PHIL MICKELSON

      JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, Phil, for joining us for a few minutes here in the media center at the Northern Trust Open. A 70 today, probably not what you expected but if you go back to earlier in the year when you played so well on Sunday at FBR, that helps you out and just being in this position, forever.

      PHIL MICKELSON: Well, it was I thought a more difficult day than in the past, because the pin placements were a little tougher and the greens were a little firmer, harder to get it close. I felt like anything in the 60s was going to be a good round. I was close to doing that; I was a shot shy. I played very well and certainly Jeff Quinney played very well. I think that we should have a fun day tomorrow.

      Q.  He was telling us, we asked him about the ASU connection, and he said you guys had never played as pros, but you've played a little bit, amateurs, but he also said you started talking about Shaq and the Suns; was that the conversation out there?

      PHIL MICKELSON: We both are looking forward to his debut Wednesday -- hopefully Wednesday. We've had some good conversation. We have a lot in common. We went to school, not together, but the same school and know a lot of the same places and same people.

      I've been very impressed with his career, because I've watched it as he's grown, and every year he's gotten better. Every year, he's improved and I think that he's going to be a successful player on the PGA TOUR. I'm looking forward to the challenge of playing with him tomorrow in the final round and trying to win a golf tournament.

      I feel like I'm starting to play better as the weeks have gone on this year. I feel like my game is starting to come around. I've been hitting some good shots and making some good putts and I think that I should be ready for the challenge.

      Q.  Disappointing not to birdie No. 1, which most people think is a birdie hole? Starting off, you had a pretty good round, but you didn't get that one.

      PHIL MICKELSON: Certainly you want to start off with a four there. I didn't hit a very good tee shot, and put myself behind the 8-ball.

      I don't think it's imperative for a good round. You know, I've played Torrey Pines, and some of my best rounds have started with a five, which is a bogey on the first hole there. It's not imperative.

      But certainly with the upcoming holes, 2 and 4, being so difficult, you want to get off to a good start.

      Q.  With the way the leaderboard is laid out, it's sort of like a match-play situation tomorrow and leading into next week; do you think about that at all?

      PHIL MICKELSON: Well, it could be if we play well. If we don't play well, we let everybody back in. But if we go out and shoot under par, it will be tough for guys to catch us and we'll have a good match.

      Q. Taking that into the next week, is that any kind of a help from a mind-set that you just played match play in the last round at Riviera?

      PHIL MICKELSON: Possibly but that's not really -- that's not really where I'm going with it.

      My thing for me tomorrow is that I could feel my game starting to come around. I need to hit some good drives. I need to hit solid iron shots into the greens and continue putting well, and I think it will be a good day.

      Q. Can you talk about No. 4, was Allenby away, and did you decide to putt out, or were you away?

      PHIL MICKELSON: We were kind of tied. It was the same. It was just who was going to be affected, and his mark didn't affect the way I set up to the putt.

      I had an unfortunate lip-out there, as sometimes that happens. I had a putt on 18 do the exact same thing. It got right up to the lip and it shot off the edge, and fortunately it lipped in. But I was walking after it, and because it looked like it was in the center, and it barely caught the right lip. On 18, it went in, and on No. 4, it didn't. It happens.

      Here, even though the greens have putted the best I've ever seen them, Robert Allenby had a putt on No. 11 that shot off right as it got to the hole, and we've just had a couple of those. And so until it goes in, you're just not sure.

      Q.  It seems like it's been a week where a lot of pars have been as meaningful as birdies; yesterday on 16 and today on 15 and 18. Any thoughts on that?

      PHIL MICKELSON: I think that's true. I think pars keep the round going.

      The golf course here at Riviera is not an easy course to make a lot of birdies on, and even though yesterday I made a bunch, it was one of those things where the ball just found the hole.

      But you're really just trying to make three, four, five birdies out here and then not make any mistakes and then you've got a good round.

      Q.  As a follow to a previous question, how are the dynamics different this year compared to last where you still had a one-shot lead, but there was probably five or six guys with a lot of experience within three shots going into the last day. This time there's some separation.

      PHIL MICKELSON: Well, I like it better this time, yeah. It's nicer.

      Q. It's one shot, but are you comfortable as a front-runner? Is that something you like?

      PHIL MICKELSON: I like being in the lead. My thought process was that if I can make this 6-footer on 18, tie goes to me. That's kind of the way it looks like. So tomorrow we'll go head-to-head and if I can just tie him, tie goes to me. So that's the nice thing about having a shot in hand or whatnot.

      But I would have liked to have increased my lead. Unfortunately I didn't do that.

      Q. And there's no defense for a hole-in-one, but did it take you any time to shrug that off?

      PHIL MICKELSON: I thought I came in there with a good 8-iron to six feet and made it for birdie. I thought that was as good of a response as I could have expected. (Laughter) Yeah, I thought that was a big 2 for me.

      Q. Was there a part of your game at all that is better now, as opposed to last year?

      PHIL MICKELSON: There's some areas I'm working on that I'm trying to get my parameters a little bit tighter. I'm trying to get my curve in the shot a little tighter. But it's not quite where I want it yet but it's very close. It's very close to being where I want it. I think that -- I just talked to Butch on my way down here, and I think that we're going to be -- have it ready for tomorrow.

      Q. What was the lie like on 5 to the right of the green? We were kind of blocked out. You saved par there.

      PHIL MICKELSON: It was okay. It was sitting in the rough. But I had a big area to land it if I hit a good flop shot. If I could hit it high and soft, I had 20 feet I can land it where it would probably stop around the hole. That's why I hit it so high.

      Q. Are you totally over your respiratory issues now?

      PHIL MICKELSON: Yes.

      Q. Hundred percent?

      PHIL MICKELSON: Yes.

      JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Can we go through your birdies and bogeys?

      PHIL MICKELSON: Bogey on 4. I hit a good 3-iron to 20 feet and hit the putt 3 1/2 feet by and missed it coming back.

      Birdied 6 with an 8-iron to six feet.

      Birdied 10 with a 3-wood right in front of the green and putted up to a couple feet.

      Birdied 11 with a 3-wood off the tee, 3-iron to the front edge and a 2-putt. 

      Bogeyed 16. I had a terrible 8-iron to the right. Good chip shot to 12 feet and missed it.

      Q.  You had a lot of 25-, 30-foot birdie putts today. Was that a function of where the pins were and not wanting to be overaggressive to them, or were you not hitting your irons as well as you would have liked?

      PHIL MICKELSON: I think 80 percent of it was more the pin placement where I was aiming. You know, No. 7, the pin was so far left that I hit a good shot right where I wanted to and I got a 20-footer.

      If I hit a good shot on 16, I've got a 20-footer. They were firm and those tucked pins were hard to get to. But if you do have those 20-footers, they are uphill putts. You can be aggressive and you can make a lot of them.

      Q. Since you've been good for a long time, I mean, really since you turned pro, was there ever a point early in your career on TOUR where you learned not to take any opponent for granted?

      PHIL MICKELSON: Well, you learn that in junior golf, yeah. That's just a given. It doesn't matter who it is. If the guy is good enough to be in the last group, he's obviously playing well enough to win.

      Q. Have you ever been caught doing the other, even in junior golf, underestimating somebody?

      PHIL MICKELSON: No. But I've not played well and lost, yeah. But not because I expected them to give it to me. I know that I won't be handed anything tomorrow. I know how well Jeff's playing and how well John Rollins played, and I know that there are guys that are right there that can shoot a low round tomorrow. And it's my job to go out and hit solid shots, hit a lot of fairways, attack some pins and be careful with some that are dangerous and see if I can shoot in the mid-60s.

      Q. Do you have a target for tomorrow --

      PHIL MICKELSON: Depending on conditions, it's hard to say. I feel I can, yeah.

      Q. You're thinking aggressive tomorrow?

      PHIL MICKELSON: I think I can shoot in the mid to high 60s and play well.

      Q. Could you talk about how different -- if there is that big of a difference between your ball-striking last week and your ball-striking this week?

      PHIL MICKELSON: Fairly comparable. I thought I hit maybe a few better shots last week, but the difference is, I'm putting much better.

      Q. And just to follow up, you said you talked to Butch on the way ...

      PHIL MICKELSON: To see you, Alex, yeah, just a couple minutes ago. (Laughter).

      Q. Is he on site or on the phone?

      PHIL MICKELSON: Phone, yeah.

      Q. What can you do on the phone?

      PHIL MICKELSON: Talk. (Laughter).

      Q. I figure you're not doing sign language. What can you he get from you and what can you get back? Does he just watch the broadcast and you guys talk about it?

      PHIL MICKELSON: You know, we just, yeah, we're able to work some things out, that's all. I don't know really where to go with that, but we're able to kind of communicate over the phone.

      Q. Curious on 10, if conditions notwithstanding, it seems like 3-wood is the choice for most of the power hitters. When did that become the case? Has it ever been driver, and have you noticed over the years driver no longer being a choice?

      PHIL MICKELSON: What's happened, Doug, is the golf ball is going farther. So when we used to hit drivers, we now are hitting 3-woods. (Laughter).

      Any other good questions? (Laughter) Sorry, I'm just kidding.

      I don't know where to go with that one, either. Because the tee hasn't moved up. The tee is in the same spot.

      Q.  When Tiger is not in a tournament, Phil, do you feel like the favorite son? Do you feel like the guy that everyone is rooting for?

      PHIL MICKELSON: I don't know, but I've enjoyed playing in L.A. and there's a lot of friends that I haven't seen in a while and have come on out and some family members have come up with me.

      So it's been a fun tournament, and I think some of the people here know how much this tournament means to me and how important it would be to get that this tournament win, which I haven't had, and have wanted for so long.

      JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, Phil.

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JEFF QUINNEY

      JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thanks for joining us here in the media center at the Northern Trust Open. Jeff, an interesting day out there, hole-in-one on No. 6, and then a long putt there on 18 for birdie to get to 10-under for the tournament, one stroke back of Phil. Just talk about the day and what you did well.

      JEFF QUINNEY: I felt really comfortable. I actually drove it really well. That's kind of been the part of my game I've been struggling with a little bit and hit my driver very confidently today.

      I've obviously birdied that first hole. It was important just to grab one when you could because that's such an easy hole.

      You know, I was in control all day. I was a little nervous getting off, getting started, but the birdie on 5, and then the hole-in-one on 6 actually settled me down quite a bit. Almost put me down a level and put me in the zone and I was really at ease the rest of the day.

      Q.  Could you even see the ball go in, or did you have to listen?

      JEFF QUINNEY: It was kind of foggy. I hit the shot and I was kind of walking away and I think Phil was walking in behind me. I knew it was trickling back to the hole, but I don't think I actually saw it fall in the cup. It was more the crowd reaction by the green.

      Q. Were you shocked? It looked like the noise shook you for a second.

      JEFF QUINNEY: Yeah, I'm overdue on the hole-in-one celebrations. Yeah, basically had one last year at the Bob Hope and this year with the caddie -- I've got a different caddie this time but you don't know whether to hug or high-five or just in between and probably just looks sloppy. Adrenaline goes through your system. It's an amazing feeling. It was almost like a touchdown end zone dance or something but basically, we need to get that organized with my caddie and plan it a little bit better.

      Q. Obviously people look at the hole-in-one, but you picked up two shots right there and went ahead. Is that what you were thinking, boy, now you're in the lead or just picked up two more shots.

      JEFF QUINNEY: Well, Phil made, two, so I only picked up one. Obviously when those things happen, you take it for granted and -- or not take it for granted. It's amazing that it happens.

      That stretch of holes, if you can get by that corner and the wind is going to switch, I knew I could take advantage and 11 where I hit a bad second shot and to short-side it and skulled a wedge, I was very disappointed to make six there. Other than that, played pretty solid.

      Q. How about that putt on 18; and the celebration in itself, the crowd went crazy.

      JEFF QUINNEY: Yeah, it was a tough putt. I had 9-iron into the green and was disappointed I left it where I did. I wanted to leave it below the hole, and it was amazing how far it carried downwind. You know, we had a good read. Basically had a good chart in my book where I knew what it was going to go. It's actually right side of the hole; when you think everything falls to the front, everything goes right-to-left. I was just trying to snuggle it down there so I wouldn't have to worry about the second putt, and luckily went, perfect speed, right in the center.

      Q. How great is it that you take something home with to sleep on tonight?

      JEFF QUINNEY: Definitely always nice to sleep on a birdie, especially after giving away on 16, hitting a great putt on 17 and lipping one out and getting one back and one shot closer to Phil is great.

      Q. You come obviously with a very athletic family, and your dad played football, I believe it was.

      JEFF QUINNEY: Basketball.

      Q. Basketball, I'm sorry. And a big game, 30-something points, I remember reading that. How did you end up in golf? Did everybody go in a different direction with the kids?

      JEFF QUINNEY: I grew up, I'm the youngest of four boys. All of them played Division I sports of one kind. Maybe a little bit of experience. My dad is 6'5, but three of us were about 6'1 so we knew we wouldn't make it in hoops. Couldn't jump, couldn't run; we could shoot, but we're well-rounded in all sports.

      Basically by sophomore, junior in high school, I knew I wanted to play college golf and could probably get a scholarship. But I played basketball all through high school. Growing up in Oregon, we only could play six months of the year with the weather.

      I was kind of a raw product going into college, pretty good junior player, nothing fantastic. But going to Arizona State and practicing every day in the good weather, it really honed my skills quickly.

