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WACHOVIA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 3, 2006

Tim Clark

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: We'd like to thank Tim Clark for joining us for a few minutes here in the media center at the Wachovia Championship after taking a little time off. The last time you played was Hilton Head, finished Top 10 there, and right before that was that great finish at The Masters tournament. Why don't you just talk a little bit about the time off and also being back close to where you went to school in North Carolina.

TIM CLARK: Obviously I had a good two-week break and got some rest, so I'm still probably a little bit rusty. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll feel like I'm ready to play. It's nice to be back in North Carolina again obviously. This is a great tournament for us, a great golf course. Apart from all that's done for us, it's a great golf course. I think that's what attracts the players. I'm hopefully going to play well because that's what you're going to have to do around here. If you're not playing well you're going to really struggle.

I'm enjoying eating Bojangles again this week.

Q. Ernie Els mentioned earlier today that the times of you flying under the radar for not only your fellow competitors but also the golfing public is history. Do you feel like that's the case, especially after your success in major championships?

TIM CLARK: I don't know, I've kind of enjoyed that, no one paying too much attention to me. Like you said, I could sort of sneak up in tournaments. That's quite fun to play like that.

Obviously now there's going to possibly be a bit more attention. I think with that probably comes a little bit more pressure to play well. You know, who knows. It's really not my say whether I'm under the radar or not. Everyone else's perception of me, there's not a whole lot I can do about that. It comes down to going out and playing the same sort of game I've been playing.

Q. Do you think that flying under the radar, do you think part of that was not only a lack of name recognition for a while here in the States but also the type of game that you play?

TIM CLARK: Yeah, obviously I'm not very flashy. I don't wear tight pants, so not too many people are going to notice me. Obviously when you start to have good finishes, eventually people are going to notice you. Obviously I went to college just up the road here and I was a two-time first team all-American in my three years there. Obviously I've done okay in college and in amateur golf and on the Nationwide Tour. But I guess it took me proving myself on the bigger stages for people to notice my game.

Q. Do you not like coming down and getting the attention? Would you rather still be the guy under the radar?

TIM CLARK: It just makes it sometimes a bit tougher at tournaments. I just noticed today more people recognizing me and more autographs, which is fine. When you don't have to do that, you just cruise around and nobody really pays attention. Obviously I want to win tournaments and I want to play majors, so with it comes more recognition, and at the end of the day that's a good thing.

Q. What does a second place finish at The Masters do for your confidence?

TIM CLARK: I think I'm possibly a different player to others. I'm very much week to week. I believe you're only as good as your last tournament, so that was great. Obviously it's a big achievement for me, but if I go out this week and miss the cut I'm back to square one and need to work on my game again and get back to where I need to be. That's how I approach my golf is week to week, and that's all you can look at. You can't look at what you've done in the past because that's not going to help you down the line. You need to work hard on your game and try to improve. I'm very much week to week.

Q. With the premium that this golf course puts on accuracy from tee all the way through the green, does that suit your game pretty well?

TIM CLARK: I've always thought it has, but I haven't played well here yet. It really does. This is a major style golf course, and they could hold a U.S. Open or a PGA Championship here quite easily. It comes down to playing good golf, and obviously I haven't done that when I've come here in the past. Your best player is always going to be there on the leaderboard. It's always a good indication of who's playing well that week, and hopefully I can go out and play like I did at Augusta.

Q. Just curious, how did you end up at North Carolina? What was the history of that?

TIM CLARK: Well, there was another South African kid going there at the time, and I guess his dad spoke to the coach and told him about me. I was back in South Africa, just working in a golf shop and playing amateur golf. I got a call from the coach in August of '95. In December of '95 I left and came to college. It was the only college I spoke to, and that was that.

I was tired of staying at home to be honest with you and wanted to get on the first plane I could go anywhere. Obviously it sounded like a great opportunity. Richard Sykes, who still is the coach there, gave me a wonderful opportunity to come over and play, and probably had it not been for that phone call from him, I probably wouldn't be here now.

Q. I remember I asked Adam Scott how he ended up at UNLV.

TIM CLARK: He's got a gambling problem (laughter).

Q. They told him they sent him a brochure and he looked at it; he said, it looks good so I'll go there. Did it surprise you what you found when you got here?

TIM CLARK: Yeah, I came over -- when I left high school I actually sent my resume to the few of the coaches, UNLV being one of them, and I got replies saying you can come try out for the team. That's a bit tough for a kid from South Africa. I waited a couple years, and when I got the call from Richard at the time, that was the only University that had expressed any interest in me. Obviously he was told quite a lot about my game, and really it was a trial-and-error basis. I came over for that spring semester, and if I played good I could stay, and if I didn't I was probably on the next boat home. Lucky it worked out for me.

Q. Of all the perks that come with this tournament, they treat the players and caddies and wives and girlfriends pretty well. What's your favorite perk with this tournament?

TIM CLARK: Well, I've always said, I think the thing that attracts us to tournaments is the golf course. This is just one of the best golf courses we play all year, and that's always going to be what brings me to a tournament, more so than anything else. Obviously everything they do here is great for us, and we're treated very well. But the biggest point for me coming is certainly the golf course, and obviously, again, an opportunity to come to North Carolina.

Q. 16, 17 and 18, are there any more -- is there any other course that is that difficult, those three finishing holes, that you know of?

TIM CLARK: Yeah, there's some difficult finishes on Tour, but certainly 17 if they put the tee at the back is probably the hardest hole you'll ever play. It's a great finish. But this whole golf course has got holes like that, where it's just tough right from the start. You have to hit a good tee shot.

It sure is a tough finish, but I think the rest of the course is pretty much equal with that finish.

JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Thank you, Tim.

End of FastScripts.

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