or six months later, the course is probably going to be very similar to this. So as players, we're grateful to be able to play these championship-style golf courses in good conditions.
Q. This is the 17th year of HSBC sponsoring this event. How important is HSBC to this tournament, being such a long-term sponsor of the LPGA?
LYDIA KO: Some partnerships come and go. That's the reality of things.
But HSBC has been one of our longest partnerships, and we are obviously very grateful of their support and their belief in women's golf. Every year they keep trying to elevate it, whether it's the people that are playing the drums to a cool experience for the fans and having things like the summit, the talk that Shanshan was involved.
I think they kind of change it up a bit, and that's why it's such a great experience for everybody that's involved. You know, as a tour, we're very lucky to have somebody like them support us, not only for one year, two years, but for 17 years.
I believe that this is a partnership that's going to go for a really long time, and I'm obviously thankful to Kee Joo (Wong) that's currently representing HSBC and hopefully whoever it is still have the belief in us, and I'm excited to see even when my time is over, see it on TV and see this event here in Singapore.
Q. You looked really relaxed on the course. Was that what you were feeling on the inside?
LYDIA KO: Obviously I was nervous. I wanted to play good golf. But I've played with Charley and Jeeno quite a bit over the past couple years, and they are some of my favourite players to play with. I'm impressed just by watching them. I knew that it was a great pairing and that it was going to be a fun day out there.
All three of our games are very different. So it was important for me to not get too pulled into what they were doing and their decision-making. So just kind of focus on my strategy and the course management that I set early in the week. I think I did that really well.
Yeah, it's nerve-wracking but it's also exciting. It's not every week we get to contend, and obviously our goal is to be in contention more and more often. I think the more times you do that, it's obviously going to happen at some point.
To win this early in the season is great, and it was just a really good pairing. I knew that I was going to have a fun day, and there was going to be a lot of good golf regardless of whether I was going to win or not.
Q. Can you talk about your putting routine?
LYDIA KO: My putting routine, I feel like it's pretty simple and repetitive. I think the biggest key for my putting routine and setup is kind of putting my left arm down. My tendency is for my other shoulder to get open at setup.
So when I drop that left arm down, it squares my shoulders, and that's when I stroke it a little bit more naturally on my arc. That was meant to be like a practise thing that I started with my putting coach, Chris. But I thought, might as well just incorporate it in my actual routine.
So I've just been doing that. I think, yeah, that's kind of the start of my grip, and from there, I just kind of commit to it. It's simple but that is really the most important part.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much, Lydia.
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