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U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPAugust 23, 2008Danny LeePINEHURST, NORTH CAROLINA CRAIG SMITH: Tell me about emotions at this point. You just talked to mom, even she's happy. DANNY LEE: Yeah, actually, she was crying about how I make it into the finals and she was really, really happy. And so was my dad. And I'm really excited. CRAIG SMITH: How about you? You now get to play in the U.S. Open, a very likely invitation to the Masters, something you've been dreaming about. DANNY LEE: Well playing in those great Major tournaments, that's always been my dream. And now I get a chance to play in the U.S. Open and the Masters, I think it's going to be a great experience for me. CRAIG SMITH: Let's go back to the matches themselves. You never trailed in this one, you haven't trailed but one hole all week. Just speak to that a little bit. You are on fire. DANNY LEE: Yeah, I mean, I'm just having a really, really good week and everything I hit, everything I putt just falls in the hole and it's just amazing. CRAIG SMITH: I think that when he came back on you twice, you got the par-3s on the back side and went 2, 2. How long were those putts and where were they, those kind of things. Those were the ones that kind of sealed it for you. DANNY LEE: Oh, I can't actually remember how close that putt was. Q. Would you say this is your first real test you had this week your match against Patrick? DANNY LEE: No. Q. You've looked like you had a pretty easy week out there when it comes to this match play. DANNY LEE: Yeah, you know, we both played really, really well. And we had some couple bad holes. And Patrick, I know him, he's a great golfer, and he's a good friend of mine, and I know his, I know he's a good player and he's going to come back. And he was always putting pressure on me and he's a pretty competitive golfer out there. Q. Given the fact that you were born in Korea, in Seoul and you later, your family later moved to New Zealand, how at such a young age of 18, coming from the southeast Asia -- how did you do this? Did you get a lot of instruction or is it a natural ability on your part? DANNY LEE: How did I move to New Zealand? Q. Well, yeah, why did ya'll move to New Zealand, but the most important thing is, how did you achieve at the age of 18, coming from southeast Asia, which is not known for the world for a great amount of golf, how did you do this? DANNY LEE: Actually -- CRAIG SMITH: How did you get so good so fast. DANNY LEE: My parents and uncle support me really, really hard and really, really well, and I think that's why I kept a sending up to this place so fast. And I'm young. Q. Was there any residual affects from the shoulder today was it still hurting today? DANNY LEE: Actually it was feeling much better than yesterday, but it still it hurts a little bit. It will be okay tomorrow. CRAIG SMITH: You had twinges of it when you got into the rough and trying to hit from long distance. DANNY LEE: That stuff, when I try and swing at it really hard it just tickles a little bit, it's not tickle, it's a little bit hurts, but. Q. Did you do anything last night, have any extra treatment last night and/or this morning? DANNY LEE: Yeah, I actually went to the hospital. Q. Hospital? DANNY LEE: Yeah. And I had them look at my shoulder and it just says no problem with the bones, so it's good. I just think it's a muscle that got a little bit bruised. Q. What did they do? Scan you? DANNY LEE: Yeah, actually. Q. Do a CAT scan? DANNY LEE: An X-ray. Q. An X-ray? DANNY LEE: Yeah. Q. And do you feel like you're becoming a little bit of a celebrity out here with all the autographs and all the people following you? DANNY LEE: Actually it's cool that they want my autographs. And I think that it's really cool stuff, yeah. Q. Can you talk about your sand play today, it really seemed to help you out, especially during this match today. DANNY LEE: I'm really comfortable around the greens. I think that my short game's improved quite a lot and, yeah, I like to play from the around the greens. CRAIG SMITH: Today was the first time that you got as far as hole 16. DANNY LEE: Yeah. It can happen. It's like it doesn't surprise me, actually. You just got to, golf is about playing 18 holes, but match play is a little bit different. And I was expecting to play 16, 17, 18. Q. Did you have a twinge in the shoulder when you hit the second shot on four? DANNY LEE: Yeah. Q. Because you sort of let go with one hand? DANNY LEE: Yeah. And just it hurts a little bit. Q. Was the ball in the pine needles or in the grass there? DANNY LEE: In the grass. Q. It was in the grass? DANNY LEE: Um-hum. Q. Just to kind of confirm, you had said in the past that you probably would stay an amateur for awhile, you weren't quite sure when you would turn pro, but the way you made it sound like it would be more sooner than later. But with these two invitations to the Masters and the U.S. Open, I mean, you would definitely stay an amateur to play in those? DANNY LEE: Definitely. There is no way I'm going to turn pro. (Laughter.) I got to play the U.S. Open and Masters. Q. How much do you know about Drew? DANNY LEE: Actually, I got no idea who that is. And I heard he's a great golfer, that's about it. It's going to be a fun day tomorrow. Q. You go back to New Zealand? DANNY LEE: After this, this is going to be my last tournament, yeah. Q. You ought to stick that shoulder in the hot mud. DANNY LEE: Yeah. Q. Do you feel like you're the favorite going into tomorrow the way you played all week, all these autographs, everybody knows your name, any kind of added pressure knowing that you're kind of the favorite for tomorrow? DANNY LEE: No, I don't actually care about that stuff. All I got to do is just play well with the golf course and that's it. Yeah. Q. You aren't going back to the hospital now, are you? DANNY LEE: No. (Laughter.) Q. You had enough of that, right? DANNY LEE: Yeah. I'm scared they're going to stick me with needles. End of FastScripts |
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