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BUICK INVITATIONAL

January 27, 2006

Tim Clark

LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA

TODD BUDNICK: We thank Tim Clark for stopping in after a 10 under after two rounds, a little 66 on the North Course today. Outside of the bogeys on 17 and 18, Tim, a very nice day for you.

TIM CLARK: Yeah. I got off to an okay start but then bogeyed 17 and 18. I felt like I should be birdieing 18 at least. So that's not very good out there. I was losing a lot of ground. I obviously just played great on the back nine, I think 6 under, and it got me right back in it.

TODD BUDNICK: You're coming off a career year last year, 21st on the Money List. What kind of things did you work on in the off season to continue that progression?

TIM CLARK: I didn't touch a club in the off season. That's what I did. I had about three weeks off and I did absolutely nothing. I was back in South Africa, fished a little bit, pretty much did nothing. It feels good to have it back, and I'm glad I didn't lose too much of what I've gained last year. Last week I struggled just to make the cut and had to do what I do and get the rust out, and obviously I've done that.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIM CLARK: I think at the end of it, it sometimes comes down to driving accuracy. I feel this week I've really driven the ball well. Really that's what it boils down to. I felt like yesterday on the South Course I had loads of chances for birdies, and I think I had 30 putts and still shot 4 under out there.

So I hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens, and I kind of did the same today around the North Course, just managed to make a few more putts. That's the key to playing on a tight course is hitting it in the fairway. That's sort of what allows me to enjoy playing these type of courses.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIM CLARK: A little bit. Especially the end of my first nine, which was the back nine. I said these are probably the five easiest holes on this course, I need to play them at least 2 , 3 under and I ended up playing them even, so that kind of hurt me. The back nine I said forget about it, let's just make as many birdies as we can and try and get back into it. Really 4 under and I'm right back in the tournament.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIM CLARK: I enjoyed it. I've played it before and I think I had 66 around there a couple years ago. I feel it really sets up well for me with it being so tight and the rough being as it is. Obviously the greens are pretty receptive right now, which does make it a little bit easier for me.

Q. When you take time off, what part of your game when you come back (inaudible).

TIM CLARK: Normally it's going to be the scoring, the short game. Sometimes the short game isn't necessarily bad, but you just kind of forget hanging it around and grinding it out. Again, that's when I try last week I wasn't playing particularly well, but I said let's at least make this cut. I finished 61st but was quite happy to have come around on Saturday to make the cut. I think once you get into that mode of tournament play and making a score, then you're back to where you were.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIM CLARK: Yeah, exactly. It doesn't really concern me too much. Obviously this is an extremely tough Tour we're on, and it takes a lot to win. I've had a few chances. Last year I had a few more. I just really wanted to get myself into contention more often, and I did that last year.

