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WGC BRIDGESTONE INVITATIONAL

July 29, 2008

Stuart Appleby

AKRON, OHIO

LAURA HILL: Stuart, thanks so much for joining us. Your 29th consecutive World Golf Championships start, so maybe just talk about being back here at Firestone Country Club.
STUART APPLEBY: It's an absolute honor. It is one of the finest, I think, courses we play on TOUR, excluding a world event. Just a good place. Personally I met my to-be wife eight years ago in 2000, so a unique place on many levels, really. I obviously would like to win here, that would make it even more unique.

Q. Have you been out?
STUART APPLEBY: I was out today.

Q. Supposedly it's as pretty and lush as it's ever been.
STUART APPLEBY: I wouldn't say lush. I've seen it lusher, but it is the best condition I've ever seen it. It is just perfect. The greens are as quick as any course we ever play, including Augusta. It is in the best shape you could ever ask for a golf course. The rough is not too penal. It's penal, but it's not too bad, and the greens are lightning fast. It's as quick as you'll ever see, considering we're not in Georgia with a lot of hills. I think they are definitely quicker than Augusta, and they could get drier and get faster. So it's just beautiful.
And obviously one of the true tests on TOUR, this course, especially when it plays firm.

Q. When you come back here, do you think about meeting Ashley and all that every time?
STUART APPLEBY: Oh, in passing I do, yeah. I don't really well up or anything, no (laughter). I'm not that old yet.

Q. Not a sentimental sort?
STUART APPLEBY: Not yet, not too sentimental. But it is pretty cool, that fact, and that we have held a World Championship event here so long, that's very rare to do that, any tournament, really, but to be here and to attract so many world-class players at one venue and a very good quality venue that's had so many amazing finishes is truly special.

Q. Given the trials and tribulations at Birkdale, how close are you now to eradicating the problems that you had?
STUART APPLEBY: I think we all eradicated them with some local brew (laughter). I don't think we could get to a pub quick enough or look for the fridge wherever we might have been staying. That was a week where really, only a handful of people remembered it as an experience that they'd behold. The rest of the time we were just being -- Mother Nature was tearing us apart, made us look like real hacks.
It was a tough week. We knew what we were in for, but it still doesn't stop you from wondering, God, I'm supposed to be good at this sport, why do I look like I have no idea. I don't mind that stuff, but there's a line. I was, unfortunately, the other side of the fence where it was just too hard instead of actually getting a chance to enjoy it and relish it. I was excited about playing, but at the end of the week I was a bit disheartened that it was that difficult.

Q. Alistair MacLean was saying he went through two suits. I know you were under an umbrella, but did you manage to stay dry?
STUART APPLEBY: I'm probably one of the last guys to put something warm on playing, and I had a rain suit on all four days, plus a woolen beanie, like a woolen hat. I was not real cold at any stage. I wanted to cool down when I needed to instead of trying to warm up. It wasn't that cold as in temperature, but the breeze kept it nippy. The ball seemed to go nowhere. A 20-mile-an-hour breeze was acting like 30 anywhere else inland. The ball would go nowhere, from 120 yards you're hitting 8-irons. I've never hit more long irons to get to a normal length par-4 ever. Just a real test and something I will probably remember for a variety of reasons.

Q. So if it rains here Thursday, it'll be like a summer breeze, right?
STUART APPLEBY: Yeah, it just feels like heaven (laughter) in every way. There's no angels flying around, but it feels like heaven.

Q. You've kind of been knocking on the door at a lot of places, but then a bad day or whatever. Have you come to any conclusions?
STUART APPLEBY: I reckon that I'm close, you know. I'm not quite sure exactly what I've got to do. But I'm sure once I get a taste of it I'll be aware of it. There's some things I've been working on. My swing, obviously, I'm always working on and trying to strengthen any weaknesses. But probably anything would be more just mental stuff. I think the most I'll get out of my game now will be -- there's probably 25 percent -- out of improvement, probably 25 improvement and probably 50 percent from the mental side. So I'll use my experience as a golfer to move up a level and it'll come from something more in between my ears than some magical tip my coach is going to give me.

Q. Would you rather have -- you've got the Open, you've got the WGC this week and then you've got the PGA. Would you rather that these groups of tournaments were spaced out a little bit more?
STUART APPLEBY: Yeah, I would personally like to see the PGA another two to four weeks later, spacing them out. We wait for the Masters so much, then we have a nice break 'til the Open, and then we get to the Open, and only a handful of weeks later, really, and then we jam in the PGA sort of very, very close. I'd ideally like to see them spaced out relatively evenly, but then you might be clashing with TV ratings in other sports, so there is a TV functional reason why. But as a golfer I'd like to see a good four to six weeks between majors minimum.

Q. Just with the doors kind of open for a different winner here, do you look at people who have played well here, or do you think anybody can put it together?
STUART APPLEBY: In this type of field, anybody can, absolutely. We've had all sorts of players do well here. Certainly it's a world event and it's certainly the world's players. I think that's probably -- it's been obviously Australians, the English, one American's done pretty good (laughter). I think that you wouldn't look at a true form horse around here and say that he's going to do well. I think this is a world-class course and the players set themselves up to play well here.
I think that you will -- there will be no surprises. I think the only surprises will be that the market that watches TV doesn't really know world golf names, might go, who's so and so. But proper golf fans, people who are watching it most weeks, will know who these players are and know that they're respected for what they do.

Q. I'm saying considering guys like Kenny Perry and Kim are kind of hot, but will that matter here?
STUART APPLEBY: I think confidence is very, very important, and Kenny Perry is at the part of his life where he probably cares less about how he plays, and that's probably why he's playing to potential that really he never thought he had. He probably had it ten years ago but probably still has it today. Anthony Kim is just the opposite. He knows what he's got going on. He's young and naÃ¯ve enough and positive enough that that's what he defines his life by, by golf, and that's all he needs to think about. So they're two opposites but both very, very functional. If you're in the middle, a bit like me, you're like, I want to play like an Anthony Kim, but I'd like to play also as -- I guess personally relaxed as Kenny Perry is.
Yeah, that's the beauty of this sport. You've got young, enthusiasm, exuberance, and you've got reserved, calm, and I'm not going to the British Open, I'm playing here. Smart move, actually (laughter).
LAURA HILL: Stuart, thanks.

End of FastScripts

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