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KRAFT NABISCO CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 31, 2012Yani TsengRANCHO MIRAGE, CALIFORNIA THE MODERATOR: All right. We'd like to welcome Rolex Ranking's No. 1 Yani Tseng into the interview room. Currently tied for the lead heading into the final round, not an unfamiliar spot for you, I'm sure, but not exactly the type of day I know that you were hoping for heading into the round. Can you take me through your day out there and what happened? YANI TSENG: Actually the front nine I played very solid, especially under this wind, and I don't think it was as tough as I thought because maybe I already prepared for this wind like this. So I mean I just hit lots of good shots today, but on the back 9 I think my emotions and I think I kind of little thinking too much, wasn't trusting as much as I do on the front nine. On the Back 9 I kind of tried too hard to play better, and some of the shots just didn't come in, and didn't have a good communication with my caddie and just hitting some terrible shots out there, but I hung in there. I just tried to smile more and lots of fans out there and just really happy and thanks for coming to supporting us to give us the big crowd. THE MODERATOR: I know not the type of day that you were hoping for, but is it ever a good thing to have this type of round on a day like today knowing it didn't happen tomorrow and you can kind of learn some things heading into Sunday's final round? YANI TSENG: It is. Of course, I'm happy that it happened today instead of tomorrow, so I know I'm learning. Today when I played Back 9 it's kind for me a little memory of last year the Sunday, the Back 9. I just feel like I wasn't comfortable with myself a little bit and just thinking too much and trying too hard. It's good to find out early. You still have that problem a little bit. So tomorrow I just want to go there and try to play my best and play one shot at a time and just have fun and just really enjoy as much as I can tomorrow. THE MODERATOR: Questions for Yani. Q. You knock in a one‑foot birdie putt on 10. Then you go to 11 and get put on the clock. It looked like you sped up a little bit and you bogeyed that par‑5. Were you bothered by getting put on the clock? YANI TSENG: I think so. I always have that problem; I don't know why. Every time they come out there, I'm warning or clock. I don't know why. The group in front of us is still on the next tee and we wasn't far behind and I don't know why they put on the clock. But like I had that last week and the week in Phoenix, too. It was like I don't know if I play too slow or what, but sometimes we always went on the clock and got warning, but I really just needed don't worry about those things and just really play my pace, but on the tee box on No. 11 I probably just didn't commit to the shot because I was thinking to hit it high and let the wind take my ball, and my caddie was thinking to hit a fade against the wind, so I probably just didn't pick one of them and just hit it. So I had a bad shot there. Q. Yani, how important was the birdie on 17 and what club did you hit and how long was the putt? YANI TSENG: The putt was just tap‑in. I hit a 6‑iron choke down and that was a pretty good shot for me. And I saved par on No. 16. I think that's huge for me, too, so those two really put me in tied for the lead. Q. And when did the wind start affecting you, did you start noticing it? YANI TSENG: The wind started affecting on the first tee. Like before, everything was pretty good, but when we go to tee off, the wind just kind of picked up a lot, but I wasn't thinking about much. I like to play in the wind. I think it's more fun and more challenge. You just need to be patient out there. We're hitting a lot of shots in 20 yards wind, 30 yards wind. So it's kind of fun out there. That's why golf is really challenge. Q. To follow on that, since the tour came to the U. S., you've played in freezing cold and cold rain and now in blustery wind. What are you prepared for tomorrow? YANI TSENG: Hopefully it's a good day. I mean, yeah, last two weeks the Sunday we always played in the bad weather. But we got this Saturday, but I think it's fun. As long as no rain, snowing and no hail, we should be okay to play. Q. How do you explain why you're able to play so well in all those different conditions? YANI TSENG: I grew up in Taiwan. I mean Taiwan is a little island. It's always very windy. I think all the players have that experience that played very windy, cold in Taiwan. So I think that's why I'm pretty good with the wind player. And when I'm in Florida I work on hitting the low shots and hitting kind of different shots. I think that's why. And I love to play. I think I just need to be more positive to think in this wind. Q. Yani, I know you got a lot of motivation out of what happened in the last round last year. Was there anything else you got out of it, practical thing that you learned that you will apply tomorrow? YANI TSENG: Yeah, of course. I mean, like I say, I was learning more controlling myself, and just really play one shot at a time because last year I was really struggling to hit the best shot and didn't make a putt. And after that I'm learning a lot. I miss a putt, I don't care. I just head into the next hole and just smile, chin up and just always looking forward and wasn't thinking about much to try to win the tournament, because I mean sometimes the harder you try, the worse you get. The only thing you can do is play your best and just have more fun out there. Q. Yani, was there a moment out there or a shot or a hole where you thought the wind really was impacting you more than anyplace else? I know you played that front nine some of those holes right in the middle of the wind. YANI TSENG: Yeah, but I mean it was fine. The wind was there or sometimes, you just need to have 20 more yards, but like the par‑3 on No. 5 or No. 4 it was a very tough par‑3. I mean that's like a 20, 30‑yards mile, and the next hole, the tee shot I was hitting rescue there. Today I hit driver and couldn't get it in the water. So it was a huge difference. But I think playing under this wind you just need to be patient all the time, and everybody is going to miss. It's not easy to play, and I think I did a pretty good job today. Q. Before the tournament you said you had practiced jumping into your swimming pool. At any point during these first three rounds do you allow yourself to even look at Poppy's Pond and wonder about what you might do on Sunday? YANI TSENG: I do look. I mean every time I walk through that bridge I look a little bit and the water is really clean, of course. And I think they've redone a little bit. I think they cut the front. I think it wasn't that deep the first two, three feet maybe this happened last year. So I think they did. I don't know. Q. They did. They changed it a little bit. YANI TSENG: Yeah. They made more deeper the front like first couple feet, so I've been looking at it, so I've been paying attention. So I wasn't thinking too much I want to jump or something. When I look, I just think about this is ‑‑ I think it's a beautiful tradition. I mean everybody jump in a pond. You got lots of memories to see on the TV that every player like gives a different jump. It was just fun, but I wasn't thinking about it that much, and hopefully tomorrow maybe after that last putt drop in I can start to think about it. Q. Yani, the players that are going to be playing with you tomorrow have never won before. Do you worry about players like that who are hungry, have really nothing to lose, nothing to prove and all the expectations are on you? YANI TSENG: I mean it's a major. I mean it's nothing you can worry about. The only thing you can do is play ‑‑ like do good yourself and just play, like focus on yourself instead of what other players are doing because even the two groups in front, everybody is very close. We are just a couple shots. And I mean two or three shots in a major is like nothing. So tomorrow I'm more focused on myself more and just have fun and try to focus everything. THE MODERATOR: Any more questions for Yani? Thank you very much for joining us and best of luck tomorrow. YANI TSENG: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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