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MERCEDES CHAMPIONSHIPS

January 3, 2006

Stuart Appleby

KAPALUA, HAWAII

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Stuart Appelby, back in Maui, in the Mercedes Championship, trying to win this week, the third straight year here at Kapalua.

Maybe some opening comments about coming back to defend your title for the third time.

STUART APPLEBY: I might have said this last year, that I sort of wonder where 12 months has gone. Last year I made a quick exodus out of here, out of the tournament, to get back to Australia for my first child being born, which now is almost 12 months old.

So, yeah, I don't know where 12 months has gone. I guess the years are winding by pretty quick. I'm looking forward to coming back and I guess not defending, but trying to reclaim another title here. I know what I have to do. I know how to play I know what sort of golf's required to win here.

I guess, you know, having Phil and Tiger not here, Retief, is a good thing for me (smiling). Maybe they're a little scared, I don't know.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: As far as last year's tournament, I think you started off with a 74 on the first day. Not that you were out of it by any means.

STUART APPLEBY: I thought I was pretty much. It was probably pretty fair to say I was out of it. I had a really good finish to the three days after that. I think it was Jonny Kaye and Ernie Els had a stumble down the last, which sort of kept it mine.

Not like my first year winning here, but the last three rounds I played the best I've played here.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: You also had a hip issue last year.

STUART APPLEBY: I had a few physical issues, but I managed, when I got over the ball, I could swing it all right, yeah. I was really surprised because my comfort level was not very good. But when I got to hit a shot, I actually felt all right, which is quite unusual because normally it's the other way around you feel like everything is fine, but when you go to hit it, something is niggling you. So this year I'm in better shape than last year.

Q. I guess nobody consulted you on redoing the greens. Did they Stuart proof it?

STUART APPLEBY: I made a lot of putts on the putting green. That was the same grass as last year. I think I should be able to take that to the course.

Q. Did you play yesterday at all?

STUART APPLEBY: No.

Q. You have not been on the course yet?

STUART APPLEBY: No. I've heard nothing but really good comments from the rules guys here, Johnny B, spoke to him, he said they were great. The putting green looks great. They look like a better selection of grass to have on the course. I'd imagine it would be better for the amateurs when they're playing here throughout the other 50 odd weeks a year. Think it was a good change. The greens weren't great greens here. You know, I managed to read them fine and all that. So I was happy.

I know what they're trying to do, and it was the right thing to do.

Q. Is this the best you played last year or was it just a case of all the cards fell right?

STUART APPLEBY: The best I played here was those last three rounds last year, yeah. Because, yeah, I mean, I had to make up a massive amount of ground. We all pretty much were playing in the same conditions, similar tee times. There was no big shift of the wind or anything like that to really transform the golf course. So, yeah, that was better play than I played the first year I won here.

Q. The rest of the year?

STUART APPLEBY: The year itself? When I won here in '04, I had a better year that year than I did in '05 after winning this in '05, I feel so.

Q. What did you do here last year that you didn't manage to do the rest of the year?

STUART APPLEBY: Everything.

Q. Everything?

STUART APPLEBY: I mean, I missed two or three greens here. It's pretty hard to miss a fairway, pretty hard to miss a green. Don't have to chip much, all have you to do is putt. I putted well. I hit it well and putted well. It's almost a cliche, but that's going to get it done.

I didn't do that the rest of the year. I certainly didn't hit it as good, didn't swing it as good I should say, and I didn't have any weeks where I putted as good as that. I think that showed. Right there that probably cost me 10 to 15 spots on the list right there, minimum. Whereas '04 was a year that was a bit more stable. I finished ranked 12th.

Q. I think when people will watch and look at the guys who are the big bombers, you would have to be on that list right now. Have you always been there?

STUART APPLEBY: I was a pretty long hitter when I was younger. I was pretty wild, too. I was wild.