Now I feel like this year is possibly the year to win. But you can't force it. Like I say, I want my game to continue improving. Sometimes you can play great and not win tournaments, and sometimes you can play sort of mediocre golf and somehow come out with a victory. A lot of things have to go right for you in a given week, and obviously that is going to be my main goal this year is to win an event.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIM CLARK: Well, I think I'm just starting to get more and more comfortable on the Tour over here. Like I said, it's a very demanding place to play. I just feel like I'm getting more comfortable the more I play. I feel when you start getting 4 or 5 under in a round I don't get nervous anymore, I'm more like let's get it to 8 , 9 under kind of thing. It just comes down to comfort level.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIM CLARK: It's really all between the ears. It's getting confidence in yourself, believing that you can compete and play well and win. Really it's about self belief really.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIM CLARK: Just different competition I'd say. Obviously I do feel more comfortable over there. I go there and feel like I can win this week. Obviously I want to feel like that over here, too. I've won three times there out of a limited number of starts, and obviously I've proven to myself that I can win over there so I feel more confident. There's no doubt, this is the toughest Tour to win on, and the fields at the top are always much more bunched.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIM CLARK: I played over there once last year. I just managed to win I go over the week before the British Open and play, and I play the British Open and I come right back here. I don't have sort of any odd schedule where I'm there and here and there and here. I play in South Africa in the off season, I play the events that are there. I play the week before the British Open. It's just sort of part of my schedule. I like to get over there a week before and sort of prepare. Yeah, I'm not sort of into that role where I'm jumping back and forth. This is where I want to play my golf. I've been here ten years now.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIM CLARK: Yeah, it definitely does. I think probably making the first time I made it a couple years ago. That really got me my start. It got me some confidence. I played well in South Africa, and that's probably jump started my play the last couple of seasons. It's always an honor to make a team like that. Really it's almost a world team barring the Europeans. It's sort of an honor to be paired with those great players. I sort of feel like I'm at that level of Ernie Elses, Retiefs, Mike Weirs, multiple winners and major winners. That's still something I'm driving toward.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIM CLARK: The PGA, yeah, it did come quite fast. Again, I was able to go there and play well in the tournament, which made it a lot better. I think had I gone and had a bad tournament, it might have affected me in a negative way. But I played well, and I think that just allowed me to say, hey, I can play with these guys and do deserve to be here, and I think it's a lot to do with my success last year.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIM CLARK: Yeah, it does a lot. The previous seasons I didn't get off to a great start, and then you're always trying to catch up, catch up. You start thinking about your card early in the season, which you shouldn't be doing. If you're playing decent golf, you're going to have a lot of good tournaments throughout the year. To get off to a good start, it gets all the doubt out of the way, and from there you can play aggressive golf, take some of the weight off your shoulders and you've got $400,000 or $500,000 before you've even left the West Coast.

It's important to get off to a good start, I think.

Q. (Inaudible).

TIM CLARK: I've been here ten years between coming over to college and all that. I turned pro in the States, and my first year was on the Nationwide Tour, I guess. So really I've always been over here.

The reason I got into playing European Tour events is they have an event in South Africa, and I won it four years ago. That's sort of what happened. Most people think I played the European Tour, and I told them, I've only played about 15 events on the European Tour in my career.

This is the Tour where I've always wanted to play, and I have a home now in Scottsdale, but I enjoy it over here.

Q. Who's winning the bet?

TIM CLARK: Well, no one is really winning. It's the first guy that cuts his hair loses. Myself and Adam and Sergio are going to have a meeting and I think we're going to get Sergio disqualified because his is looking a little short at the moment. I think we've also agreed that anyone who shoots 80 has to shave his head. There might be a couple withdrawals from Augusta this year.

Q. How do you decide which tournaments to play?

TIM CLARK: I probably 95 percent make my decisions on the golf course pretty much. I have a certain style of game, and I have to try and play where it suits me. Going off to a course where you can bomb it and hit it anywhere and still get it up on the green, that's not going to suit me at all.

This course here sets up really well for me, and that's really how you make your schedule. Obviously next year I think everyone is very excited about the new changes. But it certainly does condense the year, and it's almost tough to find a week to take off. I've been looking at the schedule and thinking when am I going to get a break here? It's going to get interesting.

TODD BUDNICK: Let's go through your card. Birdie on No. 11?

TIM CLARK: 11 is probably the longest hole out there, I think, at least one of them.

14, the par 5, I missed my second shot in the right rough and had a tough up and down there and knocked it up to about 20 feet and actually made a really good putt there for birdie.

Bogey on 17, just came up short in the rough and left my chip short and actually had to get it up and down for bogey there.

And then on 18, was between clubs and I sort of tried to hit a cut 3 wood into 18, caught a bit of a flier and I think I was right next to No. 10 tee box, almost on the tee box. I left myself no shot there, and again, left it short of the green and made bogey.

1, just missed the green short left, got it up and down, just a sort of chip and putt there.

2, drove it just in front of the green, didn't think I could hit it that far, just had a pitch there and chipped it to a couple inches, almost made 2 there.

Then 4, hit a driver, 6 iron to about seven feet and made the putt there.

5, driver, wedge to about five feet.

8, driver, wedge to four feet.

9, I got it up and down from just in front of the green. I played my hybrid up there to probably about five feet.

End of FastScripts.

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