LOTTE CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY HOAKALEI

April 14, 2023

Christina Kim

Hoakalei Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Here with Christina Kim. You said you were terrified yesterday being in this position.

CHRISTINA KIM: Did I say that? I thought I was saying I was terrified just teeing it up in the first round for the first eight holes.

Q. You're in a great spot.

CHRISTINA KIM: Yes.

Q. In contention heading into tomorrow. How excited are you to be playing this good golf and be in this spot?

CHRISTINA KIM: Honestly I've been playing good golf for a long time. It just has not necessarily shown itself.

Today I actually played really, really well. My friend EJ would probably rip all his hair out because I left probably almost a dozen putts short today.

That's something that I have been working on. You know, when you get nerves and you're -- as long as I've been on tour, getting back into contention is, like you said, terrifying and so thrilling. It's never the same, you know, one day from the next, one shot from the next.

So it's just been a really fun rollercoaster, and I can't wait to go out there tomorrow and put it all out there.

Q. What are you leaning on looking ahead to tomorrow?

CHRISTINA KIM: Big proponent of the monkey with the cymbals going off in the head. And a couple of tidbits, again, that my friend told me. Just reminding myself that there is a reason why I'm here. Just keep doing what I've been doing.

You know, reality is no one is going to die at the end of this. Everything is going to be okay. I'm a good person before I hit the shots; I'm still a good person even if I were to shank one.

It happens. Everyone does it. A lot of it is just really staying present, keeping the body loose, and just relishing being in paradise for another day.

Q. Love it. It's an interesting leaderboard. A little bit wide open. A lot of people up there. Outside of really you and Georgia, kind of a lot of inexperience. Does experience matter as much in 2023, or are these young girls so good now in your mind?

CHRISTINA KIM: I'll tell you tomorrow. (Laughter.) I can't sit here and presume anything. I do do some PGA Tour commentary, and just about any week anybody can win, you know. It is a reality. There is some times when it's something -- whether it's a cosmic thing or something spiritual or something ethereal we can't grasp. Sometimes when it's your time, it's your time.

So it's hard to say. I was that inexperienced young pup my rookie year. My first victory was when I was 20 years old. I didn't know what the hell I was doing. Golf is like life. There is no rhyme or reason to anything. It's all backwards.

Q. So the fact that this is your -- because you were here last year, right? So first time playing this tournament on this course.

CHRISTINA KIM: Yes.

Q. But it seems like -- you did talk about being terrified and stuff, but has it settled in that this is a pretty tough course, and not just the wind, but also maybe some of the landing spots are a little small?

CHRISTINA KIM: Absolutely. I think this golf course here at Hoakalei is presenting a beautiful challenge. Even when the winds aren't up. The Ernie Els design, there is a beautiful flow to the golf course and when you got some of the shorter holes you got really demanding greens.

You have some run-outs, a bunch of swales that will just sort of eat your ball and suck it down into the ether. I think it is a beautifully crafted piece of property and I am a big fan of paspalum. Your ball is basically tee'd up any time you're in the fairway. When you're not in the fairway, you should be punished.

So I just have an absolute ball here. It provides a wicked amount of difficulty and the winds, they can wreak havoc. It's not just getting it online. It's about knowing what spin rate you want to put on the ball, especially going into the wind.

If you're going to club up, you're going to club it up, put it back in your stance, knock it down, soften the hands, deaden them so you're not turning them over. Take off 300, 400 RPM of spin, and then the ball is going to travel a little bit farther than if you were to hit the same distance with a fuller swing and a shorter club.

So there is all kinds of magic and artistry that is being demanded upon all the players, which I love. It's more fun than just a stock standard, meet Morp; I'm a robot; going to hit fairway.

You have to actually play the game, and it really does turn it into a game when we're here this week.

Q. Reason I'm laughing so hard is we were talking about robotic golfers today.

CHRISTINA KIM: Hey, it's a reality.

Q. You're not one.

CHRISTINA KIM: No. No, something short circuited somewhere a couple years back. It's okay.