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U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 13, 2006

Kimberly Kim

NORTH PLAINS, OREGON

MODERATOR: Kimberly, what does all this mean for you, what's it all about?

KIMBERLY KIM: Well, golf is my life. So I'm really happy I won. I haven't won a tournament in two years, so definitely feels good again.

Q. Well, you picked a good one to win, didn't you?

KIMBERLY KIM: Yeah.

Q. You've been watching yourself on the Golf Channel?

KIMBERLY KIM: I only saw like yesterday and the beginning. But they showed more of the other group, so I didn't get to see, like, my interviews or anything like that. Yeah. And then today I was watching myself in the locker room, but I missed the 18th hole.

Q. Well, you were 5 down earlier, and that's one of the greatest comebacks I've ever seen in match play. How did you do that?

KIMBERLY KIM: Well, usually when I get down I get really upset, I just want to give up and just quit. But today I just wanted to come back and I wanted to win the gold and I guess I just somehow pulled it off.

Q. You teed off at 9:30 this morning and at 4:18 this afternoon you finally went 1 up. It was the 12th hole of the afternoon round, the 30th hole. Par 3. What club did you hit in there?

KIMBERLY KIM: I hit a 9. But I hit it in the water about four times, I think.

Q. On that hole?

KIMBERLY KIM: Three or four times.

Q. On that hole?

KIMBERLY KIM: Yeah. I hit it in the morning match and a couple other matches I hit it in there.

Q. So what were you thinking: Don't hit it in the water?

KIMBERLY KIM: Please just go through the ball and get on the green.

Q. And then I want to ask you, what club did you hit out of the bunker on No. 17?

KIMBERLY KIM: I hit a 7 iron. I was just thinking "Hit the ball first." Right before I hit it, I was getting nervous and I stopped. I always do this with my sister. So, yep, my sister is right there.

Q. What did that make you do then?

KIMBERLY KIM: It made me hit it good.

Q. Were you surprised at how well that shot turned out?

KIMBERLY KIM: Yes. I was like I was never really a clutch player, I guess. But that was clutch.

Q. What about the putt on 18?

KIMBERLY KIM: That was I was shaking so much. I don't even know where I aimed or anything. I just, like, hit it. It's like, whatever, just hit the ball.

Q. Okay. Questions?

What was the last tournament you won two years ago?

KIMBERLY KIM: I can't even remember what I won. I think it was when I won, I was the youngest to win the AJGA event. It was like I or I or something, I'm not sure.

Q. What have you got all going on here?

KIMBERLY KIM: This part was just things. And the red was because I didn't wear red and usually red is like fire to get fired up. And the rest is music.

Q. What does it say?

KIMBERLY KIM: "Go through my chest." "That's cash." "Trust" and "Don't Think" and "Get Low."

Q. "Don't Think" and "Get Low."

And that's music?

KIMBERLY KIM: "Don't Think" and "Get Low" are songs.

Q. So you change that every day?

KIMBERLY KIM: Well, just like these past two days I used it, because I couldn't hit on the ranges. So yeah.

Q. You mean you weren't hitting the ball well?

KIMBERLY KIM: No, I wasn't. It's like I'm going to write this down and hopefully it helps.

Q. You're 5 down going into the 16th hole this morning. You finish with three birdies. I mean they weren't even long birdie putts. What did you do to motivate yourself to win three holes in a row?

KIMBERLY KIM: I have no idea. I guess it was like God playing for me. I don't know how I did it. Thinking back, I don't know how I did it. I just hit the ball and it went good.

Q. What's your reaction to being the youngest person to ever win this championship?

KIMBERLY KIM: Maybe I can be like Michelle.

Well, I'm glad I'm this young and experiencing this. But it feels like well, definitely shows me that I should appreciate like my parents and my sister and my caddie and just everybody a little more, because they're the ones who pretty much got me here.

Q. Frank said you guys came out kind of conservative early, and then you got down and decided to start firing at pins. Was that a conversation that happened?

KIMBERLY KIM: No, actually he just said we're going to play smash mouth golf.

Q. Smash mouth?

KIMBERLY KIM: I said, "What's that?" He said, "Just go for it." I said, "Okay."

Q. Do you always do what he says?

KIMBERLY KIM: Well, not yeah, pretty much.

(Laughter)

Pretty much did everything. It was like "This is all you." He was like, "You're hitting the shot." I'm like, "You're telling me how to do it."

Q. When did he tell you to start playing smash mouth golf?

KIMBERLY KIM: When we were practicing for the afternoon match, I was 2 down.

Q. The chip on 18 I thought was kind of intriguing. You had a very solid piece of ground under there. There wasn't much grass under there. And a lot of older players would get real nervous about that chip, chipping toward a bunker and everything. Skull it.

KIMBERLY KIM: I was pretty nervous. I was like, "Frank, the bunker is in play. Everything is in play. Oh, my gosh, what if it comes down the hill?" And he was like, "Kim, you hit this shot a million times. Just hit the ball. Just walk up and hit it."

Q. How did you choose the club that you used?

KIMBERLY KIM: Well, because there was no green to work with, so it was like automatically a 60 degree.

Q. Beautiful shot. Beautiful shot.

Well, you're probably now, you're a lock for the Curtis Cup team, Women's World Amateur Team. Play in South Africa.

