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KIWI CHALLENGE MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 21, 2009

Anthony Kim

Q. Could I ask you about The Presidents Cup and The Ryder Cup, you've had the good fortune of playing in both, we think of Ryder Cup with it's very fierce, competitive kind of edge which is obvious during the course of the event and you look at The Presidents Cup a couple of weeks ago and it seems a lot friendlier. Does The Presidents Cup perhaps lose something because it doesn't have quite the same competitive edge as The Ryder Cup?
ANTHONY KIM: I don't think it has anything to do with competition but the fact that we see the guys week-to-week on our tour more than the guys we see on the European Ryder Cup Team.
So I think it's not that anyone is less competitive or wants to win the Cup less; it's just that we know these guys and we spend so much time that it's hard to get as amped up for a Presidents Cup as a Ryder Cup.

Q. Is it as enjoyable, The Presidents Cup?
ANTHONY KIM: You know, it was. It was a lot more relaxing. Definitely not as much hoopla, and there wasn't so much -- there wasn't as much media circling and all the fans, there was quite a few less fans there. It was different. At the same time it was enjoyable, especially to be on the winning side.

Q. Obviously coming here last year and getting sick, have you changed your game plan this time around?
ANTHONY KIM: I think my game plan was fine. I'm definitely going to come in a lot more prepared this time around than I did last time. Obviously I lost in a playoff last year and that was disappointing. But if I keep the same plan and I'm more prepared, I feel like it's going to be a good week.
CRAIG SMITH: What is your travel schedule? When might you expect to get there?
ANTHONY KIM: You know, I don't know when I'm coming in. I was going to play in China the week before and go from there, but I'm going to take some time and come back here and kind of regroup and refocus and then I'll be there a couple days before the event.

Q. You must be pleased with your form, because if I read it right, you came through The Presidents Cup unbeaten. You had four times up and four wins I think. So you must have been really pleased with that in terms of form.
ANTHONY KIM: I actually lost once. But you know, I was fortunate to have good partners because I must have been getting heavy. I didn't play very well the first three days, and actually just found some form on Sunday.
But it's been a tough year and it's been a year where I've learned a lot about myself and about my game and we'll see what next year has to offer but I've just got to keep working hard and see where that gets me.

Q. Is there one part of your game that you felt that you had to improve, what would it be?
SEAN O'HAIR: I would say it's not a part of my game that's physical. I think it's in my head. I think I need to be more patient. And I know that's going to solve a lot of my problems on the golf course, but it's just tough. You want to fire at every flag and you want to make birdies, but at the same time, you have to learn when to stop or slow down.

Q. When I spoke to you last year, you had a few injury problems and things, but having a look at you at The Presidents Cup, you looked lean and mean. I see you also, for a guy who is into basketball, you got to meet people like Michael Jordan and I see you're also walking around the fairway with your mom, as well. It looks like as if you are enjoying yourself more.
ANTHONY KIM: I am enjoying myself more. It's actually hard not to enjoy yourself.
But at the same time, everyone wants to win. Everyone wants to be good and get to the top, but it's just been a tough year. So it's been less enjoyable but it's going to get better.
CRAIG SMITH: What kind of injuries have you had to fight through?
ANTHONY KIM: You know, I've been talking about my injuries all year, and I'm finally healthy now. So you know, I don't even remember, there was so many. (Laughter).

Q. What was your desire to come back, was it to beat Hunter or was it to get the experience again?
ANTHONY KIM: You know, I loved New Zealand, I loved the golf course, obviously Mr. Robertson has done a wonderful job of running a world-class event. I think that we had a great field, and I feel privileged to be there and I know that's one of the best golf courses we'll play all year.

Q. Does it make a difference now that you are playing on the one course rather than jetting from Kauri Cliffs to Cape Kidnappers?
ANTHONY KIM: It doesn't. I think the better golf that's played is going to end up winning, because unlike most tournaments with he don't get enough practice rounds on both courses. So if we can just play the same course, whoever is playing the best that week is going to win.

