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FUNAI CLASSIC AT THE WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT

October 19, 2006

Stuart Appleby

LAKE BUENA VISTA: First Round

JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Thank you, Stuart, for joining us here for a few minutes in the media center. Good start to the week and also a great round there on the Mag course. You're the first player we've had in from the Mag course. Talk about what you did well and the conditions over there.

STUART APPLEBY: The greens are firm, quite firm. I guess the lack of rain has sort of contributed to that. The course is in the condition they always have it, great shape.

I didn't drive the ball well today. I hit the irons pretty well. Even though I didn't hit the fairway, irons were good generally. Driving was not good enough, but I putted well. I saved a few putts and missed a few putts. I'd say the putting was probably the thing that just kept the round respectable.

Q. Are you having anybody over to the house this week?

STUART APPLEBY: I have my usual team of lackeys with me.

Q. I meant more from the party side, like Bay Hill weeks and stuff.

STUART APPLEBY: No. My wife is in Australia at the moment with the kids. While she's away I'm behaving. When she's here I don't behave.

Q. That would seem to be the obvious green light.

STUART APPLEBY: No, I've just been too busy. I haven't played for a while so I'm out practicing, and I've had a lot of commitments and media things I've been doing quite a lot in the last month. I had some early this week, and I didn't get out to see the course until Wednesday, yesterday. I only played a couple here, couple there. So no, I've been busy and haven't organized any gatherings.

I'm not getting over jet lag but I just got into town late last week. I'm trying to make sure I give myself the best chance for a good three weeks of golf left in the U.S.

Q. You could make the argument that since you've played the Mag that you may be actually the leader in the clubhouse. Do you put any credence in that given the gap in scores between the two?

STUART APPLEBY: Makes good writing material, doesn't it? I'm sorry that the score doesn't show that. No, not at all.

Q. You're not buying it?

STUART APPLEBY: No, not one bit. It's a nice story, though.

Q. I just want you to talk about this year. You've just been consistently good

STUART APPLEBY: I don't think I've been consistently good. I've been good a couple times but I could be more consistent easily. I would do it if it was that easy. I would like to be more consistent.

I'd like to play have more events where I go from 20th to top 10 or 10th to 2nd or 3rd, you know. It's not so much always about the winning. I think sometimes it's about actually playing quality golf that puts you near winning. I've had two wins, but I think I needed to perform in the tournaments that were close to go from being okay to good. I need to get to that level there.

I don't know if I'll ever be a Jim Furyk in consistency, but more down that road would put me give me more maturity in my game.

Q. Does two wins make this a good season for you?

STUART APPLEBY: Oh, yeah, definitely. But I think I could also have an equal season and have no wins and be in the same position on the Money List, and that could have the same degree of satisfaction. But at the same time nothing is better than knowing that you've beaten a field in recent times, and maybe more than once.

I have the ability to say I know I can do it and one has the ability to say I know I can play at a high level of consistency consistently, and that in itself is very rewarding because you're not having the fluctuating weeks emotionally and I guess not having your game come down and having to try and pick it up.

Certainly looking at Jim's year, he's just been the pillar of consistency, and that's typical, but that's what he does. That's his game. He's never going to be a guy who misses two or three cuts in a row. You always Jim Furyk going for it. That's what everyone aspires to, but that's what I need to do more now versus say just straight winning. I've won twice this year, but to have two, three, four, five more Top 10s and a double win, that's when that sort of performance becomes a great year versus a very good one.

Q. This might be your last trip here given the changes next year and your family obligations. What happens to these last few?

STUART APPLEBY: I've talked to players about that, and I don't really know what it is yet. I don't know why I don't know, you know? I don't know. I don't know. I can't say if there's an emotional change, if it's all about just competing. I really don't know.

Maybe it depends on how well you've played throughout the year, if you're close to something or if you've played really well, okay, do I not play because now I think my place in the TOUR Championship is set and locked down. But I don't want to not play because I don't want to I want to keep my form going.

I've got next year to think about. I don't know to be honest. I don't know if anybody knows what's going to happen about quality of fields and amount of tournaments that somebody will play.

