Quotes From Last Week
“The Tank” was rollin’ on Sunday.
A selection of quotes from last week’s PGA action at the AT&T National in Bethesda (MD).
KJ Choi after winning for the second time this year,
Q. Which was the bigger thrill from you, getting a trophy from Jack or getting a trophy from Tiger?
K.J. CHOI: You know, both wins are just very special to me. I mean, I can’t really say which one is more — which one makes me feel better. They are both valuable. One thing I can say is Tiger, this week’s trophy is a lot heavier than Jack’s trophy, if that means anything. (Laughter). But just winning both events, it just tells me that — all I can say is that I have very — a lot of respect for both players and to be able to win in their tournament is just — I can’t even express in words. I just feel very honored to be able to win their events.
Q. Did you feel a little sympathy for your playing partner, Stuart Appleby, considering how he struggled so early?
K.J. CHOI: You know, it would have been good to see him play better because, you know, it just — we can feed off of each other if both of us play better, play well. It was, you know, unfortunate to see him struggling in the beginning. I think those 3-putts, a lot of 3-putts that he made, made it difficult for him. But I know exactly how it feels because I’ve gone through that process, and I’ve been in that position, too. I don’t feel sympathy, I just feel that he wasn’t in the best condition today.
Q. One of your fans had a sign that said, “Go Tank.” Can you talk about that nickname and how you got it?
K.J. CHOI: I think I like — I mean, I like it. I think the meaning that’s in it, it’s similar to what I think, how I’ve lived my life. It’s never looking back, don’t look back, just move forward just like a tank. Just progress. It’s how I felt when I first came over to the U.S. starting out, you know, it was a new culture, new language, everything was new. There were a lot of hurdles for me to overcome, but I just took it day-by-day, just believed in myself, trusted in the Lord and just moved forward with it and tried my best. I think that’s symbolic of what Tank is.
Q. Can you tell us the impact that you think this will have on your countrymen, North and South?
K.J. CHOI: It’s definitely something that brings happiness to Koreans, whether it’s north Koreans or South Koreans and Koreans in general, I think it’s something that can be embraced with happiness. It’s a big, meaningful win.
Tiger on being the host and British Open preparations,
Q. Overall, how do you feel about this weekend and how you played?
TIGER WOODS: The weekend, I hit the ball pretty good actually. Didn’t putt well. Yesterday I hit good putts and they didn’t go in and today I hit bad putts. I did not putt well today. Again, left a lot of putts short. I had a lot of trouble getting the ball to the hole this week, and I needed to putt well and they were just not going to go in.
Q. Despite not winning, is it safe to say you still had some fun?
TIGER WOODS: I had a great time. The tournament’s come together in such a short span of time, and everyone’s worked so hard to make it happen. I think from what I’ve seen so far, walking around the golf course this entire week, I think this tournament has been embraced by the people here in the D.C. area, and I think that’s actually what you want to have happen. And we’ve been very lucky and very fortunate to have had happen.
Q. How do you feel your form is going to Carnoustie right now based on what you felt this week?
TIGER WOODS: I’m very pleased at the way I hit the golf ball. The entire week I hit the ball really well, made some great strides since the U.S. Open. I just didn’t make anything this week. Just never could get a putt to the hole, and when I did, it usually seemed to find of fall by the wayside.
Mike Wier after his best finish of the year,
Q. You take a lot of positives from this week obviously?
MIKE WEIR: Yeah, I could have easily won. Get a few breaks and get it going the right way — it was tough, the wind switched and it was that way for everybody. And I left myself a number of tough putts today. It seemed like I was above the hole and playing for par above the hole; and I’d have a 6 or 7-footer, on poa annua greens, late in the day, they are tough to make.
Q. How do you feel that the course played today for everyone?
MIKE WEIR: It played difficult, especially for the leaders coming in with these greens, when you play poa annua and they get dried out, they are very difficult to putt.
PGA Tour, AT&T National, KJ Choi, Tiger Woods, Mike Wier
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