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WGC CA CHAMPIONSHIP

March 13, 2009

Kenny Perry

MIAMI, FLORIDA

Q. How do you feel going into the weekend?
KENNY PERRY: Well, been struggling coming in here, and Freddie and I worked on some things with my putter. I've gotten too open with my stance and shoulders, so we got my sight lines better and kind of worked into my long game and I kind of closed everything up. I hit it nice today. Yesterday was a struggle. I got up-and-down like five out of six times out of the bunkers, and today, you know, I hit more fairways and I gave myself a lot of opportunities. I shot 31 on the back nine which was my opening nine, was a great way to start.
It was a very relaxing, fun round of golf. Great round. I just was never in a lot of trouble. Just played very steady golf.

Q. Days like this have been few and far between; surprised is probably the wrong word but how would you characterize seeing a number like this today?
KENNY PERRY: Last time I played well here I played with Jack Nicklaus on Saturday and I shot 64. I'll never forget, I was just a kid back in the late 80s.
But you know what, I played great last year, I've already won this year at Phoenix, and I've had already three or four Top-10s this year.
So my game is good. It's just a matter, you know, of somehow fitting it -- this course to me is kind of quirky with the doglegs, and the fairways are firm. It's easy to run through the fairways and get in the rough. The rough is not very deep, but if you're in the rough, it's hard to stop the ball on the green out of the rough.
Today I played shorter, shorter clubs off the tee just through the doglegs. I didn't try to bomb it over to the corners like I did yesterday, and it paid off. I hit more fairways and had more opportunities at birdies.

Q. How many times did you hit driver?
KENNY PERRY: I hit it on 17, 18 and 13, three times, that was it.

Q. You're playing some of the best golf out here right now. Is this some of the best golf you've played in a stretch?
KENNY PERRY: By far. Last year, it's been a continuation of my three wins last year, and then the win early this year. It's just normally my game only hangs in there one or two weeks, and then I disappear, you know, for a month or two. So I've been able to hold it together for six months now. So it's been fun doing that.

Q. Anything specific that you can attribute it?
KENNY PERRY: Not really. I'm using all the same equipment as last year. I'm not changing anything. I just want to say I'm putting better. I've improved in my putting. So if I can keep doing that, it's going to be okay.

Q. Part of the lure, if you will, of the World Golf Championships is seeing a lot of guys who are just coming out. Have you seen Marksaeng?
KENNY PERRY: No, only on the GOLF CHANNEL. Played with Garth Mulroy, kills it, tremendous player. It's a shame we don't get to play -- I don't play with them on a weekly basis, so I don't know them. I've hardly ever even seen Rory hit it, the McIlroy kid. Everybody's just talking about him.
It's definitely a world game now. It's a global game, and there's great players all over the world. It's nice to have them here.

Q. How impressed are you that a 19-year-old can hit 10-under on this course?
KENNY PERRY: At 19, I physically could have played but mentally I could not have handled it out here.

Q. (Inaudible.).
KENNY PERRY: I've seen all of the changes, when Raymond came in and changed it and redid all of the bunkers, and they came back and took it back to where it was when I first started playing here, I've seen the golf course evolve over my 23 years out here.
Right now, it's a fast track, fairways are firm and fast and the greens are hard, firm and fast. So premium is definitely on hitting the fairways. If you can't hit the fairways, you are going to struggle. You really are. So to me, it's just being patient and trying to find more fairways out there.

Q. Did the conditions change in the afternoon? Seemed like a lot of guys were making birdies in the morning and it got a lot tougher.
KENNY PERRY: It's definitely windier now. I teed off at 11:15 and my first nine was a lot calmer definitely.

Q. How much of a difference is it?
KENNY PERRY: It's probably only blowing another five-mile-an-hour. It's nothing that's going to intimidate you. It's just another half a club more, basically.

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