WGC EMC WORLD CUP

December 13, 2002

Dinesh Chand

Vijay Singh

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: We'd like to welcome the team from Fiji, currently the leaders in the clubhouse at 19-under par. If you could start with some openings comments about how today went, obviously well and you guys are in great position for the weekend.

VIJAY SINGH: Yeah, it's supposed to be a more difficult format, this, but when you start off with a lot of low scores early -- and then we birdied the first and kind of got a good momentum going on from there. You bogey 2 but then you birdie 3 and 4.

I had a lot of approach shots to the green, and Dinesh was putting well and he drove the ball beautifully. I don't think we missed a fairway but one. If you drive the ball in the fairway and hit good approach shots, you know you're going to make a good number. And we played well.

Q. Everywhere you play, all around the world, where does this event fit, and does it mean more to a country such as Fiji or Canada?

VIJAY SINGH: I think so. Last year was the first time we played together and was the first time I ever represented Fiji in golf as a professional. So it was a big thing for us, and it is a big thing now. I think this event is an ongoing event for a long, long time. It's got a lot of history behind it. I definitely would like to win it or finish way up there. I think it represents a lot, that we still care for our country, where we come from and I think this is a good event to show that.

Q. Are you amazed by your teammate's play?

VIJAY SINGH: No, I know he's a good player. He's played well in Japan. We played well last year. And he's playing well this week. I think he played better than me the first two days. I give him a lot of credit and hopefully we can continue this form.

Q. Would you talk about your relationship with your partner? You've worked together before; is that right?

VIJAY SINGH: We've known each other ever since I was in Fiji as an amateur. He caddied there, like I used to caddie for my dad a lot and he was just caddying there. He picked up Japanese, how to speak Japanese, by caddying for the Japanese tourists. So he's fluent in Japanese. He speaks better than most Japanese does. (Laughter). And for a guy who picked up that language just caddying, I think it's a great tribute, to how he understands people. I think his golf game is a lot better than people think it is. I think he's very underrated. I think going to be a good player in the future.

Q. Did he caddie for you, as well?

VIJAY SINGH: I few times he used to shag for me a lot. We've known each other for, gosh, all my life, I guess.

Q. How is the pupil/teacher partnership working? Last year a lot of what Vijay was saying was rubbing off and you took that onto great success afterwards.

DINESH CHAND: Playing with Vijay, you learn a lot. He's playing on the PGA TOUR in America and I play on the Japanese tour. You compare PGA TOUR with the Japanese PGA TOUR, level-wise, it's different. I try to play better than Vijay every time I play with him, which I did for the last two days.

Q. Is that still your aim, to get your card on the PGA TOUR?

DINESH CHAND: Well, you know, I'm trying. I might go to the Tour School this year and see what happens.

Q. Did he make more birdie putts than you did today?

VIJAY SINGH: He putted a lot of times. I had a lot of approach shots. I think I hit the last five approach shots to the green, the last five holes. He's been driving the ball very well, so I wanted him to hit more drivers; and I hit more second shots to the green and he's putting well.

Q. The last three birdies were all off his putter?

VIJAY SINGH: All of his putts, yeah.

DINESH CHAND: I'm a good putter. He gave me some putts that, whew, the last hole, was pretty tough.

Q. How far was it?

VIJAY SINGH: About five feet.

Q. What did you hit on 18?

VIJAY SINGH: Sand wedge.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Let's go over the rest of your birdies.

VIJAY SINGH: 1, I hit a 3-wood, and then a wedge to about 15 feet and made that.

Bogeyed 2. I hit a 6-iron over the green with his drive. We couldn't get up-and-down.

Third hole, hit driver, 5-wood to about 15 feet, 2-putted that.

Fourth hole with his driver, I knocked it in about six feet.

8, I hit a drive -- I hit a 5-iron to the bunker and blast out to about six inches.

9, I hit an 8-iron to about six inches.

10, we made par.

11, I hit driver and he hit about to about six feet, five feet.

12, driver, 3-wood, left short of the bunker. Chipped it about six inches, maybe less.

13, got up-and-down.

14, par.

16, he hit a drive and I hit a sand wedge about eight feet, ten feet maybe.

17, I hit an 8-iron about same, 10 feet, 12 feet.

18, drive, sand wedge about five feet.

Q. The format that you played today is far more difficult than yesterday's, but it looked like you played it as if it was easier than yesterday's.

VIJAY SINGH: I think we focus a lot better this way. It's one ball, we tend to put a lot more attention on what we are doing.

I think the key for this format is to get it on the fairways off the tee and then if you have a lot of approach shots with sand wedge and 9-irons, then you're going to get it close.

But it's supposed to be a tougher format. I don't know why everybody is shooting low. We shot better than yesterday.

DINESH CHAND: Not too many bad shots.

Q. It seems like this is a good course for you.

VIJAY SINGH: If you get your drive in play, and we both are decently long hitters, if you get the ball way out there, I think it sets the hole up for a birdie.

Most of the iron shots, approach shots, are all short irons to really short irons, sand wedges, wedges 9-irons. We are good enough players to get it inside 15 feet every time we hit it from there. When you do that, you're going to have a lot of birdie chances.

I think the toughest holes over here are on the par 3s. The greens are pretty tricky, but there are places where if you get the right shot, you are going to have a lot of birdie chances and you've got to putt well. And we putted well today.

Q. Are after two round of play, is there any particular hole that you are consciously going to change your style of play on?

VIJAY SINGH: We need to play our four-ball better. Last year was the same thing. We struggled on the four-ball and played the alternate shots really well. It showed today.

I don't know how we are going to do it tomorrow, but I think you need to be a little bit more aggressive with how we play. I don't think we are going to change anything. Just going to stick to the same formula and hopefully it pays off at the end.

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