      Q.  And that's where you won the U.S. Amateur and really developed into a great amateur player.

      JEFF QUINNEY: Yeah, my whole career is just building like a house or building bricks. Basically I've gotten better every year, even on the professional level from the Canadian Tour my first year out to Nationwide last year, I feel like I'm the best player I've ever been and a more confident and complete player right now.

      Q. The birdie on 1 kind of settled you down a bit; were the nerves any more today because you were playing with Phil for the first time?

      JEFF QUINNEY: Yeah, it was the first time I played with Phil. I've played with Tiger before and Vijay and some of the top players. But you know everyone is going to be watching our group. Everyone's rooting for Phil. And he's a great player and it's hard not to watch him at times and concentrate on what you're doing because he hits some amazing shots.

      You know, I settled in quickly. I think once you get in the course and inside the ropes, you're more calm than you are maybe sleeping on it or waking up. Hopefully tomorrow I can do the same.

      Q. Is that a Coyotes logo on your shirt?

      JEFF QUINNEY: Yeah, I just started this year, Phoenix Coyotes hockey. And basically my management group is the brother of Wayne Gretzky's manager, and just developed a relationship and it just started. So we're excited about that.

      Q. Were you a hockey fan before this?

      JEFF QUINNEY: I am. I'm still learning a lot about the sport. I definitely go to the hockey games when I'm back in town. I'm actually going to drop the puck I think next week, and they are going to make me my own jersey, which is kind of fun to do.

      Q. Any body checking planned for tomorrow?

      JEFF QUINNEY: Well, maybe me and my caddie. (Laughter).

      Q. I know you had a tough finish at Phoenix last year; right?

      JEFF QUINNEY: Yeah.

      Q. How much do you think that helps you going into a situation like tomorrow?

      JEFF QUINNEY: I think it helps, definitely just being in contention and sleeping on the lead or somewhat close to the lead. I wouldn't say I had a tough finish. Obviously bogeyed last couple holes but I had a great tournament and just was -- gained so much confidence from that and proved to myself that I can be in the lead or near the lead and not necessarily finish it off and definitely contend through to the end.

      Q. You mentioned at the Hope last year when you were a contender, when you won the U.S. Amateur a lot was expected of you but it took you time; why were you able to do so well, I believe 2000, 2001, and why did it take so long?

      JEFF QUINNEY: I don't think my swing was as consistent. I've definitely made some swing changes. I was very timing-oriented and a hands player, and now I'm kind of working with Mike LaBauve, my teacher, in trying to make it simple and just a swing that will hold up week-to-week in the pressure.

      Match play is a whole different game than stroke play. If I have to beat the guy across from me, it's different than a four-day stroke event. It's just honing my skills. I don't think I was quite at the level of some guys my age at that time. It's just taken me a gradual time to improve.

      Q. Do you ever get down on yourself because you were a U.S. Amateur Champion and then expected a lot of yourself?

      JEFF QUINNEY: I wouldn't say down. I think, you know, maybe I expected to be a little bit more successful than I was, and it took me a little bit longer maybe.

      But the thing about it is I got better every year. I never got to the point where I was bottomed out or thought about giving up the game, and I was always getting better and improving and moving forward.

      Q. Two things. The first one is the shot on 6, when you saw where it landed, did you like where it landed, because obviously it funnels back there. But in your mind when it first landed, was it a good shot?

      JEFF QUINNEY: Not really. It was a right-to-left wind, and I'm trying to start it right of the flag just barely. Basically pulled it and I'm thinking it had a chance to go in that little pot bunker. It landed dead-level with it, and, you know, if you hit it there, it's automatic bogey. So I definitely got away with one.

      I didn't really see that. I don't think I played that pin last year, so I didn't really know to use that slope as much. It definitely wasn't the purest shot feeling it off the face, but it's a 1 on the card.

      Q. The other question, you had such a fantastic run on the West Coast Swing last year. You were in contention it seems like every week. Do you feel like you're a little bit due now, as well as you've played out here?

      JEFF QUINNEY: I don't know if I'm due. You know, I just definitely want to have a chance coming in tomorrow. Obviously playing against -- I don't know what Phil is ranked, top-five player in the world. He's going to bring a lot to the player and I've got to bring my best to the table tomorrow. He's definitely not going to hand it to me. I've got to go out and earn it.

      JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Can we go over your birdies and bogeys real quick? You birdied No. 1.

      JEFF QUINNEY: Birdie on 1.

      I used a 5-iron on 2. That's a tough driving hole. Hit it in the right rough, and had to slice it around the tree and hit a great shot. To walk away with 4, was definitely satisfied there.

      Birdie on 5. I hit 3-wood, 8-iron and made a good left-to-right breaker about 15, 20 feet.

      Then on 6, obviously the hole-in-one with a 7-iron.

      10, I've laid up all week. I thought about hitting driver today but I hit a great lob-wedge to pretty much tap-in range.

      Bogey on 11. Hit a great drive. I definitely could reach the green. I kind of had a thin lie. Hit it short right of that bunker and tried to hit a mega-flop and bladed it and made six, which was losing a shot and a half there.

      Bogey on 16. Kind of in-between clubs, 6 and 7. Into the wind at that time and was trying to hit a conservative shot and hit the 6-iron. Probably should have hit 7. Just quit on it and hit it to a place where I could not get up-and-down from there.

      Then 18, hit driver, 9-iron, probably 35 feet and a downhill one.

      Q.  We were watching on TV; was it a decent lie on 11? Surprising it all of a sudden shot out.

      JEFF QUINNEY: Yeah, I was worried about -- it was a decent lie. I was worried more about flubbing it I guess than short-siding myself in the bunker. One of those things, you look up a split second too early, just like everybody out there, and very shocking to me because I felt confident over the shot. I feel my short game is my strength. I thought a hit a good chip on the next one. It was six inches from going down the hill. Making six was disappointing.

      Q. Curious your impressions about Phil's round, this typical Mickelson round of, some of it wasn't really very pretty but really got up-and-down in a few spots. What did you think?

      JEFF QUINNEY: Yeah, he made some great saves on 13 and 15. He was short-sided and he has that 64-degree wedge and he's just hitting some amazing shots out of lies where he's about the only one that can do that.

      He's definitely in control. He's putting well. I think he's firing on all cylinders, so I have to go out and do my best.

      Q. What's your relationship with Phil, both being ASU guys, I know you said this is the first time you've played with him in a tournament, but what's your relationship with him?

      JEFF QUINNEY: Obviously he's in Rancho Santa Fe in San Diego now, and I'm in the Scottsdale area and we don't cross paths much anymore. Out of college we played some practice rounds in the majors at the U.S. Open. You know, go out and say hi.

      We definitely talked a lot of sports today. We were talking about the Phoenix Suns and how Shaq's coming in. We both might be at that Laker game on Wednesday, and we are talking about other things other than golf.

      JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you.

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JOHN ROLLINS

      Q.  Talk about how you're like 30 pounds lighter now.

      JOHN ROLLINS: Yeah, about 30, 35 lighter. Decided that for my career and longevity of my career, I needed to shed some pounds and was able to do it this off-season. Feel good, so hopefully it will kind of filter into my game a little bit.

      Q. What's been working for you this week?

      JOHN ROLLINS: I've putted pretty good this week. Missed a few today coming down the stretch but, overall, I feel like I've rolled the ball well on the greens and I've just been patient. I kept grinding it out. I haven't really hit it the greatest. My irons have been fairly weak up until today. I think I hit it a little bit better.

      But I just keep being patient and hitting good chip shots and grinding over the putts and so far the putter has been fairly kind.

      Q. Depending what happens, you'll be four, five, maybe six back going into tomorrow. You have to be aggressive tomorrow, basically, Is that your mentality?

      JOHN ROLLINS: Yeah, I got off to a good start today and that will help tomorrow. I was 4-under through seven and really missed a good look there on seven to be 5-under through seven, but that's what it's going to take tomorrow.

      I'm going to have to come out -- we don't know what the conditions will be, but I'm sure the golf course is going to be playing difficult. We've just got to stay patient. You know, I'm not trying to shoot a certain number. I know I've got to go out and play good and just give myself as many opportunities as I can.

      Q. Haven't you played well on the West Coast the last few years?

      JOHN ROLLINS: The last few years I've played pretty good. This year it's been a little slower start but it's not from a lack of effort or being prepared or anything else. Just, it's golf. I felt good coming out for the start of the season at the Hope and just the scoring hasn't been there and things just haven't really clicked.

      Then this week, I just kept doing what I was doing, and right now we're having a good week.

      Q. Why did you make the decision to shed some pounds?

      JOHN ROLLINS: You know, I had to do it to feel better. I just wasn't feeling that great, you know, about myself and everything else, and I just thought it was a change that needed to be made. I just owned up to it and decided to commit to it, and I feel a whole lot better.

      Q. Where does this course rank on your favorites that you play out here?

      JOHN ROLLINS: Top five, for sure. It's one of the best we play. It’s just that old, classic golf course that gets your attention on every shot.

      The fairways have just enough pitch on them that hitting shots into the green are difficult or hard to get it close to the hole. And if you do misfire and hit it in one of these bunkers, they are not the easiest bunkers to get it up and down. It's just a great, old, classic course that I really enjoy playing.

      Q. Can you put pressure on the leaders maybe from a group or two groups ahead? They are going to be watching you, basically.

      JOHN ROLLINS: Yeah, if you come out and get hot and make three or four birdies right off the bat, you never know. They make a bogey or two, that's a five- or six-shot swing, so it can happen. It's golf and it's a strange game, but I can only control myself. So I'm just going to play and be patient and see what I can shoot.

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STUART APPLEBY

      Q.  How was that 69 today?

      STUART APPLEBY: I played pretty bad all day. I hit the ball bad. Didn't really do anything except chip and putt. Putting was the only reason. I could have easily been over par. I could have shot four or five over today if I hadn't saved.

      I think I hit eight greens for the day. Well, I hit driver onto 10, so sort of nine greens getting in there, but chipped and putted well. Made some birdies. Didn't make many birdies today so it was really close. I easily could have shot 3-over instead of under, easy.

      Q. Seems like a lot of real low ones out there --

      STUART APPLEBY: I played worse than what the course played difficult, I think. I haven't played, hit it like I did the previous two tournaments. I'm getting it done but I've got to play better. Making putts for pars are like dogs that chase cars – don't last long. If I can shoot under par tomorrow; hopefully it won't be as stressful as the way I did it today.

      Q. You're alone at third in the moment?

      STUART APPLEBY: Daylight's up front, first and second. If I can shoot a nice, good round tomorrow, I think, you know, if you shot 4- or 5-under tomorrow, that would be a good score.

      Now, what's that mean for the tournament? Does that threaten the top? Probably not. Yeah, I think if you looked at the odds in Vegas, the odds of a couple players winning it, that's about it from here. It's not really an open tournament.

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SCOTT VERPLANK

      Q.  How is it playing out there?

      SCOTT VERPLANK: Really tough. The greens are really fast. Being dried out, the golf course is pretty tough.

      They are a little bumpy and like I said, they are so fast, faster than normal here because it's so dry. Fast and bumpy is a tough combo sometimes. You know, pretty challenging.

      Q. Is this your third event of the year?

      SCOTT VERPLANK: Yes.

      Q. Working on some things a little bit from the off-season?

      SCOTT VERPLANK: Yes, you know, I'm OK. I've still got a ways to go. I'm not playing quite -- I'm scoring OK, but I've got a lot of room for improvement, but it is early in the year, and you know, try to keep going the right direction.

      Q. You're about six behind Phil right now, any realistic shot? It's golf, anything can happen; how do you approach the final round, six back?

      SCOTT VERPLANK: You know, I'm going to have to just hit it -- if I hit it a little bit more solid with my irons tomorrow and knock in all of the short putts that I missed today; you know, if he slips up, I might have a chance.

      But other than Tiger, he's probably the next best front-runner. He's awful good. So I'm going to have to play exceptionally well and probably then would need a little bit of help.

      Q. On 18, you got up-and-down, what did you hit? Was that a wind issue?

      SCOTT VERPLANK: Yeah, I hit a 6-iron, but honestly, I thought I hit it perfect and I think the wind almost knocked it down a little bit. Sometimes it carries it pretty good and sometimes it kind of flattens it out. That one kind of flattened out. I was a little shocked that it came up five yards short of the front edge.

      Q. Where would you put this course on your favorites?

      SCOTT VERPLANK: Oh, it's a great golf course. It's just a great golf course. Tee-to-green, it's a beautiful track. You have to hit lots of different shots.

      You know, they have changed it a little bit, but they haven't ruined it. I would say that I'm not -- I haven't been all that impressed with some of the changes, but the golf course is so great. As long as you don't do anything too major, it's a brilliant place.

      They changed some of the greens a little bit, seemed to be a little bit out of character with Riviera but it's still great. It's such a great place. You know, every great golf course goes through stages of changing it and tinkering with it and all that. It would be pretty hard to mess this one up too much.

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SCOTT McCARRON

      JOAN vT ALEXANDER: We thank Scott McCarron for joining us for a few minutes here in the interview room at the Northern Trust Open. Nice solid round there, 65. I'm sure it feels great to be in this position after a year and a half of battling that injury, and also you've had a little success here at this course. So those go together, and just talk about being back in the hunt right now after 36 holes.

