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THE BARCLAYSAugust 24, 2007K.J. ChoiHARRISON, NEW YORK JOEL SCHUCHMANN: At this time we'd like to welcome the 36-hole leader in the clubhouse right now, K.J. Choi, who is joined by his manager and interpreter, Michael Yin. K.J., this is your fourth start in The Barclays and you're currently fifth in the FedExCup standings heading into the playoffs. Maybe talk about two great days for you, 64-66. K.J. CHOI: My scores are better than what I expected. I've always played not so well here in the past years, and this course is to me, it's very hard to score under par in the past. But I'm very happy to have played the way I did this week, the past two days. I figured that 2-under every day would be a good score for the tournament. But now that I am at 12-under, I'm very excited being in the position that I am right now. I feel like there's a a lot more to go. I'm not going to stop here and I'm going to get some good rest and hopefully get a nice weekend. JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Can we go over your card, your birdies and eagles and you had an eagle, as well, today. You started out on No. 10 with a birdie. K.J. CHOI: No. 10, I hit driver and 42 yards and sand wedge, one feet and birdied. All pars until the front nine. The front nine on the first hole I hit a 6-iron and came up 15 yards short, chipped in for birdie. No. 3, I hit a drive, 147 yards, 7-iron, 4 feet and 1-putt, birdie. No. 7, I hit a driver, 94 yards, sand wedge by the hole and eagle. Then 8, had a little cut shot in the bunker, deep bunker, 20 feet and 2-putt, bogey. No. 9, I hit driver and 5-wood second shot, 245 yards and 2-putts from almost 60 feet. Q. You're not the only one that has put up some low scores so far this week. Is that a reflection purely of the conditions in terms of the rain on Tuesday, or is this golf course just there for the taking all the time? K.J. CHOI: Yeah, definitely the rain did affect the low scores for me and the other players. It definitely made the greens very soft and I think that's what contributed to the low scores. I'm hearing that it's going to be very hot over the weekend, and if the greens get harder, it's definitely going to make it more difficult for the players. I think everybody -- I'll try to be very careful over the weekend. Q. You obviously made headlines for announcing that you were going to donate the $10 million if you won. Just clarify, did you at the time not know that it was deferred money and also can you talk about what your intention would be now, now that you're winning the first event? K.J. CHOI: Yeah, I didn't really know about the deferred payment back then when I said it. But, you know, even if I did know, my plan would not have changed. My objectives in life is to help other kids and other people. If I would win this week or if I were to end up winning the FedExCup, I'm still going to donate that money, whether it's in deferred form or whether it's a lump sum; I'm still going to give it out to the charities that need it. Q. Just to follow up on that, can you just describe to us how you found out that it is deferred money? K.J. CHOI: After that press conference when I had said that, my friend, Charlie Wi, called me and told me about it. (Laughter) But it's not really important because I want to help the other kids. Q. Just to follow up on that, what charities are you involved with and how did that become part of your life, a life of giving? K.J. CHOI: The two charities that I am officially tied with, they are both in Korea right now. One is the KFHI, Korea Food for Hungry International. What they do is they help kids who are starving around the world, not only in Korea, but it's an international organization based in Korea that helps kids around the world. And the other organization is called the Leftover Organization. They in the same capacity help families that are less fortunate. The reason that I think helping -- that I am involved with these charities, I think every kid, whether it's adolescents, teenagers, whether it's young kid, they all need a dream. They all have to have a dream. Without a dream, you can't accomplish anything. As a professional golfer that can be a role model, I've always thought, how can I help these kids; how can I help them achieve their dreams. Because they may have nothing right now, but with help, if they become someone important, they can help the world become a better place. Q. Could you retell the story about the putting thing and the informercial from a couple three weeks ago? I never was quite sure I understood what the device was. I guess it was a grip thing. What is it exactly, and are you still using it? What prompted you to call the phone number or whatever it was? K.J. CHOI: I first heard about it when I was watching -- in the past, every time I finish my round, there was something about my game, my putting that I always felt that I didn't put -- there was something missing. I felt like there was something that was always missing. And