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JOHNNIE WALKER CLASSIC


April 23, 2005


Richard Sterne


BEIJING, CHINA

Q. Good day for you Richard?

RICHARD STERNE: Yes absolutely, every day you are blemish free on the golf course is a good day. I thought I might drop a shot at the last but got up and down for par which was nice. The only thing is that my back is a little bit sore today. My swing doesn't actually feel that great but I got it around and made a few putts.

Q. It is always difficult to get any momentum when the tournament structure is like this?

RICHARD STERNE: Yes, well my first round took two days to play and that is never easy but I managed to keep it going. But there is still a long way to go and there are some very good players out here, I am just trying to have fun and learn.

Q. The win in Madrid was fantastic for all that it meant to you, has it given you added confidence in tournaments now?

RICHARD STERNE: Yes it has given me a lot of confidence and my game has changed a lot since then, confidence wise and self belief. As I said we have a lot of good players here and I always wanted to be able to put myself in amongst them and see what happens so I will try and give them a bit of a go over the next two rounds.

Q. What are your general impressions of China on your first visit?

RICHARD STERNE: Well this is a fantastic resort we are at here. It is obviously not the China most of us expected but it is fantastic, it is a great golf course and the hotel is fantastic. I went to the Wall yesterday and it is just amazing. I wasn't there very long but even so, I just thought to myself 'how did they build that' and especially considering when they built it. It is just amazing and I would actually like to find out some facts about how they did manage to build it.

Q. Your fellow South African Ernie Els is recognised as perhaps one of the best examples of a world player - is that what you see yourself trying to aim for too?

RICHARD STERNE: I actually walked nine holes with him earlier in the week because I didn't play a practice round. I played one hole and then decided it was too windy. So I walked with him and I chatted. I don't know him too well but I know him well enough to walk with him and I watched him play and he just made everything look so easy, you start to think that you should be able to do the same thing. Just talking to him made me feel better about my own game.

Q. He said that playing around the world has helped him and you are starting to follow suit?

RICHARD STERNE: Yes, I think any experience in different winds and different grasses, different players, different food and travel, everything, it can only help you, instead of just staying in America, let's say, as some of the guys do. It can only help.

Q. Are you going on to Shanghai for the BMW Asian Open?

RICHARD STERNE: Yes I plan to, but my back is hurting a little bit so we'll see. I'm not injured, it has just been a little bit sore today. I think all golfers have a spot of back trouble at some point so I just felt it a little bit today. I'm going to get some physio now and hopefully it will be okay for the afternoon.

Q. Your shot of the day?

RICHARD STERNE: I actually thought I had holed my six iron tee shot at the 12th, it looked in all the way but just finished about three feet past the hole. I thought I was going to win myself a car (the first professional to hole in one at the 12th this week wins a VW Car) which would have been a nice way to start because I have never had a hole in one in the past. But it wasn't to be.

End of FastScripts.
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