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DEUTSCHE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP

September 2, 2004

Vijay Singh

NORTON, MASSACHUSETTS

VIJAY SINGH: I know they are going to ask me about the World Ranking, so I'm not going to answer about that. (Laughing).

Q. Talk about your feelings on the course, obviously there were some changes made, how do you feel about the changes?

VIJAY SINGH: A lot better than last year. I think it's a lot more playable. The greens are not so undulating anymore. They took a lot of the undulation and made it a lot softer. It's very playable. It's actually quite a good golf course now.

Q. So you don't want to talk about the World Rankings?

VIJAY SINGH: You can ask me.

Q. Okay. I guess the birdie that Tiger made at the NEC made the difference, or this week you would be the No. 1 player in the world.

VIJAY SINGH: I don't think so. You know, I'm tired of listening to that, really. I'm tired of reading about it. I'm just going to go out there and play this tournament and try to enjoy it. I think that focus has totally been out of my mind for two or three months already now and I'm not going to think about it.

If it happens this week, it's fine. Sooner or later, someone is going to overtake that. If it's not me, it's Ernie Els or somebody else. Like I always said, if I play well this week, it's going to take care of itself.

Q. In your mind do you think you are the No. 1 player in the world?

VIJAY SINGH: In my mind I am, you know, but that's for my own ego. I guess, you know, you could say it that way. I've always played for myself, and when I go out there I think I'm the best at any time anywhere. And if I don't think that way, then I shouldn't be playing this game.

So, when I tee it up, I think nobody is going to beat me, and that's the way you've got to think in a game like this, or any game for that matter.

You know, the way I think is different than the way people think.

Q. You've said a lot of guys in the last two weeks they talk about you as a role model, a friend, and what they think is the best rags-to-riches story out here, do you feel that you are or do you feel the fans appreciate you for that?

VIJAY SINGH: I do my job out here. I mingle with the fans the best I can, especially in the Pro-Ams and practice rounds.

But when the tournament starts, you kind of focus on yourself. You mostly see the serious side of me in a tournament. You know, practice days and Pro-Ams, I do enough things for the crowd that, you know, that justifies me being out here.

So, I think I do enough and I think I enjoy the fans, enjoy the crowd.

Q. Do you enjoy practicing with fellows like Jason Guffner (ph) and people like that who other people have never heard of; you seem to do a lot of that.

VIJAY SINGH: Yeah, I stick with him, I played with Hank even key, Parnevik, Pernice and those guys. It doesn't really matter who you play with. They all can play. As long as you've got something going, you know, enjoy it.

Q. It's not often you take a week off. You took a week off last week; what do you do on a week off?

VIJAY SINGH: Wow, it was different last week. You know, I took my wife away for three or four days. Just did not play golf. I played one round of golf and came back.

Normally I just take it easy for three or four days or two days and go back and start practicing, doing little bits and pieces here and there. Not a full day, but maybe two or three hours a day until the weekend before I leave and I probably do four or five hours.

Q. I remember you saying that you really never had an opportunity to take her very many places just because you don't like to take that time away from golf. What was the situation this time around?

VIJAY SINGH: It was her birthday. I had no choice. (Laughing). But it was good. She had a great time, I had a great time, and you know, it was healthy.

Q. Can we ask where you went?

VIJAY SINGH: No. But I'm sure you'll find out.

Q. You played the course late yesterday and you played it today, you obviously put in a lot of work. What drives you; obviously you're having one of your better seasons than you've ever had, what continues to drive you this late in the season?

VIJAY SINGH: The season is still -- we've got a quarter of the season yet to go. There's still quite a few big tournaments to come. I want to finish strong. I just don't want to end up the PGA being my last big tournament.

If I can, I want to win one or two more tournaments. THE TOUR Championship is the last tournament and I want to play well in that. That's a good golf course. I won it the last time it was played there, so that's my goal towards that.

But I still want to win a couple more tournaments this year.

Q. Driver on the 10th hole all week?

VIJAY SINGH: Yes. I birdied three out of four days, or four out of four days if you count the playoff.

End of FastScripts.

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