home

jobs

	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

MERCEDES CHAMPIONSHIPS

January 7, 2005

Stuart Appleby

KAPALUA, HAWAII

Q. Talk good getting on a roll with the putter, especially after the talk about how grainy these greens are,

STUART APPLEBY: They very grainy, grainier than I've ever seen them. I have to say today I had -- I got just a little bit more comfortable with the grain. I didn't have too many putts that were aggressively across the grain. That helped. That's something you really can't control; you wish you could.

I made a couple of nice -- I made a lot of nice putts. You don't shoot that score and miss a putt. Left a couple of shots out there, but I left a lot more yesterday. It was just a day where I hit the ball nice. I liked the way I felt. I moved around the course a bit better.

But the blade does the talking when you're shooting a score that's going to be 6- or 8- under.

Q. You weren't discouraged by yesterday at all?

STUART APPLEBY: No, not at all. There was one particular Australian reporter that I'm surprised didn't come up to me and talk to me at the end of the day saying, I'm defending champion saying, how my day was. But I played pretty good yesterday, a couple of ordinary shots and I putted pretty good. Didn't make anything. So I really felt like it was a really good 1-over, like, not that I played my ass off to get to there, and today was not that much different. I just hit it a little bit closer and made a lot more putts.

Q. So you were surprised by his sheepishness, correct?

STUART APPLEBY: Yes, it was a deadline excuse probably.

Q. I haven't got time to talk to a guy comes in second to last, you should know that.

STUART APPLEBY: I do know that. That's why I was a little upset. (Laughter.)

Q. Did you work on anything? I saw you going to the putting green after your round yesterday, was there something there?

STUART APPLEBY: No, not really, nothing really changed overnight. My big goal this week was make sure that I was getting loose enough on the range. I liked my swing when I was not having any issues. I really like the way it was. If I was the other way around and it was the best physically I felt and it was still ordinary, I wouldn't have bothered coming. I would have stayed at home. But I actually like the way I swang it, and to be honest, I'm swinging as good as I was last time at this tournament. It feels great. Just shot myself in the foot yesterday and I needed to shoot 5-under, not a 1-over.

Q. Did you have a hip thing?

STUART APPLEBY: Not a technical explanation, but I have like a sciatic nerve issue, an impingement in my left sort of hip/glute/hamstring, and when that turns on it just really does make it pretty hard to hit.

But today I was mainly stiff, not nervy. The stiffness I can handle, I can work with that. But when it gets nervy, gets a bit jumpy.

Q. Was it aggravated?

STUART APPLEBY: Surprisingly it was okay. Another reason why I came, I knew that stretching, I could keep on top of it and that's what I was happy about. I knew because I was playing well and if I got stretched, I could keep on top of it and I could play. Today was an example where I got around physically, struggled a little bit late in the day yesterday and today I was not as tired.

Q. But you were not feeling too good when you got here?

STUART APPLEBY: No, I wasn't feeling any good. Mornings are the hardest. I'm glad we don't have early tee times or something like that. If it was cool, I'd be really struggling.

Q. When does it hurt? At what point in the swing does it hurt?

STUART APPLEBY: It usually hurts right at the dead end of the swing. Everything else feels fine. It has not hit me once on the golf course yet. It's always in the warm-up session; that I have to try and hit through it, and get loosened up and I do a couple of simple little stretches. I've never had something recover so quick from playing to where I can't hit it to playing ten minutes later with a few stretches. It's a massive improvement.

I know I'm going in the right direction and I'm glad I came now because it did pan out. If I stretched it, it's fine, and I was playing good, so I'm seeing some results.

Q. You said if you had not shot yourself in the foot yesterday; do you think what you did yesterday basically put you out of this, considering how well everybody is playing?

STUART APPLEBY: I'd have to have two more days like I did today, wouldn't you think? So, yeah, for me to do that would be one of the best finishes in tournament golf. I guess if you do it once, you can do it again. You've just got to get the hot dice.

Q. You really kind of have to put the pedal to the medal for a couple more days --

STUART APPLEBY: No doubt. I have to shoot two more 8-unders or something like that. 16 there, plus what I did today, and sit there and just finish fifth. (Laughter.)

Q. Which is not bad.

STUART APPLEBY: Well, I guess I'd beat 20-odd guys -- 31.

Q. Was last hole the only birdie chance you missed?

STUART APPLEBY: Well, I had a good chance on 14. Both were just misreads, and I thought I pretty much hit the putts like I wanted but just misreads. I don't mind that. It's just when you hit really bad putts that it's frustrating.

Q. So what's the plan?

STUART APPLEBY: The plan? My plan, well, I'll be heading back Sunday night and then -- which gets me in Tuesday. And then we'll see, I think she's seeing the doctor on Monday. So I get back Tuesday so we'll see what's going on.

Q. When is the baby due?

STUART APPLEBY: Next week.

Q. After she has the baby, how long will you take off, do you think?

STUART APPLEBY: I don't know how long it takes to get the kid ready for flying, because obviously we have to get back to the States. If the kid is healthy, you're talking two weeks to a month. I'll get back and probably finish up maybe the West Coast at L.A. and the Match Play. That would give -- that would be based on health, both of their health. But no, I'm not going to go and take two months off and wipe ass for two months.

Q. Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?

STUART APPLEBY: No.

Q. No names picked out or anything?

STUART APPLEBY: No. We were talking about that three, four, five months ago, and all of the sudden she goes, "We're only a couple of weeks away, you'd better come up with a name."

I went, "Oh, thought we already this did that." No, we hadn't.

So we actually don't really know yet. But she met a person the other day that had not had a name for a month. The kid was a month old and they decided to name it. They have got six weeks, I think by law.

Q. What happens after six weeks?

STUART APPLEBY: I don't know, it gets called It or something. (Laughter.)

Q. Cousin It?

STUART APPLEBY: I don't know what happens, actually. I guess you have to do something.

Q. She's in Australia?

STUART APPLEBY: She's in Australia.

End of FastScripts.

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297