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HSBC CHAMPIONS TOURNAMENT

November 12, 2005

David Howell

SHANGHAI, CHINA

GORDON SIMPSON: In this last round, Howell first, Woods second, I presume you would settle for the same order tomorrow afternoon?

DAVID HOWELL: Yeah, obviously. It's all about winning tomorrow. It's a great opportunity for me, try and take on the world's best player with a one shot lead and try to win a massive tournament. It's going to be a big day, but an exciting day and I'm looking forward to the challenge.

GORDON SIMPSON: Tiger was just saying that he appreciates the improvement he's seen in your game. Would you agree with that within the last year or so?

DAVID HOWELL: Well, that's very nice of him to say if he's talking about me in a nice way about that.

Yeah, I'm a vastly improved player certainly from two or three years ago. It's been a gradual progression. I keep putting myself in this situation more and more so obviously I am getting better.

Q. Tiger has also described you as a cool dude; how would you describe him?

DAVID HOWELL: Has he really. (Laughing).

GORDON SIMPSON: On TV.

DAVID HOWELL: That's cool. Tiger is a great guy. I don't know him overly well, I've played with him a couple of times, played golf with him a couple of times but he seems like a pretty cool guy himself and he handles himself well.

I guess in the last five minutes, I've just experienced what Tiger might experience almost every day of his life, with the autographs and the chaos that surrounds him all the time. I was getting frustrated after five minutes, so that brings it home to me just how well he handles himself and has done for many years now. He's a class act and we're lucky to have him as our No. 1 player.

Q. You holed so many good putts in the middle of the round, how do you feel inaudible after missing the first one and a makeable one on the last?

DAVID HOWELL: Yeah, mentally I'm not sure how to feel sort of after today's round. I missed a 2 footer at the first and a 4 footer to finish. Had a few other chances out there, as well, and I holed three or four putts that you just wouldn't expect to hole one in 100. If you don't hole the ones you expect to hole, they are more of a necessity than the bonus. So I think 68, even bearing in mind what happened on the eighth, was just the worst score I possibly could have shot today.

I guess I'm probably slightly frustrated, to only have a one shot lead, to be honest. I felt I could easily have stretched that to two or three. Slightly frustrated, but in the morning I'll wake up and be leading the tournament by one and be excited and happy I he is good.

Q. David, you said you've seen a gradual improvement in your game over the last 12 months, 18 months, do you put that down to anything in particular or anything that you've done or changed to bring that about?

DAVID HOWELL: Yeah, you know, I've been working with my coach, Clive Tucker, about three years now. I worked with him previous to that for about six months in 2001. I went back to him three years ago and haven't looked back; it's just been fantastic. A lot of the credit goes to him, and to me for putting all the hard work in. And then all other aspects of my golf preparation, really, my fitness, my health, I've got a new staff now which seemed ridiculous to me about five years ago to end up with an entourage, but that's what happened. But it's paying off for me.

Q. Just to follow up from what you said a minute ago, is it the case now that to be successful and at the top of the game that you need to have a support team, you need to have a backup team to look at every aspect of what's going on on and off the golf course?

DAVID HOWELL: I don't think it's a necessity. I know most of the top players work with a coach. Retief Goosen is probably the only player I can think of that doesn't work with a pretty full time coach.

You know, for me, it is. Monty, he doesn't travel the world with a personal trainer, and I feel the need to nowadays. Monty has been highly successful without that sort of backup, and many other people have felt the need to have help in all departments.

Certainly, it's helping me become a better player. I'd rather do it on my own to be honest; you know, cheaper and easier, but I need the support of many people.

Q. You are being paired with Tiger tomorrow, will this bring any pressure?

DAVID HOWELL: Well, there's pressure involved with trying to win a golf tournament of this magnitude anyway. Playing with Tiger, he obviously does bring issues. I'm not so sure it's any more pressuring than playing anybody else. If I'm all square with Tiger playing the last or all square with Nick O'Hern playing the last, I'm sure I'll be nervous.

You know, those are the feelings you have to conquer any time you win a golf tournament. So I'm not so sure it's wholly different playing against Tiger. That said, I've never gone down the stretch playing against him, so I guess I'll find out.

GORDON SIMPSON: David, we all look forward to seeing what happens tomorrow. Good luck.

End of FastScripts.

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