home

jobs

	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

SONY OPEN IN HAWAII

January 12, 2006

K.J. Choi

HONOLULU, HAWAII

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, K.J., for joining us for a few minutes here in the media center at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Kind of a slow start but you finished with six birdies on the last 16 holes. Why don't you talk about the day, you're the first player that we've had in from the afternoon.

K.J. CHOI: Starting on No. 10 we practice every day with 3 wood and my caddy today said it's more windy, use driver, hit too far, 70 yards to the pin. So I try a sand wedge, low shot but too low. Against the wind is too strong but hit it over the green. The chip was very tough, and 2 putt.

The next hole, every day, same wind, 4 iron. I drove a hook shot, but the first hole bogeyed, and then shot to the right. I tried a little draw but the wind is stronger and hit in the right side of the rough, tough to control the chip, and 2 putt.

12 was a turning point, because the wind is right to left, I'm hitting 135 yards with a pitching wedge and pin high is the flag, the wind is blowing the flag and hit the middle of the flag. So maybe no flag, over the green. (Laughter). It ended up to a foot, an easy birdie.

Then No. 13 is left to right, the wind is strong. My drive is long, right side of the bunker. Big tree down there to 215 yards, a curve shot with a 3 iron. Fifty yards on the left and then a cut shot and on to the green and 2 putt, that's it. Then kept it working for a good finish at 4 under.

Q. Hard part was the first two holes?

K.J. CHOI: Yeah, very nervous two holes.

Q. Especially the 18th hole, what was your yardage to the pin 9 hole, the par 5?

K.J. CHOI: 3 wood past the fairway. Two days ago we practiced 3 wood and a hook shot. And today, 225 yards and 5 iron. Hit a flyer, bounced maybe five yards in front and then it's gone and over the green. Chipped very well, four feet and holed the putt for birdie.

Q. What was it like playing wind, here, compared to the wind last week?

K.J. CHOI: I don't know. Last week, Maui is more mountains and then more high balls, because it doesn't catch in the wind. This week, the pine trees are very tall and when it's windy, we can see it when we hit the ball. It's more low and down there, it's a little bit more control and better than last week.

Q. Is it easier to hit the greens here?

K.J. CHOI: Either way, it's tough now. Conditions are good. But it's more softer and better than last week. Last week was very hard greens.

Q. How do you feel you played last week?

K.J. CHOI: I don't know, my feel, last time in December and November, my traveling very hard traveling: Houston and Shanghai and Portugal and Houston again, Japan again, Hong Kong again, come back to my home in Houston. And every week, time changing, very hard on my body.

Then three weeks off, nothing at all. Before Maui, I was for a week hitting the ball, but it's not so good, the feeling is a little bit slow. Last week after Friday the body is working hard, feels good and the good feeling is after Friday. So now it's getting better.

Q. The first round at Mercedes was a little up and down, too, the first day?

K.J. CHOI: Yeah, we try three holes, three birdies, and after 5 hole, No. 6, it gets windy. Hit a drive, perfect shot in the middle and we're watching the ball. I don't know if it's 285 yards and there's two bushes by the bunker front and in the back and nobody sees it. So we thought we lost the ball.

Then go back again, hit the ball, the same spot, same ball. We didn't see it before, but there's a little bush and it's down, I can't see the ball. Then chip out and bogey, triple. That's golf.

Q. When you hit your drive into the bush on 6, go back to the tee, it's a lost ball, hit it again to the same spot. When you found the ball, did you also find your first ball?

K.J. CHOI: No.

Q. So you never found the first ball?

K.J. CHOI: No.

Q. Do you think it was an advantage playing in the afternoon or was the wind the same in the morning?

K.J. CHOI: Afternoon is warm. The wind control is better more than morning. I don't know, my hotel, it's too tall, and the window, it's very windy and noisy, then you open the door and it's stronger. Maybe same wind as Maui, so we're more comfortable with the wind, so no problem with my experience from last week. This week, first time I played here since last time in 2003 in, Top 10 and after that, not coming. More comfortable, windy this week, doesn't matter; hit it and it goes straight.

Q. What's your favorite course to play all year?

K.J. CHOI: I think my mind is Augusta National. My history, it's very interesting design, it's a long time ago, it's a very good design. Very nervous every hole, very good course, I think, and Pebble.

Q. Do you play Pebble, AT&T?

K.J. CHOI: This year, no.

Q. Will you go to Augusta before The Masters?

K.J. CHOI: Yeah.

Q. Very long. Have you heard?

K.J. CHOI: Yeah, 200 yards longer, the extension this year.

Q. 250 yards, No. 4, No. 4 is 40 yards back.

K.J. CHOI: The par 3? Okay.

Q. And today your greens in regulation and putting is very good. Your last two holes, you had an eagle putt.

K.J. CHOI: The grain was this way and sort of this way, either way, and hit it perfect and some spinning, some less spin in the down side, some hard swing on the right side. So it doesn't matter, hit the putt perfect, it's golf.

Q. How far, the eagle?

K.J. CHOI: Maybe 18 feet.

Q. 5 iron to the green?

K.J. CHOI: No, 3 iron, 220 yards.

Q. What do you think of Michelle Wie's score today?

K.J. CHOI: I didn't see.

Q. 79.

K.J. CHOI: 79 is what score, 9 over? Maybe she's in the morning? As we were talking about yesterday, No. 13 hole, I'm driving a perfect shot, and second shot the pin is 215 yards, and 3 iron is a very low shot on to the green. I don't know Michelle Wie's drive distance exactly. I think second shot 13 hole is very tough and wind problems today, control.

She has a good mind, but strong wind, golf course has some long holes, so more hard swing, it's a little bit control there I think.

Q. Took her four shots to reach 13.

K.J. CHOI: 13? Very strong wind in the morning, yeah.

Q. That's what you get tomorrow.

K.J. CHOI: (Laughter).

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you very much, K.J.

End of FastScripts.

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297