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FUNAI GOLF CLASSIC AT WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT

October 23, 2004

Scott Verplank

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA

SCOTT VERPLANK: Honestly I made seven of them, so hopefully we'll keep going this way.

Q. On a golf course where birdies are there all the time, do you have to have a different mindset when you go to the tee and think you have to make birdie every time?

SCOTT VERPLANK: No, the golf course, if you hit good shots and good putts, you're going to make birdies, but still, as fast as the greens are, and the wind was blowing a little bit today, you still can't just force it and expect to birdie every hole. Normally that's not going to happen.

You know, the last few years playing around here, I've done pretty good. I've done a pretty good job and played pretty well, just hitting fairways and greens and keep giving myself good putts at it because the greens are great.

I actually heard they were going to tear them up, which is a little disappointing. I don't know what they're going to come out like. If they come out like The Palm, then we've got a couple years before it's as good as it is now.

Q. It just doesn't seem like it would be the perfect fit for you; a birdie-fest, the low scores-type thing?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, I shoot low scores (laughter). I finished 2nd here last year. Yeah, I don't know, I generally play pretty good in Vegas where it's the same type of deal. I think when the golf course is like this, it helps to hit it in the fairway because the rough is not horrible here but it's kind of squirrelly so you can get all kind of funny looking shots out of the rough.

The greens are beautiful. For Bermuda, I don't know how you can get any better. If I keep hitting fairways and greens like I've done the last couple of days, then I'm going to get some chances, and a few of them went in today.

Q. (Inaudible.) I mean, you were fine in the post-game and all that, actually kind of flukish?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, I finished 3rd the next tournament I played in at Bay Hill, so it didn't kill me, but I still wish I had that car (laughter). And the fact that I didn't win, I mean, this year has been not all that spectacular because I haven't won. If I could somehow win this week or the last tournament, then it would make the yearÃ‚Â -- it would make it rank a lot higher in my book.

Q. You've played well on the courses here over the last 12-ish months or so with Doral and here this week and Disney last year and Bay Hill?

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, maybeÃ‚Â -- well, I turned 40 this year, so people start coming down when they get older. They enjoy it. I think that's what must be going on. You get old and you start having to get involved in the weather and all that stuff, and it suits you better.

Q. Briny made an interesting comment yesterday that he gets more satisfaction out of playing well over the course of a year than in one week; in other words, that winning maybe isn't the answer for everything. I was just curious, it's kind of the opposite of what you just said a second ago.

SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, if I look at my play and the way I've played the last four, five years, honestly I pride myself on trying to play good every time I play and being consistent. I would have to say that the only thing that's missing is I need to get my consistency level up just one more notch. I mean, I have a lot of Top 10, Top 15s, Top 20s. I missed one cut this year, which was kind of a littleÃ‚Â -- it was just a different setup. But I generally play pretty decent most days. I don't have a ton of really wild swings. Hopefully I'll have a good swing tomorrow. I obviously pride myself on trying to play good every day.

If I can get it a little bit better, half a shot a day better than my career, then each year would be quite a bit more interesting.

Q. What's your schedule been like this week, pretty hectic? Are you getting enough sleep?

SCOTT VERPLANK: No, I'm not getting any sleep (laughter). Yeah, I have all four of my kids and then my wife and our nanny and my mother-in-law, so we've got two cars, a couple hotel rooms, long dinners. It takes a long time to feed eight people.

My family are great because they'reÃ‚Â -- this week is a killer, but they're great because they go to the park and they know I'mÃ‚Â -- they know I'm sitting here.

Q. (Inaudible).

SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, mine is really Magic Kingdom because the kids like it so much. It's a neat place, and we've been coming a lot of years and they've beenÃ‚Â -- this is probably the fourth or fifth year in a row for my three older kids, and they haven't gotten tired of it. It's a neat deal. It's a good vacation for them.

Q. (Inaudible).

SCOTT VERPLANK: Sometimes. I'm going tonight actually.

We ride the little boat deals. You know, they have those littleÃ‚Â -- I don't know what they call them, the little two-man boats. I drive my kids around in that, and my little girls love that. So I still get to do stuff and have a family night. I don't like to walk around all the parks with my wife. I don't like that.

Q. (Inaudible).

SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, you'd like to. I mean, that's the greatest challenge is to just stay in your own game, play your own game. You know, I mean, I looked at the leaderboard a little bit today, but every time I did, I said, "Just quit worrying about that and just try and hit good shots and hit good putts and let the chips fall where they may." That's kind of the way you have to play this deal tomorrow, too. At least I do. I don't know about everybody else.

Q. (Inaudible).

SCOTT VERPLANK: They're all the same to me. I try to hit it in the fairway, hit it on the green and make as many putts as I can.

Q. (Inaudible).

SCOTT VERPLANK: Well, that is a spectacular question. Yeah, I don't know. I would assume the guy that's out ahead because if he goes out andÃ‚Â -- say I'm two shots back on the last turn, I'm going to have to beat the guy that's leading by three. Vijay I have a little bit of a cush, although as great as Vijay has been playing, that cush could evaporate really quickly.

If I play like I did today, if I shoot 65 tomorrow, then I'm going to guess that I'm going to be in the mix somewhere, regardless if it's Vijay or Tom Lehman or Briny Baird or whoever it is.

Q. (Inaudible).

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, they're fast.

Q. (Inaudible).

SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, they're kind of medium firm. They're not real firm, but they're fast. Like I said, they're as good as you can get for Bermuda.

Q. (Inaudible).

SCOTT VERPLANK: Today, no. My U.S. Amateur win, yes. It's so long that I can't remember. Yeah, it was 20 years ago, you're right.

Well, I hadn't thought about it to be honest with you. It's such a long time ago, I hardly remember.

Q. (Inaudible).

SCOTT VERPLANK: No (laughter). That was a joke. There's a female sports writer in Oklahoma City who wanted to make a name for herself in some way, shape or form.

Q. (Inaudible).

SCOTT VERPLANK: She turned her into one, which I don't think anybody ever thought about it like that. I know they didn't. Come on, it's a non-issue. I mean, it's just pretty sad some of the stuff you have to do to comply or be politically correct, so whatever. Nobody had a real problem with it.

NELSON SILVERIO: Thanks, Scott.

End of FastScripts.

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