(Through interpreter)

Q.  So you survived today.  What was today’s round like and how did you manage to finish under par?

AYEAN CHO:  It was very windy so my shots were not ‑‑ my shots were not as good as yesterday.

INTERPRETER:  But her putts were good so she could finish ‑‑ she could finish the holes with good putts, yeah.

Q.  Was it hard to concentrate?  With all the wind out there, how did you survive mentally?

AYEAN CHO:  So I couldn’t do my shots at the right time because of the wind, because the wind was too strong, so I had to do the address again.

Q.  Have you ever played in wind so strong?

INTERPRETER:  So she was at the World Championship 2018.  Sorry, 2018 she played at the World Championship and the wind was like this.

Q.  Whereabouts?

AYEAN CHO:  It was in Ireland.

Q.  Oh, the World Amateur team?

AYEAN CHO:  Yes.

Q.  When you came here this week, did you think that you would be at the top of the leaderboard after three rounds?

AYEAN CHO:  No.

Q.  (Question about favourite Korean golfer.)

INTERPRETER:  It’s called Jeong‑min Cho, she’s a KLPGA player and she’s very close to her.

Q.  What will be your mindset tomorrow?  How will she approach tomorrow if she’s leading going to the final ‑‑

AYEAN CHO:  So it’s actually my first time that I’m leading in an LPGA championship, so I try to keep my score as possible and really try my best.

Q.  How difficult was that and how pleased are you that you’ve hung in there?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  It was so difficult.  Like on the last hole I just hit a 2‑iron 320 metres and when it’s into the wind it’s lucky to even go 200.  So there was so much wind, putting was just brutal.  I found the hitting not so bad because this golf course can be wide in areas.  Getting the ball in play isn’t the most difficult thing, but the putting, when you have a cross breeze or any putt actually was just brutal.  And my putter’s kind of light as well so I think that helps, but you take it back and you know your backstroke’s kind of funny.  To still ‑‑

Q.  The ball oscillating a bit?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  The ball oscillating a lot, you know.  I mean, our group were just backing away from so many putts when gusts were coming and I found that the most frustrating as well because there’s a couple holes where I feel like I played the hole really well and walked away with a bogey.

Q.  What’s more difficult in the conditions, is it the mental or the physical, because it’s a grind for both I imagine, but there’s no let‑up?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Yeah, there’s no let‑up, there’s no easy holes.  Like it’s that windy that the downwind holes are still hard because you still don’t have any control of it.  Yeah, mentally, I had a bit of a roller coaster today.  Like I started good and I felt really good and then I had a poor three‑putt after hitting the eighth green in two today was very hard, I had bogey there.  Then I made another crap bogey on 10.  Then I just felt like I was on the back foot and followed by another one on 11.  To dig deep and finish the way I did, I’m very proud of myself.

Q.  If I said to you Wednesday afternoon two back, 18 to play, you’d be pretty happy with that position, I would imagine?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Oh, for sure.  I’ve never made Sunday here, so I’m feeling good I’m just playing on Sunday let alone being in contention.

Q.  There’s no leaderboards out on the course.  Do you know what’s going on up ahead?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Not really.  For most of the front nine you don’t really know and then you kind of make the turn and you can see, and then you make ‑‑ you sort of loop around the back nine you can see again.  But yeah, it was that brutal out there, I wasn’t even paying attention to the leaderboard at all.

Q.  What have you got to do to catch and over take Min?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  I don’t know.  Putting, definitely.  I feel like I’m hitting the ball pretty well, I’ve been for a while now.  If I can just be really patient with the putter tomorrow, you know, don’t hit any putts when it’s gusty because I just want to hit the putt kind of thing, rush it.  I’m going to be very patient.  If it’s similar conditions to today, I’m going to just try and find that gap in the breeze because I hit a few today where I had already backed away twice and I’m thinking mentally I’ve got to hit this putt now and then I hit a terrible putt.  It was just so windy out there, that was just the hardest part by far.

Q.  The birdie on the last, talk us through that.  So you come up just short, chipped it up?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Yeah.  So I hit 2‑iron off the tee not expecting that it would go 320 downwind.  I thought I would hit 2‑iron and then have like a 5‑iron in or whatever, but got down there, it was way down.  Then I had just a straight cross‑breeze, 156 I had, which for me is a normal 8‑iron, perfect number, but because I’ve got to aim so far left of the pin to allow for the wind, I’m almost into the wind for the first half of the shot, and I hit a really good shot.  That was the perfect shape to it to be close, but yeah, come up seven or eight short, then took that false front down the front there and I had a pretty simple chip, holed a good putt.

