U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 20, 1999

Sung Yoon Kim

SUNG YOON KIM: My background, I started golf when I was 11. My father is a -- was a touring professional in Seoul, Korea, on the PGA TOUR. He comes every winter, and for a month or two to practice. Didn't play in too many tournaments. And this year, he wanted to try to come here and try some of the bigger tournaments. And I set --

FRANK BAIK: He stays with me in Diamond Bar, California.

FRANK BAIK: I played golf in some Tours, and professional a little bit. And I went to Korea, I met his father and also an instructor, who is a top professional in Korea. Every winter they come and practice, and I get along with them. He couldn't make it, and he left me in his hands. My name is Frank Baik, B-a-i-k.

FRANK BAIK: Yes, born in Seoul, Korea, but from southern California.

SUNG YOON KIM: We felt like if we could get into the quarterfinals, that was fine; I'm really satisfied. Anything beyond that, I'd be really excited and surprised. So I'm in the Final 4 now; so I'm pretty excited.

SUNG YOON KIM: I thought Se Ri Pak and Grace Park -- golf especially in the Juniors, it's a boom over there. A lot of parents are trying to get kids in golf.

SUNG YOON KIM: About a hundred.

SUNG YOON KIM: I can't really answer for the ladies, but for the men, it's more the golf courses. There's so many different types of golf courses here in the States than in Korea, and you can only develop your game so far over there, as opposed to here.

SUNG YOON KIM: I'm trying to learn English. Mr. Baik is teaching me some things. But my English is not very good. School-wise, I can't go to school here. I have to pass SAT's and so on. I'd love to go to school. That's the goal. But we talked to some coaches, and there's no way around it.

PETE KOWALSKI: Could you talk about the ebbs and flows in the match, and particularly how you felt about the bunker shot on 17?

SUNG YOON KIM: I thought the match would be over on 17, but after I holed it, I didn't feel one way or another. Just nothing.

PETE KOWALSKI: Did you feel that the match was truly over after James hit his tee ball in 18 into the hazard?

SUNG YOON KIM: Yes.

SUNG YOON KIM: I had 188 to the front. We hit a 3-iron.

SUNG YOON KIM: If I was to face Bryce Molder, I knew of him because of his past. I thought it would be a tougher match mentally for me to prepare. But since I was facing James -- I know him. I felt a lot more comfortable facing James than if Bryce Molder would have been in the quarterfinals.

SUNG YOON KIM: I met James at the U.S. Junior about a month ago. That was the first time. We knew of each other, but that was the first time we shook hands and said hello.

SUNG YOON KIM: Top Junior and Amateur right now.

SUNG YOON KIM: Just the full size, 156 Korean PGA tournament with Korean professionals.

SUNG YOON KIM: First name, J-i-n. Middle is Y-o-u-n-g. Last name is Kim, of course.

FRANK BAIK: Yes, they know the scores on the Internet.

FRANK BAIK: About 7:00 in the morning.

FRANK BAIK: I'm sure he does, a little bit.

SUNG YOON KIM: Very little. Very little.

SUNG YOON KIM: Very little, yeah.

SUNG YOON KIM: 90 kilograms. 178 centimeters. About 5'10, I think.

SUNG YOON KIM: No, not really. Just "Nice shot, okay."

FRANK BAIK: We get into a lot of fights out there; so we agreed he's the one putting, and if he has a problem, he'll ask for my advice. Especially the short putts, I don't think he's missed a short putt yet, under four feet, for any round here. He's been putting -- on the short putt, I won't touch it, but on the long putts, he'll ask and I'll give advice.

SUNG YOON KIM: The first time was the '92 Open. Was that Tom Kite? I saw Pebble Beach on TV then.

SUNG YOON KIM: Yes, this is the first time I played it.

SUNG YOON KIM: I like the scenic views and the surroundings of Pebble Beach. But if I have to play Pebble Beach for another week, I'm going to give up the game. (Laughter.)

SUNG YOON KIM: Best thing about the U.S. is the golf courses, the facilities. You can go to a public course and play on a nice golf course. And the thing I don't like about America is the English (language) barrier, I've got problems with.

FRANK BAIK: Pretty much what you see, he's very quiet. But he's a lot more -- one of the caddies in the third round we played with, David Hearn, he was coming up at 11. He was coming up to me and telling me, "How old is he," and I told him 17. He said: "Looking in his eyes he's a fierce, fierce competitor." And he was saying that to me, and I looked at him. I agree to a point, he looks like -- his nickname in Korea is Pooh, Winnie the Pooh. But inside, he's very fierce. He's pretty strong, very strong mentally.

SUNG YOON KIM: Short track ice skating a little bit when I was 9, 10.

SUNG YOON KIM: Yes.

FRANK BAIK: We got a phone interview yesterday after getting out of the Media Center. But I'm sure they'll keep calling the hotel room.

FRANK BAIK: Yes. And TV. He told me yesterday it was on the sports news in Korea, the 11 o'clock news.

SUNG YOON KIM: Yes.

SUNG YOON KIM: I have played with Se Ri Pak before, yes.

SUNG YOON KIM: Se Ri (laughter.)

FRANK BAIK: I know he's got a girlfriend. He calls her every night. He's got two older brothers, one is a golfer, and one is not.

SUNG YOON KIM: Hit some balls and go to the hotel room and take a shower. We've had Korean food every single day here.

SUNG YOON KIM: So-so.

FRANK BAIK: Very so-so, he said.

SUNG YOON KIM: First time I was here, I was at the U.S. Junior qualifying, and I ran up my telephone bill. It came out to $300 or so. So Mr. Baik bought me some phone cards. It's much cheaper that way.

SUNG YOON KIM: No.

SUNG YOON KIM: I'm enjoying it more than feeling the pressure. Enjoying it more.

FRANK BAIK: This year's Masters?

FRANK BAIK: Yes.

SUNG YOON KIM: Okay.

SUNG YOON KIM: Fred Couples.

SUNG YOON KIM: Just everything about him: His swing, his attitude, his looks, just looks cool.

SUNG YOON KIM: I guess he was on U.S. Pub Links. He was on TV. We watched the match together. I saw him a couple of times on TV.

SUNG YOON KIM: I don't remember when, but I remember watching it.

SUNG YOON KIM: Not nervous, but since I saw him play on TV a couple of months ago or whatever, and I get to play a match with him tomorrow, it's sort of a funny feeling. More nervousness.

SUNG YOON KIM: 25 tournaments. I don't know if -- Juniors and Amateurs combined.

SUNG YOON KIM: 64, tournament record 13-under is my best for four rounds.

SUNG YOON KIM: Very little. U.S. Junior was my first experience.

SUNG YOON KIM: This year.

SUNG YOON KIM: I've been back and forth three or four times. I qualified for this tournament. They gave us two weeks, and I went back home for ten days and came back here. I've been back and forth at least four or five times for the last three months.

SUNG YOON KIM: I stay with Mr. Baik.

SUNG YOON KIM: Yes.

SUNG YOON KIM: My parents.

SUNG YOON KIM: He's retired. He used to be a TOUR professional in Korea.

FRANK BAIK: We talked about it, but we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. But for them to be -- he's been doing so well here, they're just going to let him be.

FRANK BAIK: Yes, 12, 13 hours. Just the flight time in the airplane.

SUNG YOON KIM: Mostly alone, yeah