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AT&T PEBBLE BEACH PRO-AM

February 12, 2016

Sung Kang

Pebble Beach, California

Q. New course record and new tournament record. 11-under par out there. Things went pretty well.
SUNG KANG: Yeah it was great. The weather was good and we were just really enjoying it with Ray, and then with Fluff on the bag this week.

And I just putted really well, hit some really good shots and then hit only a couple bad shots. It was just great. I feel like I'm living a dream right now, just dreaming.

Q. How did you hook up with Fluff?
SUNG KANG: Actually, me and my caddie split at the Farmers Insurance Open, and then I actually talked to Steve Hulka. Then he said, Jim's going to be out for maybe for a few months and then Fluff was looking for a job. And he said he was going to ask and if Fluff said okay, and it just worked out great.

Q. Did you expect a round like this out there today?
SUNG KANG: No. The practice rounds, I was actually doing really good, and then we were just like, just keep going and it was just really solid today. Just dialed in.

Q. How much were you thinking at all about a 59 when you finished up?
SUNG KANG: Not really. I still thought the par was 72. So, yeah, my career round was like 61 a couple times. And now but, yeah, this is good enough. If it goes in, it goes in. If it doesn't, it doesn't. I mean, I don't really care. But it was just going in every single time.

Q. You had a nice save on 9, the last hole.
SUNG KANG: I hit almost the worst shot of the day and had a good break in the rough.

Then, yeah, I almost made all the putts inside like 15 feet today. So it was just like, okay, it just felt like this is today, it's just going to go in. Just stroke it. And it just went in again.

Q. How long was that last putt?
SUNG KANG: Like 14 feet.

Q. How many putts did you make from say the 10 to 15 foot range?
SUNG KANG: Most of them coming in like that, I don't know. But too many I just can't count.

(Laughter.)

Q. Did you have many short ones?
SUNG KANG: I had a lot of short ones, too, because my ball striking was really good today. But I just missed maybe a couple, like first few holes like 10-footer or 15-footer. But after that, I definitely made everything.

Q. How many rounds did you play on this course before today?
SUNG KANG: This is my, maybe the third time. I didn't have practice round on the front nine, because I was so tired. So, just worked on what kind of shot and it came out all right.

Q. How much did Fluff help? To have a caddie with that much experience?
SUNG KANG: I mean, he's definitely a veteran. He's been doing it for awhile, for sure over 40 years. So I just trust him. I can definitely trust him. He's saying he's right only half the time, but I believe it's more than that.

Q. Did you read most of the greens yourself?
SUNG KANG: Most of the greens and then I asked him a couple times and then he definitely gave me some good ones. But sometimes he gave me totally opposite, too. I'm like, okay, I'm not going to trust that one, I'm going to trust myself and I putted and it went in.

Q. How about the last putt there?
SUNG KANG: The last putt, I mean, from behind, he said it looks like right edge. I came back to my ball and it looked a little bit more than that. And he said he thinks it's a little bit more than what we thought from the back. So I moved a little outside and just hit it. But today is the day it's going to go in, no matter what, so just hit it.

Q. When was first time you met him?
SUNG KANG: Actually, a long time ago. When Furyk came to Korea to play one of my sponsors tournament, we were paired together and I played with him a few times and then we got paired together.

Q. What about going into the weekend now, you're obviously right in the mix now, how do you look forward to going to Pebble and playing there twice?
SUNG KANG: I don't know. I'll just try to have fun. Definitely having fun with Ray and Fluff and that. Also, I really like to play with Bud, we have a similar game. So I'll just try to have fun. Whatever comes, I'll just do whatever I need to do. I'm not really going to think about the result. I can't really do anything with that if I think about it, I'm not going to try to force it. Just do whatever I can do.

Q. What was Spyglass like yesterday?
SUNG KANG: Oh, Monday, Tuesday, I was hitting it so good and then I mean you can't have -- I just had a bad round. I was hitting it really bad, we could have almost shot like 3- or 4-over easily, but I scored pretty well. So, we definitely -- I mean we, I asked Fluff after yesterday's round he said yeah, we survived today. We can go low the next few days. And I said, yeah, and it jugs happened today.

Q. So no warning of today?
SUNG KANG: No, I definitely recovered from yesterday for sure. Made more than enough.

Q. What's your history with Ray?
SUNG KANG: With Ray?

Q. First time?
SUNG KANG: First time. Nothing.

Q. You ever watch his TV show?
SUNG KANG: Nope, I didn't know who he was.

Q. Did you know who he was?
SUNG KANG: Not really. Because I grew up in Korea. So, after like one of my buddies came up and said, "Oh, you're paired with Ray. Okay." He said he's very famous. Oh, really? And I did some research on it. I Googled Ray and he was like on a really famous TV show for six or seven years. And then, yeah, he's like, he gets like almost a third more earnings from like TV drama show. And I'm like, okay.

Q. Did you think he knew who you were?
SUNG KANG: I think he'll remember me today.

Q. Did you have to, did you ever do your military service in Korea?
SUNG KANG: I did.

Q. When was that?
SUNG KANG: 2011. First year on TOUR.

Q. Your first --
SUNG KANG: On PGA TOUR in 2011 that's my rookie year and then I did a middle of the season like eight like March through April. About a month though. Because I won the Asian Gold Medal I was exempt for two years.

Q. I thought that would exempt you from all military service.
SUNG KANG: No, I still needed to do basic training for just about a month.

Q. So middle of 2011 you had a couple months of basic training and then back on TOUR. Did that slow you down at all?
SUNG KANG: I missed like five or six cuts in a row, but I still secured my card. Had a good year for a rookie.

Q. People talk about fearing poa annua greens, and Justin Rose is talking about that earlier today, have you feared them in the past? What's been your feeling about poa annua?
SUNG KANG: Yes, I know poa annua is so bumpy. So I don't expect to make everything, but I can still hit a good putt and it can go in and I can still hit a bad putt and it can still go in. So putt it and whatever happens, happens, just take it.

Q. As good a putting round as you ever had?
SUNG KANG: No, I shot low a few times like this. So it's got to be pretty close to the best round. It was my career round, career scoring, so.

Q. Where were your other best rounds, Korea or here?
SUNG KANG: I shot 61 when I was 15 for the U.S. Junior Amateur. Then I shot another 61 back in Asia for a pro tournament my rookie year. And then it's been since then it's been like eight years shooting that low.

Q. Do you think it would have mattered if you stood on the ninth tee and knew it was a par 71?
SUNG KANG: I didn't really care. I was like, yeah, just hit it. I still didn't think about anything.

Q. Do you remember the first time you played Pebble?
SUNG KANG: 2011. And then I had good memory I had a hole-in-one on like No. 12, par-3. Pin was back right.

Q. You had a hole-in-one there?
SUNG KANG: Yeah. During the tournament.

Q. During the tournament?
SUNG KANG: During the tournament. So, yeah.

Q. What's been your perspective on your career so far? Have you felt like you've done as well as you thought you would?
SUNG KANG: No, just like the last few weeks, yeah, I'm playing okay, hitting it fine, everything's fine, but not putting everything together. Just like kind of yesterday.

But today, I don't know, we were talking, so I asked, I mean, I was hitting it really good like this most of the time. He says, you got to be patient, it's going to come out. Just keep trying, keep grinding.

Q. What's your best round at Pebble?
SUNG KANG: I have no idea. I played it twice, so.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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