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HSBC CHAMPIONS

November 8, 2007

Kevin Stadler

SHANGHAI, CHINA

SCOTT CROCKETT: All right, Kevin. Thank you for coming in to join us, as always. A very good day for you, 8-under par round of 64. I presume you couldn't be happier with your start to the event.
KEVIN STADLER: Yeah, absolutely, it's a great start. Glad to be back here and got off to a good start.
SCOTT CROCKETT: What was particularly good today, Kevin? Your figures looked very solid, but was there anything that particularly pleased you?
KEVIN STADLER: On the front nine everything was fine. Got off to a very good start and birdied the first three. You know, I never really was in the rough, so happy to say that, and I drove it pretty well.
SCOTT CROCKETT: Thanks for that. Some questions for Kevin.

Q. Is this your first time in this event?
KEVIN STADLER: I played this event last year, so second time.

Q. Do you think you benefit from the course because it is an American-style course?
KEVIN STADLER: It is, I really enjoy the golf course. I feel very comfortable on it, and you know, it was nice to have played it once before this year.

Q. You are top of the leaderboard now, so are you confident to be champion of the Champions?
KEVIN STADLER: Well, everybody hopes for that, but it's too early to think about those things.

Q. Can you give us the details on the birdies and maybe some long putts you made and what holes?
SCOTT CROCKETT: We can run through the birdies, starting on the first?
KEVIN STADLER: The first, driver and 7-iron to about ten feet I guess.
SCOTT CROCKETT: You birdied 2, the par 5.
KEVIN STADLER: I knocked it on in two and 2-putted.
3, I hit a wedge about three or four feet.
7 was the same, wedge in close.
8, I hit a 9-iron to about five feet.
And 9, I hit an 8-iron to about ten, 12 feet again.
SCOTT CROCKETT: And your only bogey of the day on 11, what happened?
KEVIN STADLER: Hit down the right, plugged in the trap and had to chip out sideways and made an easy five from there.
13, I hit another poor drive in the bunker, and that was the long putt I made, about 20 feet out of the trap, and knocked that in.
14, I was short and just on close to a couple feet.
17, I hit driver just in the back fringe, 2-putted from about 20, 25 feet.

Q. If I'm not wrong, you finished about 120 on the Money List in the States and you come here and shot a blistering round; is it a surprise for you?
KEVIN STADLER: I played very well last week. Didn't score quite as well as I would have liked to, but it was one of my better finishes still.
It was great to come here and play a worry-free tournament. I haven't had many of them in the last month or two.

Q. Just to follow on that, in terms of having a worry-free tournament, are you referring to just keeping your card in the States?
KEVIN STADLER: Yeah, I was right on the bubble pretty much the last six weeks of the year and just played very poorly for about a month in a row there, and then I had a good one last week.
I wasn't letting it -- I was trying not to let it bother me, but it was pretty apparent that I was a little on edge. I felt better right after when I was through with all of that.

Q. If your dad was the Walrus, did you have a nickname?
KEVIN STADLER: Thankfully I have avoided that for most of my life. Love to keep it that way. (Laughing).
SCOTT CROCKETT: You don't have a nickname?
KEVIN STADLER: No.
SCOTT CROCKETT: Baby Walrus?
KEVIN STADLER: No, that doesn't work very well, thankfully.

Q. You probably get this all the time, but I just didn't realise you were related to your father; and he having such a great career, what are your ambitions in terms of trying to emulate him.
KEVIN STADLER: Nothing in that regard. I'm just really enjoying myself. I knew this is what I wanted to do at a young age. I grew up following him around, and I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing but this was all I really knew. I grew up out here and love the lifestyle and it's kind of what I looked forward to doing with my life.
But now that I've made it out here, I kind of need to readjust my goals because I'm kind of happy being where I am right now.

Q. Obviously you've had a great start. What are your thoughts about going into tomorrow and the rest of the weekend?
KEVIN STADLER: No thoughts. I'm just hoping I can -- hope I can get up after about 4.00 a.m. I've had trouble sleeping and glad I have an early tee time tomorrow and don't have too much time to waste in the morning.
SCOTT CROCKETT: Kevin, well done today.

End of FastScripts

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