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TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP

June 24, 2010

Corey Pavin

CROMWELL, CONNECTICUT

DOUG MILNE: Okay. Welcome, Corey Pavin. Corey hit all 14 fairways today and came in with a 65. Start off, talk about your round today and then we'll take some questions.
COREY PAVIN: All right. You said it all, really. You know, it was a good solid round of golf today. I hit I think 16 greens and made some good short putts, a few 10-, 12-footers that got my round going, and all in all it was just a really solid day out there for me.
As you said, I hit 14 fairways, which certainly helps out here. It's important for me to do that anyway, since I'm such a long hitter. It was just a good solid day of golf.
DOUG MILNE: Okay. Questions.

Q. You're playing so well, maybe you can name yourself for the Ryder Cup team?
COREY PAVIN: Next question. (Laughs). That won't happen. I got enough things to deal with without dealing with myself in playing golf.

Q. Conditions seem to be just about perfect for scoring out there. Very little wind. Of course, it's fairly soft. Am I right?
COREY PAVIN: Yeah. It was pretty good. You know, the greens are not as soft as I've seen them in the past, but they're rolling beautifully. And you know, you play in the morning here, the greens are always perfect. They're pretty good in the afternoon as well, but you know, a little bit of breeze came up later in the round, about when we made the turn, and the breeze started to pick up.
And I think it's going to be tough this afternoon. I think the forecast is for some stronger winds, but it's definitely going to be -- it's definitely easier this morning. I don't think there's any doubt about that. Usually I think it might be a little bit of a bigger advantage than normal today.

Q. Can you talk about, you know, the dual roles you're playing, getting ready for the Ryder Cup, playing on the Champions Tour, playing on the PGA TOUR? How do you all balance all this?
COREY PAVIN: Well, you know, for me it's not that difficult. I compartmentalize pretty well, so that helps me personally. And Lisa helps me a lot, my wife. She's doing a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff, organizing a lot of things that we've talked about that, you know, I'd like done.
And you know, her opinion, she's a pretty smart lady, so we talk about things. But there's a lot of things that she's taking care of that I don't have to, and it's really freed me up a lot so that I can come out here and play golf and come out on the regular TOUR, talk to the guys, you know, make sure I stay in contact with them and get their view points on certain things and let them know what I'm doing as well. So that's helped me a lot in that regards.
You know, the Champions Tour is fun. I've enjoyed it a lot. I'd be there this week if it wasn't for me loving to play here in Hartford. So it's been kind of a unique year obviously with a few things happening, obviously with the Ryder Cup and playing a split kind of schedule with the Champions Tour and the regular TOUR.
If I wasn't Ryder Cup captain, I'd probably only be playing about two or three regular TOUR events, and this one would have been one anyway, but it's important for me to be in touch with the guys out here.

Q. What is it about this place that you love?
COREY PAVIN: You know, I just think it's a golf course that doesn't -- you know, you don't have to hit it long on. It's just really important to keep the ball in play and hit fairways, and you can kind of -- I can maneuver my way around the golf course, and you know, play the hard par-4s, play those well, I try to par those, and then I can be aggressive on the shorter par-4s and two par-5s that are out here.
So it helps that there's only two par-5s. That's always a bonus for me. I like to play a par-70 course because it takes the long hitter out of the equation a little bit, with a course that has four par-5s. I always prefer par-70 courses anyway.

Q. Are there any thoughts that this will be your last time here or are there certain places on the PGA TOUR that you will play the Champions Tour next year?
COREY PAVIN: It could be. It's hard for me to figure my schedule out a month in advance let alone a year in advance. But it's possible that it could be the last time for me here, but I hope not.
I like coming back here. I'm playing well enough that I felt like I could come out here and come play. Kind of like the decision I made to play Colonial a few weeks back, it was a hard choice, but when it came down to it, I was playing well and I love Colonial. No offense to this tournament, but Colonial is probably my favorite tournament and this is probably my second favorite tournament, so that's why I played there and that's why I'm playing here as well. I felt like I could compete.

Q. Corey, how far into the process of the Ryder Cup are you? By that I mean in terms of formulating who's going to be on the team?
COREY PAVIN: Yeah, it's starting to shape up a little bit. It's still a little bit early. We still have two major championships, and I don't know. I'm guessing five tournaments more or four. I'm not sure. Maybe five.
There's still a long way to go. With the major championships being double points, a lot can happen. I think it's fairly obvious that Phil's going to be on the team. I think mathematically it's impossible for him not to make the team. And I'm guessing that probably Jim and A.K. are probably on the team as well mathematically. So that part is shaping up, but there's still a lot that can happen.
Even Dustin having a poor last round last week, he moved from 8th to 5th, so there's a lot that can happen in the major championships, and there's been a lot of movement in the last couple months. I like the way it's shaping up. I like the way the first 20 guys are.
You know, there's people there that I want to see there, and it's just been going that way for the last couple months, so I'm pleased with that progress as far as who is where they are.
But there's still a lot of time. There's a lot of movement, and part of watching the top 8 is trying to figure out who's not going to be in the top 8 and captain's picks, but that's still a little ways away from really getting too serious about that. But you know, ideas are forming, but they're very small little ideas at the moment. They'll have to grow.

Q. One of those guys, I'm sure you know, is Tiger Woods falling into that pocket.
COREY PAVIN: That would be correct.

Q. Any thoughts on just his play, obviously a lot has been made (indiscernible)?
COREY PAVIN: You know, I think he's going to make the team, you know, in points. And I know he wants to. It's as simple as that. I want him to be on the team. He's the best player in the world, so I don't know if there's really much else to say besides that.

Q. Corey, will you rely on other people before you make your decision, before you make your draft with the PGA or will it be yours alone?
COREY PAVIN: I will talk to a lot of people. I obviously have four assistant captains I'll be talking with, and I will certainly talk to the eight players that make the team and get their opinions as well and we'll see how it goes. There will be plenty of input.

Q. Corey, you said this could possibly be your last time here. From that standpoint, when you look back on your history in this tournament, I mean certainly the year you won the Open you came here the next week. Is there any one year or one round here that stands out in your mind?
COREY PAVIN: It's been -- you know, I've had a lot of fun here. I've had a lot of good rounds and some interesting shots, but I think, you know, I think the obvious one is 1991 when I made the putt on the last hole to get into the playoff. That was pretty exciting stuff. It would have been a little bit more exciting if I'd won the playoff, but that putt on the last hole, and you know, there must have been 20,000 people out here around 18, maybe 10,000. It was a pretty fun putt to see go in from 35, 40 feet, you know, in the last group, the last hole. That was probably the most fun experience I've had out here.
But there's been plenty. You know, I shot 61 here -- or 62, I'm sorry, a few years ago in the first round. That was -- that wasn't a bad start either.
DOUG MILNE: All right, Corey. Thanks a lot. Good luck tomorrow.
COREY PAVIN: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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