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HSBC CHAMPIONS

November 6, 2008

Anthony Kim

SHANGHAI, CHINA

CALVIN KOH: 66 today and 6-under, a good day in the office for you.
ANTHONY KIM: Yeah, it was a very good day for me. I haven't played golf, but I think that this is my fourth day of golf in about 3 1/2 weeks, because I've been taking some time off. I've been a little bit under the weather and unhealthy but feel very good about today's round.
CALVIN KOH: As you was walking with you back to the media centre, we were talking about the rain today; did that affect your play.
ANTHONY KIM: Well, the ball was not flying as far, so we had to club up one on most all of the shots today, but other than that, it was fine. The rain, the mist or smog or whatever you want to call it was fine.

Q. You got off to a good start on 2 with that eagle, can you describe how far the drive was on the second shot and the putt? That must have gave you some impetus right away.
ANTHONY KIM: It really did. I made two great swings on one, which I wasn't sure if I was going to make. I haven't been practicing that much because of my ankle, but I made two good swings there and really hit a good drive on 2 and had 170 to the front, 197 to the hole.
I think that drive went about 360 or 355. So it was a very good start, and it definitely got the ball rolling for me.

Q. How far was it?
ANTHONY KIM: About six feet.

Q. You obviously have Asian heritage; how do you feel playing in Asia out here, do you feel more comfortable?
ANTHONY KIM: A big part of me does. My parents obviously are Korean, and it is a big part of my life. I'm very proud to be an Asian American, and there's not that many of us out there on the PGA Tour and up there in the World Rankings, but the junior golf programmes and all of that are getting so much better that there are more good players coming up.
I just played with a 17-year-old kid who played like a pretty seasoned veteran out there. The future looks bright for Asian American golf.

Q. You had a pretty spectacular Ryder Cup, how long did it take you to come down from that and come down into the mode of being a solitary golfer, as it were?
ANTHONY KIM: After Sunday night, the whole team blew it out pretty big and we had a lot of fun. I took the day off Monday. Obviously I wasn't in any shape to play golf after all the festivities took place.
By Tuesday, I was ready to get back to work. And there was no hangover from the Ryder Cup. I think a lot of people thought that we may have celebrated to where we couldn't play in THE TOUR Championship, but some of us played pretty well. It was a great steppingstone to go to THE TOUR Championship to feel ready to play.

Q. This is your first time here playing Sheshan Golf Club, what's your general impression about the course today, and did you feel something very special to be in Shanghai?
ANTHONY KIM: Well, whenever I get to come back to Asia, whether it's Korea, Japan or China, I feel very, very honoured to be here because my parents always wanted me to come back to my roots and to where they are from.
And so it's very nice for me to come back. I think if I can just keep playing golf the way I can, I'll be able to affect other people and hopefully inspire other people to play and maybe some little kid will pick the game up because they saw me play and having so much fun. So it's very special for me to be here.

Q. First of all, did you speak with Korean players in Korean, and if yes what, did you say? And secondly, did you plan to join The European Tour?
ANTHONY KIM: Did I plan on it? Well, yes, I did speak in Korean to the gentleman that I played with. There wasn't much to say. I mean, we're out there and we're competitors. He's 17 years old, but he plays like he's been out there for a while.
So you know, when the day is over, we're going to talk and have some fun, but right out there, we're still in competition. I think on 18, I told him, you know, if he would like to come to the States and come practise with me or come for Q-School, which I think he just qualified for second stage, he can come and I'll try to help him out as much as I can.
And secondly, I did join The European Tour a week ago, and very excited about The Race to Dubai. Obviously this is the first leg of it and off to a pretty good start, so hopefully I can keep it up.

Q. Why did you want to join The European Tour?
ANTHONY KIM: Well, obviously I got to play my first co-sanctioned tour with The European Tour and the Asian Tour I think it was, at the Ballantine's Championship. I felt like I could make a name for myself worldwide, not just in the U.S., which is a priority. For me to get my PGA Tour card and make a name for myself out there was important.
But I feel like I could be a worldwide player and be able to make a name for myself in every country, not just the United States.

Q. You say you're very proud to be an Asian American, and you've just been out of the country at a time when an African American has just become President-elect. Are you sad you were not there to experience what was a very exciting time over the last day or two?
ANTHONY KIM: I'd like to give you a very educated answer, but to be honest, I really wasn't even following it. I saw Barack Obama won yesterday, but I don't know enough about politics and I don't really care to get into it.
So obviously it's an honour for him to become the first African-American President, but that's as far as I know.

Q. Just very briefly, can you tell us more about what's been wrong with you for the last few weeks, your health, you mentioned?
ANTHONY KIM: Well, right after I got back from Korea, I was at a friend's house and we had just had dinner and I was walking down some stairs and rolled it (ankle) pretty badly and thought I may have broken my foot and wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it to last week and this week.
So I didn't play much golf -- well, I didn't play any golf until the event in New Zealand, and played nine holes and wasn't sure if I was going to be able to play in the tournament. I played a practise round and took two more days off. And I played the first two -- it's only a two-day event and I played the first two days pretty well.
So I had a five-day layoff and wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it here. But I went horseback riding, which is really smart, on one of the days off and thought I had maybe broken my jaw.
So I think I'm a walking calamity right now, but just trying to hang in there, get this tournament done and try to have as much fun as possible. It's hard to do when you're feeling a little bit --

Q. Did you fall off the horse?
ANTHONY KIM: I didn't fall off the horse. I kicked the horse to try to make me go a little bit faster and he kind of -- he raised up, and I wasn't expecting it. So I didn't fall off.

Q. Did you hit your chin?
ANTHONY KIM: I wish it was the chin. That would make it better. I don't know what's going on with it; I just can't open my mouth very wide. What happens was he jumped and my mouth was open when he came down and it closed my mouth and just it was a lot of pain and I haven't been able to eat solid food for a little while. So it's been a little bit tough, but I'm having fun in Shanghai.
CALVIN KOH: We hope you recover, and good luck tomorrow.

End of FastScripts

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