OPEN DE FRANCE

September 23, 2026

Michael Kim

Le Golf National

Quick Quotes

Q. Michael, welcome back to the Open de France, and as defending champion. I'm going to ask about your memories, but how excited are you to be back at the tournament?

MICHAEL KIM: Yeah, I don't get too many chances to be defending champion. Not many players do except maybe Scottie and Rory. But always excited to be back. I love Paris even more starting last year. So I'm just very honored and excited to be back.

Q. Let's go back to last year. That was an incredible Sunday. You birdied 16, 17, and that amazing up-and-down on 18. What are your memories, especially of those last three holes?

MICHAEL KIM: Yeah, I think remember standing on 16 tee that I had a great chance. I knew I had a couple birdie holes coming in. I hit some -- I still remember a lot of the swings and how those shots felt leading up.

And I remember standing on 17 fairway, and I knew where everyone stood. I knew if I made birdie, I would have an awesome chance on 18, and just remembering that this is my chance. And I hit an awesome shot there on 17 with a pitching wedge that set up the birdie, and obviously the putt on 18 was very, very cool.

Q. What was it like, in a way, to be the villain last year? Because Jeong Weon Ko, the Frenchman, had a brilliant round, and everyone wanted him to win, but you took the victory. What was that like for you?

MICHAEL KIM: Yeah, I remember no one -- no one cared too much about our group until we got to 18. Then everyone knew what was -- where we were. Ko had finished in front of me.

I remember I hit it into the left bunker, and there were, like, some cheers and some groans, both, when I hit the bunker shot to, like, you know, 18 feet or whatever. And I remember the sound when I made the putt, it was like some cheers that I made a long putt, but then also, oh, no, the French guy lost.

So, you know, it's -- I think we were both happy with -- I was obviously happier, but we both played well, and it was a great week of competing.

Q. Last year's win meant it was a seven-year gap between victories worldwide for you. What did that victory last year for you do for your confidence and your game?

MICHAEL KIM: Yeah. Anytime you feel like you have a chance to win a tournament, like I said, it can be pretty rare, and you remember the moments when you have a chance like that and you step up and you actually do it. That's a massive confidence boost. And hopefully I have a chance again this year and produce the same or very similar results.

Q. It's your first appearance at the Biltmore Championship in the FedEx Cup playoffs. What have you been doing in your downtime? Working your game? Putting the clubs away?

MICHAEL KIM: I put the clubs away for a good bit there. I was feeling pretty rusty at the Biltmore and not really sure where the ball was going sometimes. But it felt like it was a good week overall. I had a good putting week.

And still trying to figure some things out here. Golf course is a bit more challenging than last week and last year here. So really need to figure it out, especially off the tee. So, you know, we'll see how it goes.

Q. I was going to mention, because this isn't like Nom-la-Bretèche, like where you won last year, although I'm assuming you wish it was here this year, what are the demands of this course? You mentioned the tee. What else here is tricky around Le Golf National?

MICHAEL KIM: Yeah, there's just a lot of intimidating shots with the water. There's nothing hidden. It's just the water is staring right at you, usually on one side of the fairway.

So controlling my misses, making sure I keep my golf ball dry and trying to have as many birdie putts as I can, and hopefully it will be good from there.