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THE PRESIDENTS CUP

September 27, 2017

Si Woo Kim

Jersey City, New Jersey

Q. You certainly don't get an easy introduction to the Presidents Cup playing against Spieth and Reed. Are you ready for that?
SI WOO KIM: I'm excited to play against the No. 1 players in the world, so I'm ready to play right now.

Q. We understand, too, that you had a very good practice session with Emiliano. Do you think you guys can maybe surprise a few people, upset them?
SI WOO KIM: I didn't expect to play the very first day. However, I had a really good day with Emiliano yesterday when we just shared information about the course and then we hit like great shots and we read breaks together and really helped each other, so I'm looking forward to the next day.

Q. Are you ready for the environment of the first tee? It's going to be loud and nervy.
SI WOO KIM: I know the tournament is here in New York, so people will cheer for the U.S. Team. However, I just focus on my own game, focus on my strategy, and this is a great opportunity for me to learn from the older players, so I just want to learn from them and just have no pressure. That will put me in a better place.

Q. You've dealt with some big, rowdy crowds at THE PLAYERS Championship. Is that an experience you'll draw on when trying to deal with the atmosphere this week?
SI WOO KIM: For me I enjoyed it for the first time when I came on the PGA TOUR. There's not many people cheering for me. However, after I win THE PLAYERS Championship I have more crowds and more people cheering for me. It helps me a lot. And also, people get a lot of pressure from the alternate-shot play, but however, I feel more comfortable because if I hit great shot, Emiliano will take care of it, so it's kind of like we're in team play, so it's not individual play, so I want to focus on my game, rely on my putting, so we'll have a good result at the end.

Q. Do you like the fact that you'll be underdogs against Spieth, Reed, and no one will expect you guys to win?
SI WOO KIM: This is the first time for me to play in the Presidents Cup, so I feel a little nervous, but also I'm just looking forward to doing that, and also I had -- I played with Spieth at the British Open, so I think I have experience, so I think I can handle that.

Q. Playing with Grillo, how does that happen? Are you friends? Are you not? First time playing together? How did it come about?
SI WOO KIM: I met Grillo last year, but this is the first time to play with him yesterday. He just made me so comfortable. The thing is he's very interactive with the people, he's very social, but I'm kind of introvert person, so actually it helped me a lot to protect myself, so I really trust him, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

Q. Adam Scott and the captains, have they sort of tried to get that out of you, embrace your extrovert instead of your introvert, get you out of your shell to be more vocal in the team room, et cetera?
SI WOO KIM: I cannot just say that one person treats me very well, but everybody says that we are the same team, we are one team, and we try to get along with each other just in short time, just three days, but we spend so much time together, and I feel better, and I feel like they are my friends, so now I feel more comfortable with them. Before that, I just say hi to them because we don't know each other, we just play the same Tour but didn't know about them very much, but now I feel like I know them better.

Q. Do you feel like you could be part of the team for 10, 20 years to come?
SI WOO KIM: It's hard. I don't know if I can make it for 10 or 20 years. However, definitely this is a great opportunity that I've enjoyed a lot from Sunday. I like to be here, and I just try to focus on my game every day, every year, so hopefully I can be here in a longer period.

Q. How is your health, your back?
SI WOO KIM: I had a hard time with my back on like the earlier season, and then just like before THE PLAYERS Championship, I felt better and then I won the tournament, and then my back hurt again, and I've had such a tough time with that. But now after THE PLAYERS Championship, I got my own personal trainer, and they give me like the good care, so now I feel better. In a couple of months, I didn't feel any pain at all, so now I'm feeling great.

Q. What's been your favorite part of the week so far, maybe something you didn't expect?
SI WOO KIM: It's great to be on a team of world-class players, the players that I watch them all the time when I grew up. So it's not only a great opportunity, it's a great honor for me to be friends with them and just enjoying the whole week.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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