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MERCEDES-BENZ CHAMPIONSHIP

January 5, 2008

Daniel Chopra

KAPALUA, HAWAII

STEWART MOORE: Thanks for spending a few moments with us here in the interview room at the Mercedes-Benz Championship. Great round out there today, 67, one bogey, plenty of birdies. What went well for you today?
DANIEL CHOPRA: You know, I played exactly the same way I played the first day, pretty much. That was my goal, just eliminate the mistakes that I made over the previous rounds in certain areas, and for the most part I was able to do that. Every time I made a mistake this week it felt like it was a stupid mistake, and it was a silly bogey. That was my main goal today, was just to eliminate those.
And the one bogey I made today I didn't really hit a bad shot. I thought I could fly that bunker on 16, not a problem, and I turned it over and I guess it spun a little bit and held into the wind. It looked like it flew the bunker and it obviously landed right in the face and I had a really tough shot from there and made bogey.
STEWART MOORE: When you look at a leaderboard like we have now where there's so many players with a chance to win, does that change your mindset going into tomorrow?
DANIEL CHOPRA: Well, you've got to play the golf course the same way. I figured out that the way I play it has got me to where I am right now and I'm going to try to stick with that and rely on my putting to give me my birdie opportunities. If you manage to knock a few close and maybe take advantage of the par 5s you can get a good low round going. Again, that's only because of the fact the wind has been blowing so hard so you can't really be that aggressive into the pins. But if the winds die down for tomorrow that might have to change and you might have to play a little bit more aggressively and take some chances, but we'll have to see.

Q. Left-hand low, you alternated today on putter grip?
DANIEL CHOPRA: Only tap-ins. I've been left-hand low the whole week. I've only tapped in right-hand low. I considered it, but there was a couple putts yesterday where I felt like I maybe should have gone right-hand low when you get those big right-to-left swingers. When you go left-hand low that left shoulder drops down a lot and it's hard to look over your shoulder and get a feel for where the hole is. That's why I considered maybe the big right-to-left downhillers to go right-hand low, because you can see a little better, but I stuck with what I was doing.

Q. You had a good late-season run, the head-to-head with Baddeley in Australia, your win. It's got to be a lot of fun, isn't it?
DANIEL CHOPRA: It's always fun. It's good to be in contention. I had a streak there a year or so ago, two years ago, where I seemed to be in contention a lot and never really seemed to finish the job off. Now I'm starting to get closer and closer and I'm contending a lot more late on Sundays. And hopefully I'll have another opportunity with nine holes to go tomorrow. I've played well this week, and I think I've figured out how to play the golf course, especially in these windy conditions. I haven't played it anything other than this way and this direction.
Tomorrow will be a good, fun day again, and we'll see what happens.

Q. Do you feel a difference in your comfort level being in contention?
DANIEL CHOPRA: Yeah, I was very comfortable today. Actually, funny enough, I noticed as I was warming up on the driving range, and I was thinking, wow, you're only a few shots off the lead and well inside the Top 10. As the year has gone by I've been a little bit edgy in the mornings and on the weekends, and today I felt very comfortable, like I belonged, all of a sudden. That's the feeling I've been trying to achieve and get to, and it took me a little bit longer than most, but I feel like I may be getting there now.

Q. It seems like we've had three totally different weather days from bad to better to best today. What do you hope for tomorrow weather-wise?
DANIEL CHOPRA: Well, I don't know. You know, this golf course -- it's fun to play it in vile conditions. That's part of the challenge in playing around here, is being able to hit those little shots and kind of the design calls for it, as well. The big, wide fairways give you a little bit of room to let the wind blow your all around a little bit and then get it a little bit closer as you get to the pins. But it doesn't matter. It would be fun to play it in calm conditions, as well, just to see how it plays. Hopefully it'll dry out a little bit and we'll get a little bit of roll in the fairways by tomorrow and play it the way I've seen it play on TV.

Q. How close do you have to be to feel like you're in contention?
DANIEL CHOPRA: I mean, K.J. shot 62 around here, and if it's soft, the greens are soft ish and the wind doesn't blow, somebody can do that tomorrow. Anybody can still win. I think it's just a matter of getting out there tomorrow, and the right guy with the right position has a good round, whatever that may be. I have a feeling it's going to be a shootout tomorrow because it seems like the weather is getting better and better and every day more and more guys are under par.

Q. Did you ask for advice in Vijay the other day during that practice round or did you just observe what he was doing and learn from him?
DANIEL CHOPRA: Yeah, you ask a little bit. It comes naturally. I didn't really go out with a mindset to pick his brain or anything. But you go play with him -- I enjoy playing with him. We have a little game on. That was the main priority. You observe a little bit. You know, he talks about it and I'll say, hey, was that a little too far right or a little too far left, and he'll say, no, that was pretty good. I didn't really go over the top in picking his brain. I don't feel comfortable doing that just yet. But I'll observe.
STEWART MOORE: Great playing today. Good luck tomorrow.

End of FastScripts

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