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DEUTSCHE BANK CHAMPIONSHIP

September 3, 2009

Vijay Singh

NORTON, MASSACHUSETTS

MARK WILLIAMS: We'd like to welcome Vijay Singh to the Deutsche Bank Championship interview room. Thanks for joining us. Vijay, you've had great success at this venue, a couple of wins and 22-under last year, a tournament record, and defending champion. You're at cumulative 65-under par for the five times you've played. Coming in 78 from the rankings you've got some good form here and you're looking forward to a good week. Talk about what you've got to look forward to.
VIJAY SINGH: Well, I'm very familiar with the golf course. There's a few changes every year you come here. There's two holes that have some changes this year, but good changes. I'm playing okay. I'm playing better than I'm scoring (laughing). But this venue is probably going to bring me my confidence, some of my confidence back, and I'm looking forward to the week.

Q. How is your health?
VIJAY SINGH: Good. Everything is fine. Just have to go out there and play the game that I know.

Q. Is there one hole in particular that's going to be important this week?
VIJAY SINGH: I think 14 and 15 is going to be very tricky because they changed both holes. There's more mounding on the right on 14, and 15, as well.
You know, the par-5s you've got to see if you can make birdies on the par-5s here and take advantage when you can. I think there's a lot of holes out there that are tough, so just have to play well on the horde holes and take advantage of the birdies on the shorter ones.

Q. How much are you thinking about the FedExCup and your position? Is there a sense of urgency this week to try to get to next week?
VIJAY SINGH: Not really. I mean, I just have to go out there and just play and try to win the golf tournament and not worry about where I stand in the points. If I know -- if I play the way I know, I don't think I should have any issue at all. I really am not -- it's in the back of my mind, but my caddie reminds me of it every now and then, but that's about it.

Q. Last year at this time you were working on something with rhythm and you had -- I guess you were listening to some music or a tone or whatever it was. Do you still use that device?
VIJAY SINGH: Yeah, I still use it at home quite a bit. Rhythm is not the issue (laughing). But I've been working on a few things. Yeah, the golf swing is good. I just have to take it out on the golf course. If you watch me on the range, I can't miss a shot. I just have to take it on the golf course.

Q. The other question is how do you use the pro-am? Do you use it as a practice time or do you use it to get to know the people you're playing with, and what do you think about what's going to happen next year where you'll have a couple opportunities to do other things on pro-am days?
VIJAY SINGH: I take it both at a practice and to meet your amateurs. I have a good time out there. I mean, sometimes it's rough when you have guys that don't want to pick up after 10 shots. But you know, normally they are pretty respectful of the game and they get on with it.
But I really take practice -- pro-am as a practice round. The golf course is almost set up as a tournament, and it's an important day for quite a lot of pros, I think, and especially mine. It's kind of both, so give and take.

Q. Next year will you use one or two days where you'll do a sponsor relations thing?
VIJAY SINGH: It really depends. Depends on the weather (laughing). I'd rather play, but if it's cold and miserable and you have an early tee time, you can probably figure out what you want to do.

Q. You mentioned the importance of birdieing par-5s and things like that earlier. Specifically thinking about 18, which plays easiest here at this course, I'm curious as to what your mindset, your strategy is, going into that hole this week.
VIJAY SINGH: Obviously you want to get off with a good tee shot there. The tee shot will set you up for -- if you want to attack the green or not. But it's not a very difficult tee shot, either, just depending on the wind. If it's into the wind then obviously it's going to make it difficult for everybody, like today I just blew it over the bunkers and you've only got around 220 to the front, so you can very easily make it over. Get the tee shot away, and then play from there.

Q. What do you think is the hardest thing for the average golfer, average, to understand or to comprehend when it comes to the dynamics of the swing, the mechanics of the swing?
VIJAY SINGH: I think it's the basics. A lot of amateurs out there, a lot of everybody as a matter of fact, even pros, they tend to oversee what the basics really is. The setup, somebody told me a long time ago that there's only one thing in golf that you can get 100 percent correct is the setup. If they can get their setups correct, I think they can fix a lot of issues in their golf swing. I think it's the setup.

Q. I was kind of wondering what you think about, you blew the field away last year. Do you think that score, whether you or somebody else, might need to come close to it to win the tournament this year?
VIJAY SINGH: I think if somebody shoots 22-under this year they're going to win. Hopefully it's me. The golf course is a lot softer this year than it was last year. But they've made a lot of humps and hollows around the fairways, so it plays a lot longer than it did last year, and the greens are beautiful. There will be low scoring out there. It's not going to be easy, but there will be low scoring, depending on the weather. We haven't had any wind the last two days, and if it's going to be like this, then we're in for a shootout.

Q. A year ago you were able to find something and obviously get hot and go to the title. Is it easier for a veteran player to make the adjustments in season and find that hot streak than it is for a less experienced player?
VIJAY SINGH: I think so. You know, I know my golf swing really well, and I just need one or two good rounds under my belt to get it going. There's nothing wrong with my golf swing, it's just going out there and not worrying about what's happening in my head, just go and play the game.
I have no issues to go out there and play good. I just think that I trust in my golf swing, and I've been here many, many times before. I just need to just go out there and play.
I think this week I'm ready to play, and I won't be surprised if I'm leading after two, three days. The important thing is to just go out there and feel confident and believe in yourself and go and play the game I know.
MARK WILLIAMS: We appreciate you coming in, Vijay. Thank you very much.

End of FastScripts

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