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DEUTSCHE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP

September 2, 2007

Brett Wetterich

NORTON, MASSACHUSETTS

JOE CHEMYCZ: We welcome Brett Wetterich in with a 66 today. That puts you at 1-under par. Maybe just talk a little bit about your day and we'll open it up for some questions.
BRETT WETTERICH: I had a great day. I started off birdieing two out of my first four holes and I ran into a little bit of a logjam on the 5th. I hit my 3-wood pretty far right into the hazard, and it took us a while to figure out what was going on, where I was going to drop it.
After all that was done I hit 5-iron, I had like 220 or so to the pin, and it landed on the front and rolled up to about four or five feet, and I made it. So I got myself out of a pretty big jam there. From there on I got myself out of trouble and didn't get in any more trouble and made a few birdie putts and it resulted in a good score.
JOE CHEMYCZ: Seemed to be a lot of issue at 5 about the drop. Could you explain that? How many times did you drop it?
BRETT WETTERICH: I dropped it about five or six times. The cart path was so close to the hazard line that we had to do our drops, and then I was standing on the path, then we had to take relief from the path, and that took two drops. Then there was a rubber mat covering the wires for TV and stuff, so then I had to take relief from that. After all that was done, I hit a great shot to the green, thank God.

Q. Could you hear the kid up at the green saying, "Hit the ball"?
BRETT WETTERICH: No, thank God. No, I didn't hear that.

Q. They're not known for their patience up here.
BRETT WETTERICH: I was in my own little world trying to figure out how I could make bogey and ended up making a great par.

Q. I know this began to turn around for you about a year and a half ago. Can you talk about your state of mind then and what was the key to the tournament?
BRETT WETTERICH: Before the year and a half, I was just trying to survive and make sure I had a job every year, either being on the Nationwide Tour or here. I kind of had a bad mindset that way, but that's how I was thinking. I just didn't have the good tournaments. I had maybe one good tournament out of the year, and that's not going to do it.
A year and a half -- just before the Byron Nelson, started hitting the ball well, and I had a couple good finishes, and lo and behold, I won the Byron Nelson. It's been kind of -- it's been fun since then, and I think I've come a long way since then, also.

Q. The Doral thing with Tiger, you actually beat him head-up the last day. Paired with him, doesn't happen that often. What do you bring out of that that you might be able to put in your back pocket and take with you tomorrow with him and Phil breathing down your neck?
BRETT WETTERICH: You've got to play your own game. You can't worry about who you're playing with or who's behind you. I know that's easy to say sitting here right now because I'm sure it's going to sink into my head when I'm playing. But you've got to drown those thoughts out and worry about what you can do and not worry about what anyone else is going to do.

Q. You played great, but do you feel like you left a few putts -- I saw you have some kind of big reactions on some putts you kind of pushed a little right or left. Do you feel you left a few out there?
BRETT WETTERICH: Really only two putts. The par putt on 16, the first putt was breaking left the whole way, so I played it left edge. Maybe I played it a little further outside, maybe I pulled it, but the putt actually broke left again. It broke left twice. I missed that putt, and I don't know what happened there.
And then 18, I would have liked to have made that putt, but other than that, I can't complain. I made some great putts, and I really gained a stroke or two by making par on the 5th, so I can't complain.

Q. Phil said he thought that was the shot of the day. Fair to say? You had eagle putts all over the front nine it seemed like. Is that the one that kept the bleeding from starting?
BRETT WETTERICH: That's your round saver. That was my round saver. I had good momentum going and hit a terrible drive, and to somehow come out of there and make a par, it builds you and just keeps you going. Two holes later, I make eagle. You go from 2-under to 4-under, and who knows what kind of mind frame I would have been in if I would have made double. You know, who knows?

Q. Tiger three-putted the last two holes to open up a little more distance than there might have been. In terms of him chasing, is that any kind of a factor in your mind at all?
BRETT WETTERICH: I thought we already covered that, but I'm just going to do my own thing. If I go out and shoot 5-under like I did today, it's going to be hard to beat me, I think, unless someone really plays a good round of golf. I'm going to go out and try to make the best score that I can, and if someone catches me and beats me, then hey, they did. If I feel good about my round and how I played, I can't do anything about it.

Q. I know you've got your brother's initials there as inspiration. Can you talk about what your relationship was with him? Was he a golfer?
BRETT WETTERICH: Yeah, he was my big brother. We grew up playing a lot of golf together. We always went down as a family and played golf. He was a little older than me, so we didn't get to spend as much time together. But he was my big brother, and I loved him. It's just tragic that his life was cut short. But I'll always remember him, and he'll always be on my side.

Q. Is going to Chicago next week a little bit weird?
BRETT WETTERICH: It is, because that's where he lived and that's where it happened. You know, it's nice, my whole family goes up there, so we're all together. We get through it, and we always do.

Q. Can you talk about the Ryder Cup experience? Has it helped you in any way? Can you also talk about the Tiger dinner, the rookie dinner?
BRETT WETTERICH: The Ryder Cup was unbelievable. I mean, for me, that's definitely a dream of I think any player out here, besides winning, is making the Ryder Cup team. I think that's the most important thing outside of winning to me. It was great to play for your country, and I had a great time while I was over there and got closer to some of the guys that I really didn't know.
That's why it was nice and relaxing with Phil today. If I didn't get that experience, who knows how I would have felt out there. I feel comfortable being around him, and overall it was just unbelievable.
The dinner, we just went out and we had a good time, had a couple beers, we ate dinner and just kind of talked about things. He picked up the tab, thank God (laughter).

Q. A rarity, actually.
BRETT WETTERICH: I don't know about that. It's the only time I've eaten dinner with him.
JOE CHEMYCZ: Take us through your birdies and bogeys and an eagle. Start at 2.
BRETT WETTERICH: 2, par 5, hit a great drive down there and hit 8-iron into the green, had a good look at eagle there and just missed it, tapped it in for birdie.
The drivable par 4, I hit 3-wood off the tee and bounced just short and ran it up on the green to about 15 feet maybe, something like that, and just missed that one for eagle.
Then it's the par 5, I hit a great drive off the tee, No. 7, had probably like 256 or so to the hole, hit 5-wood, hit that in there about 15 feet, made that one.
10, I hit 5-wood off the tee. I had pitching wedge into there to about eight feet or so, eight, nine feet, and made that one.
15, I pushed a 5-wood right off the tee, kind of had a goofy lie over there and it jumped a bit and landed about hole high and shot over the green and chipped that one in, so it was kind of a bonus.
The lone bogey, I just -- I thought I hit a good putt, but the green said differently.

Q. Did you hit a driver off of 5?
BRETT WETTERICH: I hit 3-wood off 5. I hit it right in the heel and it was just a big slice kind of fade. It wasn't pretty.

Q. How many drivers today?
BRETT WETTERICH: I hit quite a bit actually. 2 I hit one, 7 -- well, maybe not. 12, 13, 14 and then 18. Yeah, I didn't hit many drivers today. I only hit about four, I guess.
JOE CHEMYCZ: Thank you. Good job.

End of FastScripts

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