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WGC BRIDGESTONE INVITATIONAL

July 29, 2008

Jim Furyk

AKRON, OHIO

Q. Jim, how is the course playing today and how was the rough compared to last year?
JIM FURYK: Well, last year I was hurt so I never even got out on the golf course. I got to the range on Tuesday and that's as far as I went. Historically it's been long, it's been thick. The fairways this year are a little different story. It's shorter than it's been in the past. You can get a club on it, you can advance it, you can get it up around the green or on the green. Maybe you won't be able to control it as much, but it's totally different. I can remember in years past just hacking wedges out or short irons and trying to advance it was tough. Now the guys will be able to move it. So that's different.
The greens are not quite -- I wouldn't call them firm right now, but they are much, much quicker than we've played in months, I think, much quicker than I've played in months on TOUR. So that will be a little bit of an adjustment. Other than that, it's in good shape. It looks good.

Q. You've had great success here. Do you feel comfortable here?
JIM FURYK: Yeah, I always like coming here. It's an old, traditional golf course, kind of goes back and forth. Got to hit some shots, got to put the ball in the fairway. It's always been one of my Top 5 courses on TOUR for me, as far as ones that I really like. I've played well here in the past. I always get excited about coming here, and I enjoy teeing it up.

Q. What have you done well here? How do you explain your success here? What have you done well, other than what you just mentioned?
JIM FURYK: Shot pretty good numbers (laughter). Yeah, I don't think there's really any secret to playing well. It reminds me of golf courses that I played on when I grew up. It was built -- I want to say it was built in '49 or '59 or something.

Q. Somewhere around there.
JIM FURYK: It's an older golf course, and the back and forth reminds me of home where I grew up. Basically every hole is running this way or that way. There's no funny angles. It shouldn't be hard figuring out the wind, put it that way. Roundish style greens, usually a lot of slope from back to front. It reminds me of where I grew up. I grew up in Pennsylvania with golf courses built in the same era. I appreciate the fact that it's not just tee it up and let it fly on every hole. You've actually got to hit the fairway and power some shots and work it so the rough won't be as penal this year, but it'll still be a much better golf course to play out of the fairway. It's not mindless where you can just bomb it and hit it and go find it again.

Q. You're in a tough stretch. Like you said, you get geared up to come here. Does that kind of overcome that?
JIM FURYK: It's a tough stretch, but it's not -- it's kind of dwelling on the negative. It's something I knew I was going to do all year. Four in a row is not that bad. I think by the time the TOUR Championship is over, that will be a lot, a lot of weeks in a row. I'll be looking forward to -- during that week I'll be looking forward to the end of it all.
But it's not really that I have to overcome anything. I try to pace myself. I played nine holes today, light practice. I make sure I'm not out there for eight, nine hours beating balls and wearing myself down, so it's just something I have to do in this stretch to make sure I'm fresh and ready to go on Thursday.

Q. Any message to the Browns fans from the Steelers fans?
JIM FURYK: No, no jinxes, that's for sure. Browns made some good off-season moves. The division has got a tough schedule just having Indy, Jax, Tennessee and Houston coming in from that side and then having the Cowboys, Giants, Eagles and Redskins coming from the NFC.
And then of course we get San Diego and New England on top of it because we finished first last year. Ouch, as far as our schedule is concerned.
But for Steeler fans, we've got the greatest home games in the world this year. Outside of our division, we've got the Giants, the Cowboys, the Colts.

Q. Chargers?
JIM FURYK: Yeah, San Diego and Houston. Those are our five other games. Four ridiculous games.

Q. Then they come to you in Jacksonville.
JIM FURYK: Then I get to see them in Jacksonville. So I'll be at six games this year. Should be nice. I'm actually coming to a Cleveland game this year. I'm coming to a Thursday night Denver game.

Q. Why?
JIM FURYK: You're from Cleveland, you tell me (laughter). It's a nice stadium, it's just impossible to get to. And boy, is it cold there.
I'm coming up with some friends to go to a West Virginia game on Saturday and then the Steelers play Indy on Sunday. While we were coming up, one of the guys noticed that there was a Thursday night game, so we figured we'd take in three games and would extend our trip.

Q. That sounds like the ultimate guy weekend.
JIM FURYK: Well, we've got a bunch of them. My wife, she's a Buckeye and we come up a lot to Ohio State. We have Auburn at West Virginia, my best friend went to West Virginia, and then we go Penn State, Ohio State, and then go Steelers, Giants, so that's a three-game weekend.

Q. That's all in one weekend?
JIM FURYK: Yeah, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday. Then the other one is Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, so that will be cool. I've got about four or five of those planned. That's my vacation when I'm not playing golf.

End of FastScripts

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