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DEUTSCHE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP

August 30, 2007

K.J. Choi

NORTON, MASSACHUSETTS

STEWART MOORE: K.J. Choi, thanks for spending a few moments with us here at the Deutsche Bank Championship. You come into this week second on the FedExCup points list and you're going to get to play a little more golf with your old friend Steve Stricker after a great duel last week, as well as Rory Sabbatini. I asked Stricker the other day, is it fun that you're going to be paired according to your standings, that maybe you're going to see a lot of the same guys this week and the next two weeks going into the TOUR Championship?
K.J. CHOI: I actually think it's very fun. It's a good idea that you're pairing the groups in the order of the FedExCup rankings. You know, I have two more tournaments until the TOUR Championship, and I think it's a good idea the way they have it all set up.

Q. Can you tell us about going to the big grip on the putter and a little bit of the evolution of that?
K.J. CHOI: Yeah, putting for as long as I have, I've always felt that the way the conventional grip sits in my hand, it just felt very narrow, very thin, and I always thought to myself -- because I was never 100 percent satisfied with the way my putts felt. I always thought, what could it be that's wrong, that I'm lacking. One day through an infomercial on The Golf Channel, I saw the Super Stroke(tm) grip commercial, and just watching it, it kind of clicked in my head, hey, maybe that's -- it all made sense what they were saying, and I wanted to give it a try. So I called them up, ordered it, and actually received it and tried it out.
But I didn't have the guts to take it out to a tournament because it was so big. But the week of the AT & T National, I told myself, hey, if you feel like this is really working for you, why not just take it out and have the guts to try it, which I did, and it's actually helped me a lot in my tournaments and I'm very happy with it.

Q. How long did you have it before you actually took it to AT & T? How many weeks had you been working with it?
K.J. CHOI: Almost a year.

Q. So for a year you practiced with that?
K.J. CHOI: Yeah. In the closet (laughter).

Q. Until then what was the last time you paid for a piece of golf equipment?
K.J. CHOI: Many times.

Q. Like what?
K.J. CHOI: I remember last year in Chicago, after the second round of the tournament, it was so bad my putting, different speeds, and I go to the store, a golf shop and buy a putter, another one, and the new one is much better, better than the first two rounds. I think three or four times.

Q. Mostly putters?
K.J. CHOI: Yeah, I pay full price, no discounts.

Q. Did they recognize you in the shop?
MICHAEL YIM: I'm always with him when we go to the shops, and the clerks there, the guy that works there, they won't say anything in the beginning. But after a few minutes they'll be like telling each other, "That's K.J. Choi, that's K.J. Choi," and by the time he's checking out, when he's leaving, they're like, "Good luck, Mr. Choi."

Q. After you're leaving?
K.J. CHOI: Yeah (laughter).

Q. Mostly putters?
K.J. CHOI: Yeah, mostly putters.

Q. How much was this putting grip?
K.J. CHOI: It was $39.99, two payments of $19.99 (laughter). Last year I ordered over $45, including shipping.

Q. Best investment of the year.
K.J. CHOI: Yes, very good.

Q. What do you think when you see so many people out there on the putting green now using it? I think Trevor had it, too. There were six of them this week.
K.J. CHOI: Yeah, it's very interesting. Hit it very well and the ball just going to the hole. Some people say, come to K.J., what do you do in the stroke, and then some teaching and some players they try. So I'm very happy.
I first time in AT & T, so very notice on Tuesday. So many people, wow, K.J. has new grip.

Q. Have your putting stats improved since AT & T statistically? It's proven that that's been better?
K.J. CHOI: I think at the start of the week during the AT & T National around 125th in the putting rankings, and after that week I think I went up to 40. You'll have to check the stats. I think 34 finish after AT & T National.

Q. You putted pretty good at Memorial; you made everything you saw the last day.
K.J. CHOI: Memorial Tournament my shots were very good, iron shots, hit it very close. Make it four, five feet many times on the front nine, six birdies. And then back nine the last three holes, very important par saves and just make it. Yeah, so a little different in putting.

