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WACHOVIA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 6, 2006

Jim Furyk

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

LAURY LIVSEY: Jim Furyk shot a 4 under 68 today and is the leader entering the final round and is the winner of this week's Astra Zeneca Charity Challenge. $100,000 will be donated to Allergy Asthma Network and Mothers of Asthmatics on behalf of this tournament, the Wachovia Championship, as well as Jim Furyk. Good going.

JIM FURYK: Thank you.

LAURY LIVSEY: You're in the lead. What are your thoughts?

JIM FURYK: Obviously I'm happy with the way I played. I'm happy to be out front at this point. I've got another round of golf tomorrow and I need to go out there and attack the golf course again and try to post one more good round.

Q. It looks like you've led or had a share of the lead 11 times in your Tour career and gone on to win five times. This is your second consecutive tournament going into Sunday with a share of the lead or the lead. Thoughts about that?

JIM FURYK: I'm playing pretty decent. How's that?

Both tournaments that I like a lot, both tournaments I played well in last year. I really enjoy playing Harbour Town. I kind of backed into a second place there in '05 and then gave it a good chance this year, and obviously last year here in a playoff. It's another tournament where I like the golf course, I think it's very difficult, demanding, and it tests all aspects of your game.

I'm in kind of similar positions that I was last year in these two events, but I think a lot of it is I kind of like when the weather starts warming up, I like playing through the summer months a little better, and two golf courses that probably two of my favorite ten courses on Tour. I kind of have good memories and good thoughts coming here and enjoy playing the golf courses.

Q. How comfortable are you with your game? You talked earlier in the week about driving it, working out your driver. Seems like you've got it about where you want it right now?

JIM FURYK: Yeah, I'm happy with the way I played. I ran into it's not like I hit every shot perfect, but I have a lot of confidence in my game right now. I feel like I can get the driver in the fairway and I feel like I'm hitting my irons pretty well. I knocked some putts in. I ran into a little area through I hit an errant tee shot on 11 and 12 and I missed the fairway on, I think, 15 today, and I was able to just kind of scrap it out.

I had to get the ball up and down on 11 and 12, which I did.

I hit a great iron shot into 15 with a 5 iron because I had to lay it way back. I'm hitting the ball well, giving myself opportunities and when I've made mistakes, I've been able to get the ball up and down or get the ball in positions where I can play from. That's kind of what it takes. I need to keep doing those same things tomorrow.

Q. We've got some rain coming in tomorrow. Did you suggest to Mark Russell a preemptive strike and call it now to save a lot of aggravation?

JIM FURYK: No, I'd never have done that. I think I saw the forecast, and I think someone said that it was progressively getting worse as the day went on, so I had a good feeling that that was going to happen, that we'd turn around and split tees and play early tomorrow. It will give us the best opportunity to make sure we get 18 holes in tomorrow, which I think we all like.

Q. Do you feel like you're a pretty good mudder?

JIM FURYK: If need be. I think obviously conditions are going to change tomorrow, a little rain in the forecast. I haven't really seen the forecast exactly, other than I know there's pretty there's an 80 percent chance of rain tomorrow. It's going to cool off quite a bit, high of 64 I saw, but I didn't see wind conditions or anything of that sort.

I'll kind of check on those this evening, get an idea of what I can expect tomorrow, and then wake up and kind of evaluate how I think the golf course is going to play and prepare for it. Yeah, if it gets tough out there tomorrow, I'll feel comfortable either way. I think we all wish it would be nice, hot, sunny and beautiful, but it's not going to be, so you adjust and try to play.

Q. I know you figured the course would be soft, but are the scores still a surprise or did you expect this?

JIM FURYK: I was surprised to see the scores as low as they were today. I know Jay and Retief shot 65. I don't know if anyone else fired that low. It looked like there was quite a few 5 unders on the board and guys making a move today. Yes, I was the golf course wasn't that soft to yield the scores it did, but obviously it was out there because a lot of guys played low today.

Q. How did you feel about your second place at Hilton Head?

JIM FURYK: I need more information.

Q. Did you see that as are you the sort of guy who can look at second as a positive or do you look as it you let one get away?

JIM FURYK: I think both. I don't know if I let it get away. I think I'd be a little probably taking something away from Aaron, because he played well, and he played well down the stretch when he needed to.

I think that it was a good opportunity to win, and I think usually in those situations for the first 30 minutes to hour afterwards you're pretty bitter, and for the next day you're a little disappointed, and eventually you realize you're going to have to get over it and go out there's more days to play golf.

