HILTON GRAND VACATIONS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

January 22, 2022

Danielle Kang

Lake Nona Golf & Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Danielle, another clean card for you today. Three birdies on the card; back-to-back birdies on 13 and 14. Take us through your round today.

DANIELLE KANG: It was really tough conditions out there, especially for me. I don't perform quite well in the cold, so I worked on that a lot during this off-season. I pushily went out and practiced golf when it was really cold and windy.

Really proud of myself shooting in the 6os in the cold weather, and windy as well. Gave myself really good opportunities. Even on the last hole I had a 5-wood into the green, so I can't really be like, Oh, one more birdie. I go, Well, I have a 5-wood and there's water, so got to do the best I can.

I'm proud of my round today. I made a lot of mistakes but really good up and downs as well.

Q. How gratifying is it to see all the hard work in the cold pay off?

DANIELLE KANG: It is gratifying for now, but there is still a lot of progress to be made. I made a couple swings out there where I just froze up. My body doesn't react that well in the cold.

But I still saw a little bit of gimmicks here and there, but I'm proud of how far I have come to be able to swing and perform and be consistent instead of just succumb to the weather.

Q. Have you meditated any more after what Amy Yang showed you a couple nights ago?

DANIELLE KANG: Oh, yeah. I meditate despite Amy, but she does it 20, 30 minutes in one section. For me that's hard. I was probably meditating on the par-3, 13. Just a lot of time. I just wanted to -- the word "meditation" throws people off. I guess it's just getting back to present and thinking about what's going on around you more so than what's going to happen, what has happened; thinking about should have, would've, could have.

It's something that I been working on so it's good.

Q. Last one from me. Do you feel more comfortable at Lake Nona now than you did maybe before this week?

DANIELLE KANG: Yes and no. I guess it's still a golf course that's very challenging, the set up, and it changes, right, depending on pin positions and the wind. We played in two completely different types of weather. We are plying two different types of tee times, and the green speeds are varying.

I show up and the first few holes I'm just calibrating speed. The first day was unbelievably fast, and then even today I couldn't get it to the hole in the first four holes.

It's not that it's slow or fast. I just have to calibrate and go along with what Nona has prepared for us that day. I guess comfortable is really not the word. Just going to focus on what's in front of me.

Q. You said you came in here working on some things and not really worried about results, but I think you had one bogey in three rounds. Is that surprising at all on such a difficult golf course?

DANIELLE KANG: I didn't know actually, but thank you. (Laughter.)

Yeah, I guess. That's pretty good. I gave myself a lot of par opportunities today. I didn't really give myself a lot of birdie opportunities, but capitalized on a couple I did have, which I was proud of myself.

With that being said, yeah, I think my biggest thing I'm proud of is that I'm just staying in the moment, staying in what I need to do. I can't rally control what other people do and what they have.

And, yeah, it's just -- I want to play well. Obviously I want to come out playing the best I can, and the best I can is to be focused on the shot that's in front of me as much as I can.

Q. You're a player with a long history of winning and last season you didn't have a win.

DANIELLE KANG: So negative.

Q. Does that motivate you for this year?

DANIELLE KANG: Yes, I did not go --

Q. You've always won, though, right?

DANIELLE KANG: I wouldn't say always. Yeah, last year -- that's just last year, right?

Q. Yeah.

DANIELLE KANG: It's 2022. We're here. It's beautiful weather. We're good. It's going to be a good, fun day tomorrow. Had a good day today. Proud of the way I played in the cold.

I was actually -- all the delays I was watching Annika play, which was kind of fun. (Laughter.) Not going to lie, I just stood on the tee box and was paying attention to what she was doing. I wanted to watch her. Never really seen her play in tournament mode, so I was fan-girling out there.

Q. Your cold weather training, was it just a matter of getting up earlier and telling yourself to get outside, or did it go deeper than that?

DANIELLE KANG: A little bit deeper. My caddie's dream is for me to play well at the British, so I -- yes, my history at the British Open is not so great. I get that.

He's been on my bag for five years. Least I can do is be able to be prepared for the cold weather. So during the off-season, it's being able to try and swing with how many layers I have on, what's the max, what I'm capable and not capable of doing. There are certain shots I can't do, shots I can't hit during the cold weather, and I just take them out of my arsenal.

Those are the things I have to figure out. It's a little bit more deeper. Even today there were some drives that I hit, I just can't hit that kind of shot in that wind while I'm that cold, so something I can still work on.

Q. Saw you doing jumping jacks. TV showed you doing jumping jacks.

DANIELLE KANG: I needed to keep my body warm. The waiting just got my body to freeze up, and I don't swing as fast as a lot of the girls out here, so if I'm tightened up my swing speed drops way below 95 and I'm probably hitting it 220. I don't know the yardage is on the 18th hole. I had 185 into the pin, so think about that.

I mean, it's something that I have to really consider, and to be mindful of my physicality on what I'm capable and when to execute the next following shot.