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MICHELOB ULTRA OPEN AT KINGSMILL

May 11, 2008

Christina Kim

WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA

DANA GROSS-RHODE: Questions. You're tied for 2nd. Great finish here. You had a good day. How do you feel?
CHRISTINA KIM: Well, more than anything I'm just happy I don't have to walk down and back up to the fairway on 10 or up to the fairway on 18 for another year and I sort of feel like I kind of, I don't know what the word is, sort of -- God, what's the word?
I was 3-over on 18 coming into today. The fact I got one shot back, you know, I vindicated myself or whatever. Feeling great.
It was a good day. Very boring. Nothing happened but I only hit -- I think I hit more fairways than greens today.
Only hit ten greens, 26 putts final day, final round, when you're playing with Annika Sorenstam who just got her 72nd win. It's not to shabby. Hit the irons like crap but was able to make up for it.
DANA GROSS-RHODE: Questions for Christina?

Q. Were you trying to steal the show on 18 for the shot?
CHRISTINA KIM: If you heard the interview yesterday, youngest of three. I needed to do something to get some attention back.
No. Yeah. I don't know.

Q. You got -- No. 3 on the tee box, you took such a lash your hat came off. How often does that happen?
CHRISTINA KIM: Happened on the 1st hole. I think this hat might be a little bigger than most of my hats. It's a medium but a big medium.

Q. Were you taking big swings trying to get something going?
CHRISTINA KIM: I always do. I don't really hold back because whenever I try to play smart I walk off the hole looking stupid so, you know, I don't really -- I don't really do smart golf, I guess. Just kind of swing wildly or whatever.
But, no. Just -- yeah. That's how I always am, go big. Why be in the rough at 250 if you can be 280 in the rough, is the way I figure.

Q. On No. 3, did you feel like, "I might have been a foot away from a eagle chance and a foot away from a birdie chance", too?
CHRISTINA KIM: I felt like I walked away with a birdie. The fact that I made a great putt after seeing Annika, you know, do her little tap-in for birdie after almost making eagle, you know, I felt like I made a great putt to get that par and keep that par and the first couple holes I didn't -- you know, I was kind of with my putting and then the 3rd hole I made something which kind of, you know, it gave me a little bit of confidence.
The fact it was a 5 as opposed to a 3 or 4, doesn't really matter. It was just a matter of me making a putt. That sort of gave me a little hitch in my step.

Q. Did you feel like you got a little bit of a bump, break on both those shots?
CHRISTINA KIM: The second one I didn't gauge the wind right. I forgot that No. 4 going down the fairway it's lined by those trees so it kind of creates a little chute for the wind to just take off and I didn't play enough to the right and then just hit a crappy 3rd shot.
I got a little quick with it. So, you know, I think I was getting a little aggressive with my third shot. I'm not going to lie with that. But made the putt for par so I'm happy.

Q. You said you usually don't do smart golf very well. Annika is known to play smart golf pretty well.
How impressive was the back 9 with her today?
CHRISTINA KIM: She missed a putt on 11. I don't know how many birdies she made on the back side.

Q. Five.
A Just 5? She should have birdied like every hole, in all honesty. She's one of those players that I mean it's like -- maybe it's because we anticipate that she's going to hit the ball so well and hits it three feet every time.
You're like, "Jesus, you're 6-under." You don't even think about it. Coming down No. 18 I was like, "Holy crap, she's 20-under." It didn't even hit me.
She's just one of those players, you know. It's good to see that she is where she was when she was No. 1 but it's just flawless, is the best way to put it. With the exception of the three-putt on the last one, I think she was giving us a little show, giving one back, why not?
It was just flawless, easy golf. It was, you know -- I mean in one hand it was incredible but in the other hand you're like, "How the hell did that happen?"
I don't know. Maybe since I anticipate her birdieing every hole and she almost did, it wasn't like whoa, ridiculous or anything, you know. Hard to explain. Nothing bad though, okay? I don't know.

Q. Higher standard for her.
CHRISTINA KIM: I don't know about that. Maybe we set the bar a little higher for her or something, you know, but the one line, I was just trying to play my golf but it was just she was there, boom, 6-under. It was pretty -- it seemed pretty effortless is the best way to put it.
You know, it was one of those things where she missed a lot of putts. Not that she didn't putt great because she did. She had the ability to go even lower than she did. It sort of like, "Wow, she missed all of those putts and she's still 6-under." It's like "Wow", you know.

Q. Is it good for you personally to be in the final group with her and to kind hold your own? You didn't shoot what she did but you finished 2nd.
CHRISTINA KIM: Well, you know, the last time we played together was in Springfield where I beat her -- I ended up losing to Sherri Steinhauer who made a great putt from off the green on the last hole. Played with Annika in the second to last group and the last group, the third and fourth days.
I was able to -- I beat her. Wow, twice in a career (laughter). It's a huge step for me. No.
I was kind of apprehensive today just because I haven't had a lot of success being in the final group. You know, I've been in it a couple times in my career and both of my wins came from either being the second to last or third to last groups because there's something sort of daunting about knowing the fact that there's no one behind you, you know, no one chasing you.
So I think it's just a subconscious, sort of a mental thing that I got but, you know, I'm really pleased with how I played overall throughout the week.
Today was kind of boring but, you know, boring while you're playing in the final group with Annika who will eventually win is not too shabby.

Q. Does it matter to most players on Tour, Annika and Lorena have won so many tournaments together in the last few years, which one of them wins? Does it matter at all?
CHRISTINA KIM: I don't know. I don't really sit and talk about, "Oh, Annika won instead of Lorena." We're like, "Hey, we didn't win" (laughter).
I think personally, it's great to see, you know, Annika not really on the rise because she never really went down.
Lot of people kind of slammed her because of the fact that she had her back injury and most people don't realize that being an athlete -- and she's like close to being a perfect human specimen with just -- her -- she's ripped.
The fact that having a bulging disk or herniated disk or something, it's huge, you know, and even for, you know, one of the world's best, the former best, she's on her way to getting it back.
It doesn't matter who you are. It's a huge thing to have to overcome and the fact she did it is -- just kind of proves, you know, just how great a player she really is.
The fact that she was able to see someone else coming and taking all the wins. The fact she was, you know, able to be out there with us for a spell and the fact she overcame that is just, you know, is tremendous. But we don't really talk about it. We don't care. It's not that we don't care. We care that we didn't win.
DANA GROSS-RHODE: Any other questions for Christina? Thank you all very much. Christina, congratulations.
CHRISTINA KIM: Thank you very much guys.

End of FastScripts

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