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EDS BYRON NELSON CHAMPIONSHIP

May 11, 2006

Adam Scott

IRVING, TEXAS

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: We welcome current leader in the clubhouse, Adam Scott, fresh off a 65, 5 under par on the TPC course today. Maybe just talk about your round, a good day for you here in your first appearance at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship.

ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, I got off to a good start this morning. I birdied the 1st and really played solid golf the whole way around. I hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens, and unfortunately I had a couple three putts, but I made up for that with some other good putts, too. Considering it was a little windy out there, I'd say it was a very good round of golf and a nice start to the week.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: You finished 3rd last week at the Wachovia Championship, so obviously your game is kind of rounding into form right now. Talk about maybe some changes you've made in the last couple weeks or so to kind of make things happen.

ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, I worked a little bit on the swing the couple weeks before coming back for Wachovia after Augusta. Suddenly I found something with the driver, driving it a lot straighter, and I'm more under control than I was in the first part of the year. Maybe that's rubbed off a little bit in my iron play, as well. But that seems to be quite good.

But really, pretty solid with the putter the last couple weeks and making some good length putts, so that always helps the score.

Q. So much for any big learning curve about playing on a different course for you. What kind of expectations do you show up with in a week when you haven't played there?

ADAM SCOTT: I didn't really know anything much about the courses here, not even I couldn't even get a little bit from the times I've watched it on telly. Funnily, though, I find them both similar to golf courses I grew up playing on the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, similar in shape and the way the trees are out there and the way it plays. I think the design even.

So I feel pretty comfortable playing out there. You know, I seemed to get good lines and was able to hit my shots.

Q. It seems like you've played all over the world, dozens and dozens of places. How did you happen to miss this one?

ADAM SCOTT: I don't know, it always fell at the wrong week unfortunately. I'd be going back to Europe now because the European Tour this week moves back into Europe, so I'd always be starting to play on the continent over there. This one just fell a little too early for my run coming for the U.S. Open or whatever it may be.

But I made sure I got here this year. I wanted to certainly play because I had seen Mr. Nelson at The Masters for the last five years, and he always asked me and I always said I'd try and I never made it. I wanted to come here this year and made sure I got here.

Q. You're not playing The Colonial next week?

ADAM SCOTT: No.

Q. Was there a little guilt when he kept on asking you five years in a row, a man of his stature?

ADAM SCOTT: Well, no, it's not guilt. But certainly out of respect for him, and also for his staff that comes around, and you see them in the red trousers every week at the tournaments, they've been really nice to me and have never really pushed me. They've accepted, they understand that you can't play more. I felt like I wanted to come and play, and it's a great event.

Q. Are you still searching for a way or searching for a schedule that fits you as far as preparing for majors? I know you've talked about this before. Is this something now that you're trying?

ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, you know, I do focus a little bit on the majors, but I've got other got to focus on getting ready for every other tournament, as well. I'm not in a position like Tiger or Phil where they can really sacrifice a little bit for the majors. I don't feel I'm at that stage of my career just yet. I've got a lot of other tournaments to win, as well.

But it's interesting, I don't really know what the best preparation is. Sometimes I like to play before, sometimes I like to take a week off. It just depends on what the tournament is before and what the course is like, if it suits me, and if it's going to be a tough week for me or a little bit easier week. You don't want to be worn out by the time you get to the U.S. Open especially.

Q. What are you going to try this year?

ADAM SCOTT: I've playing a couple weeks and then taking the week off before the U.S. Open.

Q. What did you do to make your drives go straighter?

ADAM SCOTT: I worked on just keeping my right knee a lot more stable in my backswing, just really resisting against it and making a nice turn and feeling like my right knee stays still as I take the club away off the ball. Sometimes it can like shift a bit laterally out over the foot or even straighten a little bit, and I don't really want that. For some reason that seems to work pretty good.

Q. How would you compare how you're feeling about your swing and your game with some earlier stages this year? You obviously had a very good run at Nissan, in the mix quite a bit at THE PLAYERS?

ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, I was real he happy with how I was swinging earlier in the year actually. I don't know, I didn't really get much out of it except for at Nissan. I think it's just a little bit here and there, tightening it up. Each time I get away from a tournament I can tighten it up a little bit more, and that's why I think it's gotten better and better. I feel like it's a lot more where I wanted it to be than at the end of last year. I think it's just taking some time to practice to get it where I want it.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: If we could touch on your round and we'll take one or two final questions. You started off on the 1st hole at the TPC with a birdie.

ADAM SCOTT: A 3 wood, pitching wedge to 12 feet.

7 was a driver and a 3 wood and a chip and a putt from a foot.

8 was a driver, lob wedge and a 30 footer.

9 was a 5 wood, sand wedge to eight feet.

Bogey on 12, three putted from about 18 feet.

Came back on the next hole with a birdie on the par 3, 13th, hit a 7 iron to one foot.

Only other bogey of the day on 14, three putted from 45 feet.

16 was a driver and a 7 iron and a chip and a putt.

18 was a driver and pitching wedge to about 12 feet.

Q. Just to follow up on his question about preparing for majors, is that the type of thing that you spend a lot of time thinking about how you're going to do it, or do you just kind of make a decision early and go with it? Do you agonize over it?

ADAM SCOTT: I don't really worry about it too much. I think it's more important what you do at the week rather than leading up to it. As long as you feel like you need to have played a little bit coming into it, I believe. As long as you feel like you have some tournament rhythm, then it just matters what you do there from Tuesday or Monday or Wednesday, whenever you like to get to the major, and how you practice and how you're going to get comfortable to tee it up on Thursday.

Q. When you saw Byron at The Masters and exchanged a few words, did you guys have any meaningful conversation? Do you remember what you guys talked about ever?

ADAM SCOTT: Well, no, not really.

Q. Small talk kind of?

ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, just small talk. It was nice that he even said come and play. Obviously he wasn't there this year, but I was planning on playing anyway.

Q. Some of the clubs you hit in are staggering from the clubs of a few years ago people hit in here. Lob wedge at No. 8, which is 457; 5 wood, sand wedge at 9. There was another staggering 7 iron at 16; pitching wedge at 18

ADAM SCOTT: Well, it was windy today, too. I mean, they were probably the downwind holes. It was windy, but yeah, the ball is going a long way and the courses are getting short. Like 450 is no big deal for a par 4 at all; even if it's not windy you're going to hit a short iron in. That's just the way the game is. You've got to take advantage of it if you can hit it out there.

Q. How do you feel about 450 yard holes now being sand wedge holes?

ADAM SCOTT: Well, I mean, that's how long they've got to be for us to have them a little tricky. It's tough, they've got to build courses and set them up to how the equipment is. For the Tour, anyway, they need to because that's I think the pros get the real advantage out of the equipment. We find 20 yards somehow, every year it seems.

Q. What did you hit into 3?

ADAM SCOTT: That was straight into the wind. I hit a 5 wood in there today.

Q. Driver, 5 wood?

ADAM SCOTT: Yeah.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Adam Scott, thanks for joining us.

End of FastScripts.

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