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JOHN DEERE CLASSIC

July 15, 2006

Alex Cejka

SILVIS, ILLINOIS

TODD BUDNICK: We welcome Alex Cejka after a 7 under 64 in round 3 here at the John Deere Classic. A great round, just that one mishap on 18, but you're in great position for the round tomorrow.

ALEX CEJKA: Yes, I'm very pleased. It was a good moving day for a change. I'm playing well. I played pretty solid today, and just the key is making putts. That's every week the same deal. I had a lot of one putts today. It was a little bit sad to walk off with a bogey at the last, but that's life. We have 18 more holes to go tomorrow.

TODD BUDNICK: You said it was a nice change. It's been a bit of a struggle for you this year. Talk about what's maybe not been there for you this year.

ALEX CEJKA: Really, I always was a good ball striker, and for almost the last year now it's been not hitting so many greens as I used to. I'm working harder at changing the swing, like everybody else, and it's starting to come together, and I'm hitting a lot of fairways and a lot of greens now and just making the putts now, and combine everything together, it's going to happen eventually; it's just a question of work on it and be patient.

Q. Is part of the problem you say about the last year you haven't been as good a ball striker, did the back injury play into that?

ALEX CEJKA: A little bit. I was playing all right until I had this back injury at the end or middle of last year. I had to take a couple weeks off, and when I came back, I sort of forced it and came back without actually really feeling better and couldn't practice as hard and maybe was scared to practice hard, and even on the course to swing through. I was struggling a little bit later in the year. But my health is well and I'm on the right track again.

Q. How bad was the injury, and was it just rehab?

ALEX CEJKA: Yeah, rehab, nothing serious, nothing broken. It was just mainly muscle spasm, but for golf to have a bad back is not good. But I'm all well. It was nothing serious.

Q. Have you been back on a jet ski yet?

ALEX CEJKA: No (laughter). That's why I'm playing every week.

Q. The course seems to be yielding some pretty low numbers today. What's different? Is it still out there or has it firmed up a little bit?

ALEX CEJKA: Firmed up, I would say I really didn't have much run on the drives, not even today, not even the last couple days. The greens are occasionally tucked in the corners, but the greens are soft, so you can just pitch it and stop it right there.

You always have a couple guys on fire. It doesn't matter what, they're going to show a low number.

Q. Seems like a lot of people are today, though. Is there something different between today and yesterday?

ALEX CEJKA: No, I think yesterday was more windy a little bit, but today, no, I played pretty much almost the same golf as the last couple days.

Just yesterday I four putted, today I make six one putts in a row and that's the difference.

Q. Tomorrow do you have a number in mind, what it might take even though it's still early in the day?

ALEX CEJKA: No, I didn't look at the leaderboard today. I'm probably going to see it later on, but I just want to go out and try what I did the last couple days, just playing well and hopefully making good putts, nothing stupid, just playing my golf and try hard. That's all I can do.

Q. Did you come out this morning with a number in mind?

ALEX CEJKA: No, not really, no. I don't do it normally. I mean, I'm not coming in in the morning and saying I need to make 3 under, 4 under sometimes I do Friday when I need to make the cut (laughter), but no, I had no number in the last couple weeks actually in my mind, just trying to do out there what I'm working on on the driving range or at home when I'm practicing, and it's slowly paying off, and I hope it continues like this in the next couple weeks.

Q. You had kind of an interesting experience here in 2003.

ALEX CEJKA: (Laughing) let's just hope I don't have an early tee time tomorrow.

Q. Can you tell us exactly what happened there?

ALEX CEJKA: Yes, I can tell you. I had this tournament scheduled between two European tournaments, so I just came from Europe, played a practice round, played a Pro Am and I had a very early tee time, I think 8:00 o'clock or so, and I was still jet lagged. I went to bed and put my alarm clock on the cell phone, and because the battery was low, I charged it in the bathroom, and the door closed through the night or when I left, and I didn't hear it ring.

So when I woke up, I think my group was on the 4th tee already (laughter). I went back to the airport and flew straight home again to Europe. That was a short trip a couple years ago to Moline, but it's been a good trip so far here.

Q. I missed your opening comment. What was clicking for you today out there? What was working well for you today out there?

ALEX CEJKA: I think the putting. I putted well, I felt pretty comfortable, and even when I didn't really hit a good shot, I came back and recovered, made a great up and down. I played pretty solid and made a lot of good putts today.

Q. That's what held your round together?

ALEX CEJKA: Yes.

Q. You said it was a good moving day for a change. Have Saturdays not been good to you this year?

ALEX CEJKA: Yeah, Saturday hasn't been good. You sometimes shoot 1 under, even, 1 over, and you lose 20 spots. It's not easy, but it's been a while since I had a great round on a weekend and really moved up the way it should be normally (laughing).

Q. I know a lot of folks on Tour are familiar with your childhood and your life story, but there are a lot of folks who aren't as familiar. You compared the Czech Republic to Survivor when you were nine years old going to Germany?

ALEX CEJKA: No, I don't feel like that. I was blessed that my dad took such a tough trip. It was his decision to give not him a better life, but me. As I said many, many times, I was so young to understand exactly what was going on. For me it was a real trip. But it's been in the past, it's been so many years, and I'm a big boy now. I have my family and myself, and we have a good life here in Europe, or even in America, so I don't really look back anymore, only when people remind me (laughter).

TODD BUDNICK: Let's go through your birdies, starting with No. 2.

ALEX CEJKA: Yeah, I laid up with my second shot, hit a wedge up to about, I think, five feet, holed a putt.

No. 6, I hit, I think, an 8 iron to a couple feet, also, and holed the putt.

Then 7, I hit it again to 15, 20 feet, I think, and holed the putt. I think it was a 5 iron or something.

Then birdie on 10, again, I laid up short of the water, pitched it to about six feet, holed the putt.

No. 11, hit a 7 iron to about five feet, holed the putt.

12, hit a good 4 iron up on top of the ridge, holed a 30 footer.

17, I was just short left and pitched it to about six feet and holed a putt.

And on the last hole I was short of the green and chipped it to about 20 feet and missed it.

TODD BUDNICK: Did you have one on 14, too?

ALEX CEJKA: 14, yes, I hit it I hit a sand wedge to about ten feet, 12 feet maybe, and holed it.

Q. On 18 coming off of that tee shot, were you just thinking lay it straight through? There was about three trees.

ALEX CEJKA: Yeah, but there was a gap. I didn't have a pretty good lie, but I just said keep it low, try to get it around the green. I actually wanted to hit it just short of the green, but I hit it a little bit more solid and it just was a rocket. It would have been a little bit easier from in front of the green to make par, but you know, it's better than trying to hit miracle shots through the trees.

Q. Have you had to try to make shots worse than that coming onto a green?

ALEX CEJKA: Yes, you're trying not to make stupid mistakes, short of the green, try and make an up and down and getting away with a bogey instead of going for a power birdie and hitting the branch and going in the water, you know.

Q. Talk about being close to the lead now and being in this situation for your first Tour title.

ALEX CEJKA: I've been in this position quite a few times, especially more in Europe than here. I had a couple chances in America, finished 2nd, but it's nice to be up there again. We'll see how the pressure holds tomorrow. I haven't been there in a while. I'll just go out and hopefully try to play calm golf and good golf.

Q. When was your last third round lead?

ALEX CEJKA: I don't know. I don't remember. It's been a couple months a lot of months.

Q. Did you lead the BC a few years ago?

ALEX CEJKA: BC, afterwards was International two years ago or so.

TODD BUDNICK: Thank you, Alex.

End of FastScripts.

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