|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIPMay 15, 2011K.J. ChoiPONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA LAURA HILL: We'd like to welcome and congratulate our 2011 PLAYERS Championship winner Mr. K.J. Choi, and Michael Yim is here to help with interpreting. Can you give us your reaction? It was a long, long day but obviously winning in a playoff and taking home this title made it all worth it by the end of the day. K.J. CHOI: I'm just very thankful to the Lord. It's Him that allowed me to win this tournament. The fan support was tremendous out there. I think the key thing for me today was to -- because it was such a long day, to maintain my body and rhythm, to get enough rest in between, and stay patient and not give up. I prayed really hard all through the day, and I think that's why God was able to give me this great gift. I also want to thank my playing partners, David Toms and Graeme McDowell. Both of them, they really helped me play the way I did, like a good friend would, like a good younger brother would. They were just fantastic playing partners, and I really want to -- they kept me in rhythm, they kept me focused and I really want to thank them for their attitude. Q. You did not bogey, I believe, 14 through 18 both this morning and this afternoon. How hard is it to play those holes twice in one day and not make a mistake? K.J. CHOI: Yeah, this course, you know, the back nine is really difficult and puts a lot of pressure on me. But, you know, for some reason today I felt very comfortable out there. I've worked with my swing coach, Steve Bann, for over six years now, and we've gone through a lot of work together. We've done a lot of work together, and to get to this point, you know, I've put in a lot of time. The swing that I have right now doesn't really break down under pressure situations. I was able to hit it precise and aggressive today, and I was able to keep my rhythm together. And I think that's what contributed to the performance. Q. On 18, it seemed that you made par, you probably will win, and then David Toms makes the birdie putt. Now you have to make a five-foot putt just to get in a playoff. Can you talk about the emotion of the 18th? K.J. CHOI: When I started my day today, one thing that I said to myself that I told myself that I needed to do was not to get swept away by the cheers of the crowd, of the gallery, not to get swept away by the pressure, by how my other players were doing. When David Toms made that putt on the 18th for birdie, it was as loud as something you'd hear at the Masters, someone holing an important putt at the Masters. So that's what I said to myself, and I felt very comfortable with the whole situation, with the whole environment throughout the day. There were going to be a lot of gallery that's going to be cheering for David, but I expected it, so it wasn't a big issue for me. Today I missed a lot of five-footers, probably about three or four, and it's because I didn't read the lines very correctly. So when I had the same five-footer to make, I knew that there was a chance that I could miss it. But what I said to myself was let's just get the rhythm correct, and I prayed to the Lord to help me focus and to find my rhythm. You know, if I were to putt well on the 17th at the playoff, there was a chance David would make that putt, too, and we'd go into 18. But I felt comfortable. I felt comfortable playing those two holes. Q. Considering the putt that David made on 18 to essentially force the playoff, how shocked were you that he missed the short one on 17 in the playoff, and can you describe your emotion for him? After missing that, obviously you were elated to win for yourself, but what did you feel for him? K.J. CHOI: You know, as a player, when I saw him hole that birdie putt on the 18th, I could sense the confidence building up with David. And when we finished regulation, I shook his hand, and we both said to each other, "Good play. You played very well." And we praised each other. And going to the playoff on the 17th hole, I had a 30-foot putt, over 30-foot, and I putted to about two feet. And when I did, I was pretty confident that we would move on to the next hole. But when I saw David's putt, it was a downslope, and I could tell that that was a very difficult putt because when I practiced it during the practice round, the lie is a very difficult lie, the greens were bumpy. So I knew it wasn't going to be easy. And I noticed when he made that putt that at impact his follow-through, his stroke was a little bit bigger than it should have been. At that moment when he missed that putt, as a fellow player I felt very sorry for him because I know how that feels. I felt bad for him. Q. Can you talk about Choi's Boys and what it meant for you to have them out there cheering for you all week? K.J. CHOI: Every day this week when we sat down for dinner, the conversation that I had with my caddie and my coach and my manager, what we said was it was very interesting, very good to see -- I was very surprised to see how the crowds, the gallery, the local fans were supporting me. They showed me a lot of support, a lot of love. And for the Choi's Boys, for them to come all the way from Tennessee to watch me play, imagine, I have no relationship with them. This is the first time I've ever seen them, for them to fly all the way over just because they like me as a player and to support me the way that they did, I'm very appreciative. It's really spectacular to see something like that. I felt that with support like that, every shot that I hit, I have to try my best. I didn't want to let them down, so it was a very good thing to see. Q. Have you ever seen a Choi's Boys shirt in Korea? K.J. CHOI: You know, it was shown on TV a lot this week, so I'm sure they're going to start making the shirts over there. (Laughter.) Q. When David was in, he talked about having his 13-year-old son here and how that's kind of inspired him to rejuvenate his own game. You've got a son that same age. Did you get that same kind of