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THE PRESIDENTS CUPOctober 7, 2009Anthony KimSAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA Q. What are you 170? ANTHONY KIM: 180. I've put on a little bit of weight in the last week and a half, even though I have shrunk up a little bit, because I'm starting to lift a little bit now that the off-season comes around. Q. What have you noticed in the short time you've been here, the difference between The Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup? ANTHONY KIM: This is a lot more laid back. I was expecting it to be very hectic and a lot more people than there's been after playing The Ryder Cup; it was insane. I was expecting kind of a similar thing, but not as many coat and tie events and it's a lot more laid back. Q. Going to have to wait that extra day to finally get going, first off, first day? ANTHONY KIM: No, it's real nice, and 36 holes, 36 holes, 18 holes, it wears everybody down by the end of the week. And I'm planning on playing in Justin's event next week. So I just signed up for that and I'll be -- but I'm playing in that tournament, so it's going to be nice. I'll have some fresh legs. Q. Did you see the story about Jordan not being able to smoke a cigar, because of the smoking ban on the golf course? ANTHONY KIM: No, I didn't see that. That's funny, though. Q. Obviously last year's Ryder Cup Team, how did you feel -- ANTHONY KIM: It was a lot of fun for me. To have the opportunity to represent your country, especially on golf's biggest stage, was a tremendous honor. And the fact that my parents got to come and they were able to enjoy it with me like they are this week, I'm so honored to be here and I'm going to have a great time with it. Q. This year's International Team is looking for some big things from their rookies, too, this year. Can they inject some life and some energy in that team? ANTHONY KIM: Sure. Any time you bring new, fresh blood in, they are out to prove a point, and this is my first Presidents Cup, too, so I have something to prove. You know, I feel like I'm just starting to turn that corner. I think the last two days are the best I've hit the golf ball in 2 1/2 years since I've been a professional and I've really been working hard on my game as far as the chipping and putting is concerned. So I'm expecting big things starting this week, and I said that to Doug, I think, and I started out bogey, double, or double, bogey, bogey or something. I did rally and hung in there, and when things get tough, just hang in there and good things will happen. Q. Are the greens all right? ANTHONY KIM: There are a couple of greens that are a little bit spotty, but they are a little bit later in the round and hopefully you won't make it there. Q. As much as your heritage -- the team you're playing on -- (inaudible) -- do you think about that at all? ANTHONY KIM: I do. I speak the language, and it's how my parents raised me as a Korean-American. I feel like if they did live there, there's a good chance I would be playing for the other side. But I'm excited to play for the U.S. and I'm honored and we'll go out there and have a good time. Q. You get to bat leadoff. Is that exciting? ANTHONY KIM: It is. I think Freddie knew I wanted to get out there and score a point real fast and just get the team going. Q. Talk about your partnership with Phil that was so successful at Valhalla. ANTHONY KIM: We are both aggressive and willing to take chances and when things do not go our way, we hang in there because we know not everything is going to be smooth sailing. It's a good partnership. Q. It's been a little bit of a frustrating year for you in that you have not won on the PGA TOUR; how much would a Presidents Cup victory mean at the tail end of the season? ANTHONY KIM: It would be great. It's a great way to cap off the season. I still have a couple of events on the PGA TOUR left and obviously I'll be playing next week. At the same time, it would be a great honor. Q. Tell me about the watch you are wearing, are you switching from belt buckles to watches now? ANTHONY KIM: My belt buckle wasn't real, no. I signed a deal with (inaudible) this year and it was a nice little gift I got from François. Q. Do you feel an extra special affinity for this city? ANTHONY KIM: I do. My parents told me how many Koreans live in this area. I don't know what team they are pulling for, with Y.E. Yang on their side, our first major champion, and I'm playing for this side. We'll see who they are pulling for, but I'm excited to play for the fans here. Q. How do you anticipate tomorrow afternoon being? ANTHONY KIM: I'm going to be out there every chance I get after I get through with my round and hopefully I have a lot of time to do it. We are going to go out there and play aggressive and hopefully get the ball in the hole a little faster than the other team. Q. What about the anticipation of going out and competing on day one? ANTHONY KIM: It's always nice