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THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY SOUTHERN COMPANY

November 3, 2000

Vijay Singh

ATLANTA, GEORGIA

LEE PATTERSON: Vijay, thank you for spending some time with us. Wonderful first two days and in good position as we head into the weekend. Maybe just a couple thoughts about that.

VIJAY SINGH: I played a lot better today than yesterday. Yesterday I left, I didn't strike the ball as good on approach shots on the green like I did today, but I had a lot of chances out there today. Could have been lower.

LEE PATTERSON: Any questions?

Q. It is so hard to tell, you work so hard all the time anyway, it is hard to tell whether you are working on anything specific, but yesterday you were really out on the range working very hard on the traps and on your chipping, what are your thoughts there?

VIJAY SINGH: I think around the greens you need to get more comfortable when you get chip shots, so the more you play out of Bermuda rough, the more you learn about how the ball is going to come out. You can be playing really good and miss the green by a foot or so and you can't get up and down. The more you learn about how the ball is coming out, the better. That is what I was doing yesterday.

Q. The board out there is just loaded with marquis names. Does this kind of event lend itself to that sort of thing?

VIJAY SINGH: It is all good players out there this week. (laughs) Top-30 in the States, everybody is playing good. The golf course is in great shape that if you are playing well and hitting good approach shots you can make a lot of putts. The greens are just as good as you can have it. So if you give yourself a good chance there will be a lot of birdies made. That is what they are doing out there.

Q. A little surprising not to see so many (inaudible) really low score --

VIJAY SINGH: The golf course, although it is playing really good, it can -- you have to be very careful not to miss-hit a shot. If you do, then you are struggling to make pars. That is why nobody is really going out there and shooting 7, 8, 9 under, but if it stays like this, maybe somebody is going to do that. I had a chance of doing it if my putts had gone in, but that is another story.

Q. Do you feel that you have to be aggressive at the weekend because there are birdies out there?

VIJAY SINGH: Well, if you are aggressive, you have got to be smart and aggressive. If you go out and just play aggressive golf, if you don't get it on the fairways you are not going to make any ground with nobody. You are just going to lose ground because you can get some awful lies off the fairways. You have got to play very smart. Got to know when to be aggressive and when not to. But I think the key is to keep the ball in the fairways and you can make a lot of birdies from the fairways out here. I think that is the key for the weekend, is keep the ball in play.

Q. You pretty much answered my question, but how are you putting on these greens? The guys say they are so true and so easy to putt and when your putter is hot, you are hot.

VIJAY SINGH: Yeah, problem right now is getting the right lines. Reading the greens you got to know how much break -- it's so fast, if you get the right line you are going to knock it in. We misread a few out there today and over hit some. Reading the greens are more important over here this week. But I am putting well. I am looking forward to putting on these greens tomorrow.

Q. At The Presidents Cup the putter gave you a few problems. Is it better now or are you still struggling a little bit?

VIJAY SINGH: I didn't make any putts at The Presidents Cup but I stroked the ball really good. But this week I am lining up my ball to where I want to hit it and red line on the ball where I want the ball to start. I am starting the ball more on line. That has helped me a lot more this week. I think that is my new way of putting, lining the lines where I can line up my putter according to the line and hit it.

Q. When you are talking about your score that it could have been a lot lower, were you talking about the way that you were lining up the putts or was there more to it than that?

VIJAY SINGH: Well, I left three or four just on the lips, short, if I just gave it a little bit extra it would have gone in. I missed a short one on 17 which was probably a 5-foot birdie putt. We totally misread the putt. I missed a short one on 4. Missed a lot of putts. But that is what makes good scores, if you make those putts. And I didn't. But I am quite comfortable with my position right now going into the weekend and I am just going to work on that putter a little bit more and see how it does on the weekend.

Q. Other than those two putts were there any other ones that were kind of (inaudible) --

VIJAY SINGH: I was going in the green on 9 with a 3-iron that I didn't make birdie on. I had a lot of chances; there was one on 13 that was about eight feet left; one on 14 was about ten feet short, that didn't go in. Missed one on -- 13 -- 12 I missed a short one. 14 I missed a short putt but from about six feet. So we had -- if you add all them together it would have been a good score. 1 I hit a driver, 9-iron to about six feet. 3, I hit a driver sand wedge to about again about five, six feet. 11, I hit a 6-iron about eight feet. ?

LEE PATTERSON: Missed a 6-footer on 14. Then 15.

VIJAY SINGH: 15 I hit a driver, 4-iron to about four feet. That was it.

Q. Sounds like it could really -- could have been really low?

VIJAY SINGH: Yeah.

Q. The ball-striking was that good?

VIJAY SINGH: Yeah, but you have got to get the ball in the hole though. That is part of the game too. It is coming. I feel really -- really looking forward to the weekend. That is good. It is a good sign.

LEE PATTERSON: Is that how you were playing two years ago here?

VIJAY SINGH: Playing better this time. Putting better.

LEE PATTERSON: Thank you.

End of FastScripts....

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