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U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 14, 1999

Jimin Kang

ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

RHONDA GLENN: Welcome back. You certainly should be proud of yourself. You played beautiful golf throughout the entire match. If you can take over now and just tell us what this day was like for you and what it meant to you.

JIMIN KANG: It's great. I think I played good, too, but she played so awesome. There was nothing I could do.

RHONDA GLENN: You were treated for blisters several times today -- I know before the round and during the round, I think at least twice on your left foot?

JIMIN KANG: Yes, it is.

RHONDA GLENN: It is. Is it like one big blister or just a little one?

JIMIN KANG: It's not little. It's going to really hurt.

RHONDA GLENN: How big is it? The size of a nickel or a dime?

JIMIN KANG: A dime.

RHONDA GLENN: How much did that affect you?

JIMIN KANG: Not really. It's all mental game. A little bit.

RHONDA GLENN: This afternoon, you birdied the 8th hole after you hit the tremendous iron shot to the 8th hole coming up the hill and hit it up about three feet away.

JIMIN KANG: What did she shoot today? She made so many birdies. 7-under par? Give me a break. She was so awesome. Like every single putt she made, I was like: Wow. I asked her: Give me some lessons.

RHONDA GLENN: Did you two talk at all out there? Did you have any chitchat at all?

JIMIN KANG: Just a little bit. Well, I was like: Hey, girl, give me some lessons to putt like you. That's all I did. She always talk to her dad. She's speaking, da-da-da -- okay.

Q. In the afternoon, 18 on No. 4, how long was that putt that you missed? Four feet, five feet for birdie on the par 5? How long was that?

JIMIN KANG: It was probably two or three feet.

Q. Do you think that was the turning point for you? You had a chance to kind of get back into the match.

JIMIN KANG: That was a good chance.

Q. Can you tell us about the four-putter from fringe to fringe on the 6th hole?

JIMIN KANG: I have no idea what I was doing. (Laughter.)

Q. Is it hard to regain your focus after that?

JIMIN KANG: Not really. Just get too much frustrated after that.

Q. On the next hole, it looked like you had kind of chunked a chip shot and came up short.

JIMIN KANG: Actually, that was my plan. I was like: Okay, I need to get it up there, and it will go around and get on the green, because I did it before. And: Oh, my, God, it stopped. My putting has been totally messed up.

Q. So do you think putting was a big key today?

JIMIN KANG: Yeah.

Q. How good a putter is Dorothy Delasin?

JIMIN KANG: I bet she made every single putt on the green. On the greens, she made the putts -- boom. If I don't make the putt, I'm just -- lose that hole.

Q. Did that put a lot of pressure on you? If you miss, she's going to get you?

JIMIN KANG: I know that I'm going to get a chance, too. Well, actually, there wasn't more pressure. It was frustrating.

Q. What did you think when your mom pulled the entire cup out of the 1st hole?

JIMIN KANG: Oh, my God.

Q. Do you think maybe that's a bad omen?

JIMIN KANG: Not at all. She was kind of hurrying. And I was like: Oh, no.

Q. Was it strange for you to be down? I guess you played from behind all day. But before today you hadn't been behind probably at all.

JIMIN KANG: When I was 2-up, usually I do cover it up, but not this time. She was so awesome. Unbelievable. There is nothing I can say. I didn't think I didn't play that bad, either.

Q. Did you think it was over this morning on 17?

JIMIN KANG: Yeah, because I never played a 36-hole match. I was like 2 -- 3-up or 2-up on No. 17. So I felt that was the last hole. And then going into No. 18, I was like: Okay, what's going on here? (Laughter.)

Q. Was it hard to get your mind back into thinking that you still had a chance?

JIMIN KANG: No, not at all, because I got more chance. "Oh, yeah, that's good. I get to play more now."

Q. Who actually told you that there was, in fact, an afternoon --

JIMIN KANG: Everyone goes 18. I just asked one of the rulers: "Are we done?" "No, you are playing 18 holes." I was like: "Okay."

