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LOTTE CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY HERSHEYApril 15, 2015In-Kyung KimKO OLINA, OAHU, HAWAII MODERATOR: Happy to be joined in the media center by I.K. Kim with an astonishing 7‑under out did there today with the wind. How did you put together such a great round? I.K. KIM: Hello. Thank you. I don't know really. Just one shot at time, I guess. I think it was very windy since yesterday; the pro‑am was very windy, too. I think that kind of helped me prepare for the week. I made really crucial putts coming in on the back, so I think overall I played really solid. I putted well. MODERATOR: Birdies on 17 and 18 to come in. Take us through those holes, what you hit into them and the putts you made. I.K. KIM: I played the back nine first and I came in on 8 and 9. Made really good putt on 7, and 8 I hit an 8‑iron. It was downwind. Just kind of guessing game and hit it on the‑‑ stayed on the top level, so I was able to look at some kind of makable putt. And No. 9 it was getting really dark. It's dinnertime really. Everybody needs to go home. Three of us, we're the last group, so I didn't see anything on the tee, but I just hit a shot and barely hit the fairway. It was 180 and 190 to the flag into the wind from the right, so I hit a 5‑wood. But the good thing is you don't have to aim at the flag when it's windy. I aimed 20 yards right of the flag and it just happened to be like a 12‑footer. So I made the right‑to‑left putt to finish. I birdie 3 hole, on the finishing hole, so I think that's why 7‑under was possible. But I didn't see 7‑under on the first tee at all. MODERATOR: Questions. Q. Talk about the putts on 7 and 8. I.K. KIM: 7 it was like 15 feet, and the second one was about 12, yeah. So they weren't that long of a putt, but it wasn't tap‑in either. Q. Did the wind calm down a little bit toward the end of your round? I.K. KIM: That's what I was hope for, but actually I think some holes were calm. It was like moving around today. Mostly northeast wind, but more east today. So still there was a lot of crossing wind. Like every hole was crossing rather than into or down. So it was kind of tricky to judge the alignment more than the distance. Q. If the wind is blowing hard and then you adjust and it calms down a little bit you have to try to adjust even again, right? I.K. KIM: I think that's why we play five‑hour round today. Really, we didn't have any ruling or anything, but it really took five hours. So, yeah. Q. You mentioned playing in the dark at the end there. How difficult is that? I.K. KIM: Like I said, I didn't really had to go to the flag, but I could see the hole kind of green and everything. So it is difficult, but only 18 was dark. Until 17 was fine, yeah. And I wasn't even sure it was my eyes or it's just getting dark. MODERATOR: Anything else for I.K.? Q. When is the last time, if ever, you had a first round like this where you have so much momentum going into the next morning? I.K. KIM: Not a whole lot really. I've shot 9‑under on the first round before, but not recently. I been hitting the ball really well last few weeks‑ actually since beginning of the year‑ but I haven't holed the putts when I was expecting it. I been working on it over last two months, and I think it's slowly coming back. Today I felt really good out there. I did my best, and today just made few more than I, yeah, really hoped for. Q. You played well here two years ago. I think you had a 65 to close. Something about this course that fits your game? I.K. KIM: I think it's always windy here and I have a lower trajectory than average. I think that helps me a little bit. For me, wind doesn't take it as much as I expect, and I think that helps me a lot on the course, yeah. For me downwind is more crucial than into. Yeah, I'm comfortable in the wind. I play a lot of golf, good golf, in the wind, so, yeah. Q. How about on the greens though? You did very well on them today despite the wind. Does the wind bother you very much on the putting? I.K. KIM: I think it does a little bit. Sometimes I have to back off like three footers just because I can't balance like in the gust. But before just going out today I was last group, almost nearly 2:00, and I couldn't warmup normally. On the driving range maybe I took ten minutes; normally I spend 25. But I couldn't warmup and just go out. You can't practice so much shots out there. Q. When you find out that you're like the last group to play in a tournament and when you know the wind can come up like that and get dark, what's that feeling like? You just figure like it's bad luck and do the best you can or... I.K. KIM: Actually, the funny thing today, even this morning was very windy, too. So I was like normally afternoon is windier, but since was like windy from the start in the morning, so I didn't feel like I was disadvantage by the wind. I just knew I had to play‑‑ it's like British Open. I mean British Open probably firmer, but it's the same kind of major tough condition. That's what I was mentally prepared for. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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