KITCHENAID SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 25, 2021

Ken Tanigawa

Quick Quotes

Southern Hills Country Club

JOHN DEVER: We are joined by defending champion Ken Tanigawa. Thanks for finding some time for us. Welcome back to Tulsa. You were here last month kind of experiencing Southern Hills for the first time. Kind of let us know what you thought about the golf course and how you fit into it or how it fits in to you.

KEN TANIGAWA: The golf course, it was the first time I've played it so I didn't know it prior to the redo like some of the other players. I thought it was fantastic. It's a great golf course, a traditional golf course. It's fair and everything is in front of you, but you have to hit a lot of good shots. All the hazards are in the right spots, and the green complexes are very challenging. The golf course is great, and the facilities, the Country Club here seems like a great place to be.

JOHN DEVER: You've been our defending champion for two years now, that's unique in its own right so we hope you enjoy that. Going back for a moment, winning on Oak Hill's East Course, a famous historic golf facility, how did that change your life? What have the last two years been like and how were they make different than the two years before that?

KEN TANIGAWA: Well, so much -- I don't know how much it's changed my life other than all the stuff that's been going on outside of golf. But it's just -- it was a nice validation to know that I could win at that level on a tremendous golf course, and it was a bonus with all the history that's been played at Oak Hill.

But you know, just the confidence wise to say, hey, I can play against the best of this demographic, on this Tour, on the PGA TOUR Champions or the Senior PGA Championship, I think that was the biggest part. You always feel like you can if your game is good enough, but until you actually execute you don't really know. It was a tremendous and nice validation for me as a golfer.

Q. You're hosting a big dinner tonight. Are you excited about that? What are you serving and just the anticipation you've had looking forward to a special evening?

KEN TANIGAWA: It was fun. Like you said, I was here for media day and we had a preview of the dinner. The chef set it up, was incredible. The food was outstanding, so it should be great. Just some bone-in filet, another type of filet, some sushi of course, some good wine, some fun desserts, some jasmine rice, some veggies. I think it should be a good mix so everybody can at least eat and enjoy it.

Q. As you look back at the week at Oak Hill, why did you win? What was the biggest part of the week for you?

KEN TANIGAWA: Wow, great question. You know, looking back I hit it -- I made the putts. I hit it okay. You miss some shots, whatever, but I think it was the putting overall. I made the putts that you kind of need to make throughout the course of a round to keep the momentum going to get par putts. Everybody is going to miss some, but I think that was the one key. Plus for whatever reason I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be, I guess you could say, and I don't really know why.

So I think those two factors really contributed to that.

Q. You woke up Sunday kind of with a calm?

KEN TANIGAWA: Well, I think -- you know what, I do remember about that is I saw Jay Haas -- he was done with his round before I went out to play my final round, and he said, Kenny, par is going to be a great score today, and just keep that in mind. I think knowing that you didn't have to make a ton of birdies, you just kind of hang in there, make pars, and I kind of kept that in the back of my mind because I missed some birdies in the round early, and you're like, oh, shucks, missed an opportunity. I kind of remembered that. I think that kind of helped knowing that, hey, you can just make pars and hang in there and grit it out.

But overall it was surprising in that sense, especially coming down the stretch, I thought I'd be a lot more uptight than I was.

Q. You won at a place with great history. This place has unbelievable golf history. As a player when you get on the grounds of a place like this, do you feel it?

KEN TANIGAWA: Oh, there's no doubt. You walk in the clubhouse in the hall there and you see all the trophies and all the pictures of all the past champions and everybody that's been here. Yeah, it's tremendous. It's always a fun and incredible opportunity to play at a venue where you know so many past players have played and all the great champions that have won here. It's certainly a special feeling for sure.

Q. Not much major championship golf played last year, a lot less golf, but how good is it to be back? The PGA TOUR Champions just played the regions a few weeks ago and now we're here, another major. Is it good to get that cadence back? Does this help everybody refocus on the game instead of the surroundings?

KEN TANIGAWA: I think so. I'm sure -- it was strange when we first came back with nobody out there. It was a little bit different. But you say -- you tell yourself, hey, it's okay, just go play golf. But then when we did play in Birmingham and even in Houston when there are people out there, you realize, boy, it is nice. It is nice to have them out there and a lot more enjoyable atmosphere in general to play in those crowds.

But I think everybody is eager to start. We kind of started now, but the heart and the meat of the season is coming up. I think everybody is eager and anticipating looking forward to the year.

Q. You had a trip here last month to Tulsa for media day. Is there any one takeaway, something that you didn't know, that struck you, that you enjoyed, that you might remember five, ten years from now?

KEN TANIGAWA: You know, I think the overall experience, Julius with the PGA and everybody just set everything up, just the hospitality of Tulsa and just the whole experience. My wife is here with me and she had a great time, and it was a win.

I think just being able to -- not just play the golf course but I've played a lot of golf before, but just to experience going to the Gathering Place and going to the Drillers ball park, I'm a big Dodgers guy and that's where they play, that was a lot of fun, and seeing the Tulsa area and the downtown and everything that happened there historically. It was just a wonderful fun experience.

JOHN DEVER: Hope you enjoy this week throughout the weekend. Play well and come back and visit. Thanks for everything.