to go out there and compete. That's why I practice and that's why I play this game is to compete. This is my job. I go out there, put the ball in the hole, and hopefully the outcome will turn out my way. Q. Just going back a little bit to Congressional, what did you learn about Tiger, playing with him on the Sunday? ANTHONY KIM: You know, I don't know what I learned about him. I know I learned a lot about myself. I learned that I have enough game to hang in there when I'm not playing my best, and I grinded and I did the best I could. And obviously came up short. But I realize what I have to work on, and that I am good enough; I just need to go out there and keep practicing and the good things will start happening. Q. And in terms of, like people say, by the time it gets to Sunday, he doesn't joke around and he's really focused, did you notice that difference in him? ANTHONY KIM: I didn't. I was in my zone. I knew I had to play well to win the golf tournament. Wasn't too concerned about what he was doing. If he goes out there and shoots 64, there's not much I can do about it. And if I go out and shoot 64, there's not much he can do about it. I just tried to make sure I stayed focused on every golf shot, and I did. I wasn't swinging well enough and I obviously wasn't scoring well enough. Q. Looking at him, like he plays ping-pong, like he and Phil played their match, pretty intense guy, pretty much everything he does. When you look at that, is it fun to watch him or are you one of the ones doing the sledging and trash talking on the side? ANTHONY KIM: I think it's fun. We are all doing it in good humor. We all like to do it a little bit. Phil talks about how good he is, but he's leaving out the fact that I went 3-0 against him in ping-pong and it really wasn't a match. Let's talk about who is the best ping-pong player. Q. You are both very aggressive, so how does this work out in a pairing? ANTHONY KIM: It's great, because I don't ever have to worry about if I hit it in a bad spot if he's uncomfortable, because he's been there before. It's the same for me, if he hits it off the planet, I've been there before, and sometimes we are going to short-side ourselves and leave ourselves difficult shots, but at the same time we'll get the ball in the hole and figure out a way to do it. Q. That's almost exactly what he said about 30 seconds ago. ANTHONY KIM: Oh, really? (Laughing). Q. Golf being an individual sport, what does it mean for you, the team aspect, and did you play any team sports growing up? ANTHONY KIM: It's great. It's a tremendous honor whenever you get to play for the U.S. and your country. I played team sports growing up. I played soccer, basketball, football, and I feel like that's more my element than just being out there by myself. My ADD kicks in and I start talking to my caddie about nothing just because I'm bored. You know, fortunately, when you play for a team, you get to hang around eight, nine, 10, 11 other guys that are all pushing for the same thing and working towards the same goal. Q. Freddie mentioned that you had said you wanted to be the first guy out. Would you sort of talk about that? ANTHONY KIM: Well, I like to play fast. Sometimes you have to play slow, but I like to get out there, the first -- if I can be the first one to score a point, I feel like that would push everybody to play a little bit better, and I'm glad I get this opportunity. Q. You seem like you get pumped up for this sort of competition more so than -- ANTHONY KIM: I don't know if it's about the team aspect. It's about the fact that the U.S. is playing against the Internationals or the U.S. is playing against The European Team. I just feel a sense of pride and patriotism when I come out here. You're not just playing for yourself and your family and your friends, but for your country. It's a tremendous honor and hopefully we can make them proud. Q. Thoughts on playing in The Presidents Cup this week? ANTHONY KIM: Very excited to be here. We are going to have a very good time, Phil and I have partnered up like we did at The Ryder Cup and hopefully we can have the same outcome. Maybe without a 1-down loss. But if we can win all our matches, and hopefully we'll stay fresh. Q. I've been hearing that there's a lot of trash talk going on, tell us about it. ANTHONY KIM: I've been staying out of it. They have the elementary trash talk going on. I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings. I like the guys on my team. We are playing for the same team, so I try to keep it loose, let them go ahead and battle it out. Q. MJ, what's he like? ANTHONY KIM: It's great. He's my favorite athlete ever, I wear his shoes and everything working out. I feel like I've known the guy for a long time. And he's such a great guy, he just makes you feel like he's one of the boys, and that's a pretty special feeling from probably the greatest athlete ever. End of FastScripts |
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