vibe from David? K.J. CHOI: Yeah, definitely. When you have a family member over here rooting for you, it definitely gives you the motivation to play better. You know, David -- my son's name happens to be David. He's probably the same age as David Toms' son. But when I look at kids like that, they feel like another son to me. So yes, it's good to see something like that. Q. When you lived in Jacksonville, did you play this course very often, and if so, did it give you a comfort level playing in the tournament? K.J. CHOI: When I used to live here, yes, I came out and practiced this course every day. But no, that doesn't make it any easier. This course is very, very difficult. When I first joined the TOUR, moved over here in 1999, this course -- my level, my level of talent golf-wise wasn't good enough to shoot under par on this course. You had the wind factor; the course is long. Growing up in Korea, when you practice in Korea, the only practice driving range you have is like indoor driving ranges where there's no wind. So it was really impossible to think about practicing in a facility on a golf course where you're facing the wind. That's why it was very hard for me. This course is very difficult for me, even though I've played and practiced here a lot of times. I didn't think -- for me to shoot under par every day on this course this week, it's like a miracle, to be honest with you. You know, to have won this tournament now, I couldn't even think about that because my goal was to make the cut, and I just want to thank the Lord for giving me this win. Q. What was behind the decision to come to live in Jacksonville and how did you choose living at Hidden Hills? K.J. CHOI: I knew a Korean friend here who lived here in Jacksonville when I first came over. His name was Mr. Ha, and he used to live in Hidden Hills. At that time I was a rookie here. I didn't have a lot of money. So for me to -- I thought about -- I looked at houses here at TPC Sawgrass, but they were just too expensive for me to buy. So that's why I chose Hidden Hills, because I knew someone there. They had a decent golf course that I could practice out of. But despite that, I came every day to Sawgrass and practiced, and after 12 years, it came to fruition. Q. How long did you live at Hidden Hills? K.J. CHOI: One year. Q. What was the challenge of playing the 17th hole three times in one day and 32 holes overall? How difficult was that? K.J. CHOI: That hole, No. 17, it gives you pressure, to anyone that plays that hole. There's water all around. This morning, early this morning, I hit my ball into the bunker and was able to save par. If the bunker wasn't there, it would have been a double bogey for sure because it would have gone in the water. But that hole, the moment the ball leaves the club face, there's no -- you have to just -- you can't control it; it's gone. Only God can control that ball. You know, it's very hard to land the ball in the exact area that you want to on that green. So, yes, there was a lot of pressure, but that hole is going to do that to you. Q. There's a lot of talk about how the generation is changing in golf, the younger players are coming and winning more. But here I think you're about to turn 41 and win. Is it good for you to see that you can still compete, with all these young guys coming, you still can win? K.J. CHOI: Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of young players that are coming up. But the message that I want to get across to all the young players is that you have to really be able to maintain your lifestyle. You have to be very regimented in order to have a long career out here on the TOUR. I think I was able to do that, I was able to focus, I was able to maintain physically and mentally my body very well. And I felt like -- I still had the confidence that I could play well out there. I train hard, I practice hard, and I think all the young players need to do that. And I think you need to live your life to the fullest. And when I say that, I don't mean partying all the time. Live a systematic, regimented life, always be humble. That's my motto. Q. How many playoffs have you had outside of the PGA TOUR? A lot? K.J. CHOI: From my memory, I think maybe there were like two times where I was in a playoff. Most of the time when I was leading going into the final round, I would win. But I think it was about 15 years ago back in Korea when I played a playoff with Ho-Sung Choi, who is retired right now, and I lost to him in a playoff. Q. Did you know that was going to start on 17, and if so, do you like the fact that it starts on 17 here? K.J. CHOI: Yeah, I remember a couple years ago when Garcia won this tournament, I didn't know in the beginning that they were going to start at the 17th hole. But I remember Garcia playing on the 17th hole, so I assumed that because it's such a famous hole that we would start the playoff on that hole. My mind was thinking, let's not hit it in the water, let's try to get it on the green, and honestly that's all that I was thinking. Q. Andy Prodger has been a caddie in big events for a long time. How important has he been to your development? K.J. CHOI: Yeah, Andy is like my wife. I mean, he's like my older brother, big brother. You know, when I'm not playing well, he's got a lot of humor. He cracks a joke and makes me feel better. He's someone that gives me something to dream about. He gives me hope. Whenever I'm down, he'll motivate me by saying, "Don't worry about it. Don't be concerned about anything. Just think positive." So he's like a positive factor in my life. For example, today on the 16th hole, when I laid up, I personally thought that the tournament wasn't mine, that I was going to lose the tournament. But Andy kept saying, "hey, don't be negative, just think positive. You never know what's going to happen, just lay up. Hit to your comfortable distance," and that's what I did. He really made me feel comfortable out there. LAURA HILL: K.J. thank you and congratulations. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|