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INTERNATIONAL CROWNJuly 25, 2014Na Yeon ChoiIn-Kyung KimOWINGS MILLS, MARYLAND KELLY THESIER: Good afternoon, everyone. We would like to welcome I.K. Kim and Na Yeon Choi to the interview room here at the International Crown. Ladies, you won your match 1‑up. You guys, that might have been one of the most impressive displays of golf that we have seen in quite awhile. You guys shot 61 to win and the other team shot 62. So pretty impressive back and forth. I.K., can you take me through that match, what was that like? It seemed like every time we looked, there was another birdie being made on a hole. I.K. KIM: Well, it was impressive, just playing in it and also watching the other team making that many birdies and eagles. So I'm glad that I have a teammate like Na Yeon. She was making a couple like three birdies on the front nine. It's only the second day, but I feel like I don't know what to expect every day. It's just another day. You just got to go out and just play your best and see what happens. So it is such a great experience for me and I think for both of us. KELLY THESIER: Na Yeon, you guys are in second right now in your pool with five points. How have you felt overall about the performance of this team? You guys seem like such a group together. You're doing so much together. I like the little face paint. It seems like you guys are really embracing this whole team concept. NA YEON CHOI: I think we are all on the same page every day, every single time. Even yesterday, we had dinner together with everyone, even staff. We said like, Hey, let's go put some stickers on the face. And no one complain. Oh, let's do it, you know. I think we are so close to each other and trust each other. Also, So Yeon and Inbee, they played so well, even today and yesterday. Unfortunately, they lost today, but I heard that they had like eight birdies out there. So we had a really good teamwork today, both teams, and hopefully we play well even the next two days. KELLY THESIER: You guys kept the same pairings from day one to day two. Have you guys discussed strategy yet for tomorrow? Any changes expected? NA YEON CHOI: Actually, yeah, we just decided that we are not going to change anything. Actually, we thought still we are top two in the pool, so it's going well. So we're not going to change anything. The same strategy for tomorrow, too. KELLY THESIER: Questions? Q. The team competition you have with Japan, what is that called and how serious is that? NA YEON CHOI: Yeah, I think I played team match with Korea and Japan like four or five times in the past like 10 years. If I'm right, I remember most of the time Korea wins. A lot of Korean fans and media have high expectations to win from the Japan team. But it's very weird, because we are so close even Japanese players. Ai Miyazato when we were like in middle school and we grew up together even. She was the Japan national junior team and I was on the Korean national junior team. We played so many tournaments when we were young. Until now, we play each other one the LPGA Tour. I think it's going to mean a lot if we win tomorrow, but for me, it's not easy to change like inside the ropes we have to compete with each other. And then off the ropes, we have to be friends for a long time. I think that we're going to have a fun day tomorrow. Q. Is this competition ongoing? Is it every other year? NA YEON CHOI: It's every two years. Q. What's it called? NA YEON CHOI: Depends on title sponsor. KELLY THESIER: Considering that you guys have that competition and that both countries are kind of used to going back and forth, is it no surprise to you guys that when we look at the top of you guys both being in Pool B, that it's Japan and you guys that are up there near the top? You've seen a lot of each other play. Were you not surprised to kind of see both teams come together and perform well in this event here? I.K. KIM: Yeah, I mean, Japan, they're so like a team. Like from the start, they were practicing together and I think they're good friends as well. I think that helps. We have a lot of similarities, I think, between Korea and Japan. So it's going to be a close match. You don't really know what to expect. But it's going to be a lot of good golf tomorrow. KELLY THESIER: Na Yeon, it's strange to go compete, have it be person against person a little bit more than you guys do on Tour. You kind look at you're playing against the field rather than directly competing against another person. Is it going to be even stranger when you face up against people who are good friends of yours? NA YEON CHOI: I think so. Even today, we played with Sweden, and actually she has a really good friend with them. And then before we go out, she said, Oh, like, they are a good friend with me. And, Hey, we can still win nicely, you know. (Laughter.) So, the results, I think if we do our best and if we play well, the results always just follow. We can't control that. So we can still be nice and talk a lot on the course. Like today, we talked a lot with them and then we shared food. They asked me if there was any poison in there, like they asked me for like they were kidding. But we were having fun out there. So I think that was the key. That's why we both teams, both countries play well. KELLY THESIER: It was a lot of fun to watch and I know it is a friendly rivalry. It's fun to see the little fist bumps and everybody getting into it and having a lot of fun. Well, best of luck. Keep up the great play, and we'll see you guys tomorrow. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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