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MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 9, 2011

K.J. Choi

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA

CLAUDE NIELSEN: It's a pleasure to welcome K.J. Choi back to the interview room after completing his third round of competition today with a 71, 1-under par, and 8-under through the third round of competition.
Congratulations, K.J. Thank you for coming back. If you would like to open with a few remarks and then we'll take questions, please.
K.J. CHOI: I started out good today, but in the back nine, a lot of the three, four foot putts, I miss-read them and ended up with bogeys.
But I did enjoy the pressure today. You know, 8-under, I'm happy about where I am. I think I'm in a good position going into tomorrow, and you never know what can happen on the final day. So I'm looking forward to it.

Q. There's a lot of different theories for why so many international players have developed into top golfers, especially at this tournament. What do you think that's due to?
K.J. CHOI: Well, I think basically a couple of things. The depth of the players have really gone deep now. With the help of the equipment these days, technology, that definitely helps players to play better, hit longer.
And I think players are really watching how the other top players are playing. They are studying them. And the more chances that they have to play abroad, that definitely gives them the experience.
Even me, personally, I try to practice a lot. I study other players. I do my homework. So I think that's what's contributing to the development of the international players.

Q. You played last year all the rounds with Tiger, and you played with him today. Were you surprised? Everybody thought after yesterday's round that he would shoot a low score today. Were you surprised that he played not very well?
K.J. CHOI: You know, when I watch him, I think he's really improved. He's gotten better. His rhythm is really good. His shots are very good. I think he's just had a bad day of putting.
But overall, I think he's improving. He's better than where he was last year.

Q. Talk about the par save on No. 7 and what that did psychologically for the rest of the round, recovering from being all over No. 7.
K.J. CHOI: You know, I knew on that hole, I didn't want to go left. I tried to cut it. But you know, I tried to go -- actually I targeted the front bunker but it actually bounced a lot and ended up in the back bunker it. Wasn't an easy bunker shot but I thought to myself, at least a bogey would be good.
And so thinking about a bogey, I hit it; I saw the ball go downhill. It was going pretty fast and I just said to myself, why don't you -- it would be good if it just hit the pin. It went in and I think that was the turning point of my round today.

Q. Talk about the pressure of the back nine tomorrow, how you're going to deal with that.
K.J. CHOI: The back nine, playing the back nine today, I felt comfortable. On No. 11, I hit the fairway for the first time this week. Although I missed my iron shot and ended up with bogey. But I still felt -- I felt a calm within myself.
On the 13th hole, I hit a very good shot. So I think on the back nine, I just need to stay patient and not to get too concerned about how tough it's going to be. So I think that was the key.

Q. How is tomorrow's final round at the Masters different compared to other majors and what are the key holes tomorrow?
K.J. CHOI: Regarding the pressure, it's going to be the same, even when you compare it to other majors. When you think about winning, trying to win the tournament too much, that's going to even give you more pressure. So the key thing is to stay calm, stay patient and just try your best, take it hole-by-hole.
The key holes are going to be in the back nine, 11, 12, 13, 14 and also 16, 17 are not easy holes. There's going to be a lot of pressure there.
I think in the front nine, you really have to play No. 4 and 5, you have to get over them smoothly to be able to make the turn with confidence.
CLAUDE NIELSEN: Thank you, K.J. and good luck.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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