Q.  Robin, have you ever played in conditions as tough as this today?

ROBIN SCIOT-SIEGRIST:  Actually, I think I might have like when I was younger.  But yeah, definitely the conditions were really tough.  The pins were not very easy, too, so yeah, you had to play very good golf.  But it’s a good ‑‑ I prefer tough conditions than, you know, easy conditions as a general rule.  But yeah, it was tough today.

Q.  It’s obviously physically exhausting out there, but how draining is it really having to think so hard out there, game management?

ROBIN SCIOT-SIEGRIST:  Yeah, the thing that’s funny is I didn’t start very well.  Yesterday I shot 8 under, day before I shot 6 under and then plus 3 after seven or eight.  Yeah, it was just, you know, I think this is a difficult part in conditions like that when you don’t start really well and start to be like very challenging.  It’s challenging for everybody, but yeah, when you don’t start really well, like it’s hard to keep it up.

Q.  You must be pleased you did manage to keep it together and not let the round get away from you.

ROBIN SCIOT-SIEGRIST:  Yeah.  You know, I had ‑‑ like between five and 12, honestly it was just like a couple of things that I could have (inaudible.)  I mean, 4 over, it’s not a great score, but conditions are tough and I’m kind of, you know, up there somewhere.  Tomorrow’s another day.  I think I’ll try to like learn from today because I think the conditions are going to be similar.  So yeah, we’ll see.

Q.  Is this one of the days where you learn a little bit more about yourself?

ROBIN SCIOT-SIEGRIST:  Yeah, definitely, because I’m trying to keep calm and everything and I got angry pretty quick.  Probably made a mistake on that.  But yeah, definitely in these conditions, extreme conditions, yeah, you learn a little more about yourself.

Q.  Four under today.  How proud are you of that performance?

MIN WOO LEE:  Yeah, very proud.  I don’t know if I played the best, but I think it was pretty tough to beat.  So one of them tomorrow again I think should do the job.  But it’s another day, it’s another 24 hours, so I’m just looking for the challenge, yeah.

Q.  Finished with an eagle on the last as well?

MIN WOO LEE:  Yeah, my drive went a bit longer than I expected and I had a 9‑iron in and stuffed it pretty close.  Yeah, obviously everyone’s happy when they make an eagle to finish a round.

Q.  Family history at this tournament, you obviously looked (inaudible)?

MIN WOO LEE:  Yeah, my sister’s won it twice and it would be nice to win a tournament, and I think it would be one of the only tournaments that a brother and sister has won, so that should be cool.

Q.  You played in a lot of wind growing up back in Perth.  Has that helped you?

MIN WOO LEE:  Yeah, it’s definitely helped.  I haven’t played in anything like this, and I think if I was back home and the wind were like this I wouldn’t even bother playing.  Maybe I should start practising when it’s like this.  Yeah, it definitely helps.  You can see shots better and hit a lot of shots into the wind that can be controlled.

Q.  Use the stinger a little bit?

MIN WOO LEE:  A couple of times, but it was more just iron shots that were keeping low.  Stinger a couple times, yeah.

Q.  What’s the mindset tomorrow?

MIN WOO LEE:  You know, I played a year of pro golf so I’ve been pretty close to being at the top there.  Just playing one shot at a time.  I don’t know, I’ve never ‑‑ I have been in this spot but not with the lead, so I’m just going to see how I go tomorrow and then hopefully I can tell you how I did it tomorrow.

Q.  The putt on 18 for eagle, what was the read on that and talk us through why you walked away?  You walked away four times, I presume the ball was oscillating?

MIN WOO LEE:  Yeah, yeah.  So the read was if there was no wind it would have probably been just outside right, but the wind was blowing a little left to right so it was going to hold the ball up a bit.  Aimed inside right.  Yeah, I stepped away four or five times because the ball was moving and it’s just so hard to putt when ‑‑ I feel like it was the strongest gust there on that 18th green when I was putting so I had to back away.

Q.  (Inaudible.)

MIN WOO LEE:  I think it’s going to be pretty much the same wind, so I think what I did today, I do that again and I should be good.