Q. On the golf course?

STUART APPLEBY: Yeah (smiling). I was very wild, and I had to learn to control the ball a bit more. Then last year I decided to open up a bit more, and I gained I think it's somewhere in my driving stats, I gained a good climb in distance. That was mostly in the last half of the season which would have even been bigger if I started hitting it a bit harder earlier in the season.

My length has grown just due to some confidence in my swing and some trusting. Once you get, that can you really open it up a bit. This week you can actually do that, but you also at the same time have to watch it because the wind is there. You also need in the breeze to swing with a bit or ease.

Yeah, you look at Retief, he's a guy that looks like he just leans on it and it goes a mile.

Q. You've always had this power, just a matter of just

STUART APPLEBY: Yeah, it's always yeah, control of it, I think. I think all long hitters have always fought with control. It's always a compromise. I think Tiger obviously deals with that. Vijay is the same sort of thing. Everybody's got that. You want to keep it under control. There's absolutely no point in being a foot in the rough if you knew you could probably take five or ten off it and hit it in the fairway.

If I lose, I compromise. I'm not stupid. I'm not going to go out and smash it. There's times when I'm feeling confident. I was very confident during The Presidents Cup last year, swing felt good, I was just smoking it. Just constantly hitting it hard. That's good golf. When you play like that, it's a lot of fun.

Q. Does driving not mean as much now as it used to? If you're hitting it far, Tiger, Phil, whoever?

STUART APPLEBY: Does it mean as much? Well, I don't know. I mean, probably Nicklaus was obviously very, very long. There were other long hitters. They weren't very straight. The guys today, long hitters aren't very straight. That's just the way it goes. It's not likely that there's going to be an amazingly straight driver and hits it a mile. There's not going anybody like Fred Funk for straightness and then someone who is like Tiger, Vijay, Ernie or Retief. It's not going to happen. It's very, very rare.

There's never been anyone like that in history. Norman in his day was probably the straightest and longest. The best combination. Is it important? I think being closer to the hole is important, yeah.

Q. I remember talking to you the end of last year about this increased distance. You were really downplaying it. At the NEC, you were talking about hitting in the deep slot in the fairway. A lot of guys are talking about the golf ball, too.

STUART APPLEBY: Yeah, that's right (smiling).

Q. You were downplaying that whole thing with the ball. Does the ball have anything to do with it?

STUART APPLEBY: I guess the ultimate the thing is, there's no stats on what players used to swing and how quick they used to swing it. A good example is the balls years ago weren't very good. You couldn't hit the ball hard because the ball literally didn't like to be hit hard. It used to go sideways. It's like the tennis players, they could only hit a certain speed because after that, you couldn't control it.

There came a time when literally you could hit it harder and control it. That's what's happened. The balls have got more stable and now that lets them get hit. The length there really is because they're able to be hit. They are a little bit longer, but that's because now we can hit them.

Same with the tennis players, they hit the ball harder because now they can control it. There's a few reasons. And the players are swinging it better. There's no doubt about it. The players are stronger. There's no doubt about it. We have had thousands of golfers go through the cycle now over the last 25, 30 years. Your breed of golfer is going to get better.

Q. A couple times you've been close to breaking through into the top 10. Do you feel like now with this extra distance, that's going to be the component to your game that will allow you to get there?

STUART APPLEBY: No. I'd say my accuracy, more accurate play will be something, make more putts. That's really it. I don't need to hit it any longer. That is not going to make me a top 10 player, hitting it longer. It will be scoring better.

Which way you want to skin it, I'm not really sure. There's no doubt when I play well in tournaments, where I've had good performances, that my stats are better.

Q. Do you feel capable of making that next step and becoming a full time top 10 player or are you frustrated by the fact you haven't done it yet?

STUART APPLEBY: I'm not frustrated by the fact I haven't done it yet because I know it will happen. It wasn't that many years ago I was frustrated when I couldn't get into single figures as an amateur. I was on 11 and I couldn't get to 9. I was really frustrated about that. I remember that. That doesn't seem that long ago. A lot of shots have been hit from that time.

