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KIA CLASSICMarch 21, 2012Yani TsengCARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA THE MODERATOR: Hello, everyone. We'd like to welcome Rolex Rankings No. 1, Yani Tseng, into the interview room. First off, thanks for joining us this afternoon. It's been quite a great start again to the 2012 season for you, coming off what was a great 2011 season. Two wins now for you already this year. Just take me through what this year's been like for you already at the start and getting off to a great start once again. YANI TSENG: You know, I had lots of fun, for sure. Last week was really tough. We had bad weather on Sunday, but I hung in there and was patient. I didn't give up any shots. Even though we had three breaks coming back, and I was three shots back after nine holes, and I kept telling myself, I can do this. I finished well, and we were pretty lucky to finish on Sunday last week. I mean, this year at the beginning I was starting with a little pressure, lots of pressure on myself. I was just putting way too much pressure on myself. But after the first week in Melbourne, and I felt it was getting much better and relaxed a little bit. But the second week in Thailand was huge for me. That gave me lots and lots of confidence, and it gave me lots of encouragement to know that I can do it. I believed that I can play well like last year. So the second week in Thailand was just huge for me. I've been having fun, and I've been really enjoying my last four tournaments. And this week in Kia, I'm really looking forward to it. Lots of Chinese people live here and lots of Chinese and Taiwanese are coming out to support us. I'm very looking forward to seeing them on the golf course. I think it's going to be a fun week. THE MODERATOR: We're back at La Costa after a year break. You just got done with your Pro‑Am this afternoon. Can you tell me a little about the course and how it's playing out there so far? YANI TSENG: I think the course is pretty tough. I mean, it's very different. The back nine was much longer. But the front nine, the fairway was narrow, the greens were so small. I think that's probably the smoothest green I've ever played. So it was very, very challenging. I mean, the green in the morning was very smooth, but when it gets into the afternoon it's going to be a little bumpy. So I know maybe this week we're going to miss a couple short putts. But you just need to be really patient on this golf course and try to do your best and don't get stressful. Just enjoy it. I mean, this is a great golf course, and especially it's a good view and good weather. Playing on this golf course in this tournament is just wonderful. THE MODERATOR: This week is the lead in to the first major of the year, the Kraft Nabisco next week. I was talking to Suzann Pettersen yesterday and she said how you're always prepping for the majors. You're always focused on those. Is there a different focus this week knowing what comes next week, knowing that the Kraft is coming? Are you trying to get your game in a place where it's ready for that major? YANI TSENG: Yeah, the major is always very big for us. We kind of do the schedule around the majors. A major is a big thing for us. But I think for me, every tournament is big, so I don't really specially prepare for the majors, because, I mean, I prepare every tournament. I want to give a hundred percent effort for every tournament and do my best and try to win every tournament. It doesn't matter if it's a major or not a major. Every tournament they've done a very good job, and we all play a great golf course and we're having so much fun. But a major is sometimes of course you get more pressure, and that's a pressure that sometimes you can't see. So it's fun. I don't really say I'm preparing for next week. This week isn't a warming up for me. No, last week I got pretty good confidence, and I won last week when it was pretty good for me. So I'm ready for this week. I'm ready to play good golf and hopefully next week also. Q. How does this course compare to the course you'll play next week? YANI TSENG: It's very different. I mean, this course is much narrower. I think the greens are much smaller, and the distance on the back nine wasn't that far. Like the last hole, number nine was really far, but the other first few holes I was hitting wedge on my second shot. But the important thing on this golf course, you have to hit on the fairway. If you don't hit on the fairway, the rough is really long. Sometimes you just need to lay up on the rough. So for me this week my goal is just to keep it on the fairway, and then I'll have more chances to hit it on the green. Q. Welcome to San Diego. You just mentioned that a lot of Chinese people live here. Do you want to say something for the San Diego Chinese people? YANI TSENG: Yeah, of course, every time we're coming back, like last two nights I had dinner with my friend in San Diego. The first time I came to San Diego, I played junior golf here, and I came back every summer. And it's always happy to have Chinese people taking care of us since I was a junior, since I was very, very young. I'm very grateful. I feel like the first time I came here I feel like my career started from here in San Diego. I love this area. So many people are supporting me here, so I'm always looking forward to coming back here. Q. Do you have a plan to live in San Diego in the future? YANI TSENG: You know, I just moved to Orlando, and I just bought a big house. Just spent lots of money on that. So for now, I love Orlando. It's so much easier traveling from there. We have lots of tournaments on the east coast side. It's a great practice facility where I live in Lake Nona. I always come back here because my sister still lives around here around Beaumont, the Palm Springs area. So it's pretty close. Maybe couple times a year I spend a little time here in San Diego in Palm Springs, So I think that's good. Q. Looking back, you've won five times in your last 11 starts dating back to Wal‑Mart last year in Arkansas. When you look back at those, do you take the time to look at those numbers and just think about what you've been able to accomplish over the past year? YANI TSENG: No, actually not. I didn't know how many tournaments I won. I didn't look or know the numbers. The only times I looked was last week. I looked at the player guide because it was pretty new, pretty neat for all the players and to let all the media and fans get to know us. It's very different on the golf course. I saw all the records, and it was pretty impressive how much Annika makes a record and Lorena makes a big record. So it was fun. I saw I just made it fastest to the $8 million record, so that was pretty cool. But it's something I really didn't think about. I just tried to focus on every shot, every tournament. Focus on every day and do my best all the time. I think it will come in the future. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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