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CIMB CLASSIC

October 27, 2015

Henrik Stenson

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

THE MODERATOR: Henrik Stenson, welcome to the CIMB Classic 2015. This is your first trip to this tournament. Let's get some overall thoughts on the golf course, if you've seen the golf course, and coming do play here for the first time.

HENRIK STENSON: Yeah, it's been a good while since I was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last time. I can't quite remember. It might have been '05, something like that, played probably three or four times on the European Tour here, so played at The Mines and Saujana, but my first time here at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club. Yeah, it's a good track. I played the front nine today. I'm starting on 10 in the pro-am tomorrow, so I'll at least get to see first of all the back nine and then the front again.

I mean, it's soft. We know it rains a lot in the afternoons, and you're not getting much run, so it's pretty much all carry and you can be pretty aggressive on your approach shots, as well, because they're going to stick where they land for sure.

Greens are good. I guess that's the tricky part. I've played some quick Bermuda greens, and these ones are a little bit different, a bit slower at times, and that's why I need to spend a bit of time on the putting green getting used to the pace of the greens and hit some shots out of the rough around the greens. That's in general what you need to spend the most time on in your prep work.

THE MODERATOR: Take us through the end of last season. You obviously finished very well, finishing second in the FedExCup. Just through that hot streak at the end of the year.

HENRIK STENSON: Yeah, I got going pretty nicely in the Playoffs. Of course a little disappointing not to be able to win any of those tournaments when I was up. I had a good chance at the TOUR Championship and I was there until the end, but Jordan was on fire on the greens and didn't leave it open to anyone else, really. I don't feel like I played my best golf throughout the Playoffs, but I scored well, and I hit a lot of great shots and made some putts here and there, but the consistency wasn't quite to the level that I know I can play.

So given that, I was really happy being second three times. It was good performances, and that was my mission when I came into the FedExCup Playoffs, to try and compete, and I did that really well until the end.

Yeah, it was a great PGA TOUR season for me, and here we are and starting it up again for the 2016 season. That's part of the reason that I've added this tournament to my schedule, as well, because next year is going to be a busy year with the Olympics and Ryder Cup and everything else, so this gives me the opportunity to add one more tournament before Christmas. I will have this one and HSBC next week, so I will have two PGA TOUR events played before Christmas, which is going to ease off my schedule.

THE MODERATOR: Talk a little bit about what you've done since TOUR Championship. You've had a few weeks off. Do you practice when you're off or do you take time off?

HENRIK STENSON: Yeah, the month really I had some corporate outings the first week, so it was still work after Atlanta for five days, and then I spent some time at home with the family, some gym work and some golf practice. I had different parts of my team over at different times, and I just finished up a little family vacation for a few days in the Bahamas before I came out here. Yesterday was my youngest daughter's first birthday, so I missed that, but I got to see a picture of her at least. Yeah, it's a busy time of the year. I'm playing five out of six weeks, and the only little slight worry is my right knee; I've got a bit of a problem with the meniscus and I'm scheduled to have an op on the 9th of December in Orlando, so I'm hoping I can squeeze by in these last five tournaments that I have before Christmas.

Q. Coming back to Asia, Malaysia especially, what have you noticed or what are the main differences of golf in this country?
HENRIK STENSON: Yeah, I haven't played in Malaysia, like I said, for probably just over 10 years, so I haven't followed what's been happening with the golf development in Malaysia in particular, but in Asia overall, I mean, we see more and more players coming out, trying to make it out on TOUR and doing good performances. It's a growing part of the world for the game of golf.

Yeah, and I expect it to continue to be that way in, both in the near and then further down the line in the future. Yeah, it's definitely a developing part in terms of golf, and we see more and more players. That's good for the game and exciting when you come here to play. There's always new competition around the corner, someone who wants to beat you, and you've got to play well to keep them behind.

Q. The way you played this year, you must be pleased.
HENRIK STENSON: Yeah, absolutely. I feel like I've had three good chances to win, and yeah, it was a bit disappointing not being able to make it happen out of those three. Two of the other ones I didn't really have that much of a chance to win, so sometimes you can be happy with your performance being second, and sometimes it can be disappointing that you didn't win. At the same time, some of the guys I was up against played really well, and when you look back at a final round of a tournament like that, you can feel like maybe your opponent sometimes had those extra 10, 15 percent of luck at the right time or hit one good shot that really made the whole outcome.

At times in the past I've been on the end where I've been a bit lucky or made a putt at the right time or something like that, and yeah, I'm just going to keep on trying. I've got five more chances, and I would love to get a win here before the end of the calendar year, and it would be great to make it happen here in Malaysia.

Q. Is the heat and humidity still a factor for you guys?
HENRIK STENSON: Absolutely. Absolutely. My caddie Gareth has said that last time -- I think it was probably a good 10 years ago he was in Malaysia, as well, and he just looked at me when I said that we were going here for this event, and he said, "I'm not made for that heat." I'm going to make sure I get by the week, but yeah, it's a tough week. The humidity, and for the first couple of days we've been having a bit of overcast and it hasn't been that hot, but the humidity just drains you a little bit extra. It's not going to be any long practice sessions after the rounds here this week.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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