Q.  What about the stakes, a European Tour card?

MIN WOO LEE:  I feel like I’m good enough to keep my card regardless of winning or not.  You know, I’m looking forward to if I do win, but I’m just going to go out there and keep playing the way I am.  I’m striking it well and putting well, so I think it’s a good combo in this wind, just got to take advantage of it.

MIN WOO LEE:  Well, I didn’t realize that drive went that far.  I didn’t think it was going to go that far with a 2‑iron.  Had a nice 9‑iron in and I missed my target by a few metres right, but I ended up just over the bunker and I had a 10‑footer.

Q.  You stepped away from it a couple of times.  Was there oscillation of the ball or was it the wind playing tricks?

MIN WOO LEE:  Yeah, it was a bit of both.  It’s so hard to pull the trigger when there’s so much wind, you just don’t know if it’s going to stop or keep going.  Yeah, I mean, all of us had a bit of trouble today, but I think we handled it pretty good.

Q.  Yeah, I think that’s an understatement, you made it look really simple when scores were hard to come by.  Talk to us about your course management and how that process worked for you.

MIN WOO LEE:  Yeah, me and Shane had really good numbers and we just saw really good shapes.  I think it was probably one of the best rounds I ever played regardless of score.  I mean, I hit it pretty solid.  There was a couple shots that were bad, but that happens in 50k winds, so I’m pretty happy and I should be proud of the way I played.

Q.  Your sister Minjee’s got two here, do you think it’s your turn?

MIN WOO LEE:  Hopefully, that would be nice.  I’m not sure how she’s doing.  I hope she’s playing okay and we can toss it out to the end.

Q.  Just finally, mum’s here and I think grandma as well, you’ve been enjoying some of her cooking.  Is that your secret weapon?

MIN WOO LEE:  I don’t know, I think it is.  I think I played 20 tournaments and it’s cooking 20 to 1 and I think it’s going pretty good.

Q.  (In progress) whether you could be, you know, reasonably close by the end of the day depending what the leader does.  If someone said to you at the start of the day you would have 5 under, you would probably take that.

ANTHONY QUAYLE:  Yeah, it was my goal today to get to double digits for the tournament.  I knew it was going to be pretty challenging because it’s pretty blowy out there, and really it’s been like this since the fourth or fifth hole today.  If you play nicely, a good score is out there, but I was also playing from behind rather than playing for the lead so that makes a big difference in conditions like this.  I think I won’t be too far away at the end of the day.

Q.  That’s what I was thinking.  Talk me through your round.  I only saw you play the last few holes, but one of the spectators said that you were (inaudible).

ANTHONY QUAYLE:  Yeah, I had about a hundred in.  I hit wedge in.

Q.  You eagled that?

ANTHONY QUAYLE:  Yeah.

Q.  From how far?

ANTHONY QUAYLE:  The putt was about probably six feet.

Q.  So you had downwind there?

ANTHONY QUAYLE:  Yeah, down, out of the left.

Q.  And any other birdies, any other big bombs or anything like that?

ANTHONY QUAYLE:  Any birdie out there today in this weather is pretty good.  I had a few birdies as well as an eagle.  It’s hard to really pick.  I would say I hit a lot of really good shots today that probably went unrewarded, but that’s really the nature of the beast when you’re playing in this wind.

Q.  And the last few holes, I was talking to (inaudible), the next three are going to be challenging, like No. 7, 100 meters?

ANTHONY QUAYLE:  I know.  Unfortunately, it was right in between clubs of a pitching wedge and a 9‑iron for me.  The wind’s in and out of the left to a front left pin.  I want to be able to shape something right to left.  If I do that with a pitching wedge, it’s probably not going to reach.  So I went with a 9‑iron, tried to hit the same shot.

Q.  Stayed out to the right?

ANTHONY QUAYLE:  The place you can’t miss it is in those bunkers or left.  Anywhere short right is fine.

Q.  No. 8, what club were you hitting up there because ‑‑ 

ANTHONY QUAYLE:  Hit 3‑iron into it.  That was a brute, that hole.  Obviously didn’t hit a great tee shot.  I wanted that to be a little bit further right, but even with a good tee shot I still had 5‑iron in today.

Q.  Where is your game at overall?

ANTHONY QUAYLE:  Overall, it’s pretty good.  It’s been good for a while now.  The back end of last year I had a good stretch there playing at the PGA, played really nicely the last four weeks.  You know, Thursday was a little bit rusty, just got back from the honeymoon about two weeks ago, so there was a little bit of rust there.