I'm not frustrated, but I know that's the next step, is to be a top 10 player, is to be another top 10 player. As an Australian, join Adam in the top 10, solidify that and work on it. I had a brief stint there, but my game wasn't being consistent enough to sustain that level of play.

Q. Other than Duval the first year here and Ernie when he went crazy, it has been relatively close tournaments. Is it the time of year when everybody is starting again after a layoff, the golf course?

STUART APPLEBY: I don't know. We just had a tournament at the Masters in Australia, and that every year that's been a playoff that I can remember for quite a few years now. So you have tournaments that are like that.

You don't have many runaway tournaments any more, you really don't. I think that's just the level of play. It's in a unique sport. You can look at motorsport, you look at the Formula One, they have competitive teams, all the cars look the same. Sometimes have you racers where it's a white wash. You don't want that. Having runaways is not good for any sport.

I think it's really hard to get a run away in tournaments, it really is. For someone to have a run away nowadays, they've got to have some unbelievable golf.

Q. Like Ernie did here.

STUART APPLEBY: Yeah. Literally to separate yourself from a bunch of other very, very good players, more than likely playing some really good golf, it's going to be very difficult. You know what Tiger did certainly at Pebble Beach a few years back, that was unheard of.

Q. Aside from the four who aren't here, four less guys for you having to beat this week, what is your feeling? What is your reaction as a player of them not showing up? Any kind of an obligation?

STUART APPLEBY: To be honest, I don't really have an opinion.

Q. That's a first.

STUART APPLEBY: I don't have a thing about it. They're not playing. I'm not sure why they're not playing. I guess they don't want to play. I guess they're tired or it's too far just for one week.

Q. Who do you think has the best excuse of the four?

STUART APPLEBY: Okay, we've got Tiger. I don't know what his is. I don't know what Retief's is.

Q. "I need a break." Retief wanted to stay in South Africa with his family.

STUART APPLEBY: Family is always a good one.

Q. Phil uses that every time.

STUART APPLEBY: I don't know. None of them play actually a lot of golf. I think Tiger has the most physical demands outside of golf of any of the guys by a longshot. A lot of demanding of his time, a lot of stuff. But, you know, he's probably playing a bit more overseas.

What does he play, 24 events, 22.

Q. 20.

STUART APPLEBY: And he goes to the gym, too. Reckon he'd play more than that (smiling).

Q. How do you make out a schedule?

STUART APPLEBY: How do I make it out? Sort of a period over years, I've sort of had a rhythm. A bit like the tide, every six hours I have this sort of rhythm of change. I don't usually go in areas of tournaments where I haven't really played. I have a rhythm that I set, unless something pops up that goes, "Wow, I've got to go play that course." There is a rhythm to the year. Everybody's schedule generally is very easy to select. Mine is probably mapped out for the next three to six months pretty tight.

Q. When are your lows and when are your highs?

STUART APPLEBY: Well, I don't really have any like I just got back from Australia. I really haven't had an off season, so there is no pull the plug, tour championship, take three, four weeks off, warm up late December and go and play here, no.

Maybe the '07 schedule could potentially enable some more winding down in the latter part of the season, but certainly not there is no definitive cutoff. There is an emotional date change. Yeah, it's now '06, so you're trying to be fresh and you're trying to be revitalized to kick off, but there is no break for me anywhere.

Q. This golf course play at all into the factor? Each week you look at a golf course.

STUART APPLEBY: Oh, yeah. No, no, for me I would say very much, the golf course. I mean, you go and put a tournament on a very bad golf course, you're not going to get a very good field. I don't care if the next event was the US Open, or whatever, you're just not going to go.

