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BUICK OPEN

June 25, 2008

Jim Furyk

GRAND BLANC, MICHIGAN

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: We welcome Jim Furyk here to the 50th anniversary of the Buick Open. You're a past champion here, maybe some opening comments about coming back to Warwick Hills.
JIM FURYK: Enjoy the golf course. It suits my style of game. It's a at this time golf course and you have to get the ball in the fairway and from that point on, it's a lot of short irons and you have to knock some putts in.
So I've had a lot of success here in the past, and my summer, I would like to jump start it and play a really good week this week.

Q. What are your impressions on the TOUR without Tiger and the rest of the summer without him on the TOUR?
JIM FURYK: Well, it's definitely going to take its toll and it's a question we are going to have to answer week-in and week-out. I think the events such as this one, St. Louis, events that he usually plays in, or St. Louis where we don't get to very often, with him not in the field it will be difficult for the event.
I think it will have less impact on tournaments where he didn't play in the past or the British Open or the PGA will still go on. It's a definite hit for Warwick Hills and the Buick Open. He's in the mix and won a bunch here. It will be difficult but still going to be a lot of good golf. We've had a lot of exciting tournaments that he has not teed it up in this year, so hopefully that will continue.

Q. What about The Ryder Cup without him?
JIM FURYK: Well, I'm hoping to be on the team and be one of the 12 guys, and it will be a loss not to have the best player in the word on your team. Guys look up to him. He's our best player, so you know, and he's a guy that I played with in the past.
Again, I'm hoping to be on that team, and if that's the case, I would definitely miss having him as a partner, but we'll have to suck it up, and Americans will have to go out there without Tiger and get the job done.

Q. Have you been asked about your performance on this golf course? I don't think anybody has played better over a longer period of time than you have.
JIM FURYK: Well, I enjoy coming here and that's the reason I play here year-in and year-out. I think I only missed one year in my career. It's a place that when I'm playing well, it suits the strengths of my game. You have to drive the ball well here and you have to drive it straight, and if you do, you can get a lot of opportunities. You get a lot of short irons in your hand, and right now the greens are pretty soft. And with rain in the forecast they will stay that way and we'll be very aggressive to the pins and I think you'll see some low scoring again.
I've enjoyed it because as I said, when I'm playing well, the strengths of my game are that I get the ball in play; and I think not being an overly long player, my strengths are usually with my short irons, and hopefully can knock in some putts.

Q. Will you try to get over to Oakland Hills?
JIM FURYK: Too late now. I was going to try yesterday but it was my daughter's birthday, and I took the afternoon and hung out with my kids.
Trying to get up there after a tournament round isn't likely or even realistic. I know it's changed and I played the U.S. Open there in '95 and I played The Ryder Cup there. I know the general routing and I know it's been changed. But I'll figure it out Monday through Wednesday of the tournament.

Q. Some changes but nothing that you can figure out easily --
JIM FURYK: Good or bad, what do you think -- I answered the question right there.

Q. Good for you guys, not good for me. Like Rocco said, they have added some length. Rocco said when he played there last year at the British Open qualifier, length is really not that big of a deal for you guys.
JIM FURYK: No, never makes the golf course that more difficult to be honest with you.

Q. Justin was talking that he hoped they would take a page from the USGA handbook and this year make it a little less penal. Any perspective from your past experience there?
JIM FURYK: Well, I think the players, for the last three years of the U.S. Open, I think -- let's go back five years, you never really heard anybody say: "Take a page out of the USGA's book." You heard of a lot of guys complaining and griping after the U.S. Open. For the last few years, the setups have been dramatically changed, and I think Mike Davis has done a great job.
As far as the way the PGA sets up the golf course, a lot times, of course, it's course dependent. Usually we go up to Oak Hill, and the rough was as thick and as long as I could ever remember seeing it, and it was a wedge most of the time out.
Other courses we have gone to, we have been afforded a more aggressive approach. But usually the scores at the PGA, 10-under par wins the golf tournament. Doesn't look like a PGA TOUR event where 20 can win, but sets up where we can play a little more aggressively.
We'll see what they do with Oakland Hills, whether they pull out a page like Oak Hill and it's what you expect of Oakland Hills. To be honest because I think of U.S. Opens being there, long rough and tight fairways, then, you know, even par is going to be a great score.
But if they widen the fairways up and the rough is not so severe, they will give us a chance to be a little more aggressive and play.

