WGC AMERICAN EXPRESS CHAMPIONSHIP

September 18, 2002

Craig Parry

SCOTT CROCKETT: Thanks for coming in, Craig, if anybody knows how to win one of these things it's you. Congratulations on that, and tell us what that meant to you and what you've done since the victory.

CRAIG PARRY: The first week at home after the NEC, I flew back to Australia, and the first week was just all media. You know, we had probably 3- or 400 e-mails sent to us, and we printed up all the e-mails and read all the e-mails. They came in from all over the world. It's been an unbelievable experience, all different circles of the media, not just golf, but other sports have been interested in it: The Victorian cricket team practicing their cricket up in Northern Territory and all of a sudden they're watching golf for the last couple of hours. So many people saying they were riding an exercise bike and they are for two hours, just watching the golf and just enjoying it. As I say, it's just been a lot of time taken up with media at home.

Q. It was nice to get back on the course?

CRAIG PARRY: I had three weeks off. The first week was all media, and the second week I just had time to myself to relax, and last week I started practicing again.

Q. How is the game, how do you feel coming into this week?

CRAIG PARRY: Definitely not as good as the NEC, but we'll wait and see tomorrow. I'm still playing a lot. This is a different golf course. The fairways are a little bit wider here, so you're hitting a lot of drivers on this golf course.

Q. How much golf have you played in Ireland?

CRAIG PARRY: I played at Portmarnock, and the one up the road. I played here once and I played the one in Killarney.

Q. -- up the road?

CRAIG PARRY: It's up the road here, it's in Ireland, not in Australia.

Q. When did you play here first?

CRAIG PARRY: '93 I think was my first Open. The spectators were very appreciative of a good golfer; they're very much like Scottish fans when it comes to the sport of the tournament, very knowledgeable about the game.

Q. What should we read into the fact that Kevin Sutherland won The Match Play and you won the NEC?

CRAIG PARRY: I could say something, but I won't.

Q. Go on.

CRAIG PARRY: No. It just proves anyone in the field can actually win these tournaments. The field is so strong and that's one thing you can take out of it. You've got what looks like unknowns who have won other tournaments around the world as well. So I wouldn't be surprised if someone else, even like Scottie Laycock or Peter O'Malley or someone like that from home, Pete Lonard, another one, especially when the golf courses are in such good condition as well, the greens are perfect to putt on. It's probably the best greens I've putted on in Europe.

Q. Did you sit back and look at the video of that win in Seattle?

CRAIG PARRY: I've seen it once. I thought I was hitting the ball pretty good. I was hitting it in the right spot. Not making any bogeys. I made three bogeys in the week, none in the last 48 holes. That was the highlight of the week for me, putting birdies on the score card, not going backwards. Sometimes that's hard. You get to 12-under in a tournament and you make a couple of bogeys and you get disappointed. That didn't happen with me because I was always making birdies.

Q. When do you watch the Ryder Cup?

CRAIG PARRY: I think I might have watched 20 minutes in all the years.

Q. Do you care who wins?

CRAIG PARRY: No. The thing is I've got friends on both teams. It doesn't affect me either way. Most of the time I was always in Australia when the Ryder Cup was going on. I'm sure if you ask the Europeans who would win in the President's Cup, they couldn't care less either.

Q. Along those lines, do you foresee a time perhaps when the President's Cup team is stronger than the European Ryder Cup team?

CRAIG PARRY: It is now; isn't it (laughter). I'm saying it is now. I'm joking. I mean the thing with the President's Cup, we've got nothing we can go against the Europeans on because we only play against the Americans, and last time the international team got beat, I didn't play in it, but they got beat in Washington, and the time before we won in Melbourne. World golf is very, very strong and any international team has got a very strong team as well, it's hard to get on the President's Cup team now. If you look down the list, to get the Top-10 players you're looking at probably 35 in the world to get your ten players, it's pretty strong.

Q. How much golf have you played since the win and what's your expectations this week?

CRAIG PARRY: I've hardly played anything. I've probably played three rounds of golf since the NEC, in Australia. I've played three rounds here. So that's six rounds. My expectations this week is to just go out and play well. If it puts me in position to win the tournament, that's great. I realize it's a totally different golf course. I'm hoping the wind will blow a little bit to help me out, as opposed to being very benign conditions out there.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Craig, thank you very much. Best of luck this week.

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