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HSBC CHAMPIONS TOURNAMENT

November 11, 2005

Zhang Lian-Wei

SHANGHAI, CHINA

CHUAH CHOO CHIANG: We've got Lian Wei Zhang, currently 9 under par total and three behind the leaders. You must like your performance after two rounds.

LIAN WEI ZHANG: I'm pretty happy with the results so far.

CHUAH CHOO CHIANG: You had a great finish. Can you take us through the four birdies in the last five holes?

LIAN WEI ZHANG: I was feeling a little bit of pressure and playing a little bit conservative. I didn't play too well. But after the ninth hole on the back nine, I started feeling much better and I felt really good with those four birdies.

On the first hole, on the second shot I was a little bit rushing, and I put the ball on the left side of the green and ended up with a bogey. After that, I played a little bit conservative the rest of the front nine, so luckily, I was really patient and on the back nine I played much better.

Q. On the short par 4, 16th, Tiger was more aggressive and ended up with a bogey, did that bother you and your position playing that hole?

LIAN WEI ZHANG: Tiger had a driver and hit it into the rough and had a really tough shot on the second shot. If he is playing aggressive, it's very risky. You could end up with a really good result or in the bunker and he ended up in the bunker and finished with a bogey.

I decided on both days to hit a tee shot with a 3 iron and had a 90 yard second shot and played safe. But both days I finished with birdies on both days and that's what I would rather do.

Q. This is your second day playing alongside Tiger Woods and today you beat the world No. 1 by one stroke, what does this performance mean to you, and how do you rate your game today?

LIAN WEI ZHANG: Even though I'm one stroke less compared to Tiger, but overall, two days' total score, I'm still one stroke more than Tiger, and Tiger is still the No. 1 golfer in the world and I would like to learn a lot more from Tiger.

Q. Two questions for you. You've been a very composed player, after I watched you in the Indonesian Open, you played very well, and you finished well. But today compared to yesterday, today you are very calm and you played your game well. What was your strategy for the past two days, and what is the next part to these next two days, the strategy?

LIAN WEI ZHANG: Overall these two days, my putting has been very satisfying and I try to be very patient, even though there are some disturbances around the course today. But there is a lot of support and playing with Tiger, obviously is some pressure, but just try to keep myself calm and play with my strategy.

Q. I believe you witnessed the drama on the 18th hole just now. Tiger Woods being the role model of golf in the world and being No. 1, the reaction after making a mistake on the golf course, tearing the glove and hitting the iron towards the bag, do you think it will create some kind of bad image towards his title or himself, and what are the repercussions, what is your personal opinion against his character toward the game of golf when he makes mistakes?

LIAN WEI ZHANG: Every golfer has his own character and his own style. Even though Tiger did something to his golf bag, that's probably just one way to relieve his anger. As long as he doesn't bother other golfers in the group, it's okay with me.

And maybe that's the best way for Tiger to get anger relief and he still saved par on the green after putting a ball into the water. If some players get really upset on the golf course and go home and do something stupid, that's probably even worse.

So I think as long as he keeps it to himself and not disturbing the other golfers in the group, that's fine with me.

Q. How are you going to pay attention for tomorrow and Sunday's round, what's your focus? And how do you relieve your anger when there is nobody around?

LIAN WEI ZHANG: I'll just try to keep my own course management and be patient and hopefully I will perform the way I want.

I remember when I was still an amateur, when I was not playing well or practicing well, I would throw the golf club and the club would end up somewhere in the trees. That's just the way I was, but I learned a lot and after turning pro, I just try to be calm and be more patient and try to keep my anger.

Q. Playing with Tiger world No. 1, and Monty, The European Tour No. 1, what have you learned in the last two days?

LIAN WEI ZHANG: After watching Tiger for the last two days, I found out that Tiger is very, very competitive, and he knows when to be aggressive and when to be more conservative. You can really tell the difference. Especially with Tiger's long irons, the trajectory is very high and the ball will stop on the greens very easy compared to my long iron shots, it's quite a huge difference.

And there is distance wise, there's a huge difference between the distance of Tiger and me. But I'm already ten years older than Tiger, which is something that I probably not be able to match.

CHUAH CHOO CHIANG: Thank you for coming in, and play well this weekend.

End of FastScripts.

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