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SHELL HOUSTON OPEN

March 30, 2011

Anthony Kim

HUMBLE, TEXAS

MARK STEVENS: I'd like the thank Anthony Kim, our defending champion, for taking the time to come in today. Just finished your Pro-Am time or your Pro-Am round. If you want to talk a little bit about the golf course, and then we'll take some questions.
ANTHONY KIM: Well, I think the reason this tournament has just a great field is because the course is in such great shape and it really prepares you for the Masters. That's one of the reasons I came here a couple years ago and I'm keep coming back.
The course in phenomenal shape. The greens are rolling true. Hopefully I'll hit a couple more fairways than I did last year.

Q. Can you just talk about the state of your game right now?
ANTHONY KIM: Seems like I've been talking about that for a long time. It's never really worked out the way I've been saying, but the last four, five days, my coach came down to Dallas and we worked really hard on changing a few things and really tried to go back to the basics. I told him when he first got to Dallas I don't want to work and put Band-Aids on my swing. I want to get down to my grip, to my posture, to everything that any beginning golfer would start with. I think that really helped get me back in the mindset of playing golf again and enjoying being out there instead of just trying to put Band-Aids on hooks and try to hit big slices to keep it in the fairway.
So, here we go again. We'll see what happens, but obviously I got away last year with hitting 30 percent of my fairways and I'm going to try to hit a couple more this year and see how it pans out.

Q. I guess you sort of answered this. Can you kind of reflect on last year, and given those statistics, how did you win last year's tournament?
ANTHONY KIM: I don't know how it happened. I did a lot of praying before I went to bed at night, obviously (laughter). But it was just a culmination of good putting and a great attitude that helped me win last year, and I'm going the try to come in with the same attitude and hopefully hit some better golf shots. And who knows, I could play better this year and score worse. It's a funny and fickle game. I'm going to go out there with the same attitude.

Q. Can you talk about the 19th hole last year and where it compares as far as finishing holes on Tour all year?
ANTHONY KIM: It's a tremendous hole. It's as tough as it gets when the wind blows. Right is no good. The second shot is actually harder if you're in the bunker than if you're right of the bunker. I've hit it out of bounds on that hole too far right. It's a tough demanding hole that you have to hit a couple quality golf shots, and the greens -- the green is not very easy, either. You have to hit in it three different sections and you try to hit them the right corner, and obviously I did that pretty well last year. Hopefully, I'll do it again this year.

Q. Anthony, I know one of the things that was ballyhooed about you coming into the Tour was your attitude and confidence. As a player, was it tough to keep that confidence when you're going through the kind of physical things that you've gone through over the last year or two?
ANTHONY KIM: 100 percent. It's been tough. I've had a good attitude as far as not having any temper tantrums or getting frustrated outwardly where other people can see. But obviously inside I'm a competitor and I want to win and I want to give myself chances to win, so I do get frustrated. It's hard hitting golf shot after golf shot and not know where it's going. This is a new week. Like I said, the last five days the best practice sessions I've had. Yesterday hitting the golf ball, golf became fun again. I felt like I was 11, enjoyed being out there, and hopefully it will show this week.

Q. Anthony, I'm interested, when you read or when you hear people say you're one of the young guns on the PGA Tour, what do you think about that? Is there something to a new breed of -- you know, Dustin Johnson, you, J.B. Holmes, Bubba Watson, is there something to that or just -- what do you think when you hear that or read that?
ANTHONY KIM: Well, I mean, I guess by age we are younger, but I don't read too much into it. I try to stay away from reading about myself unless it's really, really negative buzz that fires me up. I just -- I'm worried about getting better ever year. I'm out here, and unfortunately I've had a lot of highs and a lot of lows. But I'm trying to grow through those times. I'm trying to build on certain things that when my game does get in a bad position that I can grow from that and when I come back, I can be a better player from it.
I think this injury long-term will help me. My short game, my course management has gotten a lot better. When my long game comes back like I know that it can, I'll be a more complete player.

Q. Is there something to guys like you that got a lot of confidence, not, you know, think the sky is the limit as opposed to guys like, I don't know, Lehman or whoever, that are looking toward maybe the Champions Tour. You guys are out there. Is there something to that, kind of an injection of youth in the game?
ANTHONY KIM: Maybe. I'm not -- I don't know what other people are thinking. I know that -- I know for myself personally that the sky is the limit if I just keep grinding away and have a good attitude. A couple things have gotten in my way, and I've made some mistakes as well, but I'm growing through that and it sometimes gets hard in making mistakes in front of people. So I'm growing, I'm learning a lot of things about how to be a professional and how to win golf tournaments, and that's really the most important thing to me.

Q. Will you try and channel some of your good memories from last year's event this week when you start tomorrow?
ANTHONY KIM: Absolutely. I started trying to channel those things right after I came back from my injury, but unfortunately the good golf didn't come. But being back out here in Houston and being at the Redstone has given me a good warm feeling inside, knowing that I played well here before, whether it was in college when I won for the first time or whether it was my last Tour victory. I'm excited to be here. I'm also thankful to the fans that will come out and support. So hopefully I put on a good show again this year.

Q. Did you work in Dallas or Houston?
ANTHONY KIM: I worked in Dallas. I didn't get here until yesterday at 3:00. We drove down and had a practice session. About four balls every hole and played nine holes.

Q. It's kind of a busy sports weekend here in Houston. Do you happen to have a pick for the Final Four?
ANTHONY KIM: My pick lost, and my school has not done very well with the firing of our coach. It's tough to pick. I was going to say that Kansas had a good shot until they lost to VCU. It's hard not to root for VCU now that they were the 11th seed in that region and their the coach's name is Shaka Martin.

Q. When you see guys like Peter Uihlein is going play in his first Masters this year, you got the Molinari brothers, do any of those guys ever make you feel a little bit older? You're a young guy and these guys are coming up even younger. Do you think, "Wow"?
ANTHONY KIM: I think the Molinari brothers are older than me, but yeah, the young guys -- my coach teaches a kid named David Chung who is 21 years old who is playing in his first Masters as well, and they're asking me questions. I don't feel like I'm very much older than them, but I've been out here for five years now, and I feel like I've learned a couple things that I can pass on to them and -- but you're right, I do feel a little bit older. It's hard saying that to somebody who has been out here 25 years.
MARK STEVENS: Couple more. Okay. Thanks a lot, Anthony. Good luck.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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