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BUICK INVITATIONAL

January 27, 2007

Kevin Sutherland

LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA

JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you for joining us for a few minutes here in the media center at the Buick Invitational. Kevin, nice round today, 70. You just kind of snuck up the leaderboard here on us with those three birdies on 13, 16 and 18. You've kind of been hanging around the Top-10 all week just floating around, so just talk about your game. You've played really well this week. What are you doing well?
KEVIN SUTHERLAND: I've been hitting the ball very well. I hit the ball very well the first day and today. Yesterday I didn't drive the ball as well, but you know I've hit a lot of good shots. I'm hitting the ball where I'm looking and I'm giving myself a lot of easy pars and some birdie opportunities, and that's kind of what I did today. I didn't really -- I had a couple bogeys but played pretty solid.

Q. We know you've played here well a lot of times, obviously won at La Costa. What were your expectations going in given the last couple of years and what has the South been like for you since the re-design, since you played on it so well before the re-design.
KEVIN SUTHERLAND: I had one good year I think on the newer course, I don't remember, it was a couple years ago, I think I finished like sixth or something. I did have a great deal of success on the other golf course before they redid it.
I do like this golf course. It's a tough golf course. It's really hard and if you're hitting the ball well, you can be rewarded, and if you're struggling, it can really beat you up. I felt good coming into this week. I hit the ball well last week. I just didn't make enough putts and that's continued into this week. I felt like I started playing a lot better about July of last year.
First half of last year, I didn't play very well and I feel like I started gaining a bit of momentum last year and finished off the year fairly strong and kept my card, which was in doubt for a good part of the year. And then just seemed like was kind of continuing into this week.

Q. Can you talk about the other two guys you're going to be playing with in the final group, do you know much about them?
KEVIN SUTHERLAND: I don't unfortunately. But I will get to know them tomorrow.
Yeah, I'm looking forward to playing with them. They are obviously great players and they wouldn't be out here if they weren't. So I'm looking forward to it and I'm sure they are, too.

Q. We've heard players from Florida and elsewhere when they get on the greens, they struggle a little bit. Can you just talk about the advantages you may feel with the kind of greens they have here?
KEVIN SUTHERLAND: You know, I just -- I feel comfortable. I guess you know, they are bouncing around and I think everybody kind of knows that. But for some reason I feel comfortable over here. Maybe it's the bermudagreens, they roll perfectly smooth and they don't feel as comfortable as I do, I don't know. I can't put a finger on it. It's just something I grew up playing my whole life. It's just something I feel comfortable with.

Q. Through the struggles of the last couple of years, do you start to doubt whether you're going to get back to sitting in a chair like that on a Saturday afternoon, or what has been your feelings over last couple of years?
KEVIN SUTHERLAND: You know, I didn't play well. I wasn't hitting the ball as well as I would like and doing anything as well as I would like to do. So I kind of feel like my play was a reflection of that.
I feel like now I'm trying to play a little bit better than I was then, so I think that's one reason why I'm playing better. I don't think it has anything to do with anything more than that. I kind of went through a little bit of a hard time, especially first half of last year, but the second half of the year, I feel like I really started making some strides in the right direction and the off-season went well and I just kind of continued on to hopefully the first part of this year.

Q. How about the -- obviously the La Costa week was great, but there's still that, I'm sure, desire on your part to not only win, but win an event like this, tremendous field. What are your thoughts about that, wanting to get over the stroke-play hump?
KEVIN SUTHERLAND: Absolutely. I haven't won a stroke-play event and it would be something I would really like to do obviously. I'm very proud of The Match Play event. I'm very proud that I won that tournament, but it was a match-play event, so it would be nice to win a stroke-play event, yes.

Q. Do you think the fact that you're playing with a couple of rookies who have very little experience on the PGA TOUR could actually give you an advantage, and will you be seeing what's going on ahead of you or trying to block out what's going on in the group ahead of you?
KEVIN SUTHERLAND: You've got to be somewhat aware of what's going on, there's going to be quite a few people out there I would take it. But yeah, I'm just going to do my own thing. I'm not going to get too wrapped up in what's happening in the group ahead of us and what's happening in our group.
I think it could be a lot of fun. I'm hoping that we just go out there and have a good time and I know that I'm going to and just play the best golf I can.

