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BALLANTINE'S CHAMPIONSHIP

March 14, 2008

Anthony Kim

JEJU ISLAND, SOUTH KOREA

Q. You had another steady round today, you must be very pleased with your performance?
ANTHONY KIM: I'm very happy with how I played, because it was a really tough day. We had, I don't know, two hours of delays, and to get out of there bogey-free was a really good round.

Q. Did you feel that the gusty conditions out there affected your play?
ANTHONY KIM: It was really tough. Probably the toughest round I've played this year. But fortunately, I played steady and I have a great caddie on the bag this week, and he's really helping me. We're thinking and talking a lot, and making sure we have the right read, the right number before every shot, and I think that's been really important in how we play.

Q. You were paired with K.J. and DiMarco today and both players were playing very well. Did you feel kind of added pressure?
ANTHONY KIM: No, I try to stick with my game plan. And coming into this year, I knew I was going to be playing with some good golfers, and obviously K.J. is the highest-ranked player here, and I was lucky enough to be paired with him. I was concentrating on my game so much that I really didn't see what they were doing.

Q. There were some delays in play, but because of that -- can you explain more about the reasons why you are 45 minutes late?
ANTHONY KIM: Why I'm here 45 minutes late? I just did a clinic for the Ballantine's Championship, and some of the sponsors asked me to do a clinic. I was scheduled to do it at 3:15 and I got done with my round at 3:00, had a quick bite to eat, and I'm here after my clinic.

Q. Can you talk about how you managed to maintain the focus with the crowds following you, and especially K.J., were just incredible, was it hard to block that out?
ANTHONY KIM: It was tough sometimes. But I think if you're paired in the last couple of groups in the States, it gets worse because there's more people out there.
But I think I'm smart enough to realise they are not out there really to watch me, but to watch K.J., and I completely understand that. So when he's done putting, they are running to the next hole, and I still might have a 5-footer.
So I might have to wait two or three -- take two or three deep breaths before I get ready to go. So I understand -- I understood what I was dealing with, and I tried to make sure that I was ready over every shot.

Q. Would you please speak more about your father? I heard that your father was very strict and stern, but are you now okay and on good terms with your father?
ANTHONY KIM: There's not much to say about my relationship with him. He's my dad, I love him, and whatever has happened in the past has happened. I think we've both learned from our mistakes, and as I'm getting older, I'm realising a lot of the things he did were for my own good. I guess I thank him for that, and I'm lucky to be in this position.
So overall, it was tough, but it was a good experience and I'm glad I got through it and now I'm playing on the PGA Tour and I'm lucky enough to be here.

Q. Are you talking about a it up upbringing by Korean standards or by American standards? I gather that the Korean girls had to work very hard.
ANTHONY KIM: I think my dad being from Korea and learning from his father, my mom learned from her parents, Koreans I think generally are really hard-working people. So for me to have a day off or for me to kind of be a 14-year-old kid when I was 14 wasn't maybe as acceptable as it was over there in the States. So I would say more it was tougher on a Korean standard.
But overall, I think it's getting blown way out of proportion and it was not that bad. I learned so much from those experiences. It made me tougher and to get through, I really feel like where it helped me the most was to get my PGA Tour card and to get through Q-School when everything was on the line and I felt a lot of pressure from outside people as well as myself; it helped me block those things out and get to where I want to go, just keep plugging away and keep driving and see where that leads me.

Q. If there was something that they did exaggerate, was there one facet of your upbringing that people were worried about?
ANTHONY KIM: To be honest, I really don't know. I think a lot of things were made up from other Kims. There's been a lot of Kims playing good these days. There's a lot of Korean people playing good, so I think they are getting them mixed up a little bit. I really didn't have it that bad.
So, you know, I really can't speak further, you know, on that.

Q. You also were a very good American basketball player in high school. Did you ever find they wanted you to be more single-minded?
ANTHONY KIM: Well, my dad's pretty tall for a Korean man. He's six feet tall, and I wasn't very big. So I think that they knew that I probably wasn't going to make it to the NBA unless I had jets for my feet or springs, and probably wasn't going to be able to play football unless I gained 40 pounds and got a lot faster.
So I would not say they chose it for me, but they definitely made me realise that I have a career in golf waiting for me if I want it and to pursue that. I think they definitely led me there, but I obviously had to accept and go with it and work hard.
So I think it was a mixture of both.

Q. You actually made eight birdies, so what do you think is the most important when you fight strong wind, and also what is the secret of your power that goes as far as 300 yards?
ANTHONY KIM: To answer the first question, I would say to stay focused on every shot and make sure I know exactly what I'm doing, and where I'm going to miss it; if it's a tough shot. And that's been very helpful.
We haven't just looked at the distance at 150 yards, but how far it is to cover the water at 130, and what club will get me over the water, for sure, and think about the pin less. So you're trying to go more for pars than birdies, and if you happen to make a birdie or two, it's good. But other than that, we are trying to just shoot for pars and hopefully make some birdies along the way.
The long tee shot, I don't know the answer to that. There's nothing I do that anyone would say, "He hits it 300 yards." I'm short. My swing is short. I'm not that strong. (Laughter) So I don't know why I hit it the distance I do. But just tee it high and see where it goes.

Q. If you look at the Asian Tour last year, there were three Korean winners; are we seeing a start of an explosion of Korean players, and are you the tip of a new, young, iceberg?
ANTHONY KIM: I hope so. I can't speak on their behalves, because I don't very much keep up with anybody else's games or see how these people are doing or whatever or the other tours. And obviously the Korean women are doing well, and --

Q. Looking around, all over the world, there's a lot of young Korean guys in New Zealand, Australia and the States and starting to hit their stride now. What's your thoughts on that?
ANTHONY KIM: The problem I think with the Korean golfers is that they peak too early, and I think that comes from in the earlier stages, they were practising too much and not doing other things. So when they hit 18, 19 years old, they were burned out, and I think parents are starting to realise to scale down and let the kids be kids when they need to be and work hard when they are practising golf.
So generally, I think the great golfers are getting better now. So hopefully they will keep doing well, and we'll see some progress on many of the tours.

Q. Are you worried that you might burn out early?
ANTHONY KIM: No. I was never worried about that because I did so many other things, and I did everything that a kid would want to do. And there wasn't anything that I really missed out on in my childhood. I played lots of sports and had lots of friends. I, you know, went to sleepovers. I did everything that a kid could want. I felt like I had a pretty good balance in my life.

Q. Last year, you became very famous because of some of your remarks, and you earned a nickname, "Big Mouth." But this year, I just saw that you changed quite a lot, so did you change your mind?
ANTHONY KIM: First of all, I didn't know I had that nickname, so thank you for telling me what it was. (Laughter).
I definitely was more out spoken last year, and the reason being, I was young and it was my first year on tour. I think the difference is that the guys that come up to the PGA Tour are from the Nationwide Tour and have had three or four years of experience, where I came out of college, was thrown in the mix and I got a lot of attention because I was the youngest one out there. I didn't do a very good job of handling myself, and I feel as though some of the words that came out of my mouth were twisted, and some of it untrue.
But obviously there's a way of going about it and saying things the right way. So I didn't do a good job of that, and I'm trying to do a better job this year.

End of FastScripts

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