HILTON GRAND VACATIONS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

January 20, 2022

Danielle Kang

Lake Nona Golf & Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Here with Danielle Kang, who shot a 4-under 68 to kickoff her 2022 season. Danielle, this was a pretty good round for you; just one stroke off the lead. Tell us about your round. Birdie on the final hole is always a good way to finish.

DANIELLE KANG: Final hole Mark and Greg, we all had a $20 pot skin game, so I gave Greg a stroke and Mark didn't want one, but he made par so didn't count, and I made a birdie so I made $40. It was a good birdie on the last hole. (Laughter.)

Q. Extra good. Overall tell us about your round. Apart from the really good ending, seemed like a pretty solid day for to you kickoff the season.

DANIELLE KANG: Yeah, it was a little bit stalling out there. I wouldn't say slow. We played in pretty good time. But I hit some good drives; hit some awful drives. Hit some good shots; hit some really bad shots.

So it was kind of a little rusty, but I made really good putts; missed a few. I think on the first hole I almost three-putted from about four feet. I hit a four-footer I think seven, eight feet by. That was kind of fun.

I was more worried about or focused on what I needed to work on so I wasn't really focused on the results more so than anything.

Q. You said in your pre-tournament press conference that you still needed to learn this golf course.

DANIELLE KANG: Yeah.

Q. Are you feeling a little more comfortable with it?

DANIELLE KANG: A little bit. I still don't know where to miss it. That's the main issue for me. Like even on No. 17, I know that you need to be short of the little dip, but I hit it to 50 feet because I didn't know how far left or room there is.

I can see it on the yardage book there is a bunker, but those are the things that help me play better just because I'm an aggressive player and I can't attack certain pins like I normally can. Even on No. 16 as well. I want to be up at the pin. I'm not sure how far right I can go. Those things throw me off a little bit.

Q. Got you. Playing alongside Mark Mulder, a really good player; Greg Maddux. Had you played with them before? Was this new for you?

DANIELLE KANG: No, I played with them previous years. Mark -- not Mark, Greg actually lives in Las Vegas so I see him at TPC Summerlin.

It was really fun. They're super nice, super cool guys. I told Mark that he's so tall, I haven't played with this tall person in a while. Any time he went to mark the golf ball I thought I was out of way but I'm about to get kicked because of the range. I was like, Okay, I need to step further away.

So it was kind of fun. Just an easygoing week. Try to stay focused on my game and never forget to have fun with the celebrities you're playing with.

Q. You said you're just working on your game, what you need. What's the goal for tomorrow? Anything in particular you're going to work on?

DANIELLE KANG: It's more so just working on each shot, right? I have to be focused on as much as I can and give it 100% on the shot that's in front of me.

I do make mistakes. It's not just about today or tomorrow or the rest of this week. I have to be able to build my game for the rest of the year. That's when my biggest focus is.

I felt as if my speed was really good today so I was proud of that.