Q. When you started playing well in the middle of last year and through the second half, did you do anything different swing-wise, equipment-wise, workout-wise or anything like that?
KEVIN SUTHERLAND: Same equipment, same workout. A couple little things on the golf swing. I'm just getting the club behind me a little bit like most guys out here when they struggle; the club gets behind them and they start getting underneath it a little bit. I've been working with my teacher Don Bockham (ph) who lives up in Sacramento and just been doing that and it seems like it's starting to click a little bit.
I hit the ball tremendously well this week and very pleased with that.

Q. Sorry if you asked this before I got here, how significant to get in that final group tomorrow, does that matter much?
KEVIN SUTHERLAND: I think anybody wants to play in the last group. I don't think there's anybody that would say they don't.
I wasn't aware of it at all to be honest with you. I wasn't thinking, I need to birdie this hole to get in the last group. I just wanted to make birdie because I wanted to make a birdie, and so I wasn't thinking -- I actually was not even aware of the fact that I was one stroke back at the time when I made birdie. So I was just playing golf.

Q. Did you watch any -- did you see many leaderboards out there today or did you even pay attention?
KEVIN SUTHERLAND: I didn't even pay attention. I had no idea what was going on. Honestly I didn't even know I was one back until we were driving in here.

Q. Did you know why they were bringing you in here?
KEVIN SUTHERLAND: I had no idea why. (Laughter) So, no, I knew I played well and I knew the course was playing hard, I just wasn't paying attention. It wasn't that I was making a conscious effort not to look. I just wasn't looking. Our group was having a good time. Rich and I got along great, like we always do; Charlie Wi, too, and we just having a good time and playing golf.

Q. You talked about you'll get to know these guys tomorrow, that we are going to have a fun time, and it was Buckle who said, you know, I'm probably glad I'm not playing with Tiger tomorrow because he would be so nervous. Can you imagine how much differently it will be for those guys tomorrow playing with you instead of Tiger?
KEVIN SUTHERLAND: There's a big difference. I'm not going to fool myself. There's a huge difference.
Yeah, I would think your first time in the last group, rookie, it would be probable nice tore play with Kevin Sutherland than Tiger Woods. I wouldn't mind at all playing with Tiger. Love playing with Tiger. I find him enjoyable to play with. He's a lot of fun and he's a tremendous -- like nobody knows this, he's a tremendous player. (Laughter) For them, I would say, yeah, it might be a benefit to play with me instead of Tiger.

Q. (No microphone.)
KEVIN SUTHERLAND: I think they maybe don't. You have to ask them.

Q. As a follow-up to that previous question, would you offer them any advice about don't look at the scoreboard tomorrow or just in competitive mode and you won't help them?
KEVIN SUTHERLAND: I won't say anything to them. Everybody is different. A lot of people like to know exactly what's going on at all times and there are some people who just don't.
I'm not going to go around not looking at the leaderboard tomorrow. If I happen to look over and see what it is, that would be great, but I'm not going to maybe -- like today, just go out there and just play golf. You know, if it gets down to the last few holes and I get done, I'll definitely be looking to see where I stand. I think you can make some foolish mistakes if you don't know where you are relative to everybody else.

Q. Match Play was different because there's only two guys left in the tournament, but other times you've been in contention, PLAYERS Championship or whatever, did you find yourself in the same situation of not really paying attention to what you're doing, just playing?
KEVIN SUTHERLAND: Yeah, I have always kind of been that way, I just kind of play, that's what I try to do.
I feel like for me, that's when I play my best golf, when I'm not trying to get too worried in all of the extracurricular activities and just do my own thing. That's kind of what I did today, and that's my plan for tomorrow. But I do say that when it gets down to the end, I'm probably going to be taking a peak to see how everything stands.
JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, Kevin, for joining us.

End of FastScripts

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