KITCHENAID SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 28, 2021

K.J. Choi

Quick Quotes

Southern Hills Country Club

THE MODERATOR: Welcome back to the 2021 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship. We're here at Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa, Oklahoma. We're joined by K.J. Choi. Posted an even par 70 today in his second round. He is 2-under par for the championship currently tied for 4th. K.J., looking at your two score cards you played a lot of golf today, like many of the people in the field, but you played 32 holes on this golf course before you made your first bogey. So you're playing pretty darn well.

K.J. CHOI: Yeah, yesterday today is putting very well. Up-and-down is many time. Looks like in the fairways are wide open but one side is very difficult. I am miss in the flier shot in the rough. Today in the second round it's in the back nine it's in the three bogeys, little bit unhappy, so still my game is very good. Ball striking good. Short game better. Mindset is more comfortable. So many good friends here, so good player and then all the time on the PGA TOUR and I'm first time in the Senior PGA Championship, but very good organized and then good the setup, everything good.

THE MODERATOR: Glad you're enjoying yourself. So yeah, you kind of spoke to a lot of good friends here. You're playing on both tours a little bit, back and forth. Is that serving you well and why are you choosing to do it that way?

K.J. CHOI: My first Korean to make PGA TOUR card is on 21 years. This year is the last exemption in career money, top 50. So I'm more opportunities, I play well in the PGA TOUR in the last season, but inside the 150 or 135 there's another year. So I'm more competitions, some more younger player, so I'm enjoyable on the PGA TOUR, but soon coming to Senior Tour, so still over there is more play.

THE MODERATOR: Sounds like you're making a little bit of a transition there. How tough are the last few holes of this golf course? You did have a couple bogeys coming in. That's a challenging little gauntlet of three, four, five holes there.

K.J. CHOI: Yeah, 16th hole is down the middle and driver about 270 out. A little mud on the right side. The left side in the water is the mindset, okay, don't go left. And I hit it right. And then it was in the next hole fairway. Very difficult up-and-down is in the front bunker on a down slope and only 10 yard space. So it's a nice bogey.

Mindset on the last hole and my par is great finish. So little bit right-to-left wind, 5-iron from 205 yards and the pin's a little bit of a pull draw in the left side and in the rough. Little, you know, chipping is not much spinning. Missed putt inside five feet. Some green is all feel it's very slow. We don't know. After hit it though we know. So it's more resting today, tomorrow again the play fresh in the rounds.

THE MODERATOR: Last question, you're in a good position here. You must feel good if we would have talked on Tuesday or Wednesday, you probably would have felt really good about where you stand right now here today.

K.J. CHOI: Yeah, this course is very mentally it's more thinking. Pin position sometimes looks in the middle but a little bit pull in the right and like going over. Green side in the grass is some the chipping area, very difficult. That's why in the players are more thinking in the second shot and the iron choice. It's very important to save a shot and make your putt, it's very important. So I'm two round is after that is good position and my game is best in the play, so we don't know, so I'm best to try next two rounds.