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THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

May 10, 2007

Jim Furyk

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA

Q. Talk about the round today.
JIM FURYK: You know, I'm happy with the score. 71 is a good round around this golf course, especially in the afternoon rounds. It looks like there are a couple guys on the course right now that are 2-under in the afternoon, so one of the better rounds this afternoon.
You know, I made a couple mistakes, unfortunately one of them was on the way in on 17. I was real happy to -- 18 was playing real tough. I was real happy to hit a good drive and a good iron shot, make par and finish off with a strong finish. I'm happy with the score, and it's a good start to the week.

Q. Is it easier going in the morning tomorrow? Do you prefer playing in the morning?
JIM FURYK: It depends on the condition. You know, you can go out some mornings and -- with this crazy weather we're having right now, it can be blowing 20 in the morning and then die out in the afternoon and that wouldn't be the case, so you just kind of wait and see.
Theoretically or typically, the morning rounds, the greens are holding a little bit more moisture, the wind is usually not as strong as it is in the morning as in the afternoons. Theoretically morning rounds are usually a little bit better, but you never know what Mother Nature is going to give you.

Q. Talk about your approach on 17, and will it be any different tomorrow?
JIM FURYK: I'm not sure I totally understand how you want me to answer that question.

Q. Well, how did you approach 17 today and how will you approach it tomorrow?
JIM FURYK: The pin will be in a different position and you you'll have to figure out the wind. Today I got a little quick and started the ball to the left and the wind was blowing to the left, so it kind of grabbed the ball, and although it landed on the green, it hopped off.
Tomorrow, new day, new pin placement and new conditions, so I'll have to -- you get on the tee, evaluate what you think your best chances are, and hopefully hit a good shot.

Q. You had birdies at 2, 6, 9 and 11. Can you tell us about those?
JIM FURYK: 2 was playing straight downwind today, so I was just trying to get a driver in the fairway. I had 3-iron into the green. Then I hit a little long left of the green because downwind it was quite firm, and I made a real good up-and-down there. I pitched to about eight feet, knocked it in.
6, I hit a 3-wood off the tee and then hit a very good pitching wedge to about ten feet left of the hole, and with that pin being up front, that was one of my better shots of the day.
No. 9, I hit a driver off the tee and laid up with my hybrid, and it left me with a -- I was just hitting a little knock-down 7-iron from 130 yards and I hit a really good shot in there about four feet.
And then 11 was playing straight downwind, another par 5 straight downwind. I drove it very well and I hit my hybrid, hit it into the bank short, hopped in the bunker, and I hit a hell of a bunker shot up there to about a foot.
I took advantage of those two par 5s downwind, 2 and 11, and I kind of hung in there, got the ball up-and-down once in a while and played well.

Q. How did you feel about 8. It's a long way, isn't it?
JIM FURYK: It is. It's a hole that I don't think they really needed to add any yardage to, but they did. You have some more options with the setup. So it's a relatively big green, and you know, it is what it is. They probably added about 10, 12 yards to it.

Q. You had a number of chances to play the Extreme Makeover course before this?
JIM FURYK: Well, it opened mid-November, I want to say November 15th or something like that. So I've played a fair amount of rounds over it since then. I practiced a lot here in the winter, say in December, getting ready to go to Mercedes, I played a lot of golf on it. And up through -- last time I played really was before The Masters. Getting ready to go to the Masters I played it a lot. I haven't played since.
But the layout really isn't -- the layout really isn't that much different. You've got new bunkers on 7, a few trees on 6, added some length to the holes, brand new green on 12. Other than that, same golf course, it's just in a different condition now with all Bermuda.
What's nicer is it used to be that the golf course year-round was in nowhere near the same condition it was during the tournament, so it really wasn't any benefit to be here.
Now, I mean, it's still not always going to be in tournament shape year-round, but it's closer. It plays firmer and faster and you get a better feel for what the golf tournament will be like.

Q. I just wondered if your comfort zone was better because of that. For a lot of guys it's the first time they've really got a chance to --
JIM FURYK: It's still -- I think two, three rounds -- two rounds around here guys will get a feel for how fast it's going. It's still, again, the same tee shots, the same target lines. You just have to get a feel for how firm and fast it plays now.
But that being said, Pete, the architect, Pete Dye, has a way of making courses look pretty difficult. They're visually --
Q. Intimidating?
JIM FURYK: -- intimidating would be a good word, and the more times you can play around it, it's a benefit. You get more comfortable with where you're supposed to hit the ball.

Q. How much guesswork is involved on 17 when the winds are gusting, when it's 20 one second and up to 39 the next?
JIM FURYK: A little bit, but I think you want to play a -- it's not like you're trying -- it's over the water. It's not like you're trying to stuff it in there like that (indicating a short distance). You're trying to put the ball in a safe place behind the pin. You're trying to use the backstop and bring it back to the pin.
It's difficult, but again, it's 128 yards today, so I should have been able to hit a better shot and been able to get the ball on the green.

Q. 40-some odd guys today in the water on 17, much higher than it usually is. Why so difficult today as opposed to last year or any previous year?
JIM FURYK: You answer the question, how's that? What do you think it is?

Q. No idea, I'm not a golfer.
JIM FURYK: Was it blowing 40 last year or 25?

Q. No.
JIM FURYK: There you go. Just windy.

Q. It still wasn't a record.
JIM FURYK: We've played on some windy days. I've played here when I've had to hit 3-wood into 18. You can see by the water. One thing beyond anything else that's going to make guys hit it in the water on 17 is the wind. It makes it that much tougher to hit the green.

Q. Was that a mistake at 18?
JIM FURYK: I hit a good shot, just kind of misplayed the wind a little bit, but I still put it in a spot where I had a good putt.

End of FastScripts

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