      SCOTT McCARRON: Yeah, going to school here at UCLA right down the street, I played here quite a bit, so this is one of my favorite golf courses on the PGA TOUR. Just has such a great feeling.

      I've been out for a year and a half. So I really have no business being in the hunt or near the lead, but I feel good coming in here. I put my old irons in play this week, so I have to thank a good buddy of mine, Chris Thogh (ph), for sending them from my house, and just feels good. I played good, swung real free today.

      Hit the ball really well the last round at Spyglass at the AT&T, so I started getting a little confidence in my game and played Tuesday at L.A. North in the fund-raiser and hit it so bad I was almost ready to go home. I just love this place and have some good feelings coming in here and lo and behold, I played pretty good today.

      Q.  You had the surgery in August of '06.

      SCOTT McCARRON: Correct.

      Q. What happened after that? Did you play any golf at all last year? What did you, sit around Reno? Describe your life from the time of the surgery.

      SCOTT McCARRON: Had the surgery in August 16th of '06. It's a long recovery. They had to reattach a tendon back on to the bone, the radialis brevis tendon, so I couldn't play any golf.

      Q. Was it wear and tear?

      SCOTT McCARRON: I don't know for sure. But January 4th of '06 is when it started hurting, and I thought it was tendinitis. Had a couple cortisone shots and played about seven months with it that way. So I don't know if it tore right there in January, if it tore right there during the next seven months. But I was playing with almost one hand. Should have had the MRI done right, away and in hindsight, wish I would have.

      After the surgery, there wasn't much I could do. I couldn't play golf. So I was at home being dad, driving my kids to school, making them breakfast -- my kids are sitting back there. So we had a great time, doing all the things I wasn't able to do traveling on the road.

      So my wife and my kids kept me pretty busy and after about, I would say after about three months being at home, my wife kind of turned to me and said, "You're really happy right now," and I said this is probably the happiest I've ever been, being able to be at home, it was a nice feeling. Still, I love playing golf. I miss the competition and as soon as I could start hitting balls and playing again, I did. I really was setting my goals on coming back here and playing well. So I've worked real hard to come back.

      Q.  When did you actually pick up a club again, and was there any fear that either you would reinjure it again?

      SCOTT McCARRON: Oh, yeah, I've played in fear for the last, you know, five or six months really, not sure if I could ever come back. I would say it was almost a year to the date that I was able to start hitting balls, August of '07 without too much pain.

      Now when I say that, I was still kind of flinching at impact waiting for the pain. My brain still wasn't letting me hit shots and swing through and that lasted really up until, oh, I would say October, right around there. I went and played the Dunhill Links Championship end of last year to try it out and see how it felt, and it felt pretty good. I was able to swing and let shots go and not worry about it hurting.

      Now it still hurts a little bit and still gets a little sore and stiff at night, so I have to ice it and keep the inflammation down. I've been working so hard to get this thing back so I can play golf again.

      But there was a long time that I wasn't sure if I could ever come back.

      Q.  Going to go back in the rag business?

      SCOTT McCARRON: Absolutely not. (Laughter).

      Q. Are you worried about setting your TV career back?

      SCOTT McCARRON: (Laughing) Thanks, Thomas. I had a great time working wore the GOLF CHANNEL doing the Masters. It was a lot of fun for me. And it kind of gave me a sense of, well, if I can't play golf, at least I don't have to go back in the shirt business and I might be able to do some TV.

      They were great to me back there at the Masters and the GOLF CHANNEL, so it was fun.

      Q. I think you made the cut on the number at the Hope. Were you frustrated at all about getting off to a little bit of a slow start, you just kind of thought that was part of the process?

      SCOTT McCARRON: Well, I knew it was going to be part of the process. One of the things about being injured, almost all of us played too long with injury and come back too early. So for me to really come back and play, I needed a few more events under my belt but there was really nothing for me to play in, so I had to play on the PGA TOUR. I made the cut on the number at the Hope birdieing the last three holes. I really wanted to make that cut, which I did.

      Playing San Diego, that golf course, really, it was too tough for me coming back that early. I wasn't ready to play that type of golf course yet.

      Phoenix, I was disappointed missing the cut, because I usually play well there. And AT&T, I haven't done that well there. Even though it's a slow start, I haven't played particularly that well at those golf courses so I really wasn't that worried about it.

      Q.  Now that you're here, is it one of those things where you walk on the grounds and you thought, "I belong here, this is where I always play well," how much does that get into your head?

      SCOTT McCARRON: Certainly, you get on this golf course and the trees really shape a lot of the holes which I love. I love being able to work the ball on the tee. It really sets up well for my eye. I like playing here. I've played here quite a bit.

      So I've got, you know, good memories here. I've also got some real hard memories when I lost to Len Mattiace on the last hole, and then I lost the next week at the Match Play in the finals. It took me a long time to get over those two losses. I was really disappointed. I really wanted to win those tournaments and especially win here at Riviera, just means so much to me with the nostalgia and being here and going to UCLA.

      I have a lot of good feelings, a lot of good feelings here.

      Q.  And you talk about, you're a little bit surprised, as well as you've played to this point, but it has to give you a feeling of why can't I win this thing now, right?

      SCOTT McCARRON: Certainly you have to get where you are receive back in position. Funny, today, making a bunch of birdies, I felt really comfortable out there making birdies and playing well. I don't feel that comfortable when I'm shooting 75, 76; it's just one of those things.

      So as soon as I started getting back in that flow again, I felt like this is normal. Even though I haven't been there for a long, long time.

      Q. Do you have any sense of what kind of rhythm you want to be in as far as playing? I know you played well today obviously, but do you expect this now more and more now that the injury is pretty much past you?

      SCOTT McCARRON: Well, I expect to, you know, kind of get back -- I still feel my best golf is ahead of me. I'm 42 years old and I'm still in fairly decent shape. So I still feel like my best golf is ahead of me. Just because you're 42 doesn't mean that you have to play bad.

      These guys out here, the young kids out there are really, really good and they hit it a long way, so I'm always looking for extra distance now, where before I was kind of one of the longer guys out here and now I'm kind of average. But I still feel like I can play some good golf.

      JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Can we go through your birdies and then that bogey on 18? You started on 1.

      SCOTT McCARRON: Yeah, started on 1. Hit a good drive off the tee, hit a 4-iron just left of the green. Hit a great chip up there to about four feet and made that for birdie.

      3, real good drive down there and hit a sand wedge in there about two feet.

      9, hit a good drive there, Bubba only hit it about 70 yards by me, Bubba Watson. And as I hit it, I yelled, "Get by him." He's an unbelievable talent by the way. I was amazed; first time I ever played with him. Hit a great wedge shot in there about five or six feet and made that for birdie.

      Then my family showed up which was nice on 10. Hit a great drive on 10 which they flew down from Reno today.

      JOAN vT ALEXANDER: After school, I assume.

      SCOTT McCARRON: Of course they did, yes.

      Hit a good drive on 10, just exactly where I wanted to. Had a perfect chip straight right at it and chipped it to about four or feet.

      Good drive and 3-wood just left of the green and another good chip to about four feet and made that for birdie on 11.

      12, I fanned one over on the trees, and I had 210 to the front edge and had to carve it around the trees and hit a beautiful 3-iron just short of the green and then made about -- I think it was about a 50-footer or so and rattled it right in the cage and that was nice.

      Then 16, hit a beautiful 8-iron in there about a foot and made that for birdie and then bogeyed 18.

      Real disappointed, I doubled 18 yesterday from the middle of the fairway and today I had a beautiful drive in there 194, and pulled my 6-iron and had just kind of a funky lie. That kikuyu is very difficult and just wasn't able to get it up-and-down.

      Q.  Did you become proficient when you were playing Mr. Mom, or Mr. Dad, if you will, did you get into any parent activities?

      SCOTT McCARRON: Oh, yeah, went on parent field trips and volunteered at school and helped coach soccer and drove my daughter to drama and acting class all the time. So, yeah, I was getting proficient at being on schedule ask having to pick them up and drop them off at the right time.

      Q. What kind of a coach were you?

      SCOTT McCARRON: I was an enthusiastic coach; we'll put it that way. (Laughter) But I had a great time, great time.

      Q. I wanted to ask you, also, when you're out here, do you get together with a lot of your buddies from UCLA when you come back here?

      SCOTT McCARRON: I do. I have a lot of my fraternity brothers from UCLA, we had 30 guys out here. Brandt Jobe and I were fraternity brothers at UCLA at the same time. We were back-to-back; Brandt was right in front of me, and we were both playing well today and guys were going back and forth. It was a lot of fun to have some familiar faces out there hooting and hollering.

      Q. Brandt is also out here with a freak injury, out on major medical.

      SCOTT McCARRON: Yeah, Brandt, fraternity brothers, college roommates. He was best man at my wedding and we are very good friends and both have injuries, kind of freak injuries. Being out and come back here to a golf course we both really love and playing well; I'm very happy for both of us to be able to come back and play. I mean, when you're out for that long, you don't even know if you're going to be able to come back and play again.

      So just to be back here, I enjoy practicing and I enjoy the working out, the eating right. All of the things that started to get monotonous for me after 13, 14 years of traveling are things I really love now. Unfortunately I had to take a year and a half off to find that again, but I’m very happy.

      JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, Scott, for joining us.

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CHAD CAMPBELL

      Q.  Talk about your round.

      CHAD CAMPBELL: Made a couple bogeys on 15 and 16. Just didn't hit very good golf shots. I had a couple chances on 17 and 18 and not able to make them but definitely looking forward to the weekend.

      Q. What do you have to do on the weekend when you're down five strokes now, how are you going to make that back?

      CHAD CAMPBELL: Doing the same thing I've been doing, make a few more putts. Just a little off today, get it back tomorrow and give myself a lot of opportunities, and hopefully make a lot of putts.

      Q. Talk about the conditions today. Early afternoon, the winds were still up, and then they laid down for you.

      CHAD CAMPBELL: Yeah, we got pretty fortunate. We made the turn and got around 12, I think, and then it pretty much totally died.

      No, we definitely got the better end of the wave this week. It's pretty nice out here right now. No wind. Perfect.

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FRED COUPLES

      Q.  You and Steve Lowery were the only two we saw lay up on 10. Why is it better to do that?

      FRED COUPLES: You know, it got to the point where I think if you look back on a lot of years in a row -- I always teased Joey that I owned the hole. I have played it pretty well, and yesterday I opened up with a 2-iron to the left and it was a perfect yardage and I hit a sand wedge to about two feet and made birdie.

      Then today, I just felt like -- I saw where the pin was, and I don't know if to the green has gotten more slope over there now, but I just figured I needed to lay it up as close to that bunker as I could; where Steve didn't have much of a shot. He hit just short of the green and with the slope.

      One of the best shots I hit all day was a 65-yard shot and that was on 10 just to keep it on the green.

      Q.  Doug Ferguson noticed that's one of the few holes he'll see guys walking back looking to see what other guys are doing; what is it about that hole?

      FRED COUPLES: Well, today I think it was the pin. You look back and you see where a guy is going to hit his second shot from. Daniel Chopra hit 3-wood and pulled it and got up on that tee which was perfect and he could hit one with a little spin.

      If you're good enough to hit a driver, 3-wood, almost pin-high or just past pin-high to the left in the rough, then you're perfect. If not, anyone going to the right is going to hit it in the front bunker or back bunker. There's no other spot to go. A lot of lay-ups -- I think tomorrow when we look back, I think it's going to play over par. It's 310 yards; it's going to play over par easily.

      Q. Is 10 a great hole or a bad hole?

      FRED COUPLES: No, I think it's a great hole. When you get it downwind, it gets pretty hard but now that the ball is going so far, in the early 80s, there were only a handful of guys that would go for that green with driver. So now most people can drive it near the green and it may play harder.

      Q. So have you discovered something with your putting that you weren't too happy with before?

      FRED COUPLES: No. I just like the greens. I know them pretty well. You know, I missed a lot of greens, the front nine, and they weren't the toughest of chip shots and I chipped them up there pretty close, so you know, I'm making a lot of 3-, 4-, 5-footers. I did change putters, I don't know. A guy that made putters a long time ago gave them to me and I don't even know the name of the company.

      Q. We know how old you are chronologically, but how about your back; is it younger or still the same?

      FRED COUPLES: No, it's 48. I've got a heat pack on it right now which feels good. But I think, you know, this will be a nice year. If I can get through it I'll be very happy about that.

      But basically, you know, it might have been a good thing to not play much last year and really rest it and do… I worked with a handful of people until I finally think I found someone that's been good.

      Q. A tough stretch for you playing all these events. It seems like it's working out just the way you wanted it to.

      FRED COUPLES: Yeah, actually, I played well at Phoenix. I putted really, really bad, and it's not all putting -- every time I play bad, it's not putting, but there I really hit the ball well.

      You know, took a week off and worked on my game, enough. Like you said, I played three in a row and I didn't really want to overdo it that early, so I just played every other day and then I came here. I love the course.

      So even when I'm not really playing well, I still can get it around. But the last two days were brutal. I hit a lot of really good shots. You know, I got it around. Yesterday was a much better round than today and I shot the same score.

      So you know, I've played 150 rounds here and sometimes you know if there's such a thing in your mind, you know where you don't want to hit it and you don't want to miss greens in certain spots. And when you do, you're faced with a delicate shot, and if you handle it, you go on maybe with a par; if you don't, then you kick yourself. But that's what this course really is like.