KIMBERLY KIM: Really?

Q. A lot of things. A lot of things will happen because you're the National Champion.

KIMBERLY KIM: Oh, my gosh. I'm going to have to play golf harder, I guess. This is going to be scary.

Q. I noticed you wore a white skirt this morning. Looked really nice. You've not worn a skirt all week, had you?

KIMBERLY KIM: Yeah. Well, like at the U.S. Open I wore that skirt, too. It was only like the second time I wore a skirt in my life.

Q. Why did you do that?

KIMBERLY KIM: I kind of ran out of clothes.

(Laughter)

And like my dad wanted me to dress nicer because like, he's like people were like watching that, and, yeah, it just looks better.

Q. Were you more nervous today than when you played in the U.S. Open?

KIMBERLY KIM: Definitely. Because like I wasn't expecting to win the U.S. Open. Just making the cut was pretty awesome. And then today I was like shaking.

Q. Did you change into shorts to feel more comfortable?

KIMBERLY KIM: Yeah. Well, it was going to get hotter, and the skirt was pretty hot. So shorts were better.

Q. You looked very nice. What do you have written on your shoes?

KIMBERLY KIM: It says like "West" and names of Counting Cup members and just "Trust" and it says "Hold it."

Q. Did you write all those things or did you have them autographed?

KIMBERLY KIM: Some people autographed it. I wrote "Hold it" and "Trust" and that was it.

Q. You must go through a lot of markers between your wrists and your shoes?

KIMBERLY KIM: I just borrow people's.

Q. What did your dad say to you after you won?

KIMBERLY KIM: He was like, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe you won." He was like, "Come here." And he gave me a hug.

Q. And your mother is here?

KIMBERLY KIM: No, my mom and my sister aren't here, no.

Q. What'd your sister tell you last night?

KIMBERLY KIM: She was like, "We're all proud of you anyways and we're all watching you on TV." And yesterday she called during my fake birthday singing. Like Frank told the restaurant, told them that it was my birthday. They came out with like tambourines and stuff, and it was like "Oh, my gosh." "Hey doesn't that girl on TV look like her?"

And we were wearing the same clothes. And it was, "Oh my gosh."

(Laughter)

Q. What's next for you?

KIMBERLY KIM: Oh, the Ping Junior Phoenix, it's like a day from now. I'm going to be like dead.

Q. Can you get yourself psyched up for the Ping Junior Phoenix after this, the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship?

KIMBERLY KIM: Oh, my gosh. I'm going to have to carry my own bag and run my own yardages.

Q. You were saying yesterday you couldn't wait to get a medal. What do you think of the medal? Is it better than the other one you got this summer?

KIMBERLY KIM: So I've got one of each, so that's pretty good. I have a silver and I have a gold.

Q. What do you think of that trophy?

KIMBERLY KIM: It was really nice. There was like leaves on it and stuff. It's cool. And it's heavy and big. But it's really nice.

Q. Where is that going to go?

KIMBERLY KIM: I don't know. I don't know how we're going to get back it to our house.

Q. They'll ship it for you. USGA will ship it, special case with a lock on it and everything. Just be sure and get the combination.

KIMBERLY KIM: It will go in my room, my empty bedroom. Right now I only have the silver medal and a desk with no bed or anything back in Arizona.

Q. Where do you sleep?

KIMBERLY KIM: On the floor sometimes. Well, I have a blowup mattress, I sleep on there. But the ground is kind of uncomfortable.

Q. So it will be you and the desk and the silver medal and the trophy?

KIMBERLY KIM: Yep. My clothes is like in my mom's room right now.

Q. Must be a relief to go to a motel and have a bed?

KIMBERLY KIM: No, not really. I can't tell the difference while I'm sleeping.

Q. Did you get enough sleep last night or were you nervous?

KIMBERLY KIM: No, I was nervous. I like went to bed, then I woke up, watched TV. Then I went back to sleep and I woke up again and listened to music.

Then I tried to go back to sleep, but then I woke up again and used the computer and like talked to my friends and checked e mail and watched videos on the computer. Then I went to sleep, late.

Q. At what point did you think that that last putt was going to go in; did you know when you hit it?

KIMBERLY KIM: No. When I saw it go in, I was like shaking so much over that putt. Like my knees were like shaking. I couldn't I don't know where I aimed. I just hit it and it went in. It was amazing.

Q. Were you at all surprised that Katharina made either of the putts on the 17th or 18th hole?

KIMBERLY KIM: Like in match play, you always gotta think that the other person is going to make it, yeah, and I thought she could. She played great clutch play. Oh my gosh, that was great.

Q. We asked her this too: Did you talk to each other at all during the match?

KIMBERLY KIM: No. We just told each other like "good shot" and stuff. That's pretty much it. And I offered her trail mix.

Q. You offered her trail mix. Which hole?

KIMBERLY KIM: Like, I don't know, on the 17th, I think. No, wait, no actually it was like, it was like the 11th hole on the second 18.

Q. Did she accept?

KIMBERLY KIM: No, she just smiled and laughed.

MODERATOR: Any other questions?

Kimberly, you were great. You just freshened up this media room every day you came in. And we just really are so impressed with your golf. And you were a great sport out there. Congratulations, and we'll be seeing lots more of you, I'm sure.

End of FastScripts.

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