Q.  Where did you go on the honeymoon?

ANTHONY QUAYLE:  We went to Europe.  So a couple of sloppy mistakes and a little bit of course management mistakes, but I was happy to rally yesterday and make the cut and sort of continue on today.

Q.  And are you happy with playing in Japan?

ANTHONY QUAYLE:  (Inaudible).

Q.  If you win here, you would have a decision to make?

ANTHONY QUAYLE:  I’m enjoying playing in Japan at the moment, but I don’t see that as where I want to finish my career, I’m looking at that more as a steppingstone.  Not to say it’s not a tour where you can have a good career, it’s just I’ve always dreamed of playing in the U.S.  Europe’s another pathway to get there.  If I was to win this week, where I am in my life I would definitely go play in Europe.  Yeah, I think at the end of the day we’ll see where we are at the end of the day, but the goal is just to go out there and see if I can play nicely and do what I’ve been doing the last couple days.

Q.  How do you like playing in the wind, in particular on this course?

ANTHONY QUAYLE:  Yeah, I like playing in the wind.  All my good performances as a pro have been in the wind, so Fiji a couple years ago, similar conditions to this, shot the course record in (inaudible.)

Q.  Do you generally hit pretty low?

ANTHONY QUAYLE:  My flight’s probably mid to high but I like flighting it down, I enjoy shaping my shots.  I really like shaping my irons and controlling the trajectory a little bit. 

Q.  So today, just a day of survival?

HEE YOUNG PARK:  Yeah.

Q.  What was today like with this wind?

HEE YOUNG PARK:  I cannot remember anything last six hours.  What happened?

Q.  What happened is you played pretty well.

HEE YOUNG PARK:  I think so, right?

Q.  What did you end up at?

HEE YOUNG PARK:  I finished even today, so total 9 under.

Q.  You’re just a couple strokes off the lead.  Did you think that was possible out in the wind like this?  Did you think a day like this could happen for you?

HEE YOUNG PARK:  Yeah, anything can possibly happen with this wind.  I didn’t really try to make tough myself, just pars are really happy.  I had a really good chance to make birdie, but I missed it, but I made so many good up‑and‑down, so I’m very happy with even today.  Tomorrow supposed to be almost same conditions today, so same thing, like one shot at a time and then not try to make trouble, just the fairways and around the greens fine.  I’m going to do some chip and putt practice this afternoon and then it should be good.

Q.  We were talking to a couple players who said they were trying to hit the ball lower.

HEE YOUNG PARK:  Yeah.

Q.  Were you thinking that at all or just play your game?

HEE YOUNG PARK:  Of course.  I mean, distance is very important, but everything this is about feeling.  So even same distance, but I can be like way lower or way more clubs and make an easier lower, but not going to much spin but lower trajectory makes a lot easier.

Q.  Less mistakes out there?

HEE YOUNG PARK:  Yes.

Q.  Marcus Fraser, 69 in those conditions is quite some golf.  You’ve got some form happening.

MARCUS FRASER:  Yeah.  I mean, I just felt like I was really in control of what I was doing.  I don’t think anyone’s in control of their game out there, I felt like I was in control of what I was trying to do and you’ve just got to let it go and see what the wind does to the ball in the air.  I felt like we did a really good job of gauging where the wind was at and where we were trying to land it.  Really had a good feel for the golf course, which is pretty important on a day like today.

Q.  How hard is it?

MARCUS FRASER:  How hard?

Q.  How hard is it?

MARCUS FRASER:  Yeah, I always describe it, my old man plays off about 14.  He’s a good golfer, but I think he would have struggled to beat 110 out there today.  I think that’s probably as strong a wind as I think I’ve played in anywhere.  It’s lucky the greens are a little bit slower because I think the ball would be moving around if it wasn’t.

Q.  It looked like on 18 there you almost lost your footing.  Was that you wind related?

MARCUS FRASER:  Yeah, even for a big bloke like me to lose my footing, the wind’s blowing me over, it must be strong.  There’s plenty of girth there to keep me pretty balanced, but not today.

