Q. Tom, nice playing today. How would you characterize the round today?
TOM KIM: Really solid. You know, I managed it really well out there. It was windy and got off to a really good start. Made a couple mistakes, but I felt like the -- mentally the bounce-back was really well done.
I think definitely confident going into the weekend.
Q. What do you feel like you're doing maybe better this week that you've done maybe during the course of the year?
TOM KIM: I've just fundamentally gotten a lot better. I think mentally I've gotten a lot better, a lot clearer of what I need to do, how I need to do it, which I think is really big.
And I think kind of the end of the year to right now I was just kind of building. It's hard when you don't have momentum going and then it's not as bad as it is, but mentally you have scar tissue on certain shots and the confidence goes away.
It's a big mental game. When you're not confident about yourself on the golf course, you're not going to hit as good of shots as you would normally be able to. After the season got done, I think everything -- I saw everything more clearly, how I needed to get it done, and every since the last putt dropped after the season I've been working towards that and it's been building blocks every week until today and as will progress to next year.
Q. Is that something maybe you needed some time off to kind of see, that you couldn't really see when you had to keep playing and playing and playing?
TOM KIM: Yeah, it's hard. When you're not playing well you just have to kind of play events. You don't get to take time off and then reflect and keep going. You actually have to keep playing even when your momentum is not as well.
But mid-course, mid-year I just told myself, you know, once this year is done I get to really see myself, and I've made a few changes, and as those changes were made, I got to see bits and pieces kind of come together. As time kept going and as I kept working, everything just is slowly coming back together.
Q. Do you feel like maybe you're playing like you did maybe a couple years ago just when you won a couple tournaments?
TOM KIM: Inside my mind, yes. I felt like my best golf was actually last fall. You know, I finished second four times last year. You know, where I was mentally I felt like the fall was really good. It's just amazing how in those moments you just have to realize how special those good golf moments are and what got you there.
I told Todd about this just a few moments ago. You can't try to change too much of trying to become the best player you can be. The margins are so small out here, and you just got to keep your head down and I've been doing that.
Like I said, like hard work -- I think this is the hardest thing about golf, is you work hard -- just because you work hard doesn't mean you'll lay where will.
I am very grateful my hard work has produced some good scores, but as I keep going the rest of the fall until next year, my mindset is more focused on putting work on my progress and practices and let results come instead of trying to force those results just because I worked hard.
Q. If I'm hearing right, you worked on between the ears and that's helping your game, physical game?
TOM KIM: Yeah, like I haven't -- it's not like I saw a therapist or something. That's more of just kind of -- of a after the season got done, just really sitting with myself and reflecting on what mistakes I've made, what could I have done.
The start of the season I didn't play that bad. I was 27th in FedEx; finished 7th at Pebble; I was in the final two groups at Waste. After that that was when I started playing bad. But players -- I was plus ten strokes gained approach but I didn't have a good round.
You think about one bad shot, and then...
So like I said, it's just more of realizing what I did wrong and being able to realize the good things I've done and putting those pieces together and taking it step by step of, okay, what do I need to do to get back to how I can play good golf again.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports