Seon Hwa Lee Interview

SS: My favorite shot of yours this year was in Mexico…
SHL: Uh huh. Oh yeah, 17th hole!
SS: 17th hole. You remember that one!
SHL: Yeah.
SS: That was a great shot (Seon Hwa hit a third shot to a few feet over a gully to a tough pin placement to save par and stay in contention). Boy, you almost won that one, too.
SHL: Great up and down there (laughs)!
SS: Yeah. From what, 130 yards or something?
SHL: Maybe 100… 105 yards. With a pitching wedge.
SS: Well, it was a ways out! Boy, that was a hard flag (position). Very good.
SHL: Yeah.
SS: So then you had a third second place finish…
SHL: Yes.
SS: At that point, were you… getting frustrated, were you happy: 'Hey, I have three second place finishes'. How did you feel?
SHL: Yeah, I think I was happy. Because I had a lot of confidence, so I keep playing well… I keep trying to win every week. Yeah, it was fine.
SS: What did you think about playing in Britain? And France? That was your first time in France, yeah?
SHL: Yeah. In France at Evian, and British.
SS: Was it different?
SHL: Yeah, it was a lot different. The time change…
SS: How do you deal with that? Were you really tired for a long time?
SHL: Yeah. The time change… Lot of travel. The British golf course was hard (laughs).

SS: Did you practice those bunker shots?
SHL: (laughs) Yeah! Those bunkers… so many bunkers in fairway. And the bunker… the bunkers are, like, deep! The greens were rock hard. Yeah, everything was different. So, it was hard. Next year is hopefully better (laughs).
SS: Did you have to just hit it out sideways when (you landed in a bunker)…?
SHL: Yeah, yeah! I think, yeah.
SS: How were the conditions? Were they windy?
SHL: No, actually not windy. Perfect day (laughs). But I didn't play well.
SS: What kind of golf course do you like the best?
SHL: Um… I like tight fairways, fast greens, but not long.
SS: Not long. Do you like this course (Safeway Classic)?
SHL: Yeah, I love this course.
SS: Did you know there were five Koreans in the top five here last year?
SHL: Oh yeah, I heard that!
SS: You played on the Pinx Cup team. What was that like? Now you did that when you were… When did you do that, a couple of years ago?
SHL: I think…
SS: You were still in Korea, right?
SHL: Yes. I think four years ago.
SS: Was that in Japan or…?
SHL: Korea. Cheju Island.
SS: Was that in Cheju Island? How was that experience? Was that your first team golf?
SHL: Yes. Great tournament, you know, Japan and Korea. I won two times.
SS: That's right, you did really well!
SHL: Yeah.
SS: Did you feel more pressure because it was a team?
SHL: No… Not really. (It's) The same (thing I'm) doing. Every time I play it's just golf, it's just game. But the weather was really bad.
SS: It's in December, right?
SHL: Yeah. It was windy, and cold, and the weather was…
SS: Not the best time to play golf in Korea (laughs)?
SHL: (laughs) No…
SS: Do you want to do something like that, or Lexus Cup, or…?
SHL: Maybe this year I'm going to play. I think so.
SS: One final thing. Do you set goals? Like, I want to win five times, two times, or I want to win a Major? Or do you just say, I want to play my best, and hopefully I win?
SHL: Yeah, I want to try my best every week. But I want… well, already I won, but hopefully I (would have) won a Major tournament, but maybe next year. Cause they're done (this year) (laughs)!
SS: Yeah, no more this year.
SHL: No more this year (laughs)!
SS: Thank you very much, Seon Hwa!