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THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY COCA-COLA

September 26, 2008

Anthony Kim

ATLANTA, GEORGIA

DOUG MILNE: Anthony Kim, thanks for joining us again. Nicely done here at the second round at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. 1-under par, 69 today. Good enough to take a two-shot lead heading into the weekend. A few comments on the round.
ANTHONY KIM: Well, it was a tough day. Obviously didn't make as many putts as I would have liked, but I just kept grinding and feel pretty positive about shooting under par on this golf course and not feeling like I got a lot out of my game.
So good thoughts going into the weekend, and hopefully I can keep up the good play.

Q. The crowds today and yesterday, was it a come-down at all from last weekend, or were you still getting a good vibe out of the crowds?
ANTHONY KIM: Well, I've got good vibes, but obviously it's different from 30 people to thousands and thousands of people (laughter), so it's not --

Q. You got 30?
ANTHONY KIM: Well, maybe 31, but there wasn't that much more. There's obviously not as many people, and I'm sure on Sunday there will be more people.
But it's like the Super Bowl at the Ryder Cup. There were just so many people. It was the first time being on that stage.
And then coming here, I mean, they've got great fans, just not as many fans as the Ryder Cup.

Q. We all know the game is different this week and everything is different this week, but there's still going to be a lot of recognition of you and Sergio being paired together tomorrow. Any thoughts on that coming six days later, so soon after the Ryder Cup?
ANTHONY KIM: Oh, we do this week to week. There's a good chance we could play together all the time.

Q. But this close after, that's why I bring it up.
ANTHONY KIM: Right. It's just -- we had one day of golf, and really 14 holes of golf (laughter.)
It's going to be a fun two days. I mean, Sergio and I are good friends. We've played practice rounds together, and I'm sure he's going to go out there and try and make some birdies, and I'm going to do the exact same.

Q. Are you aware of your status in the Vardon race right now and how close you are and who's ahead of you? It's about yea close.
ANTHONY KIM: Yeah, I didn't even really know what that award was 6 (watch swelling) until I was looking at my tee time and I saw something about it. I think I'm, what, third?

Q. T3 with Vijay.
ANTHONY KIM: Yeah, it's an honor to win any award out here. It's tough. You've got great players everywhere and great golf tournaments to win, and I feel like I've had a pretty good year. Hopefully I can just keep plodding along the way I've been.

Q. Sorry to throw you under the bus here, but you do know Harry Vardon, right?
ANTHONY KIM: No, I don't (smiling.) I know everything about it.

Q. Did anybody do the math for you, about the stroke differential, or is that too much trouble to figure out?
ANTHONY KIM: Listen, I have a hard enough time figuring out my score when I'm out there (laughter.) I don't think about like all those other numbers.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about your hip, and is that one reason you sat out Saturday afternoon?
ANTHONY KIM: I wasn't playing as good as the guys that were out there. I struggled on Saturday morning, and I didn't really feel like I was helping the team very much and felt like somebody else could do a better job, and obviously captain Zinger did, too.
I would have loved to be out there, but obviously he made all the right calls and I had to sit out.
But the body is fine. I'm starting to swing it better. I don't think hitting those balls at Fenway helped anything in my body.

Q. Really?
ANTHONY KIM: It's not that. It's just since I've been out here I've been taking care of myself in the gym and stretching and working out as well as I should have, and obviously that's going to change come next year.

Q. Was there a thought that if they had to pick somebody, it's okay to have you fresh for Sunday, lest your hip kind of --
ANTHONY KIM: You know, I think that's what captain Zinger was thinking. We talked about it. He asked me how I was feeling, and I may not have given him the honest -- the 100 percent that I was swinging the way I needed to. I felt like I was having trouble getting over my left side. I told him I was completely fine, and obviously he didn't go with that (laughter) and I had to sit.

Q. Give us your version. What happened with you and Poulter on Saturday.
ANTHONY KIM: What happened?

Q. He says you bumped him or something. There was a British report about you guys. Apparently in his view you threw a shoulder into him and it was intentional.
ANTHONY KIM: No, I'm obviously a lot shorter than he is, so I'm not going to throw my elbow into him. When you walk off the tee -- I was actually going to congratulate Kenny. A lot of people asked me about this, but I was going over to see what -- Kenny had hit a shot to about a foot and a half, and I was going over there.
I wasn't even paying attention, and I look up, and Ian had just bounced off me. I don't know what happened. I didn't even see him, to be honest with you. Obviously he took it pretty personally.

Q. When did you first hear about it, or when were you first asked about it, I should say?
ANTHONY KIM: Saturday night. Somebody said that I bumped him, and I said, "Listen, if I was going to bump somebody, you're going to know I'm going to bump you." I wasn't out there to bump anybody. That's not the spirit of the Ryder Cup. This isn't football. We're not out there doing that. I'm sorry he took it personally.

Q. How long has Eric been lining you up on tee shots?
ANTHONY KIM: We started doing it today. I've been struggling with my lines, been hitting it dead straight, and it's been 15 yards right or five yards left. So he's done it for me on occasion in practice rounds, and for some reason I just asked him to do it a couple times yesterday.
It worked out great. It feels like I'm on the LPGA Tour (laughter), but it doesn't matter. I'm playing good golf and making good golf swings.

Q. So will you recapture the drive on 17, because that was one of your better ones today?
ANTHONY KIM: Yeah, he gave me a great line. There's not too much to think about. I feel like my golf swing is good enough to where the ball is going to go straight and I don't have to worry about it.
If I'm worrying about it, you can see that my scores probably aren't going to be that good.

Q. How many times did he end up correcting you today, move a little left, move a little right, whatever it might be?
ANTHONY KIM: Probably three times, three, four times. It's a lot easier to set up to the ball when you know somebody is behind you, and that confidence might give you the opportunity to line up a little bit better or take a more aggressive line. If I need to hit it in the left side of the fairway, I can take that line. He's been a tremendous asset to me.

Q. As it relates to the Vardon, is this it for you this year? You play Valero, or are you pretty much shutting it down?
ANTHONY KIM: I'm shutting it down. I've had a long year, a lot of golf in this little stretch. I'm ready to just go run around with my dogs for a little while.

Q. What are you doing the rest of the year, New Zealand or something?
ANTHONY KIM: I'm playing a two-day event. I'm playing Nedbank, and hopefully I get into Tiger's event. I'd like to play in that one.
DOUG MILNE: If you wouldn't mind just running us through your birdies and bogeys real quick, just clubs, yardage.
ANTHONY KIM: 1, I hit 9-iron to about three feet, made that.
2, I hit it about 35 feet with a 6-iron and three-putted there.
4, I hit a sand wedge to about 15 feet, made that.
7, I hit a poor tee shot, missed about a ten-footer for par.
8, I had a three-putt there for 30 feet, made bogey.
9, I hit the green in two and two-putted from about 20 feet.
10, hit a 7-iron to about three feet, made that.
12, hit a good sand wedge about 15 feet under the hole and made that one.
18, hit it in the bunker, hit it to about seven feet and couldn't convert the putt.
DOUG MILNE: Anthony, thanks for your time. Best of luck on the weekend.

End of FastScripts

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