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WGC BRIDGESTONE INVITATIONAL

July 31, 2007

K.J. Choi

AKRON, OHIO

NELSON SILVERIO: Welcome, K.J. thanks for spending a couple minutes with us. You finished 9th in the British Open a couple weeks ago. What's the current state of your game right now? You've been playing well recently.
K.J. CHOI: Right now I feel very comfortable. My confidence level is very high at the moment, and this week I'm looking forward to showing a very mature game performance this week to all the fans.
NELSON SILVERIO: You got a chance to see the golf course today. What were your thoughts on it?
K.J. CHOI: The course is definitely longer this year, especially No. 8 and No. 9. If the wind starts picking up, it's going to make the course very tough. But I've played this course a few times now in past years. I think my ball-striking is a lot better than what it has been the previous years, so I feel very comfortable about that, playing this course, especially this year. And I just look forward to a very good week.

Q. Do you think there's something about playing in the state of Ohio that might agree with you after the Memorial?
K.J. CHOI: (Smiling) I really like Ohio (laughter). It just makes me very comfortable being here. It's true that I've never really played well at Firestone, and I've always left Firestone thinking that I could have done better. But I think this week it's a different story. I've prepared myself very well, and my putting is very stable at the moment. So I'm really looking forward to a good week this week.

Q. What do you think has been the key to the season for you with your two wins?
K.J. CHOI: My swing has been very consistent this year. It's based on power, you know, rotating the shoulders. So it's very stable. Just working with Bannie, Steve Bann, we've accomplished a lot together. And my short game, my putting has been very good lately. All these just factor into my confidence, and I think that's why it's going to be different this year.

Q. I don't know if it's possible for you to be bigger in Korea than you already are, but since you've won twice, do you get a sense of the reaction over there?
K.J. CHOI: Yes, definitely, I think after my two wins this year, the whole environment, all the support in Korea, not only in Korea but here, as well, it's definitely been elevated. And I do feel that.
But I think it's important to realize that I shouldn't get too overwhelmed with it, not get too excited about it, because if I do, I won't be able to focus.
As I always say, I just like to keep a very constant pace, a routine emotionally, and I think -- there's a lot of kids that look up to me in Korea, and by playing well I want to be able to give them hope and dreams that someday they can also succeed, not only in golf but in life. So I just try not to get too excited.

Q. Based off the tail end of that answer was kind of part of the question I was going to ask. The impact at being famous in South Korea is one thing obviously that would come along with the wins, but the impact, have you been able to notice the impact on the junior level, both kids, male and female, little girls and boys, starting to play more now than there were five years ago? Has there been a rise in that junior level of people coming out to play?
K.J. CHOI: Actually, I started noticing the difference, the impact as you were talking about, it all started when I actually first came over to the U.S., when I became the first Korean to make it on the PGA TOUR because that was an historic moment. I'm sure a lot of the kids were influenced by that.
But I think everything just started -- it took it to another level when I won the two tournaments this year. It just created that much more buzz amongst the juniors.
I think there's a lot that the juniors, the kids in Korea need to do if they want to come over to the States. Because they live in Korea, they're not exposed to the English, the American culture, environment, the language. Obviously the language is a very big factor. They need to improve on their English.
But I think me being able to win these two tournaments and having a great year, it provides the hope and dreams to the young kids as a role model. I can be a role model for them. I feel very proud that I'm able to do that.

Q. Has your comfort level being in the States and with the language, has that contributed to your good play? It's not going to go out and hit the ball for you, but are you more comfortable now playing here in the States and playing on TOUR, and has that helped you?
K.J. CHOI: Yeah, definitely being -- now that I've lived here for almost eight years, I really feel comfortable living here in the U.S. I can get by on everyday communication, language. That's not a problem for me. It's just that when I -- it's hard for me to really communicate what I really feel deep inside in the exact way that I want to because I have to go through a translator. So that's the only thing that's probably missing in my life.
But I think the other things I feel very comfortable. It's not a problem for me at all. I feel very at home being on the PGA TOUR, living in Houston. So it's all good.

Q. Last time you were here we were talking about Jack Nicklaus's book. Are you thinking about writing your own now?
K.J. CHOI: (Laughing). Yes, definitely. It's in my very near future plans. I want to write a lesson book that I -- the way I want to communicate to the juniors, the amateurs, the basics of golf. Feel is a very important part of golf, and I want to be able to communicate to them how they can pick up that feel for golf.
I don't want to do anything hastily; I want to take my time, make sure I have all the foundations. I want the kids to be able to read my book and be motivated as I was in reading Jack's book.

