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THE SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY ABERDEEN ASSET MNGT

July 26, 2007

Nick Faldo

GULLANE, SCOTLAND

STEVEN FRANKLIN: Thanks for coming down, Nick. You spoke yesterday about trying to tag along with the leading players, but for seven holes on that front nine you certainly weren't tagging along?
NICK FALDO: Yeah, I was very surprised, you know, just trying to do the best I could, trying to find a routine and I was able to do it which is quite surprising. And that scared me, I didn't know what to do. (Laughing).
So then I've got to learn to deal with the different feelings playing this game, which I haven't had in a long time. And you know, I played solid that back nine, it's a little bit tougher, the back nine. Made a mess of 17 and hit a great shot into the last.
So, you know, I feel what I squeezed out of the course and gave back was about right, so that's pretty good.
STEVEN FRANKLIN: Yesterday you had putting issues and said you were having to grind it. You holed some nice putts today so are feeling better on the greens?
NICK FALDO: Well, I worked for a couple of hours last night just trying to get a routine and trust in the stroke. I had that for a while and I lost it and I found another thought and worked on it, a feeling to try to make it a bit easier. So I've got a full day, a full day to work on my putting before tomorrow.

Q. I was wondering whether you think you've made the right career move now and how much you enjoyed the buzz of competing again?
NICK FALDO: Yeah, you bounce in and out of the emotions: hit a bad shot, and 'eww, had enough of it' and you hit a good one, and, 'oh, this is all right.' You know, it was just nice to be out there doing that today. It was great. There was chances on this golf course the way that it was playing, and I was very pleasantly surprised I was able to take advantage.

Q. Did you feel the worst when you hit it just into the rough at the first and could only chunk it back into the fairway?
NICK FALDO: I've been hitting the ball well off the tee. I got bad alignment on 1 and rushed it a little bit. You know if you have to rush, you have to accept that you'll miss fairways.

Q. You hit a lot of three woods off the tee and you seem to be hitting it a long way?
NICK FALDO: I have a very powerful 3-wood. I hit a really good one on 18 and a really good one on 9. I hit 3-wood and 3-wood on 9. I just tried to take bunkers out of play and position myself and if I can be making a full swing rather than -- there's nothing worse than backing off a shot going full speed. That was a very good club.

Q. What was it like being paired with Tom Watson?
NICK FALDO: Yeah, it was great to be with Tom and he's playing very well. He's obviously still grinding with his putter a bit. It was just a quiet day between us. Chatted a little bit here and there. But the whole atmosphere was really nice to be out here at Muirfield. Yeah, I couldn't have picked a better partner for the first day as a senior.

Q. You look a little tired. Are you ready to keep grinding all weekend?
NICK FALDO: Yeah, you're right -- well, who knows? I've just got to keep going. Hopefully I can settle down into a rhythm. That's the whole secret. At least I'm burning the calories, which is good, keeps the waistline down.

Q. Can you give us the history of that putter and your experience with belly putters?
NICK FALDO: I've been working with a belly now the whole year. I kind of made the decision at the beginning of the year since I wasn't playing enough, I thought I'd go with the belly. You know, we love the way it gives you a release to the putt, a pure release. So I've been doing all year, limited amount of practising and over the year, probably tried half a dozen and narrowed it down to that one.
So, yeah, and once you've been doing it, it really is the way to go. Technically, it will produce a better stroke and a better roll.

Q. When you step out with a belly putter for the first time, do you feel slightly awkward in public?
NICK FALDO: No, no, because I played last week and played with Immelman and Pettersen, and they both had belly putters. So I felt pretty cool. I was in with the "in" crowd.

Q. What was like playing so well and, in your own words, feeling a little scared?
NICK FALDO: Well, probably up to the front nine, I thought 4-under, you're not meant to do that at Muirfield, are you, just go out and shoot 4-under.
Then the back nine got more difficult. But I was pleased -- that's what you have to do. You have to find your old routine to how you would commit to the shot and all this sort of thing.
So you've got to be able to commit to it, because then hey, once the body stops, there is goes. Basically saying, we have to make it -- you have to walk yourself through it rather than it being automatic. You can't just stand up and just swing one. It's like you've got to go through the process.

Q. Is the process on every hole?
NICK FALDO: Every shot, you can't just say, well, I just hit a 5-iron like that, what am I doing, I'm here, laying there, got a couple of practise swings like that, got to get through there, so that's a lot going on.

Q. How good was it to show your son Matthew (caddie) that his old man could still play?
NICK FALDO: Well, yeah, I'd love to have a good week for him. We haven't had a good week together yet. So I'm trying my best.

Q. Has he offered any advice?
NICK FALDO: He's doing the yardages, yeah. We chat a bit and he pulls up information from the other days and so, you know, he's doing all right.

Q. Is it just two Masters and an Open together?
NICK FALDO: He just does the majors. They pay better, he says. We've done two BMWs together in Germany.

Q. Have you been hitting any significantly different clubs on holes than you did in the 1992 Open?
NICK FALDO: Yeah, yeah, I'm sure. We probably needed more club off the tee. Obviously this is a positional golf course, it always has been, second hole, third hole, 8, it's always positions there. So it's not really that much different to be honest.

Q. Talk me through playing the 18th and what memories than gave you?
NICK FALDO: Well, yeah, that was nice. When I looked at that second shot, I thought, well, you know, I love looking back and saying, well, I hit my 5-iron from there, my 3-iron from there, and you know, I went for that shot, which is great. I thought, right, just squeeze one up close and I did. That was very pleasing.

Q. What was it?
NICK FALDO: 3-wood, 6-iron.
STEVEN FRANKLIN: Thanks, Nick.

End of FastScripts

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