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BUICK OPEN

July 30, 2004

Stewart Cink

GRAND BLANC, MICHIGAN

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Stewart, thanks for joining us. Two rounds in the 60s puts you in good position going into the weekend right now, just one shot off the lead. If we can start with some opening comments about the first few days here at Warwick Hills golf and Country Club.

STEWART CINK: Well, obviously I've been pleased with my scoring. Today I wasn't very pleased with the rain, though. It was really wet out there a lot of the round, and it made scoring pretty tough when the rain was coming down heavily. But the greens were soft and here are always some of the smoothest greens on the tour. If you feel like you get your ball near the hole, you feel like you're going to make good putts.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Five Top 10s and a win at the MCI Heritage, talk about how you've taken your game to the next level, so to speak and won over $2 million; you've had a great year.

STEWART CINK: Thanks. I have worked really hard on my game with Butch Harmon. I've worked hard on my attitude, I guess you could say, to put it simply and my fitness, too. I'm not the only guy out here working hard on fitness, but it does mean a lot and enables you to get your swing into the correct places. And you can't say enough about being in good enough shape coming out here to play.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: You've lost some weight; was there an adjustment period with your swing far as the 15 or 20 pounds whatever you lost?

STEWART CINK: Yeah, I did lose about 20 pounds, but I did put almost all of it back on.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: It's all muscle.

STEWART CINK: I put back on some of it. It's all muscle; I wish I could say that was true. I lost the weight about two years ago and it coincided with some bad play. I don't think it had anything to do with that. My swing it was not pretty and that's when I made the decision to work with Butch Harmon. I understand more about my swing now, so when I do hit a bad shot, which I usually hit plenty of bad shots, I know what happens and am I believe to self correct on the golf course instead of just being lost until I get to the range.

Q. You'll be playing late tomorrow, what kind of weather would you like to see between now and then? Would you like it to stay wet or dry?

STEWART CINK: Well, obviously like any other golf fan at Warwick Hills, I'd like it to stay dry. Nothing can be done about the golf conditions. Even if it's sunny and windy for two straight days, it's not going to dry out very much like this. We're going to be playing pretty much throwing darts golf over the weekend and scoring will be low.

So, it's not much fun to play in these types of conditions when it's pouring down rain. So, I hope it stays dry.

Q. When you know going out there that the chance of rain is there and then you have to deal with that, how does that change your approach maybe for goals that you had when you started the round and what types of adjustments do you need to make?

STEWART CINK: Well, when it starts to rain hard like it did today, I have to be honest, par is a goal, because every hole out here can jump up and bite you when it's pouring down rain. You just lose you lose grip on the club with your hands and you lose grip on the club with the club face on the ball, and it's just a lot more indecision that goes on out there when it's raining hard. You just don't know exactly how far you're going to hit the ball; it goes shorter; clubs off the tee sometimes are a little different. You just really have to be patient, and a lot of times you end up scrambling for a lot of pars and that's what I did.

Q. Without seeing your scorecard today, how did you do during the holes that you had to play through the rain, score wise?

STEWART CINK: I pretty much parred every hole I think during that time. I made three birdies in a row the first three holes, 10 through 12, and then it was raining pretty good at that point. I don't think I made another birdie until No. 2, and that's the same hole I put up the umbrella.

I was missing a few fairways out there. It's tough to drive the ball when it's raining hard. It's hard to keep your rhythm. It's just difficult conditions to play in.

Q. You mentioned one of the changes you made was some attitude adjustment type of things, what types of things do you do different in your approach on the course and just in your game in general?

STEWART CINK: This is my eighth year I think on the Tour now. And over the years, my first five or six years, I developed sort of an attitude where I was very hard on myself, although I didn't know it because just gradually evolved into that. I didn't realize I was being so hard on myself and I was unforgiving and I would not allow myself to make any mistakes.

I just in the last couple of years really worked hard on trying to be prepared for all kind of shots, good, bad, missed putts, made putts, whatever and try to just accept whatever comes along. I think it's made it a lot easier to stay in the present and not worry about what might happen in the future, and it's just really made golf a lot calmer for me. I use that every day I play. I just try to stay I try to be ready for what might happen and not be too hard on myself in that way.

Q. In your round today, what was going well for you out there today?

STEWART CINK: Well, my iron play has been really solid the last two days. I think I can attribute that to 100% change of shafts in my irons this week. At the British Open last tournament I played in, I was having trouble curving the ball right to left against the wind. If you paid attention at Troon, you had the whole back nine coming left to right; so you had to try to hook it against the wind. I was losing balls right and having trouble doing that. I decided to change my shafts and made that a little easier for me, or whatever Nike did with their shafts it really helped. I've really been able to control the ball well so far this week and it's given me a lot of good chances for birdies.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: If we could quickly go through your round and we'll take one last question. Starting on the back you birdied the first three, 10,11, 12.

STEWART CINK: I was in play off 10. Hit a sand wedge about five feet there.

Hit a 6 iron about five feet on 11.

Drove it in the fairway on 12 and hit about 60 yard pitch shot about ten feet and made that.

Then parred all the way through 2, I think, or through 1. Driver, 6 iron on 2 about 12, 15 feet and made that.

5, I hit a really good 8 iron in the fairway to about 20 feet. Doesn't sound like a great shot, but it hit next to the hole and spun backwards which is really unusual for me.

6, out of the fairway bunker, I hit a 7 iron about 30 feet and made that one.

7, driver, 3 wood to the front bunker. Played it out to about four feet.

Q. You talk about changing shafts. A couple of guys have been in here talking about changing putters and changing drivers, how much of that do you think is psychological that you are making a change to feel something different about your game when things are not going well?

STEWART CINK: Well, it's not psychological at all when you change something like shafts in your irons, because it's all feel and performance. I was hoping to get more right to left shape on my shots when I needed it, and so I was able to accomplish that with the new iron shafts.

But now that they are in play and I feel like I can do it, then there's a little bit more of a mindset change where I have confidence on that kind of shot when the past I may not have had.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Stewart, thanks and good luck this weekend.

End of FastScripts.

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