home jobs contact us
Our Clients:
Browse by Sport
Find us on ASAP sports on Facebook ASAP sports on Twitter
ASAP Sports RSS Subscribe to RSS
Click to go to
Asaptext.com
ASAPtext.com
ASAP Sports e-Brochure View our
e-Brochure

KRAFT NABISCO CHAMPIONSHIP


March 30, 2012


Yani Tseng


RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIFORNIA

THE MODERATOR:  We'd like to welcome the current second round leader and Rolex Rankings No. 1 Yani Tseng to the interview room.  You shot 4‑under par 68 today for the second day in a row.  Was today better or worse than yesterday?
YANI TSENG:  I think today was much better than yesterday.  This morning I felt more energy coming out today, more than yesterday, and I just feel like today my focus was so much better than yesterday.  I'm hitting very consistently today.  I took advantage of every chance out there.  Everything else was very good today, and I was very happy that I finished 4‑under today.
THE MODERATOR:  So you finished your round and told some fans you were going to go play basketball.  Is that true?
YANI TSENG:  Yeah, I might go to some cardio and play some basketball with my team and have fun.
THE MODERATOR:  Do you think you'll be able to refocus after a hard game of basketball and the third round?
YANI TSENG:  I'll take it easy.  I was really happy how much fresh I am in the last few days.  So I know my game's there and I need to keep focused on it and be patient all week.
THE MODERATOR:  How good did it feel to finish with a birdie at nine?
YANI TSENG:  It feels very, very good.  To finish with birdies, I was very happy.  And I saved par on number 17 and number 8, because I was like 16 and it was a big break.  That was a huge save par for me, and I'm just very happy.
THE MODERATOR:  If you are the leader at the end of the day, that will be nine of the last ten rounds on the LPGA that you've been the leader at the end of day.  How does that make you feel?
YANI TSENG:  I don't think about it all that much.  I just kind of focus on every day.  I still have two more days to go, and this golf course suits me really well and is in very good condition.  I heard tomorrow's going to be very windy in the afternoon, so I just need to be patient.

Q.  Yani, when did you become a basketball player?  Are you a fan of any particular person or team?
YANI TSENG:  Orlando Magic, because I live there.  I played basketball since I was very young, almost every day I played.  Then when I came to the states, I didn't have many friends here to play with.  But it seems that my team, my manager, used to be a basketball player, so we play a lot together.

Q.  Can you take us through that final birdie shot by shot, and what kind of momentum it gives you when you finish a round with a birdie?
YANI TSENG:  I was feeling just so happy.  It just made my day.  Making me feel that I can relax and do something more fun.  I hit a 3‑wood on the tee shot, and hit it very good down the middle.  The second shot I hit a rescue to 75 yards to the pin, and hit a little 58 wedge and finished with 60 and made a putt.

Q.  Should Orlando send Dwight Howard to the Lakers somehow?
YANI TSENG:  Oh, no.  Hopefully, he stays.

Q.  Yesterday you said you shot 68 and were disappointed in the round.  You weren't nearly as disappointed today, it doesn't sound like.
YANI TSENG:  No, I felt very happy.  Doesn't matter about the score.  I think it's about (Indiscernible).  I felt today my focus was so much better, but yesterday I had a couple shots I just missed, a couple shots I wasn't committed and I just hit it.  But today every shot I gave my hundred percent focus on every shot.  I the goal was the same, but I feel so much happier today.

Q.  The score at 8‑under to lead this tournament after two rounds is that about where you figured it would be, or was the course getting tougher today?
YANI TSENG:  Yes, I think the greens were much faster today.  So the first couple holes I kind of got used to the speed again, but everything else on the course is perfect.
I really enjoy playing on this golf course and always have so much fun.  This golf course is very challenging.  You need to hit it on the fairway to give yourself more birdie chances.

Q.  Every once in a while you hear a player say it's tiring to lead a golf tournament after three or four rounds in a single tournament.  You've done this over a course of almost a month now.  You don't seem to be tired from carrying that weight?
YANI TSENG:  No, you never get tired when you want to win a tournament.  I mean, it's very enjoyable.  I was saying yesterday I just figured out I'm just kind of tired after the last two wins when you come into this week.  Because normally two or three weeks is perfect for me, but this week the first few days I felt a little tired.
But after yesterday I had a good sleep, and I relaxed a few days.  And I think I'm coming back with a fresh focus, and I'm really happy now.

Q.  All sports but particularly golf are games of confidence.  Have you ever been on a streak where you have felt more confident?  Does golf seem easy right now?
YANI TSENG:  I don't think it was easy.  I just kind of play my best out there.  But I think every tournament's different.  Every‑‑ because this tournament I played like four times already, so I know the course better.  So I think that gave me a little more confidence so, maybe I can say it's easier, but I don't know.
I think every shot is a different challenge.  You just need to do your best.  You need to give a hundred percent effort for every shot.  Nothing is easy about it.  Even three‑foot putts are still hard.  You just need to focus on the things that you can do and not try to think too much.

Q.  If you had grown up in the U.S., do you think you might have been a basketball player?
YANI TSENG:  I'm too short, no.  I don't think so.  I'm really happy I'm a golfer now.  I really enjoy what I'm doing.

Q.  How good are you?  Are you a guard, I assume?  Do you like to shoot the ball or play defense?
YANI TSENG:  My putting is better than basketball.  But I like to run around and do some shooting and play three on three with other friends.

Q.  When did you first pick up the game or start playing basketball?
YANI TSENG:  When I was fourth or fifth grade.  So 8 or 10, yeah.

Q.  How come?
YANI TSENG:  I just love it because my house in Taiwan is very close to the park, and there is a basketball court there.  So I just go there and play a lot and make some new friends over there.

Q.  Did you play with guys or just girls?
YANI TSENG:  Both, both.

Q.  Since you're in a basketball mode, Jeremy Lin is of Taiwanese decent.  His parents are born in Taiwan.  What is your opinion about him?  Have you met him?
YANI TSENG:  I've never met him before, but I would love to.  I mean, he's great.  His parents are from Taiwan, and I'm so happy to see an Asian and Taiwanese player that is a huge star and plays so good in the NBA.  I think that's going to give lots of motivation to lots of Asian people that maybe they can play on an NBA team.  So it's huge.
He's a superstar in Taiwan, and I was very happy to see him play so well in the NBA.

Q.  Who is a bigger star, you or him?
YANI TSENG:  I would say him.  I don't know, yeah.

Q.  Maybe you can help us out with what they're saying in the media over in Taiwan.  Are you getting more attention this time this year than you were last year?
YANI TSENG:  Actually after last year after getting more attention in Taiwan and when I walk on the streets most of the people recognize me.  Especially in the tournament last year in Taiwan, that was huge.  I never expected so many people to come out and watch golf, and I was so excited.  I was so happy to see how much golf is growing in Taiwan.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




About ASAP SportsFastScripts ArchiveRecent InterviewsCaptioningUpcoming EventsContact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297