Q.  You said before on TV it’s borderline unplayable.

MARCUS FRASER:  Borderline.  I think if the greens weren’t ‑‑ if they hadn’t slowed up the greens, it would be unplayable, but I think they’ve done a great job of putting pins in the right spots and slowing the greens down.  They knew the forecast and they’ve done exactly what they needed to do because I think if they hadn’t have done that.  We wouldn’t be out there this afternoon if they hadn’t ‑‑ if the greens were a little bit quicker and pins in some silly spots.  We’re the first to go after the tournament directors if they get it wrong, but I think today it was all credit to them because we could have quite easily been in the clubhouse all afternoon.

Q.  What’s the mantra when the wind just keeps getting up and up and up?  What are you thinking?

MARCUS FRASER:  I think you just remind yourself you’ve been playing golf for a long time and you know what to do.  It’s one of the first lessons I ever got taught, the wind is your friend, don’t try to fight it, you know what I mean?  A lot of times you’re trying to turn it back into the breeze and when it’s strong, you double cross it or you get it going so far on the breeze, just use the wind and.  Like I said, just let it be your friend and just use it.

Q.  Was there a hole you had today where you just had to take almost a ridiculous club distance‑wise?

MARCUS FRASER:  Yeah, where was it?  I think it was, well, on the seventh hole I hit an 8‑iron 91 metres and I normally hit it 140.  I think I hit a 6‑iron 125 metres and I normally hit it 160.  But then at the same time you’re hitting 3‑iron about 260, 270 metres.

Q.  What did you hit into No. 8?

MARCUS FRASER:  The brain’s cooked at the moment.  What is No. 8?  5‑wood, yeah.  Probably nearly one of my best shots of the day, came up on the front left edge and didn’t get up and down.  It’s easy to get frustrated at that stuff, but you’ve just got to remind yourself of the conditions and not let it get to you because I only had two bogeys today and I thought that was a pretty good effort.

Q.  Do you think about maybe winning?

MARCUS FRASER:  I think you always think about winning.  It’s always in the back of your head because that’s why we enter a golf tournament.  I think, yeah, I’m trying ‑‑ at the moment I feel like I’ve been so far off playing well, I’ve got some other things I’m working on, sort of concentrating on doing that and forget about what the outcome is, whether it’s good or bad.  So I feel like I’m trying to put something in place to get me back playing not only the way I want to play but the way I know I can play, which is I played at a very high level at a long time, been fortunate to do that and I think I’m putting things back in place to get back to feeling comfortable on the golf course.

Q.  And there’s a really good irony in all of this because if you win tomorrow, you’ll get a European card.  You’ve spent more than a decade in Europe and taken the hard decision to come home.  It’s ironic.

MARCUS FRASER:  Yeah, absolutely.  I mean, at the end of the day I love playing golf, so that’s all I’m here this week.  I think it’s all credit to the cast on all these teams that turned this into a European Tour event with the Australian Tour and it’s just growing from strength to strength and hopefully gets bigger and better because it’s got a lot of momentum at the moment, that’s for sure.

Q.  Well, the wind looks like it’s getting stronger throughout the afternoon.  Alena Sharp has come in after a spectacular round in these conditions.  Can you describe what it was like out there?

ALENA SHARP:  Well, it was pretty windy right from the get‑go.  Warming up today I just kept the ball low.  Very thankful that I had a nice lesson from my coach a few weeks ago.  He’s actually an Aussie, Brett Saunders, and we worked on keeping the ball down with my wedges and I just did it with every club today.  And I think it helped keeping the ball lower, spin control, and I was right around the greens when I missed the greens, so I think it really helped me get a good score today.

Q.  Do you feel like it’s safer now being back in the clubhouse, because it does feel like it’s getting stronger?

ALENA SHARP:  Definitely a little bit the last few holes, it feels like it’s picking up, especially cross breezes.  Hopefully it will die down a little overnight so it won’t be as bad tomorrow, but I’m assuming it will be like this tomorrow, so we’ll see.

Q.  Well, you seem to have it well in hand today.  Over the course of the last three days you’ve had 13 birdie and an eagle.  Am I correct in thinking there’s a donation for each of them to the wildlife affected by the fires?

ALENA SHARP:  Definitely.  I’m doing that this week and next week.  I didn’t even know I had that many, so that’s a good thing.

Q.  Talk to us about the Vic Open, it’s a unique format with the men playing alongside the women.  Is that something you enjoy?

ALENA SHARP:  I really enjoy this event.  Last year was my first year and wanted to come back this year.  Made some great friends last year and we’re staying with them this year, so it’s cool.  We’re really enjoying being down here.  It’s such a great part of the world to play golf.

