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BALLANTINE'S CHAMPIONSHIP

March 16, 2008

K.J. Choi

JEJU ISLAND, SOUTH KOREA

Q. 7-under par the last four days, but more importantly, this week gives you a chance to play in front of your home fans.
K.J. CHOI: You know, looking at the fans cheering me on until the very last hole, I was very moved by that. They never gave up. So I actually felt a sense of motivation. I tried for birdies all day long, all week long but when you have birdies, and then bogey, birdie, bogey, it takes a lot out of and you makes the whole round boring.
I just tried to hang in there and my fans hung in there with me. The tournament week didn't go the way I expected it to go. The only thing I can do is give it my best, which I did. So it's been a good week all in all.

Q. How difficult is it given all of the media pressure and all of the demands on your time in a week like this to stay in your normal golfing routine? It must take you out of your normal practise routine. How difficult is it to manage your practise time, golfing time and your thinking when you're under so much pressure from media and fans at home?
K.J. CHOI: You know, I don't really feel that much pressure about my sponsor obligations or my media obligations, because you know, I've been invited to a lot of tournaments before. Even in the States, I do my press conferences. It's something that I'm used to, so I don't want to blame it on things like that. It doesn't really affect my performance. Just because I'm tired of doing all these obligations, I can't really tie that to my performance for the week.
But what affects me is when I'm not able to play the way I expect myself to play, the level of golf that I am capable of playing and the putts are not sinking in; when you're not getting birdies and when they are not turning into low scores, then you lose start losing the feel for the game and I think that's what happened this week. I wasn't scoring as well as I thought I would, and I think that's what really bothered me.

Q. Apart from the golf itself, what will you be most about this week?
K.J. CHOI: You know, I think the most memorable thing about this week was the whole atmosphere of the tournament atmosphere of holding the tournament on Jeju Island. There were a lot more crowds than I ever thought there would be. The tournament setup was very like European Tour setup, very advanced and well set up. The course conditions, considering the climate, the season of the year, was in very good condition.
I wish there was a little bit more rough out there. The rough was a little bit short. But considering the weather, I think you really can't think about that. But all in all it was a very good week.

Q. Any plans to come back to this part of the world to play more often?
K.J. CHOI: The only commitment right now I have is coming back to play the Korean Open in Cheonan in October, and I'll be flying back to the U.S. concentrating on the PGA Tour and trying to prepare for the Masters.

Q. Was it difficult pin positions today?
K.J. CHOI: Final day, normally the pin positions are in difficult spots but for example on the 18th hole, I thought the pin would be in the front but actually it was in the back today. Maybe it was to make it easy on the players.
Generally I think this week, today, the pin positions were fair and it was a good round.

Q. What are your preparations for the Masters and schedule up to the Masters?
K.J. CHOI: Next week I'll be playing the World Golf Championships CA Championship in Miami, a week off, the Shell Houston and then the Masters.
I think the two weeks of Houston and the Masters will be very important weeks for me. Playing the Shell Houston, obviously it's my hometown tournament. It's a very important warm up for me for the Masters. I think I need to get back into rhythm during the week of Houston so that I can play well.
I've heard at the Masters they have lengthened the course more than last year. I don't know what holes exactly, but I heard it's going to be probably the longest Masters ever. Given these trends of lengthening the course, you know, if you can't hit it 300 yards, you're going to have a tough time playing in these tournaments; or else, you've got to have a very accurate 100-yard game so that you can get birdies when given the opportunities. So if you're not able to that, you can't put yourself in a position to win.
The most difficult thing about the Masters is the water. The fairways and other conditions are pretty fair, but it's how you really play around the water; if your ball goes over the green into the water, it could spin back and go in the water. So you've got to be aware of that.
And also, your driving distance, I'm going to work on trying to increase my driving distance and make my body a little bit more flexible so that my body can adapt to the course.

Q. Quick question about the Jack Nicklaus books you read when you were a teenager. Were they translated into Korean, or was the text in English that you had to figure out?
K.J. CHOI: It was translated.

Q. What do Korean players who are already on the PGA Tour need to did to improve?
K.J. CHOI: They have to be really crazy about golf. You can't just be happy about making it on the PGA Tour. It's not about that. You've got to set your goals higher than that. Unless you are really crazy about it, you can't achieve it.
If your goal, if you're happy about just retaining your card for next year, then you are not going to improve. In my case, my goal was to make it on the PGA Tour and then winning on the PGA Tour, so you have to set your goals higher and higher and higher.
What I really want to tell the young Koreans coming up is they need to be crazy about golf. They need to work harder than their competitors. It's about will; it's about mental. For me, I was totally focused for two years. I think that's what helped me. I had to stop smoking. I had to stop eating the things I liked because I wanted to be on a good diet. If my competitors practised ten balls, I would hit 30 balls.
So you have to do more than what your competitors are doing in order to succeed.
What I would like to add is I want to stress that for me, believing in the Lord was also a very big help. Not only do you have to work hard, but I think that young Korean players need to believe in God in order to improve themselves.
You know, having religion, having faith in God helps me to keep my emotions in check, because when you're playing a tournament and you're about to win, you know, if you get too excited from the thrill of having the possibility of winning, through prayers, I was able to settle those emotions down.
So I think for me, definitely believing in the Lord and praying during my rounds; that kept my emotions in check. You're able to stay focused and patient. It elevates your mental game, so I really recommend, you know, having faith in God.

End of FastScripts

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