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ABU DHABI GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

January 17, 2007

Chris DiMarco

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Q. Is your wife caddying again for you this year?
CHRIS DiMARCO: Yeah, she's excited to be back on the bag. But with the rain today, she's not excited to go back on the bag. Retired her last year and took her out of retirement again.

Q. Do you like having her on the bag?
CHRIS DiMARCO: Very much. It's great to always come back where you've had success, that's for sure. And obviously last year, this was one of the highest points of my career last year was here.
So I like the golf course. This rain could go away because it's softening it up and making it longer but you know, it's a great layout. The surfaces are the same as I play at home, bermuda, so you know, I've been putting on this for the last couple of weeks. Seems like it's almost the exact same.
GORDON SIMPSON: And you're staying longer this time; you have two weeks here, haven't you?
CHRIS DiMARCO: Yeah, I'm playing next week in Qatar also. They have actually made a couple of changes to this golf course, too. They added yardage. At the third and sixth hole, they added yardage. I haven't played the back yet, but I heard that they made a few changes there, too. So looking forward to seeing it.

Q. How much did your wife caddy for you before?
CHRIS DiMARCO: She caddied for me early on in my career, all of '92, all of '93, maybe 15 tournaments in '94 on the PGA TOUR.
So what's good about her is that I pretty much have to make all of the decisions as far as golf. She doesn't know how far I hit it. She doesn't really know how to read putts and it slows me down because we kind of talk. I'm not rushing around like I normally do. It's nice to have somebody out there, we talk about other things, we talk about the kids, other stuff, not just golf and that's always nice.

Q. Being relaxed, Was that a key to your win do you think?
CHRIS DiMARCO: I think that's a key to anyone. I know I play my best golf when I'm relaxed. I think anybody could say that, if you want to be focused but if you're not thinking and over thinking and getting in your own way -- I know that when I'm oust my own way is when I'm playing my best. Hopefully this week, she can help me do that again. I know everybody at home is excited about her caddying for me again because we had so much success here last year.

Q. Did she get a percentage of the winnings last year?
CHRIS DiMARCO: She gets a percentage every week. (Laughter) I got off lucky last year. I bought her a watch. She wanted a watch. I got her a watch. I felt like I got off very lucky.
But whatever I won last year is her money, too, so it really doesn't matter.

Q. How important was the win here last year?
CHRIS DiMARCO: I think it got back me back into the Top-10 in the world. Obviously it was very good for Ryder Cup. I made it on my own merit anyway, but it was good for Tom to see me win overseas. Winning is good for that type of thing.
So obviously my goal this year is to make Presidents Cup and get a win again, at least one, hopefully one here would be nice and also one over on the PGA TOUR at least, maybe a major.

Q. How much did the Ryder Cup hurt you?
CHRIS DiMARCO: Ryder Cup never hurt anybody individually. It's a team game and for the second year in a row, for the second time in a row on Ryder Cup, we got waxed pretty good. I think everybody is panicking over there thinking that we need to change something, something needs to be changed, where we just need to play better. Nothing needs changed, we just need to play better.
The same team essentially that lost the Ryder Cup as bad as we did has beaten the Internationals, which on paper World Ranking-wise is a better team than the Europeans. Just goes to show what you that paper means. Doesn't really mean much at all.

Q. About being more of a global player. Do you enjoy playing other places?
CHRIS DiMARCO: At this stage of my career, it's good for me to go other places. I've solely been an American player playing only the PGA TOUR for 10, 11 years. So it's nice to branch out and go different places and see different people. You know, it's nice to know that people, even all the way over here know who I am even before last year.
So it's good. I think it's good for the game of golf. It's good for me personally. How many other chances, how many other jobs can give you the chance to go other places and see some of the greatest courses in the world and go to some of the greatest cities in the world.

Q. Were people in the U.S. aware of your win here?
CHRIS DiMARCO: It's funny, you don't think they are really paying attention, but everybody knew that I won over here and everybody was excited. It's always nice to go to the range after you win a tournament regardless of where you are, and it was nice. Obviously it was a big monkey off my back to win here last year. I had a good chance at the British Open.
So, you know, my goal is the same is to go into every tournament and try to win it. It's just hard to do. Players are better and better every year. It's nice to come back to a place like this where you have played well and you have success.

Q. How would you compare The European Tour to the U.S. Tour?
CHRIS DiMARCO: I think this Tour is very good. I think you have a lot of great players. I think the only difference is the depth that you have on the PGA TOUR. I think for the most part, any one of the top -- anybody that's in the tournament can win. You look at Paul Goydos last week. Here is a guy that has struggled over the last couple of years but he goes out and wins Sony.
I think top to bottom, the PGA TOUR is a little stronger, I don't think anybody will deny that. This is a great Tour and there are a lot of young guys making names for themselves that will eventually move on to the PGA TOUR. You're seeing that with a lot of guys, see a guy like Henrik Stenson. I think he's ready to probably make the jump and be extremely successful on the PGA TOUR. He was successful last year and only played a certain amount of tournaments.
You know, the PGA TOUR is the pinnacle. It's where everybody wants to play, regardless where you play, if you're on The European Tour, if you're on the Asian Tour; if you're on the PGA TOUR that's where you want to stay.
But that's not knocking this tour at all. This is a great tour, great fans, great venues. It's pretty neat to go to different countries and play. I think that's something we don't really do. We go to different states, but with don't go to different countries.

Q. Would you like to play more outside the U.S.?
CHRIS DiMARCO: A little bit it. Would be nice to go and play different countries on that and you don't have to worry about immigration as much and don't have to deal with all that as much as you do.
We kind of have tournaments, we go to the West Coast and they are all within an hour and a half of each other so it's very easy travel-wise. Then you get a couple three or four in the State of Florida alone, so it's real easy travel-wise. So that part is a lot easier. Traveling is a lot easier on the PGA TOUR than it is over here.

Q. How is your form coming in?
CHRIS DiMARCO: Yeah, I feel really good. I played nine yesterday. I hit the ball very good. Like I said it's always nice to come back and play familiar places and there's a lot of good memories here for sure. Played a lot of holes that I knew the strategy of them because I've been here.
So you know, bottom line is I have to play well, that's it, but I mean, I know the strategy of the golf course. I know what I need to do and you know, I'm hitting it well and putting it good, so I'm looking forward to this week.
GORDON SIMPSON: You spent a bit of time in here last year, hopefully we'll see you again this year. Good luck.

End of FastScripts

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