one day watching TV on the GOLF CHANNEL, I saw this informercial called SuperStroke Grip, and it just talked about how by using this grip, you can make the ball -- square up the face and make the ball go straight. It reduces the player from using the wrist and it makes you use -- because the grip is thick, it's fat, it naturally makes you use the shoulders when you putt. So I thought it made sense, so I picked up the phone and I ordered it and it came. You know, it did look ridiculously big. (Laughter) But I practiced with it and I felt like it was working for me, but I still hesitated to take it out to a tournament because of how big it was. (Laughter). But, you know, there was something inside me telling me -- if you feel like it's really working for you. So the week before the AT&T National, I decided to take it and practice it on the greens there and I still felt the same, consistent feeling, the positive feeling. So I made a big decision to use it during the tournament, and it just worked very well and exactly as I thought. It just kept me from not using my wrist too much and also using my shoulders to putt. So it's really worked very well so far. Q. Still using it? K.J. CHOI: Yeah. Q. How much was it? K.J. CHOI: $49. Q. Good investment. K.J. CHOI: Oh, yeah. (Giving thumbs-up.) Q. Have the people from that company been in touch with you to be a spokesperson? K.J. CHOI: Yeah, I mean, obviously they contacted us. It's created a big interest, not only in the U.S., but also in Korea. So I believe they are selling it well over there, and they asked me to be their ambassador. But, you know, because it's not used on the TOUR as of yet, I don't know how many players use it right now, but I felt like I didn't want to commit right now. I wanted to see how it really panned out for me. I don't want to just be a role model, an ambassador, and then not use it. I think when I feel confident enough that I can use it for long term, then maybe we can do something. But we have a very good relationship with SuperStroke Grip right now. Q. How far back was it when you first ordered it? K.J. CHOI: Two years ago. I practiced for one year and a half at my home. (Laughter). Q. What time of night were you watching the informercial, was it like three in the morning or something? K.J. CHOI: I think daytime. Q. When was the last time you felt like you played badly? It's been months. K.J. CHOI: I don't know. I think this year U.S. Open, second round. And then in the same time I double-bogeyed the 12th hole, the par 5, the first and second round, double-bogey, I missed the cut. Chipped out, double-bogey twice, so this year, since the U.S. Open second round, which was very bad. Q. What's been the problem here in the past, and what's working this week compared to other years that you've been here? K.J. CHOI: In the past, all my shots, I tend to hit my shots wherever -- however the hole is shaped. So if it's a dogleg-right, then I will try to fade it. If it's a dogleg-left, I'll try to hook it, draw it. And that created a lot of missed shots, hooks, slices. So there was -- I found myself constantly changing my shots. And that was -- there was no consistency. And also back then, whenever I came, when I played tournaments in the northern side of the U.S., the greens are very different, so I couldn't really get a grasp of the greens. But this year, I just learned, you know, learned to play just one shot, fade shot. Just hit it in one direction, whether it's a dogleg-left or whether it's a dogleg-right. Just have consistency in my shots. It's a very simple reason, but it's made a lot of difference. Q. So you're just hitting a fade this week? K.J. CHOI: Yes. Q. There are a lot of Korean neighborhoods and enclaves in this area. When you come here this week or when you visit any event, do you visit any area to shop or eat, or do you just stay to yourself? K.J. CHOI: Yes, I've been going to this one Korean restaurant right here in Westchester called Kao Bee House (ph), and today I plan on going to Manhattan because there's a lot of different Korean towns in Manhattan. One I heard the food there is very good, and also there's a Korean church in that area, and I plan on going there. Q. This is kind of a personal question, but you're Christian; correct? Is that fairly unusual in the Korean culture, or is it a pretty even split between Buddhism or what would be the breakdown? Did you convert at some point, or I'm wondering if there's a story there. K.J. CHOI: Yeah, the population of Christians in Korea is growing very rapidly, especially recently. There's a lot of other religions, Buddhism; Confucianism is also very big in Korea. I'm really happy to see that Christianity is really growing right now and it was first through my wife that I became a Christian that I learned about the Lord towards the end of 1992. Through my finding the Lord, it's help me tremendously in my golfing career because it's given me the confidence to have someone that I can look up to. JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Thank