THE AMERICAN EXPRESS

January 19, 2022

Si Woo Kim

PGA WEST Pete Dye Stadium Course

Press Conference

DOUG MILNE: I'd like to welcome the defending champion of the American Express, Si Woo Kim. Si Woo, thank you for joining us for a few minutes, pleasure to have you back. If we could just ask you a question about how you're feeling coming into the week and what part of your game you feel most comfortable with.

SI WOO KIM: I feel really comfortable with it back here. So this course is my favorite and then I passed Q-School in 2017 on this course and I won the last year.

So, yeah, I working on just putting the last two weeks. Like, ball strike was pretty good. I just working on my putting and it's going to work, I hope, and have a good weekend.

DOUG MILNE: It's still kind of early in the season, but what are you most comfortable with? What part of your game do you feel like is performing best for you right now?

SI WOO KIM: Yeah, I tried to a little like hit it farther, like this off-season. So it was like everything, ball speed and club speed a little bit, like a little bit of jumped. So I hope more, I hope more work short game this week and then, yeah, I think everything's kind of feel great.

DOUG MILNE: Questions?

Q. Patrick was just saying how great you played down the stretch last year here with those birdies at 16 and 17. When you look back on that, are you proud of the way you played or was that just the way it was, I mean, were you just playing so well that you were going to make those birdies?

SI WOO KIM: Yeah, I was one back Patrick like before the 16th, so I had, I know that I had to make birdie. So 16 always had a big chance to make birdie because par-5 and reachable and I tried to be aggressive at 16 and so it works.

And then 17 and 18, kind of tough hole because all the water is there, so I was worried about the last tee shot, but I made on the 17th birdie, so that makes me more comfortable and I just play defensively, like last hole.

Q. You said you wanted to this off-season try to hit the ball further. Seems to me a lot of guys are doing that. How far will you take that? Are you doing kind of the Bryson thing where you're doing speed training or is it not quite that much?

SI WOO KIM: Not quite like, I don't have that speed still, but I was like always hit it hard, like 115 to 117 swing speed and ball speed was like 170 to 173. But I try really hard speed training just to me, not, still not other guys, but it's now like 120 to 123 swing speed and then, yeah, it was like five to eight miles faster than last year.

Q. What's the new ball speed?

SI WOO KIM: Ball speed like, it's kind of 78 to 85 between right now.

Q. What does it feel like to come back as the defending champion of a tournament? You've had a couple of victories, does it feel any different to come here than if you hadn't won last year?

SI WOO KIM: It's not that different, but I had more confidence always come back to defend, so that's why I think my confidence is more good result. So I play, just play like last year, I hope, and, yeah, it's nothing different much.

Q. You played so well on the Stadium Course on Sunday, but you have to play well on all three courses here, right? Do you have a course that you prefer to play in the rotation?

SI WOO KIM: Yeah, this week usually always has three courses. So I didn't play Nicklaus Course practice, but I always knew it because I play a lot before the Q-School. So it's always need to make a lot of birdie this course, so just play aggressive, yeah.

DOUG MILNE: Si Woo, thank you for you your time, good luck this week.

SI WOO KIM: Thank you.