|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE SHRINERS HOSPITALS FOR CHILDREN OPENOctober 1, 2011Kevin NaLAS VEGAS, NEVADA THE MODERATOR: Okay. I'd like to welcome Kevin Na. Kevin you got to 17-under. You're going to go into the final round with a share of the lead. Talk about your round today and then we'll have a few questions. KEVIN NA: I played very well today, got off to a really good start on the front nine, made five birdies. Felt like I could go real low with a bunch of birdie holes on the back. Unfortunately I slowed down a bit, missed a few short ones, but to finish 5-under for the day, I was pretty pleased. THE MODERATOR: Questions? Q. To be in this position everybody always talks about how they're going to do it the same way. You have a chance to win tomorrow for the first time on TOUR. How do you deal with the emotions and keeping that in check and trying to maintain playing the way you've played the last few days? KEVIN NA: Well, you know, I've been in this position quite a bit, so it's not anything new to me. I've been in the final group a bunch of times. It's just another final group. The only thing that, you know, is that I haven't won. So the way I look at it, I'm due. So I'm just going to go out there and play as best as I can and hopefully I'll catch some good breaks, and hopefully I'll be lifting the trophy. Q. You're playing with a guy who also knows this course pretty well, Nick Watney. Who has the advantage here, you or he or both or neither? KEVIN NA: Well, it's golf. You never know till the end. I mean obviously he's a great player. He knows this golf course pretty well. He's having a great year. I mean we'll see how it goes tomorrow. Q. You continue to drive the ball well and give yourself opportunities. I think you said you were working on your game here last week and you just felt it was all could. Could you maybe expand on that a little bit? KEVIN NA: I made swing changes this year, and it's been kind of streaky. Sometimes it's working; sometimes it wasn't. Really struggled off the tee, but it started coming together just before the PGA Championship. And I felt great going into the PLAYOFFS. Unfortunately I was sick during the PLAYOFFS and I played poorly. I got some good rest and I came here -- I've been here the past few weeks and practicing, and the game was feeling just as good. And I was well rested, so I had a good feeling about going into this week. Q. Was the rest as critical as anything else? KEVIN NA: Rest is just as important as practicing. I mean I learned that, the more I play on TOUR. The first couple years I'd always just beat balls all day and practice, but I learned that taking time off is just as important. Q. Can you take us through what happened on the 15th tee? The umpire made a big deal of pulling up on that tee shot. KEVIN NA: That wasn't the first time they made a big deal about it. I did it at the Travelers, too, on 16. It was on TV. I did it on TV a few times, and to me it's just -- I do it every time, probably one or two a round. I already did it on the front nine with an iron, and nobody talked about that. Q. What is the mentality? Why do you -- KEVIN NA: Oh, the reason why I do that is when I take -- there's two ways I do it. I take it back; it doesn't feel good and then I stop. I'll take a step back. And the other time is I'll take it back; it feels decent, and my transition is what I'm always working on. It's always my bad habit is I get quick. And on the way down my transition doesn't feel right, and I try to stop, and obviously it's impossible for me to stop. The only way for me to stop is I have to come up and go over the ball. And I've had a talk with a bunch of rules officials, I mean even a couple years ago even. I remember at Sony. It started with the left arm injury, and it kind of became a habit, and I told them, hey, guys, I do this all the time. So I'm just letting you know ahead of time that I do this all the time. And we had a big talk, and he said, it's not a big deal. As long as you don't make contact, it doesn't matter. Q. So is this like a guy who has a hesitation in his free throw delivery on the foul line? KEVIN NA: I'm not a basketball player, so I don't know what to tell you there. Q. I'm just curious, because like -- KEVIN NA: Head fake? Q. (Indiscernible). Is it as big a deal? KEVIN NA: It's like baseball. You know, as long as you don't cross -- for baseball as long as you don't cross -- Q. Break the plane. KEVIN NA: Exactly. Then it's not a strike. And in golf as long as you don't make contact, it's not a problem. Q. Getting back to playing here, how special would it be? I mean obviously it would be special to win anywhere, but to win here where it's home, where you've come to really like playing in this place. KEVIN NA: Obviously it's going to be incredible, but that's the last thing I want to do is put more pressure on myself. You know, like I said, I've been out here eight years knocking on the door and it hasn't happened. I mean I know it's going to happen sooner or later. I'd like to see it happen tomorrow. THE MODERATOR: All right. Thanks a lot, Kevin. Good luck tomorrow. 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
|