WGC BRIDGESTONE INVITATIONAL

August 22, 2006

Scott Verplank

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Scott Verplank, welcome to the WGC Bridgestone Invitational. You got some nice news from captain Tom Lehman the other day.

Maybe just talk for a couple minutes about that and we'll go into questions.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, that was great news, actually, for me anyway. I've been on both sides of that deal, so I know it wasn't great news for a couple guys that were hopeful. But, listen, I'm really looking forward to playing in the Ryder Cup again. It's the greatest event that I've ever played in. It's more fun, it's more intense, it's more competitive, at least for me, than just a regular golf tournament. I've played out here for 20 years, and that is one event that I don't have to worry about being up for.

Some of these other ones, sometimes you kind of get there and you're trying to get rested and get everything ready to go. But this one, doesn't take much to be pretty fired up for.

Q. When you must have known you were being looked at pretty seriously, when you left Friday, the way you finished, did you think your chances had been hurt severely?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah. I knew that he was interested in me possibly. He was very interested in me being part of the team, one way or the other, or at least that's what I felt. But, yeah, when I didn't play very good at the PGA, I kind of figured, well, I gave him an excuse. Which I think if I would have played decent there, may not have taken until 9:00 Monday morning. Or I would have actually got some sleep one of the last two nights.

But that's the way things happen. At least from my viewpoint, I'm happy that he didn't let one golf tournament basically make it a two year decision for him.

Q. Just as a quick follow up, when you were picked for the first time in '01, I think you probably won two weeks later.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Uh huh.

Q. Stewart was picked last week by Hal and won the next week later. Coincidence?

SCOTT VERPLANK: No, I think, one, it's such an honor; and, two, it's such a huge vote of confidence to actually be picked by a guy who's running the team. I mean, he had a lot of choices. Every year there's a lot of choices, and to be singled out, two guys are singled out every two years that that particular captain wants on his team to try to complete on his team, that's a pretty ringing endorsement from a guy that obviously is respected in the golf world. He wouldn't be in the Ryder Cup if he wasn't respected in the world of golf.

It's a nice confidence boost. I mean, hey, it's a great gesture, I can tell you that.

Q. Everybody talks about like the team aspect of the Ryder Cup, how big that is. What do you bring to the table in that regard?

A. I think kind of just steady influence. I don't know, I've always been a team kind of guy, to be honest with you. Like I said, I don't have any trouble getting up to being part of a team that's wanting to go the extra mile to win, whether it's the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup or any other event.

Last year was a lot of fun. I think The Presidents Cup was a good deal for the United States because we all really came together and wanted to win for Jack. We all kind of thought it might be Jack's last time to do anything like that, and I'm thrilled that he's back again. But it doesn't really matter; Jack is Jack, and we all wanted to win real bad for him. I think that was a motivating factor for everybody.

I get the sense that we're going to have some similar motivations and feelings this time around.

Q. Given the way this event has tracked over the last 20 years, would you say that there's a fairly pronounced sense of urgency on the U.S. side this year?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, I think there's always a sense of urgency. I think it's kind of the way I look at it is it's an exhibition. There's no money. It was intended to be an exhibition originally. But an exhibition between two different countries, parties obviously Europe is not a country it's a collection of countries versus the United States. There's a lot of pride involved. We've been getting our butts kicked pretty good.

Hey, listen, I know I would like to win the thing and I know a couple of my closer friends that are on the team, they're not talking about anything else. Hopefully the two or three of our key components kind of get the fire that they would like to be on a winning team, and we'll give it a good shot.

Q. You're of an age where I don't want to use the word unthinkable, but highly unlikely that the perception would be that the European side would be the I don't want to say prohibitive, but would be the consensus favorite, especially based on the last five events. Does that rank a little low?

SCOTT VERPLANK: No. I mean, they've been winning. What have they won, seven of the last ten or three of the last four? I can't keep that's your job.

Q. Seven of ten.

SCOTT VERPLANK: So they've been clearly dominating. So, yeah, I think that, like I said, like at the Presidents Cup, if we all come together as a team of 12 players and a captain and two assistant captains, if we all come together on the same page and are all fighting for the same thing, I think we'll put up a pretty good fight.

I like our team. You know, I'm sure that Ian Woosnam is going to like his team, too. There's not any chops in this deal. Everybody can play. It's just a matter of playing doing what you need to do at the right time.

Q. Do you expect to see Darren Clarke on that team, and if he is, what do you think that would mean to Europe?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, I don't know. Gosh, how would you even speculate on that? If he was on the team, obviously there would be probably a lot more emotions involved. But I'm friends with him, he's friends with a lot of guys on our team. I don't think that just because he was on the other team that they're going to be we're going to be feeling more sorry for him than they are. That is so much more important than playing a golf tournament, unfortunately for him.

Q. It is speculation, I understand that.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Even if he's not on that team, I'm sure we're going to have some appropriate tribute to him and his late wife and do whatever we can to help him. I think everybody that plays professional golf is feeling that way.

I mean, he's a great guy. He had a lovely wife and a couple of young kids, and gosh, golf is nothing compared to that. I don't think that's part of this exhibition. That's something that's much more important and we'll deal with it probably either one on one with Darren or privately.

Q. The reason for that question, and I know we're separating golf and life here, but I just wondered, as close as he is to the boys in Europe and having not played since the Open, if he were to play there, what kind of an emotional lift that might bring?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, it might. You know, I don't know that. You know, I don't know if they all got dedicated to play great in her memory and they won if that would make that much difference to him. If that was the case and it all happened like that and that's how he felt about it, then if they win, I hope it makes a big difference for him. But if we win, I don't think it's going to make any difference to him.

That's something I don't know if he's going to be I don't know what he's doing, but he's a good man and he's well liked on both sides of the pond. I don't know that that's really relative to this deal. I know what you're saying, but I think our team feels just as emotionally about it as their team does. You know, sorry and very I don't even know the words. But it's a very sad situation.

Q. You've been on a known quantity, I guess, since winning the amateur. I'm just curious when you first heard of Tom Lehman, because you guys are only separated by, what, four or five years?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah. I first heard of him when he was winning on what was I don't know what it was called, the Hogan Tour? When he was Player of the Year and winning on Tour, and a little bit before that because he had been kind of on and off and struggling.

Q. You knew the name?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, but I didn't know him that well.

Q. It's funny when you hear someone reaches these levels that you haven't heard of him through college and all the way through, given his background.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, people come from everywhere. Have you ever heard of Lee Janzen coming out of college? The guy won two U.S. Opens. It wasn't like he was any kind of superstar in college, I don't think.

Q. Did he go to college?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, he went to college. He's more close to my age. And back 20 years ago you never heard of him. Obviously the guy found some good things to do and

Q. He was this close to selling skis.

SCOTT VERPLANK: I think a lot of guys were like that. What was Azinger doing?

Q. Buying them.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, he might have been waiting in line to buy a pair (laughter).

I think there's a lot of different ways to go about it. Obviously it's getting less and less where you go to college now. There's more guys turning pro early and more guys coming out different ways, and there's more people around the world that we play against daily now that there's a bunch of varying backgrounds. It's not so much cookie cutter like the kind of thing it used to be. Everybody used to dress the same and look the same. Now you can't recognize the same guy from one day to the next.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Scott, thanks.

End of FastScripts.