Q. Did you not know it was 36 holes before?

JIMIN KANG: I did not know how it goes, because usually if the match goes, if you're 2-down No. 17, it's over. But we go onto 18.

Q. Do you think you are going to leave this tournament as a more confident golfer? Are you going to have higher expectations for yourself?

JIMIN KANG: I never thought I'm a good golfer, and I still don't.

Q. You don't?

JIMIN KANG: Whenever I think: Jimin Kang, you're so good. And then to myself, I'm like -- I feel like I'm looking at someone else, some other character. I was like: Wow, Jimin Kang, she is good. Wow. And when they are like talking to me, I don't think so. It's not me.

Q. So what are your plans now? You go back to high school and you consider college?

JIMIN KANG: Go to college, yes.

Q. I saw that you had a recruiting, or a letter from a certain school that you were looking at?

JIMIN KANG: Oh, in the morning? It was a notice from some college and friends. It was really neat.

Q. Do you have some favorite colleges that you're looking at?

JIMIN KANG: Me? Okay. So many college coaches that want to hit for me, but I'm trying to not tell anyone yet. But I want to go to ASU. To me, ASU is the best golf, I think. Shh! (Laughter.)

Q. When does your high school golf season start?

JIMIN KANG: Spring.

Q. You don't play a fall season at all?

JIMIN KANG: No, not at my school.

Q. I assume you are No. 1 on your team?

JIMIN KANG: Yes, I am. You know, I played the high school championship last spring, and it was two days and I won by 21 strokes. I was like: Oh my God, that was too much. Everyone said: How could you have done that, 21 strokes? "Sorry, I didn't think of the strokes."

Q. What is the name of your high school?

JIMIN KANG: Kings High School. It's a private Christian school.

Q. Are you looking forward to going back to school or starting school, or do you want to play more golf?

JIMIN KANG: Yeah, sure. (Laughter.)

Q. Any phone calls last night from Korea?

JIMIN KANG: No. I called my dad. "Dad, I don't want you to call me too late at night, because I'm going to go to bed because my tee time is 8 o'clock." He's like: "Okay, good luck. I'm so proud of you. You've gone so far." In my country, it's like -- my country has like -- my country is like almost bankrupt; so, it was really, really bad condition for every single like -- they are kind of like -- I'm kind of give them a little joy in Korea, go to finals; and then last year, Grace Park won. So they are like: Oh, my God, there's another Korean. She came in and won this one championship. So many people cheered me. And I gave them a little hope, too. So that was really nice.

Q. Can you go through a couple holes, the 6th hole this morning? You made birdie. What did you hit in? Do you remember what club?

JIMIN KANG: What number was that?

Q. The 6th hole this morning? Par 4 before the par 5.

JIMIN KANG: I think I shot 7-iron.

Q. And then on the par 5?

JIMIN KANG: On the par 5, driver, 3-wood and putted.

Q. Talk about that putt a little?

JIMIN KANG: I know that was downhill left-to-right. I was like: Okay, and it's eagle putt; right. I was like: Okay, just a little bit past the hole, because I'm not a good putter. So I was like: Okay, please. I hit it; it looks like it goes into the hole. I was like: "Go, go, go." Boom. Yeah. That was really good.

Q. And the 17th hole in the morning?

JIMIN KANG: Oh, I hit the driver chipped -- putt, putt.

Q. What did you chip with?

JIMIN KANG: Pitching wedge.

Q. And thing the 13th hole? You hit -- what did you chip with in the afternoon?

JIMIN KANG: Sand wedge.

Q. What's your mother's first name?

JIMIN KANG: E-U-N-H-A-E.

Q. What's your father's name?

JIMIN KANG: J-O-O-B-O-X.

Q. Do you have any other tournaments the rest of the year?

JIMIN KANG: I don't think so. This my last tournament for the amateur and the summer season.

Q. Did you say when school starts?

JIMIN KANG: September 8th.

RHONDA GLENN: Thank you so much for coming in.

End of FastScripts....

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