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BARCLAYS SCOTTISH OPEN

July 16, 2006

Johan Edfors

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND

GORDON SIMPSON: Johan, not many people get to do one interview here on a Sunday, and you've done two today. It's a very special day but congratulations on winning the Barclays Scottish Open. And as you said on the prize giving, it's a great day for your family, for your father, for your brother in law, just tell us a bit more.

JOHAN EDFORS: It's just been a great week, yeah. I was here two years ago and my brother in law actually caddied for me then. And he turned 40 in April and I gave it to him as a gift to bring my sister and their kids to come over here and watch me play. And then my dad turned 60 a few weeks ago and I invited him and my mom, as well. So we've been a big crowd here and we brought our own chef, as well, actually from Sweden. So it's been a fantastic week.

GORDON SIMPSON: And a reasonable family celebration tonight I would imagine.

JOHAN EDFORS: I would hope so, yeah.

Q. Did you expect that 13 under would hold up?

JOHAN EDFORS: I wouldn't say that, but I was hoping.

Q. What did the chef cook?

JOHAN EDFORS: Well, I'm not going to eat fish anymore in the tournament. That's what I ate Friday night.

Q. Who's your partner?

JOHAN EDFORS: My girlfriend, Cecilia.

Q. Is this win any more significant?

JOHAN EDFORS: Not really. I mean, the first win was obviously extremely important for me being I'm in the working stage and I didn't have to worry about keeping my card and stuff like that, especially coming from Q School. To be able to get into all of the tournaments, that was really important for me. And winning the second time, at the British Masters, that's more than I could have dreamt. And now I'm sitting here. It's been a wonderful year and I just hope it continues.

Q. What did you do while you were waiting?

JOHAN EDFORS: Well, I spent 45 minutes in the players' lounge watching the TV. And it was looking pretty good there for a while, but then everybody started making birdies. So I went out and started warming up again actually. I thought there was going to be a playoff.

Q. Inaudible?

JOHAN EDFORS: I don't think so. He's going to have a little bit of a wait, as well, signing his score card and stuff. So I think I would have been prepared for that. I hope so.

Q. What's been the key for you?

JOHAN EDFORS: I'm really happy with the way I've been playing. When my putting is on, I'm tough to beat. I still have some stuff I need to sort out in my game but everything is coming along pretty nicely.

I've always believed that I could play among the best in the world, but I haven't really been close to playing well. But now I'm getting closer.

GORDON SIMPSON: You're 100 to 1 for The Open next week, wonder whether you spend some of your 400,000 pounds?

JOHAN EDFORS: Why not?

GORDON SIMPSON: And you've been at Hoylake.

JOHAN EDFORS: Yeah, I was there on Monday and played a practice round. The course is excellent and I'm really looking forward to my first British Open.

Q. How much would it mean to be on the Ryder Cup Team?

JOHAN EDFORS: Oh, that would mean a lot to me. It's one thing I always dreamt of as a kid is to play in the Ryder Cup. To be in it myself feels a little bit unreal actually.

But there was a lot of talk about that after my second win. I talked with my coaches and we have my goals for the season, and if I reach those goals, I'm probably going to be in it, but it's just going to be a really nice.

Q. What does the "Dubliner" logo on your shirt denote?

JOHAN EDFORS: It's an Irish pub chain in Sweden.

Q. What are your parents' names?

JOHAN EDFORS: Bengt and Karin, and my girlfriend is Cecilia can't and my sister is Kristina and my brother is Nicas.

Q. How did you know the chef?

JOHAN EDFORS: My girlfriend used to work for the restaurant in Ghtoenburg where he works and it's been a nice treat every night actually so it's been something for breakfast and dinner. I think I'm going to have to bring him along for the rest of the year.

Q. Will they come with you to Hoylake?

JOHAN EDFORS: No, her she and her husband and kids will fly back tomorrow morning.

Q. How will you approach the rest of the year?

JOHAN EDFORS: I'm going to talk to my coach and see about setting up some different goals but most of the goals aren't results based anyway, so they are not going to change. Just keep doing the same things I've been doing in the earlier part of the year and hopefully I can keep on playing as well as I am.

Q. What was the best thing that happened to you before today?

JOHAN EDFORS: It was really big for my career when I won on the Challenge Tour. That was really the first time that I got proof that I was able to play at the highest level. But I'd like to say that the turning point is when I lost my card, that was 2004, when I realized I had to do some major changes if I wanted to be up sheer and talking to you guys.

I had a pretty good amateur career on the Boys' Team. But after I finished high school in Sweden I went to the States to university and I really liked it over there but I probably wasn't focusing on the right things when I was over there. I had a couple lost years.

Q. Where did you go to university?

JOHAN EDFORS: San Antonio, Texas, University of Texas.

Q. When did you first play in Scotland?

JOHAN EDFORS: I remember I played with Doug Sanders in '93 at Aberdeen. I can't remember if I played in anymore tournaments. I'm not sure.

Q. Why have so many Swedes done well and are there more coming through?

JOHAN EDFORS: I think in my generation, people from 1970 to 1980, golf was really booming in Sweden when I started. And a lot of new courses being built and it's really easy to get access to courses. It's always been the Junior program has always been really good. My golf club pays for my expenses when I play tournaments and stuff, and I got help with a coach from when I was six years old and that meant's lot to me. And for all of us, my home club is where Freddie Jacobsen plays, and we were pretty good players and there's a lot of talent in Sweden.

I'd say now it's much tougher because so many more are starting to play and it's hard to get access to the golf courses. Kids, you don't want to book a tee time one week in advance when you're nine years old. You just want to show up and play 18. If you play 36 holes, you didn't play well in the first 18, you just play another round.

I don't know why Scotland hasn't been producing very many golfers but one thing I think playing links golf, it is a different game and playing on a course like this, where courses in Sweden are probably more similar to courses we play in Europe. A lot of Scottish players hit it quite low and don't put very much spin on the ball so I think that's one advantage of growing up in Scotland with a lot of wind.

Q. During your two 'lost years' in America, did you ever considering not being a pro?

JOHAN EDFORS: No, never. I did manage to win a few tournaments over there in college. I think I one four events I think. But I wasn't it was tough, usually I had the winters off and now we played all winter and came home, I would play with the national team.

So we never really had any time off, so I was bored with it actually. When I decided to turn pro, I turned pro in '98, I may have played a local course in Sweden for a couple years before I got on to the Challenge Tour.

Q. Did anyone ever tell you to stop partying?

JOHAN EDFORS: Actually a good friend of mine is a golf teacher and worked with him for a while in '98 no, 2002. And then we made up a schedule I could only party once a month. (Laughter) that was probably the turning point I think. But I improved by a lot.

GORDON SIMPSON: Congratulations again, Johan, thank you.

End of FastScripts.

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