      And the 10th hole, that's one of them. You can walk away with a five there and you think you've hit a perfect drive or a perfect little 60-yard shot when the greens are hard. When that green is soft, it's a much, much easier hole, just like any other hole out there is. But it's not, it's firming up and I don't know if the wind is supposed to keep blowing or not.

      I remember one time where I think David Edwards won and shot a really good last round and the wind was howling, went on to win from quite a ways back.

      Q.  How come it doesn't bother you when you have this late/early thing when you know it's going to be the worst times?

      FRED COUPLES: You know, I go to bed at eight, so it's not really a lifestyle --

      Q. What kind of lifestyle?

      FRED COUPLES: Of going to dinner or not going out dancing or drinking or whatever, or just going out. If I get a late/early time, when I'm done, it's room service and a hotel and my feet are up. I physically just can't do it.

      Q. But still, knowing what the weather was like, you knew that was going to be the worst draw.

      FRED COUPLES: To be honest, I'm disappointed it's not going to blow but those are the breaks you're going to get. I was glad it was going to blow. I felt like maybe it was going to blow all day. If you can get it around, you want it to be tough where the scores don't get out of hand.

      So with all of the leaders yesterday, and maybe the wind dying, 2-under looked great for the time, but it may not, you know, five hours from now when there are going to be a lot of guys hanging in there. But that's the way it goes.

      Q. How much of what's driving you is Augusta?

      FRED COUPLES: Well, cut streak, it's a nice deal, but my goal even last year was to make the cut. But this year will not be, I think for the first time because -- I don't know what I shot -- we're talking about Augusta now. Will you just leave us alone here? This is a big deal.

      Q. It's more than making the cut, that's what you're saying.

      FRED COUPLES: Yeah, but last year was a great streak to keep going, and that was my only goal. I couldn't even hit the ball but I went and got it around. I think I was maybe over. The cut was 152. So, you know, I felt pretty good about that. But if I shoot 152 this year, I won't be making the cut. But if I could play next week at Augusta, I'd feel pretty good about playing well.

      Q. How long will you play here in this tournament?

      FRED COUPLES: I have two more years I hope and then next year when I'm 50, I don't know where the seniors are -- if they give me a spot, I'd rather play here than a senior event. So I'll be here a couple more years at least.

      No, it's my favorite course. I'm not going to not.

      Q. You're not going to not?

      FRED COUPLES: I'm not going to not play. They are going to have to keep me from not playing.

      Q. Is that like it is what it is?

      FRED COUPLES: Right, is that not in the dictionary? Right.

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K.J. CHOI

      JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you for joining us for a few minutes here in the media center at the Northern Trust Open, 6-under par, no bogeys today, just talk about your day and also maybe how conditions changed as the day went along.

      K.J. CHOI: Just the first part of the question, today I felt very good in the morning. I had a good rest during the off-week last week at home, and then coming over here, I just felt very right. I think starting off a good run like this today, shooting 6-under, you can't be sad about that, so I'm very happy.

      You know, this course, I've always had trouble putting and my iron shots have always been a problem. But I felt like they were working today, and I think even the weather was pretty pleasant when I played, so it all worked out good.

      With regards to the playing conditions today, starting out in the morning, the wind was pretty calm. It wasn't as bad. But as the day went by, the wind started changing and I think a lot of the players are probably having a little bit of a difficult afternoon compared to the morning.

      Even for me, just reading the wind, reading the lie was a little bit difficult and it was kind of confusing. That's why I feel like that as many birdies as I've made, I felt like I lost a lot of chances in making more birdies.

      But for example, the last hole, No. 18, the way the hole played, it's different when you're facing the wind and when the wind is behind you. There's a big difference. So you know, I had like 175 yards, my second shot went over the green, and that was mainly because I couldn't really determine the wind.

      But all in all, it was a good round.

      Q.  You've been on the leaderboard in several major championships now, you've played enough of them to know what they are all about. What do you think it will take to get in contention and win one considering the fact that you've won a lot of other tournaments and you seem on the verge of doing something like that.

      K.J. CHOI: First of all, twofold, first of all, I don't think I could do it alone. It's something that the Lord is going to have to help me. Without His help, I don't think I'll be able to do it.

      Second, in order for me to win a major tournament, I think I still have to improve on my short game. The practice routines that I do, I'm going to have spend more time developing and improving my short game, although, you know, it's my ninth year out on TOUR, I still feel like I can't read -- I'm having trouble at times reading the lies, the grass, the greens. Maybe it's because I've been so accustomed to playing on the golf courses in Korea and Asia where it's a lot different than the courses here. But you know, maybe in the back of my mind, I'm too accustomed to that.

      So even the rough, in a major tournament, when you're in the rough, I feel like sometimes I can hit it out and you know, I can hit it -- I'm trying to hit it short but it goes long; I try to hit it long, it goes short. It's really hard to determine how the ball is going to come out of the rough. So it confuses me. When I get bogeys on holes like that, it confuses me.

      If I'm able to improve on the short game and hitting out of the rough, I think my chances will get better.

      Q.  Can you talk about the importance of hitting your left-to-right ball flight off the tee and how much Steve Bann has helped you in working with that?

      K.J. CHOI: Yeah, Steve Bann has been a tremendous help to me. You know, what he's really good at is he keeps the fundamentals simple. He doesn't try to overwork you. It's all about the basic fundamentals of golf, about the simple swing, and he makes it -- he explains it in a way that I'm able to understand it easily, and I think that's his merit.

      That's why I feel comfortable with my swing right now, and with regard to my fade shots, I feel really confident because having that shot in my bag, you know, where let's say, for example, there's water on the left. I'm now able to, you know, before I would try to hit away from the water, but now I'm able to hit it directly to the water because I know I can fade it and knowing that I have that shot in my bag, it gives me the confidence that I need.

      Q. You said earlier that you've had problems putting here at Riviera in the past. Coming into a week like this, do you find it easy or difficult to forget those negative thoughts?

      K.J. CHOI: Yeah, I mean, the past six years playing here, the difficulty about these greens is that it looks like -- the greens look like it's going to hook then it slices. Then it looks like it's going to slice and then it hooks. It's really confusing.

      But this week, what I plan to do and what I did most of the day, was I just putted as I saw it. And I think that's what made the difference.

      For example, on the 17th hole, it looked like a hook, the putt looked like a hook but actually I thought it was going to slice. So thinking it was going to slice, I actually hit it -- I thought it was supposed to go -- I thought it was going to go as a hook but it actually went as a slice. When I putt it, I thought the other way around, so that the ball would actually fall in. (Laughter).

      JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Can we go through your birdies?

      K.J CHOI: First hole, 250 yards 5-wood, 70 feet, 2-putt.

      No. 2, second shot, 189 yards, 6-iron, three feet.

      5, 135 yards, 9-iron and 12 feet and one putt.

      7, 152 yards and 8-iron and one foot.

      11, third shot, sand wedge, 65 yards and two-foot putt.

      17, third shot is 96 yards, sand wedge, and 11 feet. Make the putt, birdie.

      JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, K.J.

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CHAD CAMPBELL

      Q.  How did it go?

      CHAD CAMPBELL: It was good. I played well. I drove the ball better than I have been. I drove it in the majority of the fairways and hit a lot of good iron shots and was able to roll in quite a few putts. Putted pretty well today.

      Q. Best round since, when, would you say?

      CHAD CAMPBELL: It's hard to say. I had some good rounds earlier this year in Hawaii. Mercedes I played pretty solid all week, and Sony kind of the same. I feel like I played pretty solid.

            Today I drove the ball a lot better than I have been.

      Q. Head cover off all day?

      CHAD CAMPBELL: Yeah, of course. Had to show the Nike driver.

      Q. Such a good pitchman you are. What do you like about this course?

      CHAD CAMPBELL: Yeah, it's one of my favorites, one of probably top three, if not my favorite, all year, that we get to play. Just an old-style, traditional golf course. A lot like Colonial, another one of my favorites.

      You've got to hit a lot of good shots. You've got to think your way around the golf course. It's not overly long. You know, you've got to hit a lot of short irons into greens that are sloping away from you and stuff like that, you know, a lot more character than a lot of the courses that -- some of the courses that we play today.

      Q. If Adam Scott's victory didn't count as an official win, does that mean it's not an official playoff loss for you?

      CHAD CAMPBELL: I guess so, that's true. I never looked at it that way. That's a good way to look at it. Hopefully everybody else does as well. So I'm 0-for-0 -- no. I'm 0-for-1. Lickliter got me in Tucson quite a while ago.

      Q. How did you play 10?

      CHAD CAMPBELL: I hit 2-iron today. 2-iron, 60-degree, in the bunker. That's one of the -- I think it's great -- I've played every year, this is the seventh year I've been there and I still don't know what the right play is. I've tried it all. I've hit driver, probably hit driver majority of the time and you know, today, hit 2-iron and you've got to hit a great little wedge shot in there to hold that green. It was blowing straight down and I got a little cute with it, so it's a great golf hole.

      Q. How are the conditions today?

      CHAD CAMPBELL: It was about as windy as I've ever seen it here. It's playing pretty tough. 9 and 18 were playing right into the wind, playing pretty long. I hit 3-wood into 18 which is not very fun.

      I hit 2-iron, I didn't hit a very good tee shot. I hit 2-iron to the front of the green and 2-putted there.

      Q. What's the typical club selection?

      CHAD CAMPBELL: (On nine)you're usually hitting back of the green, maybe usually no more than 4-iron, no wind, if you can get it into the second bunker and have probably 220 to the hole.

      Q. What about 18?

      CHAD CAMPBELL: It's a little more than that. I've hit 4-iron into 18 quite a bit.

      Q. Sorry to have lost track of you, but are you in next week?

      CHAD CAMPBELL: I'm not.

      Q. How close did you come?

      CHAD CAMPBELL: Not very. I didn't even look, I'm high 80s, low 90s last time I checked. I’m trying to get moving back in the right direction this year. Working on a lot of good things, so I'm definitely happy where things are going. Putting it better and driving it a little better and driving it a little better and hitting irons a little better, so a lot more confidence than last year.

      Q. Do you notice a difference with the new title sponsor, any different wrinkles that Northern Trust is trying to do?

      CHAD CAMPBELL: I know they are very excited. I met a guy at registration, I'm sorry I can't remember his name but he was very excited with what they are doing and very excited to have the tournament. I just told him, I go, "This is one of best ones we have all year and glad they are a part of it." 

      Q. Golf course is the main selling point --

      CHAD CAMPBELL: Yeah, they are great, they give you some gift there is at registration which is always a nice perk. I think they will be great.

      Q. What kind of a gift?

      CHAD CAMPBELL: They gave us a Wii and sent flowers to our wife and I think a purse.

      Q. Are you a video game guy?

      CHAD CAMPBELL: Not really but I heard those are pretty cool so we'll give it a go. Used to be but I don't have time anymore for it.

      Q. Can you feel a difference in tournaments when there is a change in title sponsor? Is it something you guys even notice?

      CHAD CAMPBELL: You know, at times, absolutely. At times when I come to the tournament, mainly I come to the tournament just because of the golf course pretty much. You know, the perks are great and there are guys that really, really enjoy that and that draws them to the tournament.

      Me, it's mainly just the golf course, but definitely appreciate what they have done, stepped up and raised the purse and done great things.

      Q. How do you deal with the traffic? Phil flies, do you stay west of the course?

      CHAD CAMPBELL: Took me a couple of years to learn that but absolutely, because I'm down at the beach hotel at 10 and Ocean Drive. So as long you stay west of the golf course, you're fine. I've got figured out now.

      Q. When you see John Daly on the leaderboard --

      CHAD CAMPBELL: You know, I mean, pulling for myself a little more. That might be selfish, but no, he's a good guy. I know he's working hard this year and I know he's had some injuries. He played behind me in the Hope and had to pull out there.

      You know, I know before the round he was laying on the ground getting stretched by Jim, one of the guys that works on a few players out here. I know he was hurting there. I know he's working hard at it and wants to get back to the caliber of player that he is.

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VAUGHN TAYLOR

      STEWART MOORE: Like to welcome Vaughn Taylor to the media room here at the Northern Trust Open after a fantastic opening round 67. The winds picked up a little bit as the day progressed, did you see that coming down the stretch?

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah, I did, it actually kind of completely turned around on us. You know, it actually made the last few holes easier, so kind of caught a break there.

      STEWART MOORE: Your year so far, Top-10 at the Bob Hope, played well, and you haven't played as well as you might have liked the last few events. What seems to be clicking thus far that wasn't the last few weeks?

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: Just scoring really. I haven't played bad the last few weeks, just kind of haven't gotten it in the hole. Today I just got it done. I chipped in once and made a long putt, and, you know, feel fortunate to shoot what I shot.

      STEWART MOORE: Coming in we were talking about Forest Hills back in Augusta, a classic design that had been there for a while. Do you like these courses like Riviera, kind of a throwback?

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: I really do. It's nice to play these old, classic golf courses. Just visually, they are beautiful and they just have a really good feel to them. They are a lot of fun to play.

      Q.  What kind of change did you notice this year from last year?

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: Firmness, I would say. It seems to be pretty firm.

      Q. I mean about the tournament in general.

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: Tournament in general?

