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KRAFT NABISCO CHAMPIONSHIPApril 4, 2013Na Yeon ChoiRANCHO MIRAGE, CALIFORNIA THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome first round co‑leader Na Yeon Choi to the interview room. You had a great day, four birdies, no bogeys, playing alongside your co‑leader, Suzann Pettersen. Just tell us about your round. NA YEON CHOI: I think I had a pretty good round today, especially I played with Suzann today. I think I played well because she played well, too. I think we had a great round, and we motivated each other on the course. You know, she's a strong competitor, but I tried to chase her until the last hole. I finished strong, and I had a great round today. Q. I heard you went to a pretty cool movie premier earlier this week, the GI Joe 2 premier. Who did you meet there? NA YEON CHOI: Yeah, I went to a movie premier, GI Joe 2 in LA. I met Bruce Willis in there. I took a picture. And also one of the Korean actors, Byung‑hun Lee. He was in the movie, too. I watched the movie and after that I went to a party with them. Yeah, I had a great time. Q. How was the party? NA YEON CHOI: I couldn't stay long, but I stayed there like 30 minutes, 40 minutes, and I took a picture with them. Yeah. Q. So you're becoming a regular celebrity. NA YEON CHOI: I don't know. Q. You told me on the way in you had a nice long birdie putt at the 14th, your first birdie of the day at the par‑3. Can you just take us through your birdies and tell us about them? NA YEON CHOI: Yeah, I hit 8‑iron for a tee shot. I missed it a little bit right side, and then my ball finished on the fringe, and then my putt was a little bit more than 30 feet. But after I made that putt, I think I got some momentum from there, and then I got a birdie on 16 and 17. I mean, I didn't play‑‑ I didn't have birdie on the front nine until No.9, but I tried to stay calm and then kept trying too hard. Last one I got a good birdie there. Q. Just talk about what you've been doing recently in your life. You bought a home in Orlando, you are now a member at Isleworth for their practice facility, which you really like. You're really investing in your game. Talk about that. NA YEON CHOI: I think I always try to invest in myself, get better and better. I bought a house last winter and also I got a new membership at Isleworth. That's investing in myself to improve my short game because I thought I needed better facilities for practice. But last time I've been there was February, beginning of February. I feel like I forget my new house, what it looks like, but I really miss my new house and also the practice facility. Q. Given how tough the golf course is set up, are you surprised that neither of you two had a bogey today? NA YEON CHOI: I'm really happy I played without a bogey today, but luckily I played in the morning today, and the greens and fairways are a little softer than the afternoon, I think. I mean, I have to play afternoon tomorrow. I have to be precise for second shots, and I have to try to get the ball to finish below the hole and try to make uphill putts. Q. Your putter could be described as a classic Bobby Grace. Could you tell us when you started with it and how you came to start putting with it and a little bit about your relationship with Bobby? NA YEON CHOI: Well, actually I changed it, the putter, in January last year. And when my coach gave me the putter, actually the first time I said I don't want to use this putter because it's so ugly and it looks like a weapon. But my coach said, Annika Sorenstam used that putter and then won the U.S. Open, and I said, then I'm going to use it. So yeah, I started using that putter last year in January, and then I tried to keep using it until now. It feels really great. That putter, I think, is like 15 years old, the putter, but it's still working very well. Bobby is very nice and always tries to make new putters for me, but I really like that old putter. I try to stick with that putter. Q. Obviously the first round of a major there's a lot of nerves involved or some nerves. When you made that long putt did that kind of ease the nerves away or did that relax you a little bit more? NA YEON CHOI: I think so. After I made that putt I got good momentum from there, and I got good confidence. So after that I putt, I thought like I need to play more aggressively because I had a birdie first and bogey first, so I think I got good momentum from there. Q. Were you playing tentative up to that point do you think? NA YEON CHOI: I think so. I was a little nervous, I think, when I started the first hole. When I had a chance to birdie the first couple holes, my putting speed was short. I think it's kind of a little tentative hitting, but after I made the first birdie and then I got‑‑ I can keep going. Q. Do you feel any different coming to a big event like this knowing that you've already done it? You won the 2012 U.S. Women's Open. Does that memory help you this week? NA YEON CHOI: I think so. I mean, I won the U.S. Open last year, but for me the important thing is that I got a really good experience from there. So when I have that kind of situation in my future, I think I'm always going to think about how I controlled my emotion at the U.S. Open, and even this week, this is the first major tournament for this season, so I tried to more spend time for trouble shots from the rough or behind the tree or bunker shot, and then I think it worked. Q. You only missed one fairway today and a lot of players have talked about how the rough is pretty penal here. Can you talk about your game off the tee and what that meant to your scoring today? NA YEON CHOI: I mean, actually I played the Kia Classic last tournament, and after the round, after the tournament, I realized I couldn't really focus on the golf course.  I think that's one of my problems lately. So I talked to my mentor coach in here and my swing coach, and I tried to focus on my shot every time. Even during practice rounds and pro‑am. Today I really tried to focus 100 percent with every shot, and then, I mean, after the round I didn't have any regret. Yeah, so I'm really happy. THE MODERATOR: Thank you so much. Great round today. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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