Q. Steve was in here yesterday and said this course favors a longer -- a big hitter. Do you agree with that, and could you compare it maybe to Westchester last week, an older, traditional Tour course as opposed to something newer, five or six years old?
K.J. CHOI: I mean, I agree. I think this course favors the longer hitters, especially -- I mean, this course has a lot of long holes, but at the same time it has -- they shortened some of the holes. It's a good mixture of holes here. But I think the key is how you approach the par 5s. You know, whoever is going to be able to hit it on two and get those birdies is going to have an advantage. For me I'm not as long as the other players, so I'm concerned about -- I mean, there's a concern of maybe hitting it short, it might go in the water. So I'd like to -- probably have to lay up.
But I feel like my score is going to be pretty good, but I think it's how I approach the par 5s that's going to be the key point.

Q. What did you do on No. 4?
K.J. CHOI: Par 4?

Q. No. 4, drive the green, eagle?
K.J. CHOI: No. Yesterday hit the driver just short five yards and then chipped up and birdie, and today the right side bunker, green left to right.
Lay up is more difficult than tee shot. Lay up, pin position left side corner is very difficult shot and quick stop, not really. And 285 yards on the right side and then the ball to the pin uphill and more easy chip up.
Usually four days and the tee is empty, I hit it driver every day, doesn't matter par or birdie or bogey. Anyway, layup is more difficult than tee shot. So my game is tee shot every day.

Q. I wanted to ask you, are you playing anything after the Presidents Cup?
K.J. CHOI: San Antonio and Korea, and I come back and --

Q. Is that a European Tour event?
K.J. CHOI: Singapore, possibly HSBC and then UBS Hong Kong Open.

Q. But the tournament in Korea, is that a European Tour event?
K.J. CHOI: No, it's a Korean Tour event.

Q. On that front, with the year that you've had, are you getting a lot more endorsement opportunities back home? What are some of the things back there that you might be associated with that we wouldn't know about? Are you selling cars or building golf courses or things that we wouldn't see because they're not on commercials here in the U.S.?
MICHAEL YIM: Do you want me to answer that?

Q. I'd be interested in how your stock is going right now.
K.J. CHOI: I am getting a lot -- there's a lot of interest. We're receiving a lot of offers. It's been a very good year, and I'm very happy about the way I'm playing these days. The thing that really makes me happy is with all the increased income opportunity, it just gives me that much more chance to help others, other kids, and I think I want to definitely keep this pace up and hopefully help as many people as I can.

Q. Anything specifically, building golf courses or --
MICHAEL YIM: Yeah, there's golf course design opportunities, there's a lot of appearance opportunities worldwide, tournaments, advertisements, local and global, so there are some good opportunities out there right now.

Q. Speaking of children, I'd be curious if -- David goes Korean-English, right, speaks both?
K.J. CHOI: Right.

Q. As you continue to work on your English, have you ever tried to speak to your son in English?
K.J. CHOI: Right now my family is all English because more culture in the States, and a little bit David, and both of them in language school. I try my daughter and Daniel, keep trying English, because it's a more -- catching in English is more fun.
And then David sometimes translates to me. Very comfortable, my family. A little less in Korean and more so in English.

Q. Your wife, too?
K.J. CHOI: Yeah, she is perfect.

Q. She's perfect?
K.J. CHOI: She is very good, yes.

Q. Better than you?
K.J. CHOI: Oh, yeah.

Q. Bring her in here instead of Michael.
K.J. CHOI: Yes.

Q. How long have you been with Nike?
K.J. CHOI: Three years.

Q. Let's talk about orange. Orange is an important color for you. You used to have orange shafts, Apache shafts, so you've always had orange as part of your game. Is there a reason for that?
K.J. CHOI: My favorite colors are orange, white and black, so now it's a little change -- my hometown, neighbor next door says, "K.J., you very strong in black in the final round, character, very strong face." I try, and weather doesn't matter, I try in black. But very hot (laughter). Hot in a couple tournaments, white shirts in the final round. It's a little cooled down, hopefully this week in black again.

Q. What's the significance of orange?
MICHAEL YIM: When he started using those orange shafts, there was one point where he wanted to make orange his color.
K.J. CHOI: Good matching and then shaft colors, and then orange Sharpie(r) and orange tees.

Q. Why were you wearing yellow on Saturday? That seems to be your Saturday shirt.
K.J. CHOI: Yellow, too. I'm more bright colors, more seen and catches very quick. 200 yards, 300 yards down, K.J. is coming, so it was good memories for everybody.

Q. You've got to get them to change the grips from black to orange or to yellow.
K.J. CHOI: No, that's okay. It's fine.
STEWART MOORE: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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