Q.  You’re just one shot off the lead so you’ve got a big day ahead of you tomorrow.  How will you prepare for that, or are you just heading indoors to get out of the elements?

ALENA SHARP:  I think I’m done for the day.  I’m going to go relax, maybe just do a little journalling on what I did well today, really take in those good shots and get ready for tomorrow.

Q.  Well, it was a day of survival, you made it out there, you’re done.  You’re just one stroke off the lead right now.  How did you make it out there on this incredibly windy day?

ALENA SHARP:  I just, mid January, had some lessons with my coach, Brett Saunders, who’s an Aussie, so I feel like I have the Aussie luck on my side.  Really worked on keeping the ball down with my wedges and I just did it with every club today.  Kept it in play, drove it well, putted well.  I think you have to putt well in the wind and my lag putting was right on.  I didn’t have a lot of five‑, six‑footers for par.  I just stayed steady and I just tried to stay even keel because, you know, it’s out of our control the way the wind’s blowing.  Try not to let it get to you.

Q.  Was that a little bit of Aussie knowledge there perhaps, planning ahead with him on those low shots?

ALENA SHARP:  We were just working on getting better spin trajectory and I just kind of was doing it with my other irons and I’m like, I’m just going to go with it today because need to keep the ball down.  Hitting it high in this wind, you just leave it up to chance on how far it’s going to go left or right.

Q.  You’ve been playing really well late last year, coming in through the offseason, seeing your name on top of the leaderboard.  Still looking for that first win.  Does it cross your mind at all?

ALENA SHARP:  Well, I think it would be silly to say no, I don’t think about it.  I know I’m in a good position now and it’s been something that I’ve talked about with my mental toughness coach, Shawnee Harle, at the end of this year.  Sorry, at the end of 2019.  Don’t be afraid to win and don’t be afraid to think about it, and it’s okay that maybe there’s a fear there of winning. 

Yeah, it’s going to be on my mind tonight but I’ll have a chat with her and, like I said, journal all the good things I did today and know that tomorrow’s probably just going to be like this so I just have to come out and do the same thing tomorrow.

Q.  Playing in conditions like this, is the challenge more mental, more physical, or is it just relentlessly both?

ALENA SHARP:  I think you have to golf your ball well, but you also have to have a lot of grit, just really not get too far ahead of yourself or let the wind beat you up.  I think using it as your friend is more of a better way to say it than being fearful of it.

Q.  And switching off between shots, is it harder when the wind’s constantly battering you?

ALENA SHARP:  It is definitely harder because your hat’s blowing all over the place, but I think I have a great caddie and we just keep it light out there.

Q.  We know it’s a grueling day, you’ve been at it for a while.  What lessons do you take from everything you’ve done in your career into tomorrow?

ALENA SHARP:  Well, like I said, don’t really think about winning but know that it’s there and really just stay in one shot at a time like I did today.  I didn’t get ahead of myself, it was one shot after the next.  It wasn’t, oh, I’ve got to hit a good drive On this next hole.  No, I’ve got to make this putt first.  Really stay in the present and stick to the process.

Q.  I know last year you made some good friends here.  Tell us about how you connected with your host family.  I think it was through the love of dogs? 

ALENA SHARP:  Yes.  Murphy, the Groodle, we met him last year on the first day and showed pictures of our dog and then they saw the head cover and we just kept in touch.  Murphy was out every day last year.  We haven’t seen him much this year just because of basically ‑‑ we’re staying with them, but we haven’t seen him much, but that’s okay. 

We stayed in touch since last year and I sent them some Daphne head covers so they have the Murphy head cover.  They’re just great people and we made a great friendship, and that’s what I love about this tournament, like everybody’s so nice and you can walk inside the ropes and you get to know people a little bit better than just being by yourself inside the ropes with the players and the caddies.  It’s a cool event and we really enjoy it.

Q.  Right where you want to be, mate.

MIN WOO LEE:  Yep.  I don’t know what I’m coming, but I did play lots of solid golf, so looking forward to it.

Q.  The lead’s at 14 under.  Does that pose any thoughts to you when I tell you that?

MIN WOO LEE:  I mean, I’m three shots back, I think.  Like I say, it’s 15 ks tomorrow and the next day, so it’s going to be different for everyone.  But I think the fittest is going to win out here on the weekend, so yeah I’m looking forward to it.