you. End of FastScripts JOEL SCHUCHMANN: At this time we'd like to welcome the 36-hole leader in the clubhouse right now, K.J. Choi, who is joined by his manager and interpreter, Michael Yin. K.J., this is your fourth start in The Barclays and you're currently fifth in the FedExCup standings heading into the playoffs. Maybe talk about two great days for you, 64-66. K.J. CHOI: My scores are better than what I expected. I've always played not so well here in the past years, and this course is to me, it's very hard to score under par in the past. But I'm very happy to have played the way I did this week, the past two days. I figured that 2-under every day would be a good score for the tournament. But now that I am at 12-under, I'm very excited being in the position that I am right now. I feel like there's a a lot more to go. I'm not going to stop here and I'm going to get some good rest and hopefully get a nice weekend. JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Can we go over your card, your birdies and eagles and you had an eagle, as well, today. You started out on No. 10 with a birdie. K.J. CHOI: No. 10, I hit driver and 42 yards and sand wedge, one feet and birdied. All pars until the front nine. The front nine on the first hole I hit a 6-iron and came up 15 yards short, chipped in for birdie. No. 3, I hit a drive, 147 yards, 7-iron, 4 feet and 1-putt, birdie. No. 7, I hit a driver, 94 yards, sand wedge by the hole and eagle. Then 8, had a little cut shot in the bunker, deep bunker, 20 feet and 2-putt, bogey. No. 9, I hit driver and 5-wood second shot, 245 yards and 2-putts from almost 60 feet. Q. You're not the only one that has put up some low scores so far this week. Is that a reflection purely of the conditions in terms of the rain on Tuesday, or is this golf course just there for the taking all the time? K.J. CHOI: Yeah, definitely the rain did affect the low scores for me and the other players. It definitely made the greens very soft and I think that's what contributed to the low scores. I'm hearing that it's going to be very hot over the weekend, and if the greens get harder, it's definitely going to make it more difficult for the players. I think everybody -- I'll try to be very careful over the weekend. Q. You obviously made headlines for announcing that you were going to donate the $10 million if you won. Just clarify, did you at the time not know that it was deferred money and also can you talk about what your intention would be now, now that you're winning the first event? K.J. CHOI: Yeah, I didn't really know about the deferred payment back then when I said it. But, you know, even if I did know, my plan would not have changed. My objectives in life is to help other kids and other people. If I would win this week or if I were to end up winning the FedExCup, I'm still going to donate that money, whether it's in deferred form or whether it's a lump sum; I'm still going to give it out to the charities that need it. Q. Just to follow up on that, can you just describe to us how you found out that it is deferred money? K.J. CHOI: After that press conference when I had said that, my friend, Charlie Wi, called me and told me about it. (Laughter) But it's not really important because I want to help the other kids. Q. Just to follow up on that, what charities are you involved with and how did that become part of your life, a life of giving? K.J. CHOI: The two charities that I am officially tied with, they are both in Korea right now. One is the KFHI, Korea Food for Hungry International. What they do is they help kids who are starving around the world, not only in Korea, but it's an international organization based in Korea that helps kids around the world. And the other organization is called the Leftover Organization. They in the same capacity help families that are less fortunate. The reason that I think helping -- that I am involved with these charities, I think every kid, whether it's adolescents, teenagers, whether it's young kid, they all need a dream. They all have to have a dream. Without a dream, you can't accomplish anything. As a professional golfer that can be a role model, I've always thought, how can I help these kids; how can I help them achieve their dreams. Because they may have nothing right now, but with help, if they become someone important, they can help the world become a better place. Q. Could you retell the story about the putting thing and the informercial from a couple three weeks ago? I never was quite sure I understood what the device was. I guess it was a grip thing. What is it exactly, and are you still using it? What prompted you to call the phone number or whatever it was? K.J. CHOI: I first heard about it when I was watching -- in the past, every time I finish my round, there was something about my game, my putting that I always felt that I didn't put -- there was something missing. I felt like there was something that was always missing. And one day watching TV on the GOLF CHANNEL, I saw this informercial called SuperStroke