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CHEVRON WORLD CHALLENGE PRESENTED BY BANK OF AMERICADecember 20, 2008Anthony KimTHOUSAND OAKS, CALIFORNIA DOUG MILNE: First things first, Anthony Kim, thanks for joining us for a few minutes here after the third round of the Chevron World Challenge. Great playing today, 5-under 67. That's going to turn out to be one of the two low rounds. You and Vijay both shot 67 today. Well done. Just a couple comments on the round. ANTHONY KIM: I played very solid and figured something out in my putting stroke on No. 5 after I missed another putt -- or No. 4, and figured out that I just have to stand more upright, and that's what I was doing last year when I was putting better. I think that five-week layoff really hurt my posture in my putting. So figured that out on No. 5 and started rolling the ball pretty well from there on in. DOUG MILNE: It's looking like you're going to be -- Furyk is in trouble on 18. He just hit it in the water. So it looks like you're going to have at least a share of the lead overnight going into the final round. Are you one that can kind of contain your nerves, whether you're in fifth place or first place? How does that work for you? ANTHONY KIM: I'm happy to be shooting under 80 right now, so I'm fine with whatever place I'm in. I was just trying not to get last this week. Everything is looking pretty bright for me. Q. When you were tooling around over there at Woodley Lakes growing up, did you ever imagine you'd be here competing in this kind of tournament not too far away from that golf course? ANTHONY KIM: You know, I can say that I was dreaming big about making the Ryder Cup and all that, but I didn't really get into specifics. When you hear Tiger, he says that he wanted to win this major because Jack won this major; I don't ever think like that. I was just hoping one day I'd get into this field and be able to play for the trophy and all the extra perks that go along with playing in this event. I'm excited to be here, and obviously when Tiger's name is attached to anything, you're willing to play. I'm very excited to be here. Q. You don't necessarily count, but coming off the layoff, the fact that you can be where you are, does that impress you at all in terms of next year being able to pick up when you take some time off? ANTHONY KIM: I am very pleasantly surprised. My body is not 100 percent healthy right now, and to be able to shoot under par on a tough golf course, especially when there's some tricky pins out there and the rough is penal sometimes, it's given me quite a bit of confidence going into next year and especially into tomorrow. Q. If you were to win this, would you view this as a capper to a great '08 season or would you view this as a springboard as a start to '09? ANTHONY KIM: I'll answer that tomorrow, depending on how I finish. It's been a great season. I've learned a lot. I learned quite a bit in my rookie season, but I feel like I've learned even more this year. If I can just keep getting better, I think I'll be in good shape. Q. Do you have to have results to know you're getting better? ANTHONY KIM: I do. I'm pretty impatient. I think there's different things that go into winning a golf tournament, and I realize that. You need some good breaks, and you need the putts to go in at the right time, and you need to be given a few gifts every once in a while. I know it's not just about you playing good golf, but at the same time, I feel like I've proven myself and I need to keep proving myself so if I don't -- I'm not going to say if I don't. I'm planning on playing a lot better next year. Q. To follow up on that, you had probably the best year as far as points; how much of that was improvement versus where those lucky putts may have fallen because you won so big at Quail Hollow and Congressional? ANTHONY KIM: Well, that tournament I played really well, so let's not count that one. But at AT&T I was neck and neck the whole way. I made a big putt on 16 even though it was five feet long. I felt like that was a huge putt for me, and it got me two ahead in front of everybody, and at that point I just needed to play smart and not throw up on myself, and fortunately I didn't and ended up winning the golf tournament. If I can make those key putts late in the round, I feel like I'm going to be in good shape. Q. Just a couple questions about the round. On the 10th hole what was the lie like in the rough there? ANTHONY KIM: It was pretty bad. The problem was that I was on an upslope and it was in a divot and there was rocks in the divot. So when I looked down I couldn't judge how far that ball was sitting into those rocks, so I didn't know if I was supposed to play it like a bunker shot or try to pick it off that lie. Obviously because it was deep, I didn't know exactly how far down I had to throw that lob wedge. I just got lucky there. I made a good swing, but you need a little bit of luck when you get lies like that. Q. There was one other hole on the back, and I can't remember which one it was, but you had mud on your ball and you knocked it in close for birdie there with a wedge it looked like? ANTHONY KIM: Yeah, on 16 there was a little bit of mud on the right side of my ball and the wind was coming off the left. I figured those would cancel each other out, so I hit it right after it, hit it five feet, and unfortunately didn't make the putt. Q. Yesterday you had several birdie putts that didn't go in, and today you get to the fourth hole and it seems to be maybe more of the same, and then something clicked that made you change your setup. What happened? ANTHONY KIM: I got so frustrated from missing putt after putt after putt, and I kind of was taking the practice strokes that weren't real. They were like half chip shots with my putting, and I realized that I was standing too close to the ball and hunching over it. It felt like if my arms had some room that they could swing a little bit better. It was so weird how it happened, but I kind of figured it out. Q. Do you feel like with Tiger's long break and you having played so well and Camilo and some of these young guys, do you feel like, I don't know if I want to say sending some sort of message when he comes back to the TOUR, but do you feel the play and the strides you guys have made says anything? ANTHONY KIM: No, the only message I want to send him is to get better so we can come out here and play against the best. Camilo, myself and a couple other younger guys, Sergio had a tremendous year, have played well, but you've got to do it when the best is around. Obviously he's shown that; he's beat us up pretty good, and we're all just trying to work hard and get there. If we can just keep getting better and improving, I can't see why we can't put up a little bit of a fight when he comes back. DOUG MILNE: Anthony, congratulations on today, and best of luck tomorrow. End of FastScripts |
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