What they said: Danny Lee

text size

MORE INTERVIEWS: Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial transcript archive

MARK WILLIAMS: Danny, thanks for joining us in the interview room at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. You a sponsor invite this week. You had a great finish last week, your best on the PGA TOUR, tied for 13th, and you have become a Dallas resident as well. Just talk about your week here last week and what you are looking forward to this week.

DANNY LEE: Last week I played really well and first round through third round I didn't have that many lucky bounces. But last round I finally got a few lucky bounces, and I was playing awesomely. I doubled the last. It was a disappointing finish. I'm still pretty happy with what I done last week, and I really enjoyed it.

MARK WILLIAMS: Is it pretty easy to get over a finish like that, did it take you a little while?

DANNY LEE: Not really. The tournament ends rights there on Sunday. It's a whole new week this week.

MARK WILLIAMS: Looking forward to Colonial, you played the course.

DANNY LEE: Yes, I did yesterday and it is not a long golf course, but it's really depends on how your tee shot goes. It's really tight holes out there. I think the greens are going to be firmer and faster for sure. So I think it's pretty tough out there.

MARK WILLIAMS: Questions?

Q. Hi, Danny, I'm doing the interactive marketing for this tournament through Twitter, and I have a couple of questions from the followers of the Twitter. One of the questions was, you decided to buy a house here in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, what was one of the deciding factors that made you become a Dallas/Ft. Worth resident?

DANNY LEE: Pretty ladies. No, it's just a joke. My parents really like it here, and I'm only 18 so I have to live with my parents. It's kind of my parents' decision and I really like it over here. I like the weather. It's a bit hot, but I still like it and it's a great place. I really like the TPC, too. So I think that's why we moved over here.

Q. Then the second question was, what has been your biggest adjustment from playing amateur golf to professional golf and playing professional tournament golf?

DANNY LEE: I think professional golf, you have to take it more seriously. Amateur you are just everything fun out there and just enjoy the tournaments. I think in PGA TOUR playing here, there is so many good players out here you can't just try to enjoy it out here, you have to take it really seriously. You have to practice hard. You have to make your, you know, day schedule and trying to follow that every time, so I think that's the difference.

Q. Danny, can you run through your exemptions and how many you have used and how many you have left and so forth where you are trying to make enough money to avoid qualifying school?

DANNY LEE: I think I used three exemptions already and played Zurich and Quail Hollow and last week. So I think I got 5 more. I'm not sure.

Q. Does this count?

MARK WILLIAMS: No, this is an invitation. It's a sponsor invite. It wouldn't count as one of the 7. I'm sure it doesn't.

DANNY LEE: I don't really know what my plans are. My manager says that's your next tournament just go out there and play.

Q. Danny, obviously a lot of people have compared you as the next Tiger Woods. How have you handled that pressure? What do you think about, you know, having been billed that, I guess?

DANNY LEE: No, it doesn't really give me pressure, but it's always good that people think I'm the next Tiger Woods. It's really a special thing. I'm just too busy living my life and thinking of that.

MARK WILLIAMS: How was your experience at The Masters?

DANNY LEE: It was awesome. I think I did it okay until the 27th. Now I really enjoyed it. It's awesome.

Q. What part of your game do you need to improve, do you think, especially, I know the answer is probably everything. Everybody needs to improve everything, but what do you need to focus on to go to the next level?

DANNY LEE: I think it's not my skills, like swings or putter or short game. I think it's more like mental, and I get really depressed if I make bogeys, or doubles. So I think I got to control how to control the anger. So I think those kind of stuff I have to work on and be strong at it.

Q. Danny, you played enough golf here now on different courses, different conditions, do you prefer like the harder grasses like the Bermuda, or the softer grasses like bentgrass?

DANNY LEE: I don't really care which grass I'm playing on. I like really long and firm courses rather than short and you have to think about your next shot.

MARK WILLIAMS: How is the change in caddy working out?

DANNY LEE: Don is a great caddy. Anthony was a great caddy, too. Don is more like a serious man. He talks a lot. I think that really helps me playing golf out there.

MARK WILLIAMS: Has he helped you in any specific area of your game?

DANNY LEE: Yes, he reads the greens really well. So that really helps me a lot, too.

Q. You just said that you're more of a fan of longer courses that run fast where here at Colonial it's definitely a shot maker's course. How have you adjusted your game to kind of have some success here this week that you think you're going to do well? How have you adjusted your game that way?

DANNY LEE: I'm not sure. It's not really short. It's not really long. Like I said before, I think it's really depends on where your tee shot goes, because it's narrow fairways and lots of bunkers on the side and lots of little trees on the sides, too. So I think if I hit my tee shots really good, I think I'm going to do okay out there.

MARK WILLIAMS: I appreciate you coming in today, Danny. Thanks for your time and good luck this week.ek.