So it's the quality golf course, a good date, and maybe I've played well there before. Those three things work in. That's the main thing that gets a player's attention, I believe, not whether there's nice restaurants just next to the hotel or anything like that, or the day care is good, whatever. For me it's good golf course, does the date work, have I played well there.

Q. You usually play Sony?

STUART APPLEBY: Sony? Not usual. I didn't last year because I was back for the baby. I have actually played that quite a lot. That's been one of my consistent events. I'm not sure whether I have the last two years. Normally I've played that from year one, which was '96. I've played that pretty regularly.

Q. Are you going next week?

STUART APPLEBY: Yes.

Q. When is the wife due?

STUART APPLEBY: First of March.

Q. Better timing this year.

STUART APPLEBY: Doesn't really matter, I don't think. Either one wasn't a hassle either one because it worked out nice last year because I stayed over there, then we played the Heineken, then I came back and played the rest the end of the west coast swing.

Q. Is she having this one in Australia, too?

STUART APPLEBY: No. This one will be in Florida. I think it's Wednesday, 1st of March, I think, Doral, Wednesday:

Q. Up against the match play going into Doral?

STUART APPLEBY: Well, yeah. I mean, I don't know the whole logistics of whether the kid the kid could come either. It could be LA or match play if it came early, which is going to be a bit of a hassle. But we'll see. If everything looks fine, we're going to do Wednesday the Doral.

Q. I'd like to read a quote out of Golf World, talking about your Major chances this year. They say British Open was the best.

STUART APPLEBY: Who is talking about this? What are we talking about?

Q. Predictions for 2006. "Too crooked for the US Open. Too inconsistent with the putter to win the Masters." Fair comment?

STUART APPLEBY: No. I mean, someone's got an opinion. I mean, everybody's got an (expletive), haven't they (smiling)?

Q. Explain why you disagree with it.

STUART APPLEBY: Tiger's not a straight driver of the golf ball. Look at his stats. He's won every major. It basically boils down to putting, hitting greens and putting. My performance shows I haven't played well at Augusta. If you want to look at performance, that's great. But I'm a good enough player to win at Augusta. You look at that, too. Flip a coin on that one.

Q. Has it been putting at the Masters?

STUART APPLEBY: I'm not exactly sure because it's not not totally, no, no, no. I mean, Augusta, I grew up I've played a lot in Australia on quick greens. It's not foreign to me. But I don't think I've had even close to really haven't even come close to playing my best golf at Augusta, no.

Q. Recently it was said Robert is a better player than Adam. I would like you to assess who has more game.

STUART APPLEBY: You're not going to get me to answer that (laughter).

Adam has proven to be the No. 1 most consistent Australian player in recent times. He has I guess the youngest, freshest, most potential out of any of the players in Australia at the moment. He's earned his right to be Australia's No. 1 current player. I think Adam has the most potential currently and future potential out of any Australian player.

Q. How big of an achievement was it for Robert to win three in a row?

STUART APPLEBY: I think it was a fantastic achievement, considering all the major ailments he has. I think that's a very good effort. I think now it's a real test. '06 has to be a year for him, it has to be. I think it's a real test now, proving that he can take that attitude to the States because he really needs to do that. I think he really needs to prove himself for himself, that he knows he just needs to take that game and bring it here. When he does that, he will play well again and he'll be off. That's the only hurdle he's got to jump.

Q. Wasn't he the great hope coming out of Australia, Robert?

STUART APPLEBY: I don't know. I don't remember what you guys wrote (laughter). Sounds like one of your quotes. I don't know.

Q. I remember him at a younger age.

STUART APPLEBY: As a younger player, he was a gun. He was a gun as an amateur. He was a gun when he turned pro. You're right. No, you're right about that. I was a few years behind him in that aspect of development. But, yeah, he was always Australia's potential new star.

Q. As an independent contractor, should you feel a sense of obligation to play in a golf tournament out here?

STUART APPLEBY: This tournament?

