OPEN DE FRANCE

September 23, 2026

Michael Kim

Le Golf National

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: I'd like to welcome our defending champion, Michael Kim, to the media centre. Michael, how excited are you to be back here to defend your crown?

MICHAEL KIM: Yeah, I think, unfortunately, I don't get to defend too many titles so far in my career. So it's very special to come back, even though we're at a different golf course.

But, yeah, it's very special to be back.

THE MODERATOR: Last year it was a pretty remarkable finish. Just talk to me, I suppose, of those numbers that you had, particularly with those last three holes.

MICHAEL KIM: Yeah. Obviously, the putt on 18 was very, very cool and very special.

But, you know, one of my -- one of the fondest memories I'll have of this tournament was the second shot on 17 where I knew exactly where I stood. I knew this was kind of the moment to take advantage and to try and make birdie and really win the tournament, and hit an awesome shot on 17 and made the 6-, 7-footer.

So those shots really stand out for me, yeah. And obviously the putt on 18 was really cool as well.

THE MODERATOR: We'll open up for some questions.

Q. Same tournament, but not the same course, obviously. How do you feel on this course?

MICHAEL KIM: Yeah, first time here. Obviously watched it at the -- for the Ryder Cup in '18. And I remember watching some of those shots that I saw on TV.

I really like it. It's going to be a little tougher than last year at Saint-Nom. But the course kind of reminded me of a course I grew up playing a lot, the Stadium Course where they host the Amex, which is where all the hazards are outlined with the wooden boards or some stuff and water down the right or water down the left, some intimidating tee shots. But if you pull it off, I feel like you can make some birdies.

Q. Can we expect to see you more often in the DP World Tour in the coming months or in the coming years?

MICHAEL KIM: I certainly enjoy coming over here. I think I'll probably focus more on the PGA TOUR at least this year. But I always enjoy coming back, playing the DP World Tour. Obviously this week I wish I was at Wentworth, but I'm still playing for a bit of position on the FedEx Cup on the PGA TOUR.

But I think I've always wanted to be a world-traveling player. I absolutely want to play this one again, the Korea tournament on the DP Tour to -- I think that's the last one of the regular season. I just have a prior commitment; I can't go this year. But that's one I absolutely want to play.

I'd love to go back to India again. I thoroughly enjoyed that last year.

Yeah, there are way more interesting, unique courses on the DP World Tour that I would love to check out. And I -- for the most part, I enjoy going to new places and seeing different countries. So in the future, I'll be over here for sure.

Q. How do you feel in France?

MICHAEL KIM: It's great. We're staying at the same hotel as last year, went to the same restaurant as last year. Lots of good vibes, for sure. I don't know if vibes is an American thing or not, but...

Q. What is the main difference in terms of atmosphere, not golf-wise, between the PGA TOUR and the European Tour? When you go back to the European Tour, what strikes the most? What is the thing you pinpoint as the main difference between those two tours?

MICHAEL KIM: I think, you know, the atmosphere, I feel like big DP World Tour, big PGA TOUR, I think they're similar. Like Wentworth last week felt very similar to THE PLAYERS. I feel like it's a similar kind of relationship between the tours and the tournaments.

I'd say on the DP, though, definitely way more unique courses. Like the tournament I played last year in India, I hit driver three times all week on the range, and I was like, why am I hitting these? I'm not going to hit these on the golf course. And you would never see that on the PGA TOUR.

And all the styles of swings and golfers are also very different. I feel like in America, most of the guys play a similar style of golf. It's pretty long, it's pretty high. They're incredible golfers, obviously. They're very good at what they do.

But I think at the Scottish this year, I played with Ángel Hidalgo, and you don't see that type of golf, as much creativity as he likes to play with. So it's more the difference to me is the players and the golf course more than anything.

Q. In terms of life, everyday life?

MICHAEL KIM: The life, I mean, to me it's still traveling a lot. It's golf and then hotel; golf, hotel, golf. The life from that perspective isn't too different.

The different time zones kind of is tough. I woke up at 1:00 in the morning; couldn't really fall back to sleep. So that's a little rough. But, yeah.