Grip, and it just talked about how by using this grip, you can make the ball -- square up the face and make the ball go straight. It reduces the player from using the wrist and it makes you use -- because the grip is thick, it's fat, it naturally makes you use the shoulders when you putt. So I thought it made sense, so I picked up the phone and I ordered it and it came. You know, it did look ridiculously big. (Laughter) But I practiced with it and I felt like it was working for me, but I still hesitated to take it out to a tournament because of how big it was. (Laughter). But, you know, there was something inside me telling me -- if you feel like it's really working for you. So the week before the AT&T National, I decided to take it and practice it on the greens there and I still felt the same, consistent feeling, the positive feeling. So I made a big decision to use it during the tournament, and it just worked very well and exactly as I thought. It just kept me from not using my wrist too much and also using my shoulders to putt. So it's really worked very well so far. Q. Still using it? K.J. CHOI: Yeah. Q. How much was it? K.J. CHOI: $49. Q. Good investment. K.J. CHOI: Oh, yeah. (Giving thumbs-up.) Q. Have the people from that company been in touch with you to be a spokesperson? K.J. CHOI: Yeah, I mean, obviously they contacted us. It's created a big interest, not only in the U.S., but also in Korea. So I believe they are selling it well over there, and they asked me to be their ambassador. But, you know, because it's not used on the TOUR as of yet, I don't know how many players use it right now, but I felt like I didn't want to commit right now. I wanted to see how it really panned out for me. I don't want to just be a role model, an ambassador, and then not use it. I think when I feel confident enough that I can use it for long term, then maybe we can do something. But we have a very good relationship with SuperStroke Grip right now. Q. How far back was it when you first ordered it? K.J. CHOI: Two years ago. I practiced for one year and a half at my home. (Laughter). Q. What time of night were you watching the informercial, was it like three in the morning or something? K.J. CHOI: I think daytime. Q. When was the last time you felt like you played badly? It's been months. K.J. CHOI: I don't know. I think this year U.S. Open, second round. And then in the same time I double-bogeyed the 12th hole, the par 5, the first and second round, double-bogey, I missed the cut. Chipped out, double-bogey twice, so this year, since the U.S. Open second round, which was very bad. Q. What's been the problem here in the past, and what's working this week compared to other years that you've been here? K.J. CHOI: In the past, all my shots, I tend to hit my shots wherever -- however the hole is shaped. So if it's a dogleg-right, then I will try to fade it. If it's a dogleg-left, I'll try to hook it, draw it. And that created a lot of missed shots, hooks, slices. So there was -- I found myself constantly changing my shots. And that was -- there was no consistency. And also back then, whenever I came, when I played tournaments in the northern side of the U.S., the greens are very different, so I couldn't really get a grasp of the greens. But this year, I just learned, you know, learned to play just one shot, fade shot. Just hit it in one direction, whether it's a dogleg-left or whether it's a dogleg-right. Just have consistency in my shots. It's a very simple reason, but it's made a lot of difference. Q. So you're just hitting a fade this week? K.J. CHOI: Yes. Q. There are a lot of Korean neighborhoods and enclaves in this area. When you come here this week or when you visit any event, do you visit any area to shop or eat, or do you just stay to yourself? K.J. CHOI: Yes, I've been going to this one Korean restaurant right here in Westchester called Kao Bee House (ph), and today I plan on going to Manhattan because there's a lot of different Korean towns in Manhattan. One I heard the food there is very good, and also there's a Korean church in that area, and I plan on going there. Q. This is kind of a personal question, but you're Christian; correct? Is that fairly unusual in the Korean culture, or is it a pretty even split between Buddhism or what would be the breakdown? Did you convert at some point, or I'm wondering if there's a story there. K.J. CHOI: Yeah, the population of Christians in Korea is growing very rapidly, especially recently. There's a lot of other religions, Buddhism; Confucianism is also very big in Korea. I'm really happy to see that Christianity is really growing right now and it was first through my wife that I became a Christian that I learned about the Lord towards the end of 1992. Through my finding the Lord, it's help me tremendously in my golfing career because it's given me the confidence to have someone that I can look up to. JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Thank you. End of FastScripts |
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