THE MODERATOR: Please join me in welcoming world No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul. Talk about your reaction to Erin Hills so far.
JEENO THITIKUL: Long. Pretty long, and then kind of hilly walk. Also, seems easy, but it wasn't easy at all.
Q. What do you think someone is going to need to be successful here this week?
JEENO THITIKUL: I think first is putting the ball in the fairway should be a key, and then also putting it on the green. It's pretty tough to do here, too, but I think if you have really good ball-striking, this week should be good.
Q. You're coming off a pretty recent win. Talk about the state of your game.
JEENO THITIKUL: I think the game has been a little bit, like, better ball-striking-wise, keeping off from the beginning of the season and off the end of last season, as well, until now.
But I think what is doing pretty well is the mental side. I'm just more relaxing, like natural, not forcing anything. Sometimes I force things but trying not to force.
Q. I know there was a lot made of the success that you were having on the golf course. How did you manage to stay patient and just wait for that win to finally come at Mizuho?
JEENO THITIKUL: I have no -- I'm so -- I knew, just like don't give up. I knew that I have been close for a couple times, a lot as well, but I know all the effort, hard work, I just tell myself definitely I'm going to reach there, no matter what day it is, but definitely I'm going to be there.
I don't know how fast or how soon it's going to happen, but it will happen if I just keep on my process.
I think the hard work doesn't really -- hard to say. Like not giving up anyway.
Q. Where does a major rank on your list of things that you really want to accomplish here pretty quick?
JEENO THITIKUL: The major win? Five of them you mean?
Q. Just winning a major, where does that rank on the things that you want to accomplish?
JEENO THITIKUL: I think the major win, it should be really tough for me, like all the five majors that we have. But what I want to accomplish, just one major, it's just my process. Especially I think to me, KPMG, British Open and U.S. Open definitely going to test my patience.
It wasn't easy, guys, to be honest, but I promise that patience is really the key.
Definitely you need to have the ball-striking, but be patient is really the key for sure. Playing in tough conditions, tough course, tough mental, because it's a big stage playing against all the best players in the world, but patience has always been the key that I want to keep until the final round.
Q. This will be your fourth U.S. Women's Open. What were your expectations going into the first three, and how might they be different this year given the way you've played?
JEENO THITIKUL: Just be able to walk 18 holes until Sunday should be just my goal and expectation about this week.
I don't know what's going to happen through the next four rounds here at Erin Hills because, like I said, it's always been a challenging week for me in every U.S. Open that I have.
But I'm trying to see my improvement, just like 1 percent better than last year. That's good enough for me.
Q. Would wind or rain be more impactful to the way you would approach this course? And how much wind needs to blow for it to be a factor out there?
JEENO THITIKUL: I think the wind should be more effect to this course. We don't really expect to have any rain much, right, for this week?
Q. Probably not.
JEENO THITIKUL: Hopefully but probably not. I think the wind should be the big key, in the sense of me going practicing putts and the wind blowing so much. I think it should be the big key.
As I said, the greens wasn't easy, kind of slopey, and then sometimes the wind can make your balls move and you have like 40, 50 yards instead of like a 10-foot putt.
Q. Is there a certain wind speed where you become uncomfortable?
JEENO THITIKUL: Not really. If it's hard to me, it's hard to everyone, too. But a strong wind is better than a swirl.
Q. What advice might you give to the women who are playing in their first U.S. Women's Open this week?
JEENO THITIKUL: Just enjoy and grateful to be here. I played with one amateur yesterday, and then I knew that she was so happy to be here, and then she's just grateful to be able to play with top players here this week and just take a lot of experience, the most you can take from this week to improving yourself, because I used to be in that position. I used to be on Evian, British Open. I shoot like 80-something on my first British Open, which I still enjoyed it, but look back and I was like, wow, that was my really great experience to be there, kind of taught me to be here today.
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