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THE INTERNATIONAL

August 10, 2006

Stewart Cink

CASTLE ROCK, COLORADO

THE MODERATOR: Stewart Cink, welcome to the interview room after 11 points this morning on the INTERNATIONAL. Good day for you. 3 birdies and I believe an eagle. Then just talk about your day.

STEWART CINK: I did have a pretty solid day, thanks. Not a lot in the way of birdies, but no bogeys to offset them. The eagle was huge, you know, on my 10th hole, which was No. 1.

You have to have eagles here to be in contention at the end of the week, and it feels good to get one in the first round.

THE MODERATOR: Okay. Questions?

Q. How is the course playing? There was a lot made of the rough being real thick. Did you get in it much? Just your general thoughts on how the course is playing.

STEWART CINK: I was in it a few times, especially on the first nine. I think I was in it probably half the time, four or five holes. It is thick, but the greens are soft so that negates some of the difficulty of the rough.

The course is actually pretty soft. I think it's been raining some in the evenings as usual. So just playing a little long; the greens are a little soft. But overall it's really not going to be a whole lot different than usual.

The pins are always difficult here, and with the soft greens I think the players will still be able to attack some of those really tough pins.

THE MODERATOR: Talk about the eagle and maybe a couple birdies that you hit.

STEWART CINK: Won't take very long to talk about all those. I started in the back and didn't get a birdie until 14. Hit it on there to about 45 feet; two putted. Then made the turn on 1; hit a good drive. And I have a brand new club in my bag this week, a 21 degree Hybrid.

Normally I use an 18, and I just I added the 21 on top of 18 to take my 3 iron out for extra boost, and it worked perfectly on No. 1.

First shot in the competition I hit it about ten feet from 278, rolled that in and got off from just an average two point round through nine holes to all of a sudden I'm up to 7.

That's when you really love this format. When you make a double bogey on a hole and get minus 3, that's when you hate the format.

Q. Were you trying to take advantage of just getting the ball in the air? Was that the decision on adding this Hybrid?

STEWART CINK: Yeah , definitely. In the past I've used a 7 wood here. And actually I just forgot it. So I thought about it I was on vacation all last week and golf was the farthest thing from my mind.

So when I got my clubs out on Sunday up in Aspen, I realized I forgot my 7 wood, which I've used almost every year here. So I called the guys up at Nike and said, Look I need something that's going to go about the same as my 3 iron, and they came up with sling shot Hybrid 21 degrees, which is just perfect for me really. It goes the same distance as my 3 iron maybe a little higher and so it stops faster on the green.

So today, a perfect example, on No. 1 I carried it about 270, actually 275, and it landed on a down slope and it only rolled about six yards.

My 3 iron if it carried the same distance it probably would have been in the back rough. Probably wouldn't be in here talking to you guys. You can take advantage of this altitude and the design of this course with your equipment if you really put your mind to it.

Q. Stuart, there are a lot of guys grinding pretty hard this week. Some of them you're pretty good friends with. Is the Ryder Cup a topic of conversation, or is it something you try not to talk about or...

STEWART CINK: I think yes to both questions. It is a topical conversation, but you don't always just want to dwell on it because it's a pretty heavy weight on your shoulders. I remember the last Ryder Cup we went through the same process. I was not too far from where I am now: I was outside the top ten and trying to get my way in.

I remember the huge sense of relief I felt after the race was over and I got picked. I went out the next week and won on the Firestone at the Bridgestone, and just it is you know, you don't realize how much it's weighing down on you until it's over and you look back and you feel refreshed, lighter, like you can walk up these hills a little easier.

I'm in 20th now, so I got a lot of work to do. Hopefully I can have a few more rounds like today and get it taken care of here.

Q. There are a lot of different approaches, like Jerry and Kelly taking two weeks off. Some guys choose the Buick. Some guys choose here. Is there a reason you play here rather than the Buick? Is there a Ryder Cup reason, or just

STEWART CINK: Actually not playing the Buick but playing the INTERNATIONAL has nothing to the Ryder Cup for me at all. I'm going to play in this tournament every year, I don't care when it is. I don't care if they play it in January I'm playing it. I love being here. They could move it to a new course every year and I would still play it. I love being in Colorado.

But I didn't play last week because I had a vacation with my family scheduled and I felt like that was even though the Ryder Cup is important to me, it's the No. 1 priority in my career right now it still doesn't overtake my family commitments. That's just the way I live.

We had a great time in Jackson Hole last week, and I feel fresh. A lot of times if you play a tournament after a long vacation, or you go into a long stretch like this after a vacation, you come out with a really good attitude and feel fresh, so hopefully that's where I'll be.

Q. Did you have some close encounters with a bear kind last week?

STEWART CINK: I don't know how you heard about that, but yes, I did. Well, we camped one night in the Tetons last night week, we backpacked. About a hundred yards from our campsite was the nest campsite down the valley, and about 11:00 it's pretty dark out there and 11:00 our neighbors came up the trail and asked if anybody was home.

I kind of popped my head out of the tent, and he said, I hope your food is hung up, because we just had a bear in our camp. They had got dressed and put their headlights on and were going camping in the middle of the night just to get away from the bear.

And so I ended up staying up all night too based on my wife giving my the elbow every time I fell asleep. So it wasn't exactly a scare, but it was scary. You don't want to be in a situation where you have to defend yourself against something like that, because it's usually not successful.

Q. Stuart, are Hybrids becoming a lot more popular on the Tour?

STEWART CINK: They are, because they're easier to hit high. And the way the courses are designed, you need to hit it high because you land it soft. Also the way the new balls are. The solid core balls don't have enough spin for your long irons to get up in the air very well. So you need that extra launch.

These days, you get the ball up in the air launching it. Ten years ago, we got it up in the air spinning it. It's two ways to crack the same acorn, but you need a Hybrid type of club to get at that extra launch, because your 2 or 3 iron just won't launch it that high anymore.

THE MODERATOR: Anymore questions?

Q. Hi, Stuart. This is just kind of a goofy thing I'm doing. Can you tell me what your favorite memory in golf is, your favorite single memory? Try to expound a little bit, if you could.

STEWART CINK: I would have to say that thus far my favorite memory has been when I won the Bridgestone in 2004 at Firestone. That was my only chance to actually walk up to the last hole with a huge lead. That was a great feeling. I remember so many details about that, like how the wind sounded in the trees and the way the grass shone in the sun. I remember there was a divot near my ball in the fairway.

I remember getting probably my best memory is still going to be Niklaus at the Masters when he won in '86 and I was watching TV as a little kid. I remember a lot of details about that, too.

THE MODERATOR: Okay, Stewart Cink. Thanks.

End of FastScripts.

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