My schedule next year probably looks slightly more condensed than it would be at that stage normally. But then will I play as much golf in that condensed period? Probably not.

I don't think guys will play the same amount of tournaments in a smaller period of time because there's still events afterwards, too, to play like these ones.

You'd run yourself ragged if you tried to play the same amount of events come the middle of September versus nearly the middle of November. You'd be pushing hard those first months. And then other players might just turn around and say, I'm just going to play the schedule that physically is the right thing to do, base it around some tournaments, and I'm not going to get caught up in this playing six out of seven weeks. I'm just going to do my thing.

Everybody has got the same amount of tournaments and opportunities to play generally, talking about the top players, and I don't think anyone really knows yet what they're going to do and how the feeling of chasing something or being chased, how real that's going to be or play. I think it will, but I just don't know how much.

What are they going to call it, The Chase For Your Card or something like that, Fall Series? I don't know how that pans out, and if the fields will be approximately the same as every other year, whether they will be worse or better. I don't know.

Q. Are you surprised or disappointed at all that Tiger could have fallen out of bed, played in this tournament, won the Vardon Trophy and elected not to? Do you know what's going on with that? He needs to play another tournament to satisfy the minimum rounds. I don't know, maybe that's not as big a deal as I think it is. He's one day short, one round.

STUART APPLEBY: I'm personally happy about that (laughter). Any week he doesn't play brings the odds up dramatically of me winning or someone else winning, and it would be a nice change to mix the faces up on the promotional material.

I don't think that's a real important trophy for him. I would love to hold that one day, but I would have to beat him. So no, it's not a thing that anyone it's not something he's going to be remembered by is how many Vardons he's won really. That's not his priority. His demands, you've got three, four, five media guys here for me and you've got ten times as many for him every day, five, six days a week. That's just that.

Then there's others there's just a lot of demands, and that gets old after a while. It gets you blunt. That's a big deal for him, playing that many weeks. He had a big year and I think he's probably sitting home gently patting himself on the back. I'm sure he's pretty chuffed at what he's done.

Q. The tournaments you've won this year give a pretty nice prize beyond the money, a perk, I guess. I wondered if given the

STUART APPLEBY: A fuel card? There's no Shell stations around here in Florida, so I never got one in '99. They said they did.

Q. So you really don't?

STUART APPLEBY: I haven't seen one unless my manager has taken it.

Q. Where does he live?

STUART APPLEBY: I'd have to drive 100 miles to get to the damn thing.

You're right about perk number one. That's a great perk. But I haven't seen anything yet. I've tried to buy a couple of fuel cards myself, so how tight do you want to be?

Q. Since you've won the Mercedes three times, have you taken ownership of all three or given any away?

STUART APPLEBY: Year one I have, year two I took the cash, and now I'm still collecting my car, which I could get soon, but I'm actually going to end up getting it in February.

Q. Did you have to expand the garage?

STUART APPLEBY: I'm at my I can take one more car, but I need a car lift or hoist. I built the garage based on that potential problem (laughter).

Q. Seriously, when you were winning that tournament the first time, did the car come into your mind?

STUART APPLEBY: No, too much going on in front of you that doesn't leave you to be honest, it's the most high end car luxury brand we have on the Tour. Being that BMW will be certainly there next year, there's some real competition. But as of 2006, previous to this, it was the number one luxury brand on the Tour for automobile sponsorship.

Imagine if Tiger keeps collecting Buicks for his wins; he literally would have to have a valet service if they gave him cars. He's got enough friends where he can probably give one away to everybody he's got.

I'd say my accidental selection of winning that event numerous times has been quite handy.

Q. (Inaudible.)

STUART APPLEBY: He got one of the early cars. His car is numbered in the 30s. I think they made 3,000 in production. His is one of the early ones. He's actually selling it at the moment and he's offered it to me. I'm not going to buy it. I'm going to look for another one. I drove one the other day so I'm sort of tempted to I've got my Merc collection. I have no problem or dilemma with having another one.

Q. Can you drive the Sebring on the track?

STUART APPLEBY: Oh, fantastic car. That is the best car for it ever made.

End of FastScripts.

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