      Q. New sponsor, is that something only the fans notice. Media notices, do players notice anything different?

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: I wouldn't say so. There's not any Nissans on the par 3 for Rich Beem to jump up on. (Laughter).

      Other than that, I didn't really notice much.

      Q. That's okay. Just curious.

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: Sorry.

      Q. You get a new bank account if you make a hole-in-one on 14 this year.

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: Exactly.

      STEWART MOORE: In addition, Northern Trust has added $1 million to the purse and the Pro-Am format with the reduction of amateurs, and a lot of guys are fans of that.

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: Four amateurs are perfect. I didn't play yesterday, but three amateurs are perfect.

      Q.  Have you done well here before?

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: I have not. I don't even know -- I don't think I've even made the cut here.

      Q. Never mind. We'll follow up on that later.

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: It's a new year.

      Q. What are you expecting out of yourself this year?

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: I'd like to win a couple times. You know, last year, I played well at the beginning of the year and then kind of struggled the second half.

      But I feel like my game's there, and I'd like to get back in the winner's circle. It's been a while. I'd also like to win a bigger tournament. Kind of catch some heat for winning Reno, it's an opposite event.

      So, you know, like to play well at Augusta. I don't want to put too many expectations on myself, but I'd like to win there. You know, we'll see what happens though.

      Q.  Are you in there already?

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah.

      Q. Through?

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: Last year's finish.

      Q. Top 16?

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah.

      Q. And I'd be curious on the 18th and 9th, your club section on both, and how different that has been in previous times you've played here.

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: Today I hit 3-iron on 18. It was playing into the wind when we went through. It turned around downwind, so it would be a little bit different now. And 9, I hit 5-iron in.

      Q. That's about typical for 9, isn't it?

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: I saw guys driving it short of the left bunker on 9 this morning. We got past it, so I can imagine this morning guys were hitting two, 3-irons in, I would imagine.

      Q. Chad hit a 3-wood.

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: Really? Yeah.

      Q. Can we get your card real quick, curious on the chip and the long one you made.

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: Chipped in on 18.

      Q. From what side of the green?

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: Left side, short left.

      Long putt was on 15. I made it from the front fringe. Probably 40 feet, maybe.

      I birdied 17 and 18, then No. 8 and 6.

      Q.  What did you do on 8?

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: I hit driver, pitching wedge, made a 20-footer.

      Q. Right of the hole?

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: A little long and right, yeah.

      Q. Did you find your pitchmark?

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: Yeah, it does get firm back there on that green. That's why I hit driver to get it down there to have a shorter club in to be able to hold the green there.

      Q. Were there some greens that were holding better than, for example, 8?

      VAUGHN TAYLOR: They were pretty consistent. There were a few that were a little softer. But you know, it depends on where you pitch it. If you land it in the low spot, it's a little softer. The knobs in the higher parts of the green are firmer obviously. 

      STEWART MOORE: Vaughn, good luck this week.

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PHIL MICKELSON

      Q.  You have to be happy considering the wind and everything today.

      PHIL MICKELSON: I was pleased with the round of 3-under. I know there were some lower scores out there, but I thought it was a good start. The wind was a little stronger than it has been in the past and the wind was the opposite direction than what we're used to here at Riviera. Usually it's off the ocean, so the course played a lot different than what we're used to.

      Q. Are you starting to feel stronger and stronger, I think you had some health problems earlier in the year?

      PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, I was able to get that past me the first week and as time's gone on I've felt better and better, thank you.

      Q. Give us the time schedule with an early tee off time, what time did you get up, the plane, obviously you had no problems at Santa Monica?

      PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, I left a little earlier just to make sure if I had to go to Burbank I was fine, but yesterday no problems with fog, so it was great. I ended up getting in the air at 5:15 and landed at 5:45, so it was no problem.

      Q. As well as you played here the last year in California, does that give you extra motivation to try to win this thing?

      PHIL MICKELSON: I think that -- I love playing the West Coast, and this is the tournament that's eluded me on the West Coast. I've grown up watching these tournaments and I've grown up playing these. This is the second PGA TOUR event I ever played in was the L.A. Open.

      So the West Coast means a lot to me, so to come through and hopefully break through sometime soon and win here in L.A., at Riviera, would mean a lot because these events are so special to me.

      Q. You mentioned this yesterday, and you told us an Saturday, you had putting problems at Pebble, and that sort of through you off more than that bad hole. Did you figure out what you were doing?

      PHIL MICKELSON: You know, I didn't feel as though there was anything mechanically or technically wrong. I just wasn't seeing the right amount of break and I wasn't hitting the right amount of speed. And so I spent a lot of time on some poa annua greens here from 15-, 20-foot range, so I started to get a better speed, a better feel and look at the reads.

      And so I felt very good on the greens today. I putted great. I didn't hit that many greens but I snuck by with very few putts, which was good.

      Q. What happened on 9, the wind in your face?

      PHIL MICKELSON: I hit in the bunker and just, you know, it's the one place you can't go is the left bunker. I hit in the left bunker and had to iron out and didn't hit the best pitch shot and missed about a 25-footer.

      Q. This is like five weeks in a row?

      PHIL MICKELSON: I'm going to play five but two of them I'm staying at home, so it doesn't feel like the drain of traveling it hasn't been that tough.

      Q. Do you feel it coming around?

      PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, it feels pretty close. Today, it was close, not exactly where I wanted it, but I hit a lot of good shots exactly how I wanted it but I also had some more misses. The putter felt good.

      And so if I can putt like that, I should have a good chance on the weekend, and if I start to eliminate a couple of misses like that drive on 9, hitting in the bunker and stuff like that, I should be able to put together some good rounds. I'm looking forward to the next three days.

      Q. You mentioned a little while ago how difficult Riviera has always been for you; is it amazing that no matter how good you are, there's a player, a course that creates problems?

      PHIL MICKELSON: Unfortunately that's true and it's not always fun to accept. I don't feel as though there's anything about Riviera that is uncomfortable. I love the golf course. I love the way it feels. I love the grasses. I even love the kikuyu.

      Last year was a good year for me, even though I didn't win, I played well here, and I felt like having played well, I'm going to try to add this tournament and play here more, because I really do enjoy this golf course.

      Q. Tough to be here on Valentine's Day with your kids?

      PHIL MICKELSON: I'll get home. I'll get home here shortly and we'll have a nice day.

      Q. How did you play 10?

      PHIL MICKELSON: I hit 3-wood just over the green left and chipped up to five feet and made it for birdie.

      Q. A lot of people talk about that hole a lot as being one of the great short par 4s.

      PHIL MICKELSON: I think it's one of the best holes on Tour.

      Q. What makes it so special?

      PHIL MICKELSON: It's a fun hole. It's a fun golf hole. I've seen a lot of guys make 5, 6 and 7 from just off the edge of the green, myself included.

      So the narrow -- the green being so narrow front to back and being pitched front to back, makes for a very difficult wedge shot just to hold the green. Today I hit a great drive, went just over the left edge of green but I have to hit a lob shot over the bunker to a tight little pin.

      I think that -- I saw one guy go from bunker to bunker there. It's just a fun golf hole, a hole you feel you should make three, but in pressing to make three, a lot of guys make five. And it doesn't do it with length. It does it with strategy.

      Q.  Obviously one of the old, classic courses, before real estate, do you like when the guys come back here, sort of, boy, the way it was; do you love playing this golf course?

      PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, I really do. I think everybody enjoys playing here it's such a golf course that requires great strategy and great ball-striking. It's not one where you can overpower. Although there are holes like 10 that are fun, but there are holes like No. 1 where they almost give you a birdie, and yet there are holes -- you come back right with No. 2, that, gosh, it's a tough par, the green is so narrow and whatnot. It's got a great mixture of holes long, short.

      Q. Have you seen any of the tapes for the commercial that you're going to be filming with the end of the month?

      PHIL MICKELSON: I've heard about it. I haven't seen it specifically. I will beforehand but I am looking forward to that, though. I think that will be fun.

      Q. Anything your parents have --

      PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, they have given me some interesting stories. It's been an interesting couple of days for them and I'm looking forward to partaking from that.

      Q. The Taekwondo, is that something you've been doing for a while?

      PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, I've been doing it for a good number of years now and the gentleman I played with, James, was from Singapore and he used to compete in competitions back in the 60s and 70s, as well as he's a master instructor for a couple of decades.

      So we were just sharing some -- actually, he was sharing, I was listening, to some good opening moves to kind of open your opponent up.

      Q. You're flying out of Carlsbad?

      PHIL MICKELSON: Palomar, yeah.

      Q. What does it take, about 20 minutes from your home?

      PHIL MICKELSON: Yeah, 20 minutes, 20 minutes in the air, 20 minutes to drive here, about an hour. It's not bad.

      Q. Kevin Na up on the leaderboard, what do you think of his game?

      PHIL MICKELSON: I've played with him in Phoenix. He's a very solid player. He's got a wonderful golf swing. Gosh, I think he's going to have a great career. I think that it's no surprise to see him up on the leaderboard.

      Thanks, guys.

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JOHN DALY

      JOHN DALY: Wind really picked up on the back nine and made it play a lot tougher, but it's nice to finally get off to a decent start.

      Q. Especially you take away, hey, you're right there in the lead.

      JOHN DALY: Well, eight, nine, 8 was probably a good number because I really hit a bad 3-wood off the tee. I like the way I've had to shorten my swing and it's starting to come around a little bit and I'm starting to play a little better.

      I hit a really good 6-iron on 8, just caught the tree. Otherwise, it would have been really nice, and got to the font and rolled up. It just caught the tree a little bit.

      Q. You're under the weather a little bit?

      JOHN DALY: Yeah, me and my caddie both got the flu. The last two days have been brutal.

      Q. Kevin Na is sick, as well. Is there something about persevering when you're sick and playing decent golf?

      JOHN DALY: Just thank God. I played in the Pro-Am walking down six yesterday and my leg just got really weak and tournament organizers got me some…

      Q. Does that mean you're celebrating Valentine's Day with a nice glass of water and sleep?

      JOHN DALY: Exactly.

      Q. Z-pack is not covered under the drug testing policy --

      JOHN DALY: I don't care. (Laughter).

      Q. You mentioned about getting off to quick starts. You've been unable to do that. Does it make a difference in the way you play, getting off to a great start?

      JOHN DALY: You get some confidence, made a good putt on 1 and made a really good birdie on 3 and then 5. You know, you get off to a start like that, and you feel like you can feed off it for the rest of the day with confidence and shots towards the green.

      Q. Have you found something in your putting? You were talking at the (Bob) Hope you didn't make a whole lot.

      JOHN DALY: Yeah, I added half an inch of shaft to the putter so I could get up more with the ball a little bit and help me with the shorter putts. Butch wants me to shorten my stroke, so added some length, figured it makes it a lot easier to do that.

      Q. When is the last time you saw him?

      JOHN DALY: Just before Pebble. Yeah, we work pretty good. Certainly the swing has been the tough thing because of the wind.

      Q. How much of a commitment is it, working with a coach like him? I know he demands a lot.

      JOHN DALY: Yeah, that's what's great about it. When you have a coach like that, you have to go see him. He doesn't come see you, unless it's majors or World Golf Championships. It's your time with him and it's his time with you, so there's no distractions. He doesn't allow too many people around, maybe a caddie to learn what we're doing. No, it's all serious, and I love Butch Harmon.

      Q. How long were your sessions when you saw him?

      JOHN DALY: About five, six hours.

      Q. What was your conversation about changing your time with Phil in the Pro-Am, was that a difficult decision for you?

      JOHN DALY: No, no, I'm glad he got a hold of me because I was still laying around and I wasn't feeling very good. I guess his plane didn't get in because of fog and I said, that's great, because an hour earlier for me, I can catch the Willie Nelson concert last night.

      Q. We're coming up on a year, close to it, anyway, with the Honda thing. Do you think you're healed now or what's going on now?

      JOHN DALY: Yeah, the muscle, just every time I try and fully swing and follow through, the muscle would pop out. In Pebble, that's the best it's ever felt, because all the way down, he's finally got it to where it pops down from my neck to my buttocks where the whole vertebrae just popped and I could get back in.

      Still, I'm scared to really go at it. I'm scared to take the club all the way back because the muscle is still there, but at least I can shorten the swing and the follow-through.

      Q. There was a rumor or something that you were thinking about a lawsuit and I never heard it from you. Was there any truth to that?

      JOHN DALY: Yeah, there was, but I'm not going after the tournament. On the golf course is where it happened. And the process of getting all the information together doesn't mean I'm going to do it but I might -- (indiscernible) -- my sponsorships and my career for almost a year. It's a tough decision. I'm about 50/50 on it right now. But we're getting information, and nor would I go after Barbara's charity, nor would I go after Jack or nor would I go after the tournament. It would be the golf course where it happened.

      Q. You mentioned sponsorships, how did negotiations go --

      JOHN DALY: I've lost pretty much Hooters and 84 LUMBER and I've got small deals with TaylorMade but not like what I had. Top-125, if I'd stayed in it, all of those sponsorships are still there. But I withdrew from 12 tournaments last year because of being injured. And you have sponsors down your throat saying you have to play in 20 events and you're hurt and having to withdraw from tournaments -- I didn't want to do it. You know, when you're hurt, you're hurt.

