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MONTREAL CHAMPIONSHIP

July 3, 2010

Craig Stadler

MONTREAL, QUEBEC

PHIL STAMBAUGH: Craig, nice 7-under 65 today, your low round since round two of last year's Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship. Very nice playing and puts you right in the thick of it going into tomorrow. Just a few general thoughts about today and take us through your round.
CRAIG STADLER: Well, I got off to a good start. Hit a couple good short irons. Hit a horrible tee shot on 3 and got away with it. Horrible tee shot on 4 and made bogey.
Then pretty solid from there, a lot of good iron shots. Drove the ball well all day and made some putts, which I haven't done in quite a while. All adds up to a nice round of golf.
PHIL STAMBAUGH: Conditions about the same as yesterday?
CRAIG STADLER: A little bit windier today than it was yesterday. But the golf course is in good shape. The greens are perfect. If you don't make some being the first group out, you're not putting very well I guess but the golf course is in good shape today. Didn't play particularly long, played a little shorter than yesterday. But it was good.
PHIL STAMBAUGH: Your thoughts on this event?
CRAIG STADLER: It was great. The crowds even yesterday was incredible. Crowds are wonderful. The staff is incredible. Everything is wonderful and great so far.

Q. General difference between today's round and this round today for you?
CRAIG STADLER: Probably hit 14, 15 green today. I hit ten yesterday. I don't know how many fairway /Os I hit but I drove the ball well today and made some putts. I don't know how many putts I had, not too many, because I got up-and-down all but once from missed greens.
Just felt confident over the putter which is something I haven't felt in ages. I drove the ball well and hit the irons good. Yesterday, I was hitting to 35, 40 feet and today I got it close, a lot of 4-, 5-, 6-footers.

Q. You and Mark Calcavecchia are both doing well today?
CRAIG STADLER: We both made a bunch of birdies. He made two or three bogeys and I made one bogey. One of us was making a birdie every hole and Bruce kept hitting as close as we were if not closer. I shot 7-under, he shot 6-under and I think we made 16 or 17 birdies between us, so there were quite a few out there.

Q. Obviously a lot of guys at the top of the leaderboard, will it take a low number tomorrow?
CRAIG STADLER: Probably 12 or 13 I would guess. The course is there, wide fairways, you can drive the ball in play easy, and a relatively large amount of short 4s and two or three 5s that are reachable.
So obviously 7 and 13 are both very reachable. Calcavecchia hit a 7-iron on 13. A lot of birdies if you're putting well, if you're hitting your irons halfway decent. A lot of putting chances.

Q. What is the average width of the fairways?
CRAIG STADLER: I would say if the wind was down, it would be I think fairly simple to get around. The fairways are generous, 60, 65 yards wide on the average, I guess and with two or three of the 5s reachable and probably four or five wedge holes.
When the wind comes up on the par 3s, it makes 3 a hell of a hole. It makes -- whatever the other one is, 6, that's a great par 3 there. Some very difficult par 3s.
You know, I would say it's a relatively scorable golf course, put it that way. It not easy and it's not hard. You hit the ball well, you should score, put it that way. It's a very scorable golf course.
PHIL STAMBAUGH: Can you just run through the length of your birdie putts.
CRAIG STADLER: 1 was about five feet.
2, I drove it and hit a little 8-iron about a foot.
5, I 2-putted from -- or 10,11 and 14, I 2-putted from about 20 feet.
15, a 6-iron about eight feet.
16, I hit sand wedge about five, six feet.
18, I hit 9-iron about ten feet.
5, I hit a wedge shot a foot, foot and a half.
And 7, I missed the green just right and chipped it.
Then 9, I drove it down there good on the left side and laid in the sod over a sand wedge to the front bunker, came out about five feet and made a good par putt there.

Q. What would it mean for you to win this?
CRAIG STADLER: I'm just happy to finish every week right now. I'm pretty much terrible out there. If I can putt good -- you know, I don't drive the ball anywhere now, my left side -- but driving it fairly straight and hit some good iron shots. I would just like to play a solid round of golf tomorrow. This is the second week I've played of the last ten. I've had eight weeks off and actually didn't hit a golf ball until Tuesday of last week. Just all kinds of things, my hip is out of whack, got married, had the shingles, still have the shingles. So life has been the last two months --

Q. Is marriage a bad thing --
CRAIG STADLER: In fact, I got married the day I got shingles. We won't go into that (laughter). You know, got my hip injected two weeks ago.

Q. Do you find you appreciate --
CRAIG STADLER: You do what you do. You sit home and whither in your own sorry or you go out and play. The only part I don't care for is the riding. I hate to ride. I'd much rather walk a golf course, but at the moment I have to, so be it.

End of FastScripts

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