Q. This tournament.

STUART APPLEBY: Should I feel an obligation?

Q. Some golf tournaments. Are there certain ones you should feel a sense of obligation to play, even though you are an independent contractor?

STUART APPLEBY: Give me an example. I don't

Q. Here.

STUART APPLEBY: Should you play here? Should you play here?

Q. You personally.

STUART APPLEBY: Should you play here? I think, no, you're free to choose what tournaments you want to play.

Q. TOUR Championship.

STUART APPLEBY: Question is?

Q. Should you play? Same question.

STUART APPLEBY: Whatever you want. I mean, if you don't if you don't want to play TOUR Championship, I mean, what's your motivation? I think playing this tournament is great because it's an opportunity to get out and get off to a good quick start, which I've done the last two years, okay? All right, now, if you're motivation is, I'm not worried about it, I'm going to win three of the last four West Coast events anyway, it doesn't matter, I'm going surfing or I'm going whatever. What is your motivation?

TOUR Championship, look, if I can win this event, get in the top five, get in the top here, you finish your goals up. You can finalize your goal setting, bits and pieces. I'm playing well and I want to keep playing. But if you just take all that away, and you go, look, where does it fit? Obviously, you're talking about Tiger's is always about his majors, Phil is always talking about his majors. That's all they prepare about. The year is finished for Phil after the PGA. You've heard all that stuff before. If that's their mentality, how does this event or Sony fit into it, or any of the events coming on now? Doesn't make any difference to them. How does it really change or make their year?

Q. What about just in general supporting the TOUR?

STUART APPLEBY: Well, if you really want to be serious, you should have a minimum and say that every player must play 30 events a year, if you wanted to be serious. But that's not necessary. Because we're not contracted, we're not told, we don't have team owners saying, "You're going to go and drive this car, you're going to go bounce that ball, this is the way it is," you do what you want.

It would be great to think that the top the best 10 players in the world could play five more events, but why?

Q. Have you used the home circuit exemption for all the years you've been out here, minimum 15, but not needing releases?

STUART APPLEBY: Your home tour, you don't need any release.

Q. Have you had that exemption since you've been out here?

STUART APPLEBY: Has that rule been in? That's just a standard rule. I could play I mean, if the Australian tour was 15 or 20 events long, potentially I could play 20 events over there and not have to get one release. My tour certainly is not a threat to the US tour. I just play my three events or two or three events.

Q. Do you think that's a fair number? I'm using Campbell as someone who is pretty true to the European Tour. To have to play 15 events here, not to have to worry about getting releases, is that a fair number?

STUART APPLEBY: I don't know if there's been talk about it increasing or decreasing. Is it a fair number? I don't really know. I don't look at it I don't I'm not a person who is going, "Why can't we make it 12?" I'm not someone saying, "Why don't we make it higher to make these guys play more?" It doesn't suit me it doesn't bother me.

I mean, if you started having guys barely playing their number, if Tiger all of a sudden played 15 or 16, you know, I don't I don't think it should be more. I don't know if it should be less. I don't you know, you don't want to scare players off. You don't want to start making it an unachievable number for Ernie Els and Retief. You just won't get them. They just won't bother.

It still has to be an appealing and appetizing place for them to come to come and play and make it enjoyable, not, "I have to play three more events to be a member".

Q. Are there one or two tournaments in Australia that you say you can't miss those because you're from Australia?

STUART APPLEBY: All the events now that are scheduled in Australia, really that are priority for the Australian players going home, predominantly basically are all in November/December. We used to have a tournament at Royal Melbourne. We have a tournament in Perth. Geographically it doesn't really work to go from the West Coast over there for that one week.

We have a real problem in Australia where we have such a small window of opportunity to play, to hold an event, and ultimately we'd like golf in our region to focus on Australian golf and not have any other external tournaments or tours coming in and trying to lob events right on top of us on similar dates because that's just conflicting. It doesn't help our tour.