      Q. Is that what happened in Phoenix, too? You didn't get an invite there. Do you think that cost you, too?

      JOHN DALY: I think so. I mean, I didn't play good in Phoenix the last two years. But last year, my wife was in prison and I'm going, okay, what about the last 15 years, I've done everything they have ever wanted me to do. I would have wanted to play in Phoenix and Pebble because I can't play Poppy Hills, but I've had good success in Phoenix. I was upset the FBR got ripped for not having me when it was the Thunderbirds that made the decision. And they called my agent and were very upset that I didn't get in. The Thunderbirds make all the decisions.

      Q. How does Hooters drop you? You built Hooters.

      JOHN DALY: I think they might be selling to one of the companies -- I would love to be with Hooters. I think it's a great fit. Still want to be with 84 LUMBER but the market is so bad for homebuilders. The economy is killing a lot of people, especially homebuilders. I know it was a tough decision to drop me, but I think if I would have been able to play and played better…

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GEOFF OGILVY

      Q.  How was it?

      GEOFF OGILVY: It was weird. We had 3, 4, 5 into the wind and 7 comes the exact opposite way. We had 7, 8, 9 straight into the wind, which is not possible. So definitely the whole front nine is felt into the wind and it stuck there and we played, it was sort of stuck where it was on the back nine, but it was weird for a while. It was pretty hard to work out where it was.

      Q. Ball-striking-wise, do you feel like you played too hard or do you feel like you played six or seven --

      GEOFF OGILVY: Not six or seven. I hit it pretty well. It's hard to hit it close out there. I played well. I hit it really well. I eagled the first which is a nice way to start. It was playing pretty short for us, it was kind of downwind.

      I played really solid on my last nine holes. I could have had a couple birdies, but you can't measure. I could have had 2-under on a perfect day today, who knows. I played well.

      Q. How do you keep from getting too frustrated with the wind shifts and changes out there?

      GEOFF OGILVY: It is frustrating but it is just part of playing golf in the wind. It's always going to be a bit odd when you play golf here in the wind because it down in a big valley, and it's going to swirl in the corners and stuff, and I think that's what it was doing today.

      We play a lot of windy days all year on TOUR, and it's just one of those days where you learn to deal with it.

      Q. What went right for you in your game out there?

      GEOFF OGILVY: I hit the ball nicely. I did everything quite tidy, actually. I hit a really horrible tee shot off 12, I think and made a bogey there, and that's really the only bad shot, the only real terrible shot I hit.

      Most of the shots I hit were pretty tidy, and my short game was nice and I made the six- and seven-footers toward the end of the day which is nice, because they are tricky at the end of the day. The greens get a little ropey at the end of the day, so it was nice.

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SERGIO GARCÍA

      Q.  How was it out there?

      SERGIO GARCÍA: On the back nine it got quite cold and quite windy. So it wasn't great today.

      Q. How tough is it to keep your focus in conditions like that?

      SERGIO GARCÍA: Well, you keep your focus but the main thing is the difficulty of pulling the right clubs and guessing right, because, you know, you can still be hitting the right club and if the wind changes a little bit, you get a little gust of wind or something, unfortunately that's the way it is.

      Q. Other guys have been saying they have never seen the wind coming from the direction it's coming today.

      SERGIO GARCÍA: It was coming all over the place. So I think it easily changed five or six times today. But then when you get consistent towards the back nine, towards 17, 16, it definitely, you know, we had some holes that were playing difficult like 9 and 18, and even 17 was playing really long.

      Q. Adam Scott said he felt like he was hitting the ball well but not getting anything out of it because of the conditions. How did you feel with your ball-striking today?

      SERGIO GARCÍA: Definitely the same way. I felt like did I hit a lot of good shots but unfortunately I didn't get anything out of it. You know, some of them were flying just short of the green and staying short and leaving myself a tough up-and-down over ridges and stuff like that. And some others were flying a little bit closer to the pin because the firmness of the greens, and still leaving myself a tough chip.

      So I feel like I didn't hit the ball too bad, and unfortunately the two or three shots I missed, I got punished extremely hard for.

      Q. Disappointed coming here and having these kind of conditions, not necessarily the game, but the conditions?

      SERGIO GARCÍA: Is it disappointing? I guess you have to deal with what you have. Just got to try to get better and hopefully things will come out a little better tomorrow.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports ...

CHARLES HOWELL III

      STEWART MOORE: We'd like to welcome our defending champion, Charles Howell here to the interview room here at the Northern Trust Open. You've played well here in the past, a win, three top six finishes, what is it about Riviera Country Club that seems to suit your eye?

      CHARLES HOWELL III: First off, excuse my voice. In a very L.A. way, I'm trying to do my impersonation of Kiefer Sutherland.

      Q.  We thought it was Jack Nicholson.

      CHARLES HOWELL III: Well, bear with it, it's close. Working on it. (Laughter). We filmed a commercial yesterday, so a lot of yelling and screaming.

      No, I do like Riviera. It's a special place. Not because I've won here; I said I loved this place even when I lost in a playoff to Mike Weir. It's one of the special golf courses where, No. 1, it wasn't built for a housing development, it wasn't built for golf carts. It was built just for pure golf. That's a rarity these days on TOUR.

      Secondly, I have family that lives here in L.A. so it's a real comfortable week for me. My wife's uncle lives in Beverly Hills, so I get to feel like a superstar for at least one week. (Laughter).

      STEWART MOORE: Starting with 2008, let's talk about your season a little bit. I believe this is your fifth event of the year, three Top-25 finishes, so you've been playing consistent. Let's sum up your year so far.

      CHARLES HOWELL III: Well, I had a nice start to the year. Not quite as hot of a start as I had last year, but my goal for this year is to be much more consistent. I think if you look at my records over the past, I've had a bit of the ups and downs to it. If I am going to be the player that I want to be, I have to play more consistently.

      You know, you look at the Jim Furyks or Vijay Singhs of the world, their names are always there and up near the top of that leaderboard a big part of my plan and goals in playing this year is to play a lot more consistent.

      Q. Have you noticed a change in the conditions of the course because of the warm weather? How is it setting up?

      CHARLES HOWELL III: Well, I'm going to go play this afternoon. But I remember last year it was warm. Like Sunday it got to near 80 degrees or something. You know, big changes. The greens were bouncing out and the fairways were running. You know, for the first couple years I played Riviera, it was unbelievably soft. So a lot of the hole locations that were meant to be difficult were easy.

      Not until last year sort of later in the week when the ball started bouncing out did I actually see the golf course firm. I've played here where we had to canoe down the first fairway more times than I have when it's been sunny and warm. So this is a nice change.

      Q. The players are saying that the fairways are firm, the greens are firm and fast, and that there's not a whole lot of rough. What does that add up to?

      CHARLES HOWELL III: Well, the no-rough lends to lower scoring, but the firmer greens lend to a little higher scoring. Then it gets down to, you know, how is the wind going to be? The one thing that moves scores more than anything is the wind. You know, you can grow rough up, you can do whatever you want to do.

      It's the wind that's the biggest factor in my opinion. You know, Riviera has never been known for its rough, I wouldn't say. But it has been known, though, for nasty weather, and this is a change for that. But like I said, when those greens get firm, a hole like No. 10 becomes totally different. That wedge shot in there is not easy when the greens are soft, much less when they are hard.

      Q. Speaking of courses that were not built for real estate developments and also speaking of weather, obviously Pebble Beach last week. I know there's Spyglass, which that wasn't for real estate either, but consecutive weeks you play really good "golf" golf courses, and you've won here. Throw that all in in playing in last week's tournament, this week's tournament; a lot of guys skipped last week, but these are two great tests of government, aren't they?

      CHARLES HOWELL III: You could even go back to San Diego; Torrey Pines. You look at the courses are that we have on the West Coast, Torrey Pines, even Waialae in Honolulu is a great golf course, as well; tough. You look at some of these golf courses, it's real golf. It's not big, huge fairways with big hills and the greens with nine shelves on them. And you see the winners that come out of these places. A guy named Tiger Woods won down there again in San Diego; a struggling rookie, but he's developing. (Laughter).

      You see winners like that, you see the winners that you've had here at Riviera. I think the better golf courses and the better venues lead to better winners.

      Q. Also I notice this is what every golf's dream is to have his sleeves in front of his shirt covered with logos from sponsors. This must be big now for you, huh?

      CHARLES HOWELL III: Well, actually, it's funny you mention that. I just started a relationship with an L.A.-based company in Lexus. What a dream relationship that is for me. Funnily enough, when I turned pro, the first car I bought with my own money was a Lexus, believe it or not. I actually bought it from a dealer in Houston, Texas back when I lived in Oklahoma.

      You know, I've been real lucky to partner with great companies from Bridgestone and now Lexus, Rolex, the Hartford and I've had companies that I'm proud to be associated with.

      You know, I've never viewed companies as sponsors. I'd rather them be partners. It's got to be a win/win on both accounts. You know, the golf can reach and touch so many people. It's hard to do a corporate outing with a basketball player. I mean, what am I going to do, go play with Shaq? Or how am I going to do a corporate outing with a football team? Am I going to go throw balls to Randy Moss? So golf has a very unique way of touching people, because everybody in this room can play it and they can play for a long time.

      Q.  Do you ever feel like a race car with all the logos when you look at yourself in the mirror?

      CHARLES HOWELL III: No, I can't run with a 6.40 40 (40-yard dash). (Laughter)

      Q. When you look back at last year, is there some frustration that you didn't built on this win for the last part of the year, or was it important for the building blocks with short game and driving?

      CHARLES HOWELL III: Good question; both. You know, the start I got off to last year, I was really excited going into the Masters, and you know, all of the tournaments that are now spaced out over the summer, which are really important events, majors and THE PLAYERS Championship, whatnot, and I didn't build on it at all. I really squandered away a really good start to the year.

      But in saying that, I did learn that I needed to improve my driving, No. 1. You know, it's awfully difficult to make birdies driving it in 50 percent of the fairways, and I've spent a lot of time in this latter half of the off-season working on the driving aspect, No. 1.

      You know, and then my scoring, the short game. That's been the one big change I beginning of last year to the end was I was able to turn a 70 into a 68 or a 72 into a 70. Those little shots each day make such a big difference come Sunday.

      You know, not to harp on it, but if you go back to the guys that are at the very, very, very top, say Tiger, Phil, whoever, they always find a way with their short game just to sort of manage something out of the round. You're not going to hit it great for four days but they are always able to find a little bit of something, and that's the one area which I am getting better at.

      Q.  What was the ad you were filming yesterday and where, and is that part of coming to this tournament, do you end up doing some stuff like that more so than otherwise?

      CHARLES HOWELL III: The commercial was for breath stone, it was filmed at Agua Dulce Airpark up in the middle of nowhere. We saw three dead bodies up there, too, which I guess it's remote. (Laughter).

      It was filmed on an airstrip for Bridgestone. It was essentially a golf ball racing a race car. Bridgestone does have a Formula I car, and it was a playoff of the golf ball along with the car.

      I happened to be a commentator for the race, which led to a lot of yelling and screaming, which I'm not known for, and led to a voice that's a little raspy.

      Yeah, luckily we are able to do stuff like that. It's part of relationships with companies and it's what you want to do. The better job we can do with our partners, the better job they can do and it's a win/win. Those things are fun to do and they are always enjoyable and hopefully it turns out well. I'm not an actor by any means, though.

      Q.  Is there more of that going on when you come to Riviera to this tournament, considering the location?

      CHARLES HOWELL III: Yeah, it does make it easier. The crew that was there yesterday was amazing. I know nothing about the movie business, but it's just all the people involved. You know there's a guy to move a light and there's a guy to help a guy move the light and there's a guy to watch him do it and they are all protected by another guy; and if they don't like the food they can walk away and leave. So those are the little tidbits I learned yesterday. (Laughter)

      No, because we are here, it does make it easier for sure.

      Q. Can you talk about this home in Beverly Hills, you say you get to live among the famous people, but do any of the neighbors come over when they know you're there?

      CHARLES HOWELL III: Right down the road, David Beckham lives there. And I didn't know that was his home, until I saw this line of paparazzi last year, which was around the time that he came here. I had no idea. I mean, we don't do this stuff in Georgia.

      But there's cars lined up everywhere outside this house, all of these guys with cameras, I figured Tiger Woods lost his ball over there or somebody lived there, and come to find out it was David Beckham. So, yeah, he's a little more important. He gets recognized a little bit more than I do.

      Q. Have you had a chance to meet him?

      CHARLES HOWELL III: No, I have not. No, no, because he's at the bottom of the hill and at the top is a girl, Britney Spears, I don't know if you've heard of her and she gets a lot of attention, too. Not the attention I want, either. I don't think my partnership with Lexus would be going on very long if I acted like that. (Laughter).

      Q. You made a reference to that Woods fella; a week when he doesn't play, do you approach it as kind of an opportunity for everybody else or is there a little disappointment that you don't have that challenge of going after No. 1?

      CHARLES HOWELL III: It's twofold. We always like Tiger in the field because if you do happen to win the event, you always want to beat him and win an event that he's in.

      And you know, like it or not, he is the guy that moves the needle the most. He is our biggest star. On the flipside, when he doesn't play -- you know, his winning percentage is pretty high these days, so it does free that up a little bit.

      He's a good friend of mine and I do give him a good time about never winning at Riviera, and he will be back here for sure. You know, it is fun when he's in tournaments. I think everybody likes that. It does add a little more buzz to it. These chairs in the media room seem to be a little more filled when he's here. There is a little more attention and the fan interest is a little bigger, and when you see this mass of humanity on the golf course, you always know where he is. There's pluses and minuses to it, but obviously all the more good, though. We all owe the guy, you know, a percentage of what we make just should go to him.

      Q.  You won't volunteer it, though?

      CHARLES HOWELL III: If he asks for it. He deserves it.

      Q. You guys are obviously independent contractors, etc., etc., do you guys talk about, hey, Tiger isn't here or do you just ignore the fact -- like on the range, are there discussions about that?

      CHARLES HOWELL III: I don't think many players talk about it. I think nowadays in the area of the FedExCup and majors, we all pretty much know what his schedule is going to be. Now with the FedExCup, we can all guess what the guy is going to play, apart from one or two events here or there, you know, Riviera, is he going to play Memorial; is he going to play Riviera. You know, there's a couple question marks in there, but I think guys now pretty much know which events he is going to show up at and which ones he isn't.

      I think he'll be back here. He's too competitive to go through his career without a win at Riviera. I think he would want it on his resume, just his competitiveness would want it on there.

      Q. He played here as an amateur here as his first pro tournament.

      CHARLES HOWELL III: Correct. But he couldn't afford the plane ticket, I don't think. I think he got stuck. He just got stuck. (Laughter)

      Q.  I know you're disappointed with the playoff loss to Weir, but bouncing off of that, what does last year do for you, just your psyche and what do you think it will bring you?

      CHARLES HOWELL III: You know, the beginning of last year, I had a two-shot lead with nine to go in Hawaii and lost to Paul Goydos, and then finished second again in San Diego to Tiger. I really never had a great chance to win there.

      But you know, after kind of letting the Sony Open go, it was huge for my confidence to win here. You know, the gap between first and second seemed to get bigger and bigger the more times I did finish second.

      You know, after my first win, I think I finished second nine or ten times before I won again. You know, people always say that you can draw off the past experiences of winning, but when you have nine or ten second-place finishes in between there, it sure doesn't feel like you've won before, so you've got to go through those feelings again, and on top of that, to go into a playoff with Phil Mickelson, and that isn't your easiest guy to go up against, either. And as well as Phil was playing at that time, too, he just won the week before at Pebble. Yeah, it was a lot bigger for my confidence than had Phll got the ball up-and-down on 18 and won the tournament for his own sake.

      Q.  Two-parter about Tiger. You had said last week, as well, you would be disappointed if he didn't play here and he's obviously not. Are you surprised? And the second part of that is you think he'll be back here for sure and we all know how competitive he is, but having missed two in a row now, don't you think it would be hard to actually get this back on his schedule, and has he voiced that to you?

      CHARLES HOWELL III: Well, I'm always disappointed when he doesn't play tournaments that I play. Just from a player's perspective you always want that chance that you can win a tournament that he's in, No. 1.

      And no, I think for sure he will be back. He didn't come straight out and say, "Hey, Charles, I'm going to play next year." But, as well as I do know Tiger and as competitive as he is, I would be very, very certain he'll come back here again.

      Heck, he grew up in Southern California. You've got to remember, too, he just went to Dubai and played. He's not going to play there every year. You know, his schedule will change up a little bit to free up the time to come to here.

      Q.  When rookies like Anthony Kim last year, Jason Day this year, come on to the tour, with a lot of media hype, do you the players, look at guys like that with interest, or do you feel there's so much depth out here, it's just wait and see; there's a lot of golf to be played?

      CHARLES HOWELL III: You know, I look at it with interest because I like to follow golf. I like to read what you guys write and I like to armchair quarterback what you guys write.

      No, I always follow that stuff. I knew Anthony from his days at OU. I knew he was a heck of a player. I knew he was cocky and brash. You know, kind of the intangibles that you probably need to play well out here, extremely talented.

      Jason Day I don't know as well. I know of him but I really don't know him. It's funny, there's always one rookie every year that gets the spotlight. You know, I know because I was lucky enough to have it. And it always comes out; people I think are so desperate for someone to challenge Tiger. I think the fans, the media, you know, people are more intrigued in who is No. 2, as opposed to who is No. 1. They are so desperate for a guy to challenge Tiger Woods, which that adds to the hype of a new rookie every year; who is going to be the guy.

      I think a lot of times where golf is such an individual sport, if you worry about your own game and focus on your own thing, that will take care itself. Tiger always talks about winning and how winning handles everything. And a guy to challenge Tiger on a consistent basis is going to have to win a lot. Listen, we all know that everybody's goal out here is to beat the guy and challenge him. I just think that a lot of times people talk more about it, as opposed to letting the clubs do it for them. 

      Q.  You were just mentioning yourself and you came out with a lot of good reputation; what's it like to be that rookie, and does it put a lot of extra pressure in trying to make it good?

      CHARLES HOWELL III: I think it's twofold. I think No. 1, it's a compliment because people think you have a chance, they think you can play, they think you've done something to deserve the hype and attention and whatnot.

      Secondly, if you listen too much to it or you pay too much attention on it and you lose focus on what you're trying to do, it can be a negative and a distraction.

      You know, I know my rookie year my No. 1 goal was to keep my job the next year. I wanted to learn enough money and earn enough in the Money List and World Ranking just to keep a spot for the following year. You know, it got written that I was going to be the Tiger challenger at age 20. Hell, I wanted a job. Let's make everything -- let's get everything prioritized here.

      So with the depth of fields and how difficult it is and is becoming, you've got to remember that if you throw Tiger Woods out of the way, Phil Mickelson is the greatest golfer we've ever seen besides Jack Nicklaus. If Phil isn't there, you look at Vijay Singh; look at all the tournaments he's won in his 40s. People today and the media today is so impatient that they want great results from you yesterday.

      Sergio García, he's a failure. Really? The guy's had a hell of a career, but in a lot of people's eyes, he hasn't won a major, so he needs to hang it up and quit.

      Q.  But he hasn't won the major, and you haven't reached quite where he is, but he came over and that's the next step for him.

      CHARLES HOWELL III: Sure, but in a lot of lights he's portrayed as a failure or he's portrayed as not reaching where people expect him to be, and if you pay attention to that, it can be detrimental. You have to have enough self-confidence and wherewithal to No. 1, trust what you're doing, trust the people around you and really get stuck in what you're doing.

      You know, Tiger has skewed the bar to an extent where a lot of the times the young players are judged on a little different scale, as opposed to being patient, knowing that the peak of many careers, guys are in their mid to late 30s.

      STEWART MOORE: Charles, thanks so much for coming in this week. Good luck this week.

      CHARLES HOWELL III: Well, that ended abruptly. (Laughter).

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ADAM SCOTT

      JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thank you, Adam, for joining us for a few minutes here in the media center at the Northern Trust Open. Great start to your year with that 61 and that victory. You didn't play the last two weeks, back here on the PGA TOUR for the first time, just talk about coming back out here and getting started and actually starting out with a great start with the beginning of the season.

      ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, it got off to a bit of a flying start I guess. You know, the little bit of work that I did over the holidays seemed to pay off there in the weekend in Qatar, everything was going right. I've had a couple weeks off to kind of get ready and start my year in the U.S., so, you know, I'm really excited to be back here at Riviera.

      Obviously have played well here in the past. It's nice to see the weather looking so good and the course in such good shape, so I'm ready for a big week.

      Q. Do you notice any difference in the course conditions with things being a little bit drier; are the greens rolling a little faster?

      ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, I definitely think the greens are rolling a little faster, the fairways will firm up and definitely running out a little bit more. The rough's down a little bit I think this year. With the greens being in such nice condition and the rough down, I'm pretty sure we're going to have some low scores here this week.

      Q. What did you work on during the holiday?

      ADAM SCOTT: A little bit of work on my setup. Just some posture stuff, and then the same with my putting, actually. Just got a little lazy in my posture, so tried to get that back on track and kind of freed myself up a bit and things were feeling pretty good.

      Q. I know 61s don't happen often.  Can you just describe the sensation of going that low and everything that was going right for you during that round?

      ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, when I've thought about it a couple times and talked to people about it, I think right on the first green, I had about a 20-foot birdie putt and went right in the middle, it was a good speed and good line. That kind of set me up. I mean, the rhythm was right there with the putter, and obviously birdieing the first five holes, I was making everything I looked at and I kind of continued on the way around.

      So some good ball-striking, but really the putter was hot for the day.

      Q. Rumor has it you're going to be playing a little more on The European Tour this year, can you talk about your schedule and how you're going to work that out to play here and there and what caused that decision to play a little more over there?

      ADAM SCOTT: Well, the last two years, I've missed getting my minimum number of tournaments in Europe by one each year, and this year I just decided to commit to getting my numbers up and going for the Order of Merit again. Simply because I played in the Middle East, it's going to be easier for me to do that. It's not necessarily a lot more play in Europe, but it's just a matter of me keeping my membership over there.

      You know, it's pretty similar to what I've done in the past. In '04 and 05, I played full seasons in Europe and the U.S. So just a couple extra tournaments in the Middle East.

      Q. If there's a single quality that is most successful at this course, what would it be, quality of play?

      ADAM SCOTT: This is a ball-striking golf course for sure. I guess we'd call it kind of an old school course, tree-lined and forces you to shape shots off tees and into the greens. The greens are quite small. Small, firm greens need well-struck irons into them. So I think ball-striking is pretty key around here.

      Q. Outside of the fact that you won, do you know much of the history of this course, that it's been around since the 20s and Hogan and that stuff, or does it seep down to Australia, or do guys around here talk about it?

      ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, I think since I've been coming here, I've learned a lot about it. Obviously you can walk through the clubhouse and look at all the photographs on the wall and the history and the players and the events that have been here. Yeah, it's a classic golf club.

      You know, certainly to have won here, unofficially albeit, but you know, it's a special place, and something that I certainly will treasure having been a champion here.

      Q. Golfers I think more than athletes in a lot of sports do pay a lot of attention to history. Even somebody relatively young as you would know the Hogans and Sneads and guys like that. When you were growing up what, did you hear about them?

      ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, absolutely, I think that's one of the great aspects of our game is all golfers are taught to respect the history of the game, and I think that's just respect for the game itself. That's certainly a big part of golf.

      So the game has a great history, it's been around a long time and there have been great champions in the past and great people, and they have kind of paved the way for everyone out here now.

      So, you know, they deserve the respect of the young players, that's for sure.

      Q.  Did you get a little bit, maybe yourself and Charles, do you feel like you get more out of winning a tournament like this? Is the confidence greater? Especially having won here so young, do you get anything different out of winning a tournament like this here?

      ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, I think so. To win on this style of golf course I think is definitely a challenge. Generally they are more demanding than a resort golf course maybe.

      Yeah, I think there's a certain way to play them. I think patience is really important around these kind of golf courses.

      Q. You even just alluded to it yourself; you're saying you won here, but unofficially; do you ever get chided about that or do people joke about that, not having your name officially --

      ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, I have the trophy -- (laughter) -- that says I won the tournament, but it is what it is. I get another chance to win it this year officially.

      Q. It looks like we'll have a good week, we had a good week last week at Pebble and you won obviously in the horrible rain and Monday finish. Did you pay attention to what happened last week or did you watch it at all?

      ADAM SCOTT: I didn't see any of the golf last week over the weekend at all. I don't even know what happened up there actually.

      Q. I assume playing in weather like this is a lot more pleasant?

      ADAM SCOTT: Absolutely. It's had a great effect on the course already, and for us to go out there and play in this kind of weather here is certainly a treat. Normally we're trudging around, lift, clean and place, and it's nice to we get to come out here and play the course properly.

      Q. How well do you know Jason Day, and what do you think about him and do you feel old compared to him?

      ADAM SCOTT: Do I feel old? Yeah, sure I do. (Laughter).

      Jason I know a little bit, and we played a little bit a couple years ago. Obviously I think Jason and Rory McIlroy are the two brightest up-and-comers in world golf at the moment.

      I think they are both phenomenal players. I played with Rory in Qatar the other week for the first time and he impressed me, and Jason impresses me a lot. He seems to have no weaknesses and he's really confident, believes in himself, and I think he's going to go a long way.

      This is an important year for him, though, just to get himself steady out here, and not saying that he can't come out and win tournaments, because he certainly has the ability, but a good, solid year out here would be great for Jason. Sky's the limit for him.

      Q.  Has Jason come to you at all and asked you about how you handled your first couple of years out on Tour?

      ADAM SCOTT: I haven't caught up with him. You know, he was injured at the end of last year, so I didn't see him in Australia. This is my first week back over here, so hopefully I'll catch up with him this week and see how it's going --

      Q. He's not here.

      ADAM SCOTT: So I won't catch up with him this week. (Laughter) Somewhere I'll catch up with him.

      Q. Have you looked to see who you're going to be playing next week at the Match Play?

      ADAM SCOTT: I don't know.

      Q. Speaking of 61, a pro in Orange County told me that you once shot a 61 in a junior event at Los Coyotes Country Club in Buena Park, do you remember how old you were?

      ADAM SCOTT: Yeah, it was U.S. Junior qualifying, and I think I was 16. I shot that around there in the second round to qualify for the U.S. Junior, which was in Aronimink in Pennsylvania that year.

      JOAN vT ALEXANDER: Thanks.

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LUKE DONALD

      DOUG MILNE: Luke Donald, thanks for joining us here at the Northern Trust Open. We appreciate you stopping by for a few minutes. Just take us through some of your off-season activity. You finished out 2007 very well with three Top-15 finishes on the Tour last year. Just off-season.

      LUKE DONALD: Well, I had a relatively busy off-season. I went to Japan and played the Dunlop Phoenix. I went over to South Africa and played in the Nedbank Challenge over there and finished up at Tiger's event. Again, as you said, I started to play a little bit more consistently and hit the ball better those few events.

      Took a few weeks off after that. I think I had four weeks off before going over to the Middle East for the first time and playing in Abu Dhabi and Qatar, but played consistently over there, nothing great, but a lot of positives out of that one.

      Then had another couple weeks off and here I am now. So I've been practicing hard, working hard on my game and feel like I'm moving in the right direction.

      DOUG MILNE: This course here has treated you well. You had Top-15s two of the last three years here. What is it about Riviera that you think suits your game so well?

      LUKE DONALD: Well, actually, I don't think I've performed that well here as a rule. I think I've only made three out of six cuts, and haven't finished as high up as I should do on a very classic golf course that should suit my game.

      You know, I have started to play a little bit better the last few years, as you said, and starting to get to grips with this course. I think it's a course you need to hole some putts on, obviously, and manage your game around here very well. Still, it's a beautiful place to come. I enjoy the golf course. I think it's one of the better courses we play all year, and it looks like we're going to have some good weather this week, which is nice.

      Q. After the Mid East, did you come back to Florida, did you go to Chicago -- can't play golf in Chicago, I know, and when did you show up here?

      LUKE DONALD: Yeah, I went straight back to Florida. Since Christmas I've been in Jupiter, which is where I live in the winter. Temperatures have been perfect there, 80 degrees every day. As you said, quite a bit different to Chicago.

      So been able to get in a lot of good work, a lot of good practice. I got here Monday afternoon.

      Q. And one other thing, I know obviously golf now has become this world game, and you and many of the European and South African players really travel a lot. From the Far East to South Africa to Tiger's tournament, does that wear you down? Do you feel the after effects, or do you go out there and play any time?

      LUKE DONALD: Well, I feel -- I just turned 30 this December, so I still feel fit and young, and if I'm going to do the traveling, I might as well do it right now when hopefully coming into the prime of my golf and my fitness.

      You know, right now, there's so many good events, it's hard to turn down a lot of them.

      It's nice to travel, you know, to experience different places, and there are some very good events at the end of the year, and there's good events nearly every week now. A lot of the top players are struggling to limit events and forget events that they don't want to play in, because there's so many good ones.

      Q.  Two things, one about the Ryder Cup, Ryder Cup year, and people, obviously the players are thinking about it. Is it tough or easy to miss last week?

      LUKE DONALD: It's a place I've actually played well at, Pebble Beach. Watching a little bit of it on TV in glorious weather, you know, you'd love to be there. But there are certain disadvantages. It's a slow tournament. Long, six-hour rounds on greens that are a little bumpier than we are used to. And if you get off to a rough start, and I didn't play very well last year, missing the cut; it just kind of leaves a bit of a bitter taste in your mouth.

      But it's an event I'm sure I will go to again. It's a beautiful place, as I said. It's an event I feel like some of the top players skip, and if I go there, I have a good chance to win because of that. You know, it's a hard decision to miss it.

      What was the other question?

      Q.  About the Ryder Cup, a few months away, but I'm sure particularly with non-American players, it's very, very big, and you've been there.

      LUKE DONALD: I'm sure it's big for the American players, too. I'm sure they are going to try very, very hard to win it back this year.

      It's obviously a huge deal for us, as well, the Europeans, and a huge deal for myself. I've had two very, very memorable Ryder Cups and one of my best experiences on the golf course have been on the Ryder Cups. Lucky to be on two winning teams and I hope I'll be on the team again this year.

      That was part of the reason why I went to the Middle East. One, because I heard a lot of good things about it, and two, because I want to play just a few more events in Europe just to rack up some points.

      Q.  I was going to ask you how many more events will you play on The European Tour this year, having already got two under your belt?

      LUKE DONALD: Not too many more than I did last year, maybe just a couple. But I'll be back -- next time I'll be back is probably Wentworth. I plan on playing Munich, as well, and I think the French Open, as well, which is one I've never played. And obviously the Open Championship, and we'll see what happens from then on.

      Q. How do you think that will impact on your PGA TOUR schedule, because obviously you're starting this year very different.

      LUKE DONALD: Yeah, I've started a little bit differently this year. Obviously not winning last year, I wasn't exempt from Mercedes, and so I thought I would give the Middle East a try, just to start my year there instead of going to Hawaii. I'll probably play one or two more in Europe and one or two more less in the U.S., but it will be pretty similar. It won't be a big difference.

      Q. How do you normally determine which tournaments to play and which tournaments to skip? What factors into that decision?

      LUKE DONALD: For me, the big factors are where they fall on the schedule and what kind of golf courses they are, and if I feel like I'm going to be successful on them.

      I generally like to play two or three in a row, have a week or two off, and go that way. You know, it doesn't always work that way, but it's a little bit to do with courses you've played at and played well before, and where they fall in the schedule.

      Q. A lot of casual fans, casual golf fans, they are interested in the tournament depending on whether Tiger is there or not. As players, do you guys really -- how do you approach that? Obviously it matters if he's there or not, but do you change your approach? Just what's your philosophy about that?

      LUKE DONALD: Well, the way he's been playing, you probably feel like you have a little bit of a better chance to win if he's not in the field, just to be honest. Every time he's playing, he's finishing first or second since the middle of the summer. So he's obviously a dominant player in the game right now, and deserves to be the best player in the world and have that title.

      I don't think I approach an event any different whether he's in the field or not. I'm going out there trying to play my own game. It doesn't really matter what he's doing. I can't control that, and all I can control is the way I'm playing and hopefully make a few birdies and have a chance to win.

      I would say in general, though, I'm playing a lot of events that he's playing in. And whether that's why I've only won two tournaments on the PGA TOUR, I'm not sure. (Laughter) But I think if you look at my schedule and his schedule, I think we play a lot of similar events.

      Q.  You talked about consistency in your game and everything, is there any particular thing that you've worked on in the off-season to try to be more consistent?

      LUKE DONALD: My coach and I really went through our statistics at the end of the year, and studied my swing, actually, quite a lot, past swings from years before and the last six months. It felt like my swing was getting a little bit laid off, a little bit shut off at the top and it was causing me to come into the ball with my hands too high and I was getting a lot more inconsistent strikes, a lot more inconsistent shots.

      So the last, really, four weeks or so, I've really worked hard on changing that and getting my swing into better positions where I feel I can hit the ball more consistently, you know, and improve those statistics and think about every week going through the process of getting better. And doesn't necessarily result in better results all the time, but I think if I keep getting better, then soon enough my results will improve and I'll give myself more chances to win.

      Q. You mentioned earlier that Riviera is one of the courses, classic courses, you feel that should suit your game. On the PGA TOUR, which would be the top two or three where you really feel comfortable?

      LUKE DONALD: That's a tough one. There are obviously courses you come to and you feel like, "I'm going to play well here." I have actually played quite well at Augusta. I've had a third place and a Top-10 there in three years. Torrey Pines I've always played decent at. Trying to think of some others -- I play well at the Byron Nelson. I think I've had 12 consecutive rounds in the 60s or something like that.

      There are certain courses you just go there and they don't seem as hard to me as they are to other players for some particular reason.

      You know, Tiger, obviously, loves the Buick. He seems to be able to hole putts where other people can't at Torrey Pines. There are certain courses that definitely suit others better than others.

      Q. The first two courses you mentioned, Augusta and Torrey are both courses where Tiger feels very comfortable --

      LUKE DONALD: And our games aren't exactly that similar.

      Q. Looking forward to the Open, obviously.

      LUKE DONALD: Yeah, I actually have not played Torrey Pines in the last couple years. It just hasn't worked out with my schedule. I had a couple runners-up places in a row back in I think '04 and maybe '05. It's a place I've had some success. I'm sure it will be a little bit different golf course come June, but it's a nice golf course.

      Q. You mentioned two of the major venues this year; what about the other two, Birkdale and Oakland Hills? How do they set up for your game and what are your experiences?

      LUKE DONALD: No experience at Birkdale. I've actually never played it.

      My plan is probably to skip Loch Lomond this year. Although, I do not really want to. I've played well there; that's another golf course I've played very well at. I feel like if I'm going to improve my chances at the Open Championship, improve my record, I probably need to spend a little bit more time on links golf leading up to the Open.

      So I'm sure I'll get there -- I'll definitely be n there in May for the R&A day. That will be my first look at Birkdale. Oakland Hills. My only experience there is the Ryder Cup. I've heard they have changed the course a little bit, but obviously a very strong, kind of typical major-style golf course and a good test. You know, I enjoyed my time there. We were a winning Ryder Cup team, so it was a memorable place.

      Q. The comments by Ian Poulter recently about Tiger Woods and the No. 2 position in the world; did you see those, and were you one of the guys texting him giving him a hard time about it?

      LUKE DONALD: I'm sure he got enough hard times from other people, so we'll leave it at that. (Chuckling).

      DOUG MILNE: Luke, thanks for coming in and best of luck this week.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports ...

(The sixth of 37 events in the PGA TOUR Regular Season)

Pebble Beach, CA February 7-10, 2008 FedExCup Points: 25,000 Purse: $6,000,000

Pebble Beach Golf Links (PB) Par/Yards: 36-36—72/6,816

Spyglass Hill Golf Club (SH) Par/Yards: 36-36—72/6,953

Poppy Hills Golf Club (PH)) Par/Yards: 36-36—72/6,833

Final-Round Notes – Sunday, February 10, 2008

Steve Lowery carded a final-round 68 and claimed his third career PGA TOUR title at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am with a playoff win over Vijay Singh. With his win, Lowery collects 4,500 FedExCup points and moves into third on the 2008 FedExCup points list. Singh earns 2,700 points and moves into 11^th on the points list. J.B. Holmes moved ahead of K.J. Choi and into first place on the FedExCup points list with 5,010 points.

Lowery’s playoff win today brings his all-time PGA TOUR playoff record to an impressive 3-0. His only prior TOUR titles, the 1994 Sprint International and the 2000 Southern Farm Bureau Classic, both came in playoff victories.

Singh’s all-time playoff record on the PGA TOUR is now 7-3. He lost the 2006 Mercedes-Benz Championship to Stuart Appleby and the 2005 Honda Classic to Padraig Harrington.

Singh’s runner-up finish is the 25^th of his PGA TOUR career and his first since the 2007 Canadian Open.

Singh moves past Davis Love III and into second place on the tournament’s all-time money list with earnings of $2,907,415

Prior to his win today, Lowery was playing 2008 on a Minor Medical Extension after suffering a wrist injury in 2007. He entered the season with eight starts in which to earn $282,558, which would couple with his 2007 earnings of $502,622 to equal No. 125 on the 2007 money list. After today’s win, Lowery is fully exempt on the PGA TOUR through the 2010 season.

Today’s playoff marked the first at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am since 1992 when Mark O’Meara defeated Jeff Sluman on the first playoff hole to claim the fourth of his record five titles.

Lowery’s winning score of 10-under 278 is the highest winning score at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am since Johnny Miller claimed the title with a total of 7-under 281 in 1994.

Lowery was only 1-under for the tournament and in danger of missing the cut through three holes in Saturday’s third round before righting the ship and playing his last 33 holes in 9-under.

Second-year PGA TOUR player John Mallinger fired a final-round 65 on Sunday, thus earning a T3 finish, his second straight top-5 finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Mallinger’s 65 is the lowest final-round score at the event since 2001, when Davis Love III shot 63 on Sunday en route to winning his first of two AT&T titles.

Mallinger was one of only five players on the day to record rounds in the 60s: Mallinger (65), Corey Pavin (66), Steve Lowery (68), Mike Weir (69), and Shane Bertsch (69).

Dudley Hart birdied the last three holes to finish T3, his best on the PGA TOUR since a playoff loss at the 2004 EDS Byron Nelson Championship. More importantly, Hart earned $312,000 for his finish and now has $322,971 in earnings this year. With his current Major Medical Extension, Hart needs to earn $162,960 in his next 12 events to become fully exempt for 2008.

Three rookies on the PGA TOUR managed to record top-10 finishes this week: Jason Day (6), Dustin Johnson (T7), and Y.E. Yang (T9).

Former UCLA star Corey Pavin’s T3 finish today is his seventh career top-5 finish in the state of California, including four wins (two each at the Northern Trust Open and the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic).

Lowery’s win today marks the first come-from-behind win in the final round at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am since 2002, when Matt Gogel erased a four-shot Pat Perez lead in the final round to claim his only PGA TOUR title.

Three players not otherwise exempt for next week’s Northern Trust Open finished inside the top 10 this week; however, due to the strength of field next week, they will be placed on the alternate list. Should they not get in, that exemption would carry over to the following week – Jason Day (6), Dustin Johnson (T7), Nicholas Thompson (T7), Y.E. Yang (T9), and Brent Geiberger (T9).

Corey Pavin (66) was the only player in the field to record a bogey-free round on Sunday.

Steve Lowery’s statistics for the week:

Statistic        Rank

Driving Accuracy:  39 of 55 70.9 percent  T38

Greens in Regulation:  47 of 72 65.3 percent  T28

Putting Average:  1.596     2nd

Driving Distance:  266.3 yards    30th