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BMW CHAMPIONSHIP

September 6, 2007

Steve Stricker

LEMONT, ILLINOIS

Q. Comment on your round today.
STEVE STRICKER: It was a good start. I didn't really know what to expect coming out, playing with Tiger and what kind of crowds and how I was going to handle it today, but I did well. I played consistently the whole way around and got off to a good start today.

Q. Nice to come back here?
STEVE STRICKER: It is very nice to come back here. This is I think my 14th time I've played here. I get to drive down from Madison and see a lot of familiar faces. It feels like I'm home here this week. You hear a lot of Badger chants, so it's nice to get some sort of following, not typical for a normal week for me. But it's a nice event and I've always enjoyed coming here.

Q. The second hole you really took advantage of the rules. Will you just take us through your drop and how you used Tiger's line and made that putt?
STEVE STRICKER: Oh, yeah, No. 2. I was going to come that way anyways, it just made the putt straighter and a little bit flatter, and it just turned out to be that he was putting right there, too, so I was able to get a good read off of his, too. That's what you need to do when you get the ball in hand when the conditions -- it never materialized, the weather never came, but you've got to take advantage of it that way. He made it and gave me the line at the same time.

Q. You've been on as good a streak as anybody for the last month or so. How long can you reasonably expect something like that to last?
STEVE STRICKER: Good question. I hope forever. I mean, I don't want to go back to where I was a couple, three years ago. I'm just taking it day by day and I'm not really trying to think about too much of what I've done the last couple years and trying to look forward and continue what I've been doing, continue what I've been working on, continue my good thought process.
I don't see why it shouldn't continue. You know, I feel good about what I'm doing, so I've got a different approach, I think, than I have in past years. I feel confident that I can continue it.

Q. Does it almost make you want to play every week because you're doing so well right now? A lot of other guys are saying this is too much in a short period of time. But it seems like for you you'd want to keep going?
STEVE STRICKER: Well, I'm in a good position. I'm second on the point list. It's just a long time to be playing. When it's a short turnaround from Boston to here, it makes it even tougher. But it's a great opportunity for me. You know, I could possibly win this thing, and that's what I keep telling myself, and I keep getting fired up to come out here to play. I've got plenty of time to rest after this is all said and done, so just a couple more weeks and keep my head about and just keep trying to shoot good scores.

Q. Does it take some of the pressure off knowing there's no cut this weekend?
STEVE STRICKER: Yeah, I mean, it does. But I'm in a position being second on that list where I want to get off to a good start and play well. Playing with Tiger you want to play well, and all that said, it's still a golf tournament, you've still got to come out here and do the same things. You want to be close to the lead come Sunday or Saturday for that matter, so you just -- you want to make sure you get off to a good start and play. Even though there isn't a cut, you still feel the pressure of playing well this first day.

Q. The guy you're chasing in the No. 2 spot isn't here. Do you notice the absence? Is it kind of odd for the TOUR as a whole?
STEVE STRICKER: That he's not here?

Q. Every week there's been a notable absence.
STEVE STRICKER: It's usually just one or two players, though, mainly one. It's usually been one player every week. You notice it, but yet they've been great fields every week. I mean, I think that shows you this playoff system is working. If we can play a tournament without one of the best players in the world, whoever that may be I, think it means that it's working. It's still a great field no matter how you look at it.
I don't really look at it as a negative, Phil not being here. I look at it as he's not here, it gives us an opportunity to move up. You know, it is what it is, I guess. Guys choose to do what they want to do, and they have the luxury of doing that at times, too. So that makes a difference.

End of FastScripts

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