Korean Jiho Yang was definitely the talk of the town last week after winning the KOLON Korea Open but everyone had a lot to say about another great tournament at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club. Here are the best quotes of the week.

First Round

First-round leader Jiho Yang from Korea on firing a brilliant 65 (-6) after starting his round with two bogeys:

• “I got a bit flustered after making two bogeys, but I told myself to stay calm. Then a long putt dropped, and from that moment on I felt much more comfortable. My shots and my mindset both settled down, and I think that helped me finish the round well. My wife is with me again this week, just like always. I get a lot of support from her. I’m trying to approach things with the same mindset as last season. I don’t want to rush, and I try not to get angry. As I get older year by year, I’m making a bigger effort to control my emotions and stay mentally composed.”

Charlie Lind from Sweden after opening with a 68 in the afternoon, avoiding the rainy conditions for the morning wave:

• “We obviously got the right side of the draw, it made it a lot easier. I saw guys were struggling out there early this morning. We just had perfect weather, like playing indoors, really. Played solid, just solid all over nothing really stood out. I feel like my game is definitely much better now than what it was last year. Feel more comfortable. My putting has always been good. The tee to green game has been much better this year, or I mean, I’ve been working on the swing for the last three years. I made a grip change, it’s complicated.”

Zimbabwe’s Kieran Vincent on his 69 in the more difficult conditions of the morning session:

• “I think obviously the rain and the weather always creates a little bit of interesting factors, but at the end of the day it doesn’t really change a whole lot, you know. You still got to hit a good shot, you still got to pick a target and trying to hit it as best as you can, and I think today what worked well was I just gave myself a bit of freedom to make some errors. There were going to be errors made, and instead of making big errors by compounding it, I was just okay with what happened, and just kind of moved on from there.”

Charlie Lindh.

Second Round

LIV golfer Abraham Ancer from Mexico about his second-round 65 to bounce back after a 73 on Thursday:

• “Yeah, it was definitely nice. Attitude wasn’t great yesterday. I felt like I was lacking a little bit of a good attitude, and just made mistakes that normally I don’t make and shouldn’t make. But I actually had a nice talk with my wife last night, and just trying to figure out, we’re just talking about life, really, and it felt like I was doing everything right. I was hitting the ball really good, but I wasn’t really seeing the results. We had a nice talk, I won’t go into much detail, but I had another way of kind of thinking about my round today, and it felt really good. Everything fell into place and I putted really well.”

On his long trip to Korea from Dallas, Texas after playing 36 holes in the U.S. Open qualifier on Monday, and only arriving in Korea on Wednesday:

• “Yeah, I mean, just trying to do our best. I mean, yesterday, obviously, this is a golf course that you definitely want to see some of these holes before you play it, and obviously we didn’t have the time to do that. We got in Wednesday at like 9.30 at night, but I felt a lot more comfortable today knowing where to hit it, where I can’t hit it. And these greens are tough, they’re fast, they’re really fast, and pin positions are very, very tough.”

His assessment of the demanding Woo Jeong Hills layout playing it for the first time:

• “It’s tough, it is really tough. Par threes are really, really tough. The fairways are the smallest fairways I’ve ever seen anywhere, and they’re super slopey too. So, even if they were flat, they would be tough to hit, but being so slopey is even tougher. You’re just playing out of the first cut in the rough a lot, and it makes it very tough to put it where you need to be to be in a good spot for birdie.”

Charlie Lindh when asked if the second-round 70:

On how his game has developed during his three seasons on the Asian Tour:

• “I mean, I’ve definitely learned to play on different types of grass. It’s so different out there compared to Europe, and anytime you get a course, or anytime I get back home, it feels like the game is easy. But then when I go back out again, it’s like I think I need to change grind on my lob wedge a little bit, it’s always something. But I mean I’ve gotten so much better around the greens on this grass, which obviously you need to be good around the greens anywhere, but it’s been tougher here compared to back home. So that’s a big thing that’s been better for me now compared to when I first came out.”

Second round leader Jiho Yang on his 67 which included a birdie eagle finish:

• “I was nervous even before teeing off because of the history and prestige of the KOLON Korea Open, but after getting through the first hole well, my swing started to feel more comfortable. From that point on, I just told myself to trust my swing and play, and I think that led to a good result today.”

On not having his wife on the bag this season:

• “Up until last year, my wife was on the bag for me. But she’s pregnant right now, so she couldn’t join me this week. But things are clicking well with my caddie. Also, knowing that we have a baby on the way is giving me more responsibility and helps me maintain my composure. I’m trying to be a bit more mature out there, which is definitely helping.”

Abraham Ancer.