Q. When you left East Lake, you went Down Under, played how many tournaments this year?

STUART APPLEBY: Three, three in a row.

Q. What tournament does the tour have that they're trying to put in Asia? Do you know?

STUART APPLEBY: I don't know. I believe there's a I don't know when it's starting, but there's one in Asia, trying to be an official money event. I don't know all the details to it. Sorry, official world ranking, unofficial money. Becomes a bit more appetizing to American players to go over and play. That conflicts I guess with Australia because we're trying to hold an event and televise our great players and our up and comings. There could be a conflicting now.

The beauty of TV in Australia, you can watch anything you want. There may be some degree of the population watching American tour, US tour players playing in Asia versus watching some of their local heroes. That's not good because that's tough. It's a market we'd like to get into in Australia, get into the Asian market. It's a new growing market. I see what the TOUR is trying to do is get there as well.

Q. Have you expressed any of this to Finchem or the other powers that be at the TOUR?

STUART APPLEBY: Not officially, but I'm not really sure that I have a voice that's going to make any difference.

Q. Do you think anybody does?

STUART APPLEBY: Probably not, no.

Q. Do you have any new toys, cars?

STUART APPLEBY: No new toys, no, no.

Q. Any plans to drive in road races this year?

STUART APPLEBY: No, not officially. Maybe. But that's probably November before I do anything. But I have no plans. I'd like to go back and do what I did in April of last year. No, I've got to be a responsible adult now. I'm a father, two time father.

Q. Do you care one way or the other next week whether Michelle Wie makes the cut?

STUART APPLEBY: Is she playing?

Q. Yes.

STUART APPLEBY: How many years in a row now is that for her? She's played more than I have (smiling).

Q. Three.

STUART APPLEBY: Do I care whether she makes the cut? Not personally, no. I mean, no one cares whether I make the cut, so likewise. I'm the only person who cares. Michelle, the sponsors would really care if Michelle made the cut. I think there's the two people, you know, that really want to see her do well in next week's event. It works good for the sponsors.

Q. What do you think the reception is amongst the boys out here, given this is the third straight year and the fourth on tour? Is the novelty wearing off little bit here?

STUART APPLEBY: Not for the sponsors because I think there's enough break between it where the media can do something with it. But if she played every week, I think it wouldn't happen, but it's the whole wind up thing. The sponsors like it. I've also mentioned that there's a fine line between being done well and beneficial for a tournament and getting a little tacky, getting very cheap.

Q. Where are we on this?

STUART APPLEBY: I'll let you know. I'll let you know. Just depends how many tournaments where we have the X factor. We had Annika out at Colonial, which was very deserved. There was a girl that was the best player in the world who stressed more than once that she wanted to see how she could play against the boys. I guess she earned the right to do that.

Michelle I guess is the opposite. Michelle, absolutely huge amount of potential, but has not earned the status, her golfing status, which will come her way, no doubt, to I guess appear.

Because of her background, because of Sony, the whole thing, it has more of an Asian influence more than any tournament by a longshot. I mean, it just slips in perfect. And she is good. She's not a wealthy person who happens to pull some strings. I mean, this girl can flat out play. You know, I barely beat her by a shot I think it was the last time I played there.

It's a great story. But I think it's got to be done tactfully before I think enough guys get tired of the whole thing.

Q. She is a wealthy girl now.

STUART APPLEBY: Well, yeah, she is. You're right. She's in the one millionth of 1% for girls her age. She will, she will be part of history. She just hasn't been part of history at all yet. And that's what is scary, is someone that good hasn't played any role in golf at all. Now in the next 15, 20 years, she could be the biggest and best player ever. It would be quite unique. I guess Tiger has had the claim or the claim toted towards him for a few years now. Literally he could be. She has potential. Literally almost one generation apart, one decade apart.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Stuart Appelby, thank you.

End of FastScripts.

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