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LPGA STATE FARM CLASSIC

August 31, 2007

Christina Kim

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS

ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Christina, your 66 today is a season low and you're playing some great golf. Can you talk about how it feels to be out there?
CHRISTINA KIM: Well, you know, there's always a special place in my heart, I guess it's just called the State Farm now. Used to call it the rail. The people are awesome. I've made a lot of good friends here in the city, and you know, just really enjoy myself here and it's great to be able to -- this is one of the few events that we go year-in and year-out we expect the hard fairways, where you're busting out 300, 310, 320 drives and having, you know, like a wedge shot in.
Granted, this course is a little different than The Rail in the sense that it requires quite a bit more thinking and maneuvering of the tee shots. But it's nice to be able to say you've hit your 3-wood 320 instead of 280.
ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Can we go over your scorecard?
CHRISTINA KIM: No. 12, I hit a pitching wedge to eight feet and made the putt for birdie.
13, I hit my second shot maybe about ten yards short of the green. Just chipped it up with a little 60-degree and put it to about four inches and tapped it in for birdie.
3, I hit a pitching wedge to about 12 feet and made the putt.
No. 4, I laid up with a 5-wood off the tee and from 158 to the flag, I hit a 7-iron to probably about nine feet or so. Made that for birdie.
No. 6, it was 220 to the pin and I hit 5-wood.
9, I was 167 to the pin and hit 6-iron and scooted it up to probably about 11 feet and made the putt.

Q. You had a good finish at Portland and now here. In terms of there's a lot to go here, but in terms of back-to-back weeks, are you just feeling good right now?
CHRISTINA KIM: Yeah, definitely. Last week I was definitely spurred to play well, what with it being the final week prior to the Solheim Cup team picking. You know, I really had thought that my second place performance there would have put me over the top as a definite shoe-in on to the team. Unfortunately I wasn't picked. I had not had the best two years overall and definitely didn't account to one week.
I had been actually playing really well all year. The last six weeks, I had three Top 10's in five starts. I've just been playing really well.
But I think right now I'm at a point where, you know, the way I'm hitting the ball and the way I'm feeling on the golf course is actually reflecting back onto my scorecard. I have not really been playing very poorly all year. It just never really seemed to add up. It seemed like I played 20 holes and they just had to add those scores together and make it an 18-hole score. That's what it felt like.

Q. How were conditions today?
CHRISTINA KIM: They were quite similar to yesterday. The wind was coming off the northeast between ten to 20 miles an hour. The fairways, like I said before, were very, very firm. Although, when you're hitting your iron shots and you're hitting your approach shots into the greens, you're able to take the divots that you would on any normal golf course. It just seemed to be very, very firm on like a superficial level.
But the ball is running out, you know, which is kind of nice. This is quote, unquote, what a lot of people say the men tend to play on where it's hard fairways and soft greens. So it's different in the sense whereas we normally play softer fairways and firm greens, that you just hit your drive, you try and carry it as far as you can, it ends up where it ends up, but you don't have to worry about it running out.
Whereas here, you can kind of skank one out and it will still run out an extra 20 yards and you have to know how far you can max your drives out which is kind of nice.
But I think the condition of the course, I really liked it. It was definitely very different from what we get throughout most of the year, but a lot of fun.

Q. Are you surprised to see the round Annika had today?
CHRISTINA KIM: Absolutely not. I'm not surprised with where the scores were at. This is The Rail, it's a birdie-fest. You have to go low to even have a chance of getting that title. Our cut right now I think is at even par, which I think is awesome.
No, I don't believe I'm really surprised. I mean, every week, you know, regardless of quote, unquote, what the Rolex Rankings say, Annika is still one of the best in the world and you expect her to be on top. So it's actually really nice to see that she's up in that final group.
Sherri Steinhauer, I'd really like to think this is her type of golf course, because you just go out there -- she's very straight with her driver for the most part. Just go out there; you know where you want to position it. She's a veteran on Tour in the sense that she knows what her golf ball is going to do, and I played behind her; she made some crazy putts. It was, oh my God, like, yeah, it was awesome to stand behind and watch. Kind of made you angry but it was great to see.
But no, I'm not surprised to see where the scores are at right now.

Q. What do you think the winning score will be?
CHRISTINA KIM: That is 36 holes away. I have no sense of being able to say what the winning score would be. That's too far ahead in the future. Not going there, sorry.

Q. As I recall, I don't know if it was your rookie year here, you came here and shot the 62, and you were in it the whole way. Was it just a couple of weeks later you got your first win out in California?
CHRISTINA KIM: Yes.

Q. I think you had done well leading up to The Rail that year. Like you said, you've had some good memories here, don't you, The Rail and now?
CHRISTINA KIM: Absolutely. The year that you're speaking of was in 2004. You know, we went, The Rail, which I was a runner-up at; Portland which I finished sixth place at; and then I believe we went to California, which is as close as we ever get to my hometown of San Jose, California, where I captured my first win. But I had a week where -- I think it was six weeks in a row I was in the Top 15.
But, you know, and this year we went -- Portland I was runner-up and Springfield, here, they are kind of swapped, but that whole stretch towards the end of the year, this is one of my favorite times of the year. Part of it is everybody is getting tired and I'm just getting warmed up.
This tournament is great because you go up and you just remember, God, I was 23-under here at this tournament, which, you know, is probably one of the Tour records for being a runner-up. You just get a lot of great memories and just try and keep that feeling with you for the rest of the year.

Q. You made reference to the Solheim. Specifically with Portland, very strong finish, I know that is just an ultimate thing and you made it a couple of years ago. I think you told me earlier, it is a tough decision with captain's picks, but obviously you feel very strongly that you should have been on the team.
CHRISTINA KIM: Well, so would everyone else that was not picked. They would definitely say, "I believe I should have been on that team."
I understand that the Solheim Cup, the pickings do not come from 54 holes of golf. And like I said before, for Betsy, it was a very difficult decision. I mean, four, five, six great players, and then me, and then having to pick two of them; it's definitely a very difficult decision.
I'll admit, I was devastated when I found out I wasn't on the team. I thought that the last six weeks, because, you know, some nights you just can't sleep, especially when you have that kind of pressure on you.
One night I went online and printed up everybody's statistics, everything from how they performed throughout the last year, driving distance, driving accuracy, birdies per round, putts per round, greens in regulation. I sat there as if I had OCD and just started doing numbers and started comparing myself to everyone else.
Based on that, I thought that I would have a good chance of getting in because I was at the top of the list in terms of birdies per round, which I believe is very important; and I am in the Top-10 in driving distance. And especially in a place where it's wet and cold like Portland, it's important to get as much driving distance as you can.
However, it doesn't come down to one week. Granted, I think that one week did show a lot of people that, you know, I can bring it on; I can turn it on, and if the pressure is there, I believe that I could perform at this time of year or around this time.
But, you know, there's just so many things involved when you have to pick someone on a team. And it was my own fault for not having played my way on to the team. I had two years to prove myself, and to leave it out there, you know, from 60 events, leaving it to five, that wasn't fair for Betsy. It just sucked, though.
ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Thank you so much.

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