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KRAFT NABISCO CHAMPIONSHIPApril 4, 2014Se Ri PakRANCHO MIRAGE, CALIFORNIA THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome our current leader Se Ri Pak into the interview room, a very solid 2‑under par‑70 today, bogey‑free, two birdies and a nice one I think to cap it off on 18. Take me through your day. What really worked well for you? SE RI PAK: It's the same as yesterday. I got really solid. Everything has just been really solid. I kept it fairways, greens, always the goal every hole, and I kept it really nicely, and from the fairway, on the greens, which was the right place to be. You miss, and‑‑ I had a lot of opportunities today, but putting is not as good as yesterday, but still, really just really smooth, solid round today, so I'm really happy about the way I finished. THE MODERATOR: Did you get to a point in the round, you birdied early on, birdied the second hole, and then it was a string of pars all the way until 18. Were you trying to do anything different? Were you starting to get to a point where it's like, can I make another birdie? Can I get something going? SE RI PAK: It doesn't look like I worked really hard to make birdie, but I am. After the second hole of course I'm happy for the birdie, and of course it gave me a lot of confidence heading to the rest of the round, and same thing, I hit it really well and have a great opportunity, have some short putts there that I mis‑hit, but it just happens to be one of those days, but it kind of bothers me a lot that I missed so many short putts. However, this week, today, it just doesn't really matter for me. I got really relaxed out there. Just the way I'm playing, I'm so happy about the way it is, so I guess that makes it‑‑ my mind is more clear to be ready for the next shot every hole. I don't have any great up‑and‑downs, either. Everything has been so smooth the way I want it, so overall, like I said, happy to be bogey‑free. Yes, under par, have a great chance, but really happy about the way it is. Q. Entering the weekend in the lead, how does it feel different now at this age as opposed to say as a 20‑year old? SE RI PAK: Well, I mean, always really good to be on top, atop the leaderboard. I'm down here many times, but it's backed off a little bit the last couple years. But it doesn't really make any differences. Heading to the weekend, of course, I need to just focus on my own game and play as best as I can and just make some‑‑ of course I'm going to probably‑‑ during the tournament it's got to be some unusual mistakes here and there, but you have to move on. Golf is a really silly game and fun and a hard game. I know I learned a lot the last 17 years, been so many great up‑and‑downs, good day, bad day, okay day, all those things can happen in playing 18 holes. Just the weekend, probably the same thing, just go out and do our best and focus as much as I could. Q. But as a veteran player and as an older veteran player, are you still nervous, or do you feel that your experience level makes you a little less nervous entering the weekend? SE RI PAK: I think all the great experiences helped my game be more relaxed, instead of having pressure on it, because as I said, if I don't have any of these moments before, probably I am. But I have so many times been up top, so that makes me a lot of good experience. I know what I'm doing, and I know what to do. So that probably helps a lot. Q. And is there any one particular aspect of your game where you say, hey, I remember this feeling; this is actually pretty good? SE RI PAK: Like right now, I just feel so calm. I don't know why, just excited. But normally I give myself a lot of pressure, just trying to do so hard the golf course. I've been here so many times I know what exactly I need to do. That gives me a lot more pressure, and having a lot of hard time myself. But this week this is probably the best moment‑‑ like it just feels good. Just feels really calm, go out there, just everything seems to feel comfortable. It just makes me so easy. I don't know why just making everything throughout the round has been so perfect, so that's a perfect feel for me. Q. Do you feel as though you have a lot more perspective about what this tournament means, much more of a historical view of things now as opposed to earlier in your career? SE RI PAK: It is, it is. Just being week to week, tournaments, tournaments, like 17 years. So many things going through, but this week, I don't know, it's just such a hard time to get totally focused at this event to not have a great time and have an easy week, but this is the one I'm always looking forward to and have always been‑‑ as I said, just one of those dreams to make my own. This week is a most important time for me, but as I said, just trying to take it a little back and trying to think about just the week of the tournament and own my own best, and hopefully on Sunday giving a great big smile to myself. Q. This would be your sixth major title if you can hold on through the weekend. SE RI PAK: Right. Q. What does it mean now winning a major compared to what it meant early in your career? What would a sixth major title mean? SE RI PAK: I think earlier, at that moment actually I was‑‑ I can't remember too much things about it. I don't know my game is good, I don't know what I'm doing, it's just week to week I just play as a rookie, winning, move on. But now all the great experience I have, I now understand the game of golf. I learned a lot from golf, being myself, my game, my life. Right now it's meaning more than earlier. I have such a great career earlier at such a young age, but right now this moment is probably the best moment I've ever had. It's just more enjoyable, I learn to understand more golf. I find my game, I find my life. Everything is just all together, and it's probably the best time. It's just great to be out here. Q. What other aspects of your life have you found to be most comfortable now? SE RI PAK: As a golfer and as a normal life. Everything I'm used to put, all about golf. I don't have my life, I don't have my own social life at all. Always been put everything into golf. It just makes me‑‑ I guess that's why I have so much of a different way of going backwards instead of move on. So then one moment all of a sudden I just hate golf. I'm here still at the golf course, I don't know why I'm here, I don't want to be here but I'm still here. I don't understand why I keep doing this. About half a year, year off timing, and then I find out everything besides golf I was‑‑ I'm a lucky person. I have such great friends around. My life has been perfect. I never realized how good I am. That's why I'm trying to find better balance, which is the best way to find balance, which is pretty hard, though, because I always spend so much on the golf. I don't know which is good balance, which is bad balance, which one is in between, but now I just thinking myself more than game, and now looks like getting easy to be my life and my game, which is get all together and then make sure everything all comes together. This probably takes 16 years of learning, so just about starting. Q. Being the trailblazer in Korean golf, did that add any extra pressure, and is that more relaxed now than it was? SE RI PAK: Actually they give more energy for me. If I can't see them, it just‑‑ they remind me I was that young age. The first time I came to U.S., I'm trying to find my game, trying to be the very best golfer, and then when I look at them, it just‑‑ everything is such great pictures. I know how they feel, I know what‑‑ it's just everything comes to me. That's why I'm keeping still in Tour because seeing them just makes me‑‑ it's just great mental game, like totally mentally it's a great game, but I see them help my whole game. Q. It looks like Lexi is on her way to shooting 8‑under today. How good is that score out there? SE RI PAK: Really, really good. It's not really hard, but today I have such a great, solid round, it's pretty hard to make birdie hole to hole. But I saw her score is already 7‑under through 17. It's amazing. I mean, how solid probably her putting is really hot, too. But her game looks like it's so solid the last couple weeks, so it's really good for her. Q. As a veteran observer, could you just comment on her being 19 years old, how quickly she has seemed to mature out here? SE RI PAK: Well, she probably, I think, kind of a little early to have a lot of pressure but still a long way to play golf. But week to week when I see her, she's pretty well to handle herself out there, like pressure, as a game, as a focus everybody on it. But I think she's working it really go. She's doing it exactly the same as she's doing it, and she's going to be a really great player. THE MODERATOR: Se Ri, thank you so much, and we look forward to watching you play some great golf this weekend. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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