Q. You were saying that Cape Kidnappers is one of the best courses. What makes it one of the best?
ANTHONY KIM: It's somewhere where you can go out -- and I haven't been to Pebble Beach, but I've heard nothing but wonderful things about it.
But you can go out and not feel like you're on a golf course, and I think it's one of the best walks that we'll have all year, because you're not worried about anything. You're going out, having a good time. The course was in great shape last year, I'm sure it will be the same this year. You have great people running the event. It just makes the whole tournament and golf course more enjoyable.

Q. I wanted to ask you about the rise and the rise of Asian golfers. I know you're American-born, of course, but with Y.E. Yang taking on Tiger successfully this year, it's been a real calling on Asian golf and you're going to be playing in China soon. Curious to your own feelings on the rise of the Asian golfers and whether Asian golfers will be much more seen at the top of the world ladder.
ANTHONY KIM: It feels great. Y.E. has become a good friend of mine, and it was great to see him have such a great battle with Tiger. I think that the future for Asian golf is great.
It's well known that there are so many different junior golf programs in all of Asia, I think the fact that there are some people that are coming more successful with Asian heritage is going to make the kids strive to make it on the PGA TOUR or just to improve, just to see where they are going to be at.
CRAIG SMITH: How about the field; we have tried to build it as the best players under the age of 30. Maybe if you can just talk about what your take is on the four of you and your skill level and what you've accomplished so quickly.
ANTHONY KIM: I think we have done very well for ourselves. I would be wrong if I said that we have had the best years. I know Sean has had a great year and Hunter has had a good year, or probably had the worst year out of all of us.
But at the same time, I know that we have promising futures, and you never know where we are going to end up. I think I speak on behalf of everybody when I say we are going to be honored to be there and have a great time.

Q. Off-the-beaten-track question, last year when you finished, you went shark hunting over there. What have you got planned as a recreational side of things after the pressure is off?
ANTHONY KIM: Well, I'll tell you what: I know I said I went shark hunting, but really all I did was throw up (laughing).
I want to make sure whatever I'm looking for is actually in the water that week.

Q. In New Zealand we call that burly.
ANTHONY KIM: I had a lot of burly.

Q. From your experience on the Cape, what kind of shots will you play to be more effective?
ANTHONY KIM: Straight shots. And I mean that in all seriousness. If you can keep the ball down and straight out there, when the wind picks up, you're going to be in great shape. You know, you can try to work the ball, but since it's so close to the ocean, there's a lot of chance involved in spinning it right-to-left or left-to-right. So I'm going to work on my straight shots, like I said.

Q. You mentioned the mental side of the game, and I watched you at the Masters this year, and I know you set the record for the most birdies in a round, and you were talking before about having to be more patient and not try and go for more birdies. But golf is such a persuasive game like that. That's the curse of the game for most golfers that you don't always play as well as you can, and, in fact, most times you don't play as well as you can. I wonder how someone at your level of the game deals with it, because you can play so well, as per Augusta, but if you don't do that the next day, it must be a very difficult thing to handle mentally.
ANTHONY KIM: It is. It's extremely tough, because you know the shot you can pull off 80 percent of the time, and over the course of the round, you've had three of those chances and haven't converted one time, your confidence is going to waver a little bit, even if you don't think that it does. I guess at the end of the day, you know the percentages are going your way but you have to learn how to do it.
I don't rely on a sports psychologist or really anybody to tell me what to do. When I go to a tournament, my goal is to win and do whatever I have to do to win. So I believe that if I want it bad enough, I'll figure a way how to stay patient, even though it's tough to do sometimes.

Q. You obviously lost on that extra hole to Hunter Mahan last year; what is going to give that you extra edge you think this year?
ANTHONY KIM: I'm going to have to practice a lot more before I get there.
CRAIG SMITH: Thank you so much.

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