Q.  Does having played so much golf in Victoria play into your hand?

MIN WOO LEE:  I don’t know if I’ve played so much, but into the wind ‑‑ you know, with the wind, being a Perth boy, I think it’s more of an advantage than anything.

Q.  That’s what I mean, it’s the experience you’ve had.  Freemantle’s obviously windy and you played all the big Sandbelt courses in tough conditions.

MIN WOO LEE:  Yeah, it’s definitely not a disadvantage.  Yeah, hopefully it’s an advantage.  It’s been pretty good the last two days, so keep it up.

Q.  Flashes of brilliance out there, mate, first couple of days?

MIN WOO LEE:  Yeah, there’s a lot of positives to take out.  I did hit a lot of good shots and a lot of putts, so I’m just really looking forward to tomorrow and the next day.  It’s nice when you’re playing pretty good golf, so yeah, keen for it.

Q.  And you’ve had flashes of serious questions here, which is not what we want to get used to, is it?

MIN WOO LEE:  Yeah, well, ask me a better question.

Q.  What are we wearing tomorrow?

MIN WOO LEE:  Today was pretty flashy. I had the blue pants and blue shirt, white shirt.  Yeah, you know, tomorrow might be a bit of navy.  Nothing too dull, but a little bit of class and a little bit of flash would be nice.

Q.  How nice is it this week having a little bit more relaxed vibe, staying with the family and staying so close to home, I guess?

MIN WOO LEE:  Yeah, it’s awesome.  I love the crowds.  I had a big crowd the last two days and it’s only Thursday and Friday, which is awesome.  Yeah, the support has been so good.  Everyone’s backing me, which is nice.  Also being with the family is so good.  You know, home‑cooked meals, I don’t get that much over the last few years so it’s awesome.  

Q.  Surely the battle between you and Minjee’s growing old? 

MIN WOO LEE:  I think if we were on a sports bet, I think I’m winning, aren’t I?  Is she on nine?

Q.  Is it numbers or position on the leaderboard?

MIN WOO LEE:  Both, isn’t it?  I like my chances.

Q.  Travis, 12 under, pretty happy with that?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  For sure.  I’m playing good.  It’s my first time playing good at the Vic Open and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.

Q.  What were the issues in the previous times?  Did you struggle with the conditions?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Yeah, just the wind a little bit, struggling to sort of flight my ball when I needed to.  There’s a lot of cross‑breeze holes here where, you know, you’re touch and go whether it’s into the wind across or whether it’s down across.  You know, I’ve got a good caddie this year and he’s helped me a lot and he’s pretty spot on with the wind every time.  So a combination of a few things.

Q.  So maybe you’ve figured it out?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Figured it out, yeah, maybe.  Tomorrow’s going to be real windy, so we’ll see after the round tomorrow.

Q.  You’ve actually been playing quite nicely in Asia, haven’t you?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Yes.

Q.  There’s some improvement there for you generally? 

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Yeah, for sure.  I feel like it just takes a little while getting used to the conditions and the courses over there.  The style of golf, everyone says it takes a little bit to get used to, especially guys like myself from Sydney.  We just don’t play on the bermuda‑type greens that they have over there, the grainy stuff.  So yeah, I feel like I’m slowly figuring it out and golfing my ball pretty well, so it’s good.

Q.  And also, do you feel more comfortable just from the experience?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Yeah, for sure.  You ask any of these players out here and they’re all going to say they feel like they’re the best players out here, but until you start to really do it, it’s like your belief goes to another level and I feel like I’m slowly progressing up for sure.

Q.  And the finish today, you made a birdie on the last hole, it’s a nice memory to have.  How did that unfold?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Yeah, the ninth hole here at the Beach course, 3‑wood down the fairway and left me only like a full sand wedge, perfect number to the flag, and hit it in to about six feet and easy birdie.

Q.  How do you approach the weekend given the forecast is for some wind?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Yeah, just try and keep the ball as low as possible, try and ‑‑ out here when it gets real windy because most of the greens are exposed, putting becomes quite hard.  So hopefully can groove in the putter early in the round and just play steady golf.

Q.  European Tour card would be a nice sort of thing to take away?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Oh, for sure.

Q.  I know that’s a long way aways.

TRAVIS SMYTH:  Yes, it is.

Q.  Nice little carrot?

TRAVIS SMYTH:  For sure.  I’ve paid my affiliate membership hoping to do some damage on weeks like this and just see where we’re at.