Q. Looking ahead to the PGA and FedEx, Tiger has not won a major this year, but obviously he's played well. I'd like to get your reaction to wanting to be in the final group with Tiger maybe on a Sunday afternoon in either the PGA or maybe playing for the $10 million come FedEx time. It seems like a lot of -- I would say almost -- I don't have statistics on this, but almost more Americans maybe have seemed to falter on that Sunday. But to me it just seems like more international players seem not as in awe of Tiger, and I was wondering if you would really look forward to playing Tiger in the finals of either of those or both.
K.J. CHOI: I think to answer that question, I think I have to be able to at least be paired with Tiger, I have to be good enough, play well enough, so that I'm paired with Tiger on the final day.
Just imagining, just thinking about having the chance of playing with Tiger on the final day, it just makes me very happy, just amusing. You know, thinking that I have the chance of winning $10 million. You know, I could think of so many things I could do with that money, so many good things. I want to help a lot of the unfortunate kids around the world. I want to set up my own foundation, like Tiger. Thinking about what I can do with that money, it just motivates me.
I think I'd be too happy thinking about that to feel any pressure or -- to feel any pressure playing with Tiger. Yeah, I'm really looking forward to the PGA Championship and the FedExCup. It's just a lot of opportunity for me to do some good deeds for those kids that really need it.

Q. Tiger has done so well here obviously at Firestone. How do you deal with Tiger without losing focus in your own game and not paying too much attention to Tiger?
K.J. CHOI: I think the important thing is not worrying about what Tiger has done or what Tiger is doing but is to focus on what I can do. Before all I had was a plan, a goal of what I wanted to do that week. Obviously I want to win every tournament that I play in, but I think what I need to do now is instead of setting these big, abstract goals, I need to be really detailed about my plans, my goals. Instead of just saying I want to hit it further, I want to hit it more powerful, I have to really analyze what I need to do in detail, how I need to hit that shot, in order to have a chance. That's what I need to do.
I've got to be more detailed about my strategy and about how I approach each tournament, especially this week. I think if I can just focus on what I have to do, what I have to accomplish, then I don't think it'll be a big problem facing Tiger.

Q. Is playing here the week before the PGA good preparation, or would you normally be wanting to take the week off before a major to prepare for that major, because granted, while this is a big tournament, that's a major. Is your focus not on, like a lot of golfers, not only winning tournaments but also winning majors, correct?
K.J. CHOI: You know, just because you have a week off before a major tournament I don't think is why you can play well at a major. I think actually the way the schedule is set up this year, it's actually very good for me because I feel like this course and Southern Hills next week is very similar in the way that the fairways are tight, there's a lot of trees, there's a lot of shots that you need to hit technically.
So it's a good practice actually playing this week in preparation for next week. So for me I'm not too concerned about playing two big tournaments in a row.

Q. A couple of minutes ago you talked about what you would do with the money if you won a major, and I was just wondering, in talking about that, I read an article recently about your Christian faith. So if I can ask you what you would do -- what are your dreams with that money if you could do it for the children of your country, and then what your faith means to you and how it's helped you in your transition to life in the U.S. ?
K.J. CHOI: Just talking about my faith in the Lord, it's really deepened since I arrived -- since I made the transition over to the U.S. My faith in the Lord, it's set a foundation for me, like a steppingstone, for me, something to rely on. It gives me something to rely on emotionally, mentally. It gives me the power, the motivation to play well for Him, for my family, to give hope for the children. Believing in Jesus, it's a very powerful thing, and it definitely helps my golfing career, and it helps me keep my emotions calm through praying every day. It teaches me not to get too excited about what I do and not to get too depressed about what I do. So it's definitely helped my emotions keep in balance.
With regards to the $10 million, if I'm able to win it, I want to give it all to charity, 100 percent. I want to help those kids that really need it, kids who are starving, people who need the money, unfortunate families. I want to spend it mostly on children and teenagers, adolescents, that need help in their direction in life. There are a lot of kids that -- whether it's kids doing drugs or whether it's kids not knowing, not having a sense of direction, I want to use that money to help them make something out of their own careers.
NELSON SILVERIO: Thanks, K.J. Good luck this week.

End of FastScripts

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