Third Round

In third place after day three, Abraham Ancer describes his round after a 70 (-1):

• “Very up and down. I felt like I got to a very hot start, feeling really, really good, and then just kind of ran into a train there on nine, I believe? Hit it OB left, and actually managed to make bogey, which was really, really nice, but it was just tough. The back nine was tough to get it going, so it was a well fought round. I felt like if I had a bad attitude, it could have gotten out of my hands and really shoot a big number. So I’m happy with the way I composed myself, and it’s nice to make birdie on the last to get the last group. I know we are all way behind, but it’s gonna be fun tomorrow, it’s been a great atmosphere.”

On playing with, and trying to keep up with, the leader Jiho Yang on Saturday:

• “It’s just a really difficult golf course to really like make a ton of birdies, because you can make so many mistakes if you try to push it, and you try to play very aggressive it’s just not going to work out. And the putter got a little bit cold during the back nine, so it was tough. And he made everything, I mean, he played really well. He really, whenever he made a mistake, he got up and down. I mean, he played incredible golf, which obviously got I gotta respect that. It was, it was really cool to watch. And it’ll be interesting tomorrow, we’ll see. I mean, it’s gonna be weird being in the final group and being so far behind. But I mean, they told me this morning, I don’t know who told me, that Y.E. Yang won this tournament, and he was 10 strokes back going to the last round. Which I mean, this is a golf course that anything can happen, it really is. But yeah, today was fun, looking forward to tomorrow and we’ll see what happens.”

Charlie Lindh, in solo second through three rounds, shooting 68:

On his good performance on the difficult Woo Jeong Hills greens on Saturday:

• “Yeah, I mean, obviously, if you hit the ball where you’re looking on these greens, it’s gonna go where you’re looking as well. Because they’re rolling so pure, it’s just that the holes are cut in very difficult hole locations. So, but as long as you’re on the right side, you got a good chance of making a putt.

Commenting on the green speed which has gone from 12.6 in the rainy first round, 12.1 on day two to 14.1 in the third round:

• “I mean, you could definitely tell the difference, especially playing very early yesterday, where there was a little fog. Now they dried up this afternoon, and it got super quick. Just got to be careful out there on the greens.”

Still leading the tournament, and now by seven shots, Jiho Yang had this to say about his 67 which was the low round of the day:

• “I shot a bogey early, but I had a bit of a cushion, so I didn’t let it bother me. I was actually pretty nervous playing alongside great players, but the atmosphere was great, which helped me finish strong. I don’t think I played aggressively a single day this week. I was actually just trying to play safe, but the putts just happened to drop. It just goes to show once again that Woo Jeong Hills is not a course you can overpower with just distance.”

About not his wife stepping down as a caddie due to having a baby soon:

• “My wife has been talking a lot about ‘Mureogi’ [the baby’s nickname]. I give everything I have knowing my wife and Mureogi are with me. My wife never made big demands. Obviously, some things were tough because she wasn’t a professional caddie, but she is absolutely incredible for my mental game. That’s why we were able to win twice together.”

Final Round

Runner-up Charlie Lindh on his final round 73 after starting the day with a double-bogey:

• “I mean, obviously I just got shocked by the pin on the first, and after like a poor chip shot, I three putted it. It was just, obviously I was nervous, but I was also surprised of how much break it was on that pin, which put me on a little defense mode going forward during the day. But got my confidence level up a bit, and yeah, awesome birdie on last. I felt like after missing that putt on 17, I was just.. I told myself I’m gonna make a four somehow. I don’t know how, but I’m gonna make a four. Managed hit a great third shot from 160 meters up to like three, four meters, and made that putt which was a good feeling. Obviously, it was a little unfortunate with that start that I couldn’t really go for the for the win.”

About playing with the winner in the final round:

• “Yeah, I mean, he obviously played good all week, but he hit some worse shots at times, but he managed to save them – like as good as he needed for having that big of a lead. After that chip went in on nine, when it almost moved the hole a bit, that’s what counted. So, yeah, after that the tournament was over.”

Champion Jiho Yang after his 76 (+5) to go wire-to-wire and win by four shots:

• “It’s finally over! And I think I can finally eat. I was so nervous this week, and I felt like I was throwing up without eating anything all day. I think I’ve had about eight bananas today and that’s it. I think I’m ready for a good night sleep tonight.”

On negotiating the qualifier for the KOLON Korea Open right after another tournament:

• “I played in another event the week before and finished 17th playing in the final group. I didn’t play well in the last round, and I had a four-hour drive home, and I was completely exhausted knowing the qualifier was the very next day. I seriously debated whether to even go to the Korea Open and considered just taking the week off. But my wife insisted and even called a driver for me, and thanks to that, I made it to the qualifier. If she hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t be standing here right now.”