Q. Chan, how do you feel after day two? Big putt on 17; how you closed today.
CHAN KIM: Yeah, huge putt on 17 to give me a little bit of breathing room.
I started with a birdie on 1. Made really good putt. I don't know, I just couldn't get the speed down. The uphill putts are just a lot slower than what I had in my head.
So I think I had two three-putts today that were both up the hill from a little bit of range. Left them both quite a bit short, and, yeah, just struggled with the pace just a little bit today.
Mainly off the tee just wasn't hitting enough fairways. I grinded it out and looks like I'm going to be playing my first weekend here at Sony.
Q. You think 3-under could get you...
CHAN KIM: I hope so. I'm praying.
Q. On 18, looked like you almost holed out for eagle. Did it feel like it was close from where you were?
CHAN KIM: I knew it was going to be long after I hit it. It came out a little bit lower than I wanted; flew just a touch too far and hit the downslope.
Would've been nice to have the extra cushion with an extra birdie, but hopefully three hangs on.
Q. You mentioned kind of the long putts were a little bit iffy for you. Was there a mentality switch to know you might have to scramble to stay under?
CHAN KIM: Honestly, I felt like I hit a lot of good putts. Just like I said, couldn't get the pace down. So after this I'll definitely be going over to the putting green and just trying to get dialed in the pace a little bit more from 30 feet and beyond.
I think the reads were fine; yeah, just wasn't getting the pace right.
Q. Throughout this week you talked about wanting to make the cut first time here at Sony being from Hawai'i. Knowing where you stand, 3-under, kind of thoughts after the first two rounds with a good chance to make the weekend?
CHAN KIM: Yeah, like I said, definitely would've loved to have shot a couple under today it safely make it in. I don't know if three is quite going to make it. Like I said, I'm kind of hoping, and praying. You know, hopefully the wind picks up a little bit mortgage afternoon guys.
But, you know, I battled it out and I'm pretty proud of how I hung in there today. It wasn't the easiest and I wasn't hitting it great; obviously putting wasn't great.
Yeah, I'm proud of myself for how I played the first two days after a long break. Yeah, just got to keep grinding away.
Q. And what would it mean if you were to make that cut and play your first weekend? You mentioned that a little bit in your first answer, but what would that mean for you?
CHAN KIM: It would mean the world honestly. I have grown up watching this tournament. I had two opportunities, one in '22 and one last year; missed the cut both times.
To be able to play of some family and friends and all the locals, yeah, I would love to show them a little better golf on the weekend than I did the first two days.
Q. So you started with the birdie today, and then you're bogey-free for the first 22 or 23 holes.
CHAN KIM: Yeah.
Q. Then back-to-back bogeys. Then did you do anything to kind of reset after that?
CHAN KIM: Yeah, you know, it would be great if you could play every round without a bogey. I knew conditions would be a little bit tricky with the wind.
Like I said, I had two bad three-putts and those are two bogeys. The one on 5, I made bogey on 5, and I hit a bad tee shot. So, you know, I had an open shot to the green. Luckily got to the front edge. That chip, it reacted a little bit softer than I thought on the green and didn't chase all the way back up there.
It's going to be tough with the wind. Going to be tricky. Some rounds if you're not playing with well you have to just hang on and do the best you can do.
Q. You're a pro with a lot of experience. Let's say 10, 15 years ago, if you had had that situation kind of cruising with no bogeys and then back to back, do you think the younger you would've responded differently and maybe not played as well the rest of the way?
CHAN KIM: That's a great question. Not necessarily. I think I was actually more laid back then than I am now. Back then for some reason I feel like I had a little bit more confidence and I remember -- great story actually.
I think it was maybe the Pearl Junior in '05. I started off on the driving range warming up and hit quite a few shanks and didn't let it bother me. Got a good pre-shot routine and I think I ended up winning that year.
Like I said, a bad range session doesn't determine how your round will go. You have to stay in it and give it all you have and just sign the scorecard at the end of the day and see what it totals up to.
Q. I think something strange would have to happen for you to not make the cut.
CHAN KIM: You never know. I've seen some really low numbers. These guys are so good. I've seen a lot of low numbers in very windy conditions. Like I said, I'm praying that it's good enough and hopefully I'll be seeing everybody tomorrow.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports