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FBR OPEN

February 2, 2006

Paul Stankowski

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA

Q. It's kind of like if you're not on the leaderboard all the time, you're not striking the ball well, it's like you can walk through and nobody really talks to you. But Paul, you and I were talking because I said this is a good year, isn't it? What a good way to get the ball rolling.

PAUL STANKOWSKI: It was nice to get off to a decent start, the first round of golf since February competitively anyway, so it's been almost a year. I'm encouraged. I felt good out there. Yeah, it was good.

I've been home for a long time, so it was nice to I'm glad you're not Roy Firestone, I might have started crying.

Q. You know, when you and I talked the other day, we go back in a relationship for quite some time. You've always been so gracious throughout your career. But I sensed something a couple days ago where you were saying to yourself can I do this and can I get back out here and can I get this done, and it was almost like you were trying to give yourself a boost of confidence, but at the same time you were telling me how much you've enjoyed being home with the family, as well.

PAUL STANKOWSKI: Absolutely. Being home has been great. I was really forced into it, being injured, but that was probably the biggest blessing I've ever had in my life. I've enjoyed the year and a half being home. It's been amazing. Talking to you the other day, I had no idea if I could be competitive. I've been out of it for so long. Two months ago I was going to have to retire. I couldn't hold a golf club. I ran into a therapist out there in Dallas, Troy Van Beisen, that saved my career.

Yeah, I'm thankful to go out and shoot 4 under the first time out. I was nervous early. I performed all right, so it was a good start.

Q. You mentioned the doubts in your mind. As a golfer, is it more mental? You had so much time to think about what you're doing. You analyzed your swing. I know basketball wise, it was just getting out there, feeling good again, feeling healthy, and it was a lot easier from a basketball standpoint, recooping from an injury. Once you got knocked around a couple times you felt right at home. More mental or physical with the golf game?

PAUL STANKOWSKI: A little bit of both. I mean, obviously golf is hugely mental. I probably never have been very solid mentally. That's probably been my weakest link in the sense that I kind of just float around out there. I don't really focus too much and I hit the ball quick because if I stay over it too long I'll forget what I'm doing.

So not playing for so long, I didn't have any bad thoughts or good thoughts. I spent some time with my teacher the last couple weeks and played with my brother out in California a couple days last week. You know, I just started hitting some decent golf shots, and I hadn't shot under par. I played 12 rounds of golf and it took me 10 rounds to shoot under par.

Last year I played out at Shady Canyon with a couple friends of mine and I shot a couple under par for the first time. I'm like, well, that was a start. Then I shot under par again, shot under par again. Then I came out here having only shot three rounds under par.

I didn't have anything negative to go on, but at the same time good shots breed confidence when you haven't played. Just like you probably with basketball, once you do it a couple times, you're like, "All right, this is easy."

And in golf, I started hitting the ball, and it's cutting off the tee, and my irons were cutting and my balls were going near the hole, and it was like, "All right, I think I'm ready."

From there on it was just trying not to shoot myself in the foot mentally. Today I played fast enough that I never did that.

Q. Not the fact that it's strange that he's at 4 under, but when Paul Stankowski says, "I was nervous," that sounds strange to me because you always have seemed so comfortable. You've always pretty much done your own thing, and you come out here and it just seems like you've always walked to the beat of a drum of a very relaxed person. And to hear you say nervous, that really just surprises me.

PAUL STANKOWSKI: Golly, there was nerves, uncertainty. I had no idea how I was going to play. That's the thing, I had no clue if I'd be ready. I came out this week with zero expectations, and when I got here and started hitting it better, I'm like, "Okay, okay, now I think I can do something here."

But at the same time, I talk to my wife at home, and I'm like, "I think I'm hitting it good enough to compete, but I know I'm not supposed to have any expectations," so I'm stuck in the middle.

It's all about hitting good golf shots and just thinking your way around the golf course. Out here it's a birdie fest. You know, the weather's perfect, the crowds are awesome this week, and this is early Thursday. Tomorrow, come that back nine, we're going to see how in check my adrenaline is on the back nine.

I'm just thankful to be out playing again, and it's awesome.

End of FastScripts.

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