Q. Can you talk about today's round, and how much does a 64 on Wednesday carry you over into the tournament?
JIM FURYK: Not even aware of what I shot today to be honest with you. Today's scores is meaningless, pointless. I'm thinking more about -- I was happy to knock some putts in to be honest with you. That's always a good feeling.
Felt a little better with my alignment and where I was going. I was hitting putts down the lines I wanted to; and I got to see some going in and just trying to work on my game; and feel comfortable with where I'm driving it and putting the ball in the fairways; and feel like I'm hitting my irons crisp; and feel like you're hitting on all cylinders or get comfortable today and figure out what you need to work on.
Scoring today, I honestly didn't know what I shot.

Q. Wonder if you would talk a little been the pros and cons of this being a Tiger-less TOUR for the next three months. Obviously bumps the needle as Justin likes to say, but what are your thoughts on that?
JIM FURYK: I would say it's nothing that -- it literally does not affect me for the next three months. I don't spend my time really thinking about it other than the questions. As I said, we realize we are going to receive that question over and over again, and rightfully so; I'm not criticizing. I understand why the question is asked.
But more than anything, as a friend, I really hope that -- I read that the surgery went well this morning. I hope that he takes the time to come back 100%.
I've had surgery; I've had injuries; and you want to get back, you want to get playing. And a lot of times, guys come back too early and they are not fully healed, and then that process ends up taking longer and you end up costing yourself time.
So I hope that he gets fully healed and he waits enough time and when he comes back, he'll be 100%, and he'll dominate again. He's done it for the last ten years. There's no reason why he's not going to do it for as long as he wants to in the future.
So I wish him well. But as far as how the TOUR is going to be affected, it's nothing that I can really control nor do I just -- I don't worry about that type of stuff thinking about it.
That's your job. That's what you get paid for. I just get paid to play golf.

Q. Did you get a chance to go over to Oakland Hills this week?
JIM FURYK: I did not. I wanted to go over yesterday and thought about it, but yesterday was my daughter's birthday. I left early in the afternoon and spent the afternoon and evening with my kids. Probably would have been the day that if I were to head to Oakland Hills, would have been yesterday.
I played two pretty big tournaments there and I've been there for the U.S. Open and for The Ryder Cup. I know they have made some tweaks and some changes. I would have liked to have get over there, but it's not the end of the world. It's not a course I've not seen before.

Q. Just wondered if you're a fan of the change in the Ryder Cup selection process from the 10/2 to the 8/4.
JIM FURYK: I am actually. The whole Top-10 issue is probably not the way -- I probably wasn't a big fan of that for the points. I guess I don't dislike it but I like the fact that now every finish is worth something. And before, you know, you could finish 15th, 18th, 13th, get no points and miss two cuts and finish 10th and be better off, and I'd rather have the guy that was playing more consistent of.
I like the new format. I think that the four picks is nice. It probably takes a little bit of pressure off of the captain as far as choosing between two and three is probably a little more difficult than choosing between four and five. It's still difficult, and you'll have one guy that's really happy and one guy that's really upset.
I'm actually interested what happens now. Tiger is obviously in there in the points, now that you mention it, do we go down to nine or does Paul get another pick. Does anyone know the answer? We go down to nine? That's the unofficial official answer? So we go down to nine now.
Yeah, I like the format better. I can't understand why anybody would say that the old format was better than the new one. I think it's better off. That being said, we still have to perform better and play well.
JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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