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VERIZON HERITAGE

April 19, 2008

Anthony Kim

HILTON HEAD, SOUTH CAROLINA

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: We'd like to thank Anthony Kim for joining us in the media center at the Verizon Heritage. Your third 67 for the week, pretty consistent week. Talk about what you did well out there, and you're right there where you need to be going into Sunday.
ANTHONY KIM: I think this week I'm putting better than I have probably since I've turned pro. I got a little tip from Paul Vizancka. This guy who came to the studio. We went down there last week, and actually hit a couple of putts, and we watched a little film of Tiger putting, and the difference between his stroke and mine. And I learned a little bit and it's helping me out this week.

Q. The difference was?
ANTHONY KIM: The difference was he made everything.
His head did not move when he went through impact, and even after the ball was about six feet out. My head was moving before I even took it back. So that is a pretty big difference.

Q. Have you been in the final group in the final round? And how did you fair if you were?
ANTHONY KIM: The last time I was in the final group I think was in amateur golf in 2002, 2003 -- no, 2003 at the Northeast Amateur. So it's been a while. But I'm glad to be there and I'll have some fun tomorrow.

Q. How did it turn out that time?
ANTHONY KIM: I won it in a five-hole playoff.

Q. Have you played with Boo before?
ANTHONY KIM: We played practice rounds together. Boo and I have become pretty good friends. He's one of the guys I hang out with and talk to out here. So we should have a good time.

Q. You said during your time off that you bought a house in La Quinta, was that your childhood home?
ANTHONY KIM: No, that's in LA, and I just bought a house in a new housing development.

Q. How have you not managed to get yourself into a final group since 2003?
ANTHONY KIM: Good question. I don't think I was ready to be the final group last year. I may have played good enough golf, but mentally I wasn't there. And I feel like I've come a long way in the last four months since I've turned pro or since last year ended. I've been working hard and my mind is working well out there.

Q. You said you and Boo have gotten pretty close. From where we're sitting it wouldn't seem like a likely pair, what what brought you guys together?
ANTHONY KIM: You guys know he's hilarious. And every time he opens his mouth, I start laughing. So the guy's full of jokes. He's a positive guy, so it's nice to be around.

Q. Do you expect that to be in play tomorrow or are you both going to be kind of like this tomorrow with blinders on?
ANTHONY KIM: I'm sure we'll talk about this a little bit. But we're out there to win the golf tournament. I think we'll both be pretty focused.

Q. Was there a shot today that kind of told you that it's going to be a special tournament? Was there a great shot out there for you today?
ANTHONY KIM: Yeah, there was: Actually on No. 10 I pulled a drive almost left of the water, and it wasn't the right place to be in. It almost went out of bounds. I hit 4-iron from about 215, 220 to three feet behind the green and chipped that in for par. So I was looking double bogey right in the face and made par, and I felt pretty good.

Q. How much space is there between the hazard and the stake?
ANTHONY KIM: About a yard.

Q. You somehow landed on the bank and it stuck there?
ANTHONY KIM: No, it landed in the water, but it was right on the edge.

Q. Is that the thing where the videotape looked like something kicked up? Maybe there was an alligator out there?
ANTHONY KIM: It could have been.

Q. Can you elaborate on that a little more. You hit it left of the water?
ANTHONY KIM: It was petering on that line, and fortunately it went in the water, so I could drop it on the right side.

Q. I guess how close have you been to winning out here in the last year and a half? If you have been anywhere near close, what has happened and how did you fare at that time?
ANTHONY KIM: I couldn't really remember, but the Bob Hope I was pretty close. I think I was four back going into the last round, somewhere around there, and finished third. But that was my only real good opportunity to win. I finished second in my first event as a professional at the Texas Open, but I was so far back that I don't know what I shot, 65 or something on the final round and moved up. But I really didn't have a chance to win it.
So this is my first real opportunity to win besides the Bob Hope.

Q. Finishing that high in your first tournament, was that a good thing for you that early or did that kind of set you back?
ANTHONY KIM: I've learned a lot from that tournament. I thought it was going to be a breeze, and it was going to be no problem, no practice, win tournaments, but obviously that's not the case. That's why I think these last four months have been crucial in my development as a golfer and as a person. So I'm excited to be in this position.

Q. You mentioned you've been putting well, but I think it was on the 13th you tried to chip it in from the green. What was your thinking then?
ANTHONY KIM: Well, I felt like if I tried to putt through the fringe, I'd hit it so far or so short that it didn't cover like the corner of the bunker. And if I hit a putt, I felt like if I got one bad break on the fringe that it would go in the bunker. And I've hit that chip shot so many times playing around with my friends, just hanging out on the putting green. It wasn't that difficult, I just didn't execute it.

Q. Do you have a lot of family and friends out here tomorrow to cheer you on?
ANTHONY KIM: This is probably the first tournament in a long time that I've come by myself. But I met some people that actually live in Charleston that drove down. There's about 12 women out here that are cheering me on. So it's kind of nice.

Q. You might have to elaborate on that, 12 women (laughter).
ANTHONY KIM: It's not like that. I met these people through another family friend, and they've been hanging out since.

Q. Is that the group that you saw behind 18?
ANTHONY KIM: Right. Yeah.

Q. Who usually comes with you?
ANTHONY KIM: My girlfriend usually comes with me and either my coach or sometimes I bring my friends along. I try to make it as good a time as possible when I'm down here. I love this business. I'm starting to figure it out.

Q. Something tells me the girlfriend might not never not come again?
ANTHONY KIM: No, she's probably going to come. She actually hurt herself. And to be quite honest, I feel like that's helped me play better this week because she had to go to the emergency room, and it was a scary situation. It made me realize that golf wasn't that important. And that's putting everything in perspective.

Q. She's all right now?
ANTHONY KIM: She's fine now.

Q. When did she go to the emergency room, earlier in the week?
ANTHONY KIM: Actually last Saturday.

End of FastScripts

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