I'm disappointed that I didn't win the golf tournament, but it's also I was asked by a reporter, second place, losing in a playoff, it doesn't do anything for me at this point in my career, and I said, well this is 30 minutes after I finished. I said I'd kind of be arrogant if I said second place was just the same as finishing 50th. I'd rather go out there and play well and have an opportunity to win. I hit some key shots down the stretch that I was really proud of and hit some good putts that didn't go in.

When I look back on it, I played well. I'd rather go out there and do that and finish second than play poorly, but obviously, still the goal is to win golf tournaments. I'm disappointed that I didn't win, but in this game you're going to be disappointed a heck of a lot more than you're going to be happy.

Q. You had a two week break. Are you playing just as well?

JIM FURYK: I think so. I think so. I usually take those same two weeks off every year, and it makes it maybe a little harder to get ready for this golf tournament, but I haven't had any issues the last two years.

It's just a good time for me. I kind of worked really hard getting ready for Augusta, and I love Hilton Head afterwards, and then I need some time off to kind of refresh. My wife and I go on vacation for a weekend, and I just kind of get my mind away from golf and get ready to come here.

Q. What about last year, same drill, bitter on Sunday, disappointed on Monday; how do you look at the idea that you played well on the back nine and shot 66 to get in a playoff?

JIM FURYK: Same drill. I think last year I was kind of trying to climb back after the surgery. I had a rough '04 where I didn't play the first half of the year and I didn't play as well as I wanted to at the end of the year. I wanted to get over the hump, I wanted to get a win, I wanted to quit answering the questions when that was going to come. So I think I was a little disappointed, maybe a touch heartbroken in the playoff, but I also look back on I also looked at it as a pretty big steppingstone. It was the first time I hit all those key shots down the stretch, shot a 66 in the final round, got myself in a playoff, battled it out with Vijay and Sergio, two world class players.

Yeah, I was obviously disappointed. But like I said, the next day or two, I realized I was playing some good golf and my game was I knew I was back on track, so it was a good feeling, also.

Q. Given the way you played last year, do you come here expecting to do well because this course is something that is someplace you feel good at?

JIM FURYK: I don't know if I ever expect to do well. There's a lot of golf courses that I like. I can pick 10 or 12 courses that I really enjoy going to. It's not that I expect to play well there, it's that I know that they really fit my eye, really suit my game.

I know that when I'm playing well, I have a very good opportunity to win at those courses, where there's some other places where I know that I can win there, but I'm just not as comfortable around the golf course, if that makes sense.

I'm more comfortable playing at Hilton Head than I am at TPC at Sawgrass, and I live at TPC at Sawgrass, but the golf course just doesn't give me the same feel. When I'm at Hilton Head, I really am comfortable with the type of play around there. At TPC Sawgrass, if I'm playing well I know I can win there, but it doesn't give me the same comfort level.

Q. Do you feel comfortable at Kapalua and Hilton Head? I'm trying to find a correlation between the two courses and can't find one.

JIM FURYK: There aren't a lot. The grass is maybe somewhat similar.

Q. The greens?

JIM FURYK: You still get that kind of firm turf, kind of a Bermuda feel to it. I'm usually most comfortable on Bermuda when the grass is very, very hard; your Hawaii, your Las Vegas. You get to, say, Greensboro now in the fall, and I like the golf course. The turf, soft, sandy Bermuda doesn't give me the same feel or same comfort as when I'm on Bermuda in some other places. The turf gives me the same feel, but yeah, the golf courses are opposites. I don't know why.

I went to Kapalua my first time and I won the golf tournament, and it used to be said that you couldn't win the tournament the first time because it was tough to play the golf course and get it around, and for some reason I've always drawn fond memories.

LAURY LIVSEY: Can we go over your card? You had five birdies and one bogey.

JIM FURYK: I birdied No. 3, I hit a 3 wood and a 6 iron and made a good I'll call it 25 footer that had a fair amount of break right to left.

I bogeyed No. 4, hit a driver and I hit 3 iron, was in between my 3 iron and 5 iron there. I carry no 4, so I tried to hit a soft 3 iron, hit a bad shot, hit it right of the green, which there's not much life over there. The best I could do with the pitch was about 20 feet, and I hit it about 30, 35 feet, and two putted for bogey.

Hit a driver, 3 wood to about 20 feet on No. 5 and two putted for birdie.

I birdied No. 9, hit driver and my hybrid club to about three feet for birdie.

10, I hit a driver and a 3 wood over the green, pitched up to about three feet, and my last birdie was at 16, I hit a driver and a 7 iron to about one feet.

LAURY LIVSEY: Thanks for being in here. Appreciate it.

End of FastScripts.

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