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BMW INTERNATIONAL OPEN

September 2, 2006

Thomas Bjorn

MUNICH, GERMANY

Q. Played well?

THOMAS BJÖRN: Well, I said there are a lot of good things around the corner and there are. I'm doing a lot of the right things.

It was just one of those days. That putt on the last pretty much summed it up when it goes two times around the hole. You know, every time I miss a fairway, it was just chop it out. And I never really got any of those breaks that you need to get around going.

And then I got a good run, 11, 12 and 13 and felt very comfortable with the golf and hit a loose drive on 14 and made bogey. And hit a drive a little bit left on 15 and all of a sudden I went up against the tree and if there, it just went into the thick rough.

I kept it pretty well together birdieing 16. Straight shot at the flag and the last hole was a bit unfortunate. But it's been one of those weeks where there's a lot of good golf and it's just not really turning into some great scores. But the golf is my golf is on the right track. That's the important thing for me.

You know, it's all down to Woosie. So far he kind of learned a lot about Lee and me this week, that's for sure. So it's all about what he thinks and who he thinks is going to improve his team. I think pretty much everybody at the moment thinks Darren is a certainty, and I've said all along that I that he should play. I think he's a good asset to the team, and I hope he's picked and then he pecks two, maybe three players apart from that. It's all what he feels like.

Q. There's going to be a lot of emotion at The K Club, do you think he'll cope with it?

THOMAS BJÖRN: Darren is a tough guy. He deals with emotions well. He has dealt with I think the last two to four years probably better than any other human being I know. He's gone through hell and he's dealt with it very, very well. He obviously has had some hard moments, but he's dealt with that well. I think because he's dealt with it so well, I wouldn't have any worries about sending him out in as important match as the Ryder Cup is. There's probably going to be a few moments at the Ryder Cup that it's going to be difficult, and Heather will surely be missed there because she was such a big part of the whole thing, as well. But knowing Darren as well as I do, I think he will I think he'll do really well. I think it's a great boost. It would be a great boost for him, and if Darren gets a boost, then he'll be a great boost for the team as well good Darren.

Q. Darren and you are very close friends, Darren and Lee are very close friends. It's tough all around, isn't it?

THOMAS BJÖRN: All three of us have great friendships over the last ten years, literally since the Ryder Cup at Valderrama we've been very close. I'm very close to Lee and I said it this week as well, you know, it becomes just a little bit harder because it's Lee and me, but our friendships goes beyond golf. All of us really want to be there, all three of us want to be there, but our friendship goes way beyond that, and that's, you know, there's only room for two of us and that's just the way it's going to be. I would not like to be the one missing out just solely because I feel like my golf is going in the right direction. Woosie needs to juggle the cards and say, who can I pair with who and who can I get the most out of.

I don't think when it comes down to the golf, you wouldn't worry about any of the three of us to stand on the first tee and hit that first golf shot for sure open. We've all been there before and we're all capable of that. From a golf point of view, I don't really think there's that many issues. You know, there's arguments one way or the other, but it comes down to Woosie can match his team the best.

Q. The four of you have a bond there?

THOMAS BJÖRN: Woosie since Valderrama has been very close to me. He took me under his wing during that whole week, and you know, we have a close relationship that way. But I'm quite sure that won't affect his decisions tomorrow.

I think he just has to go with what he thinks anybody can do for the team, and there's a lot of different things, he just needs to see what he can use the best. And all in all, you know, it's my fault and it's Lee's fault not having played any better the last year.

Q. Last time you were an assistant captain; you said you wanted to play your way back on to the team. If you were to miss out, would it make it easier missing out to Lee?

THOMAS BJÖRN: If I miss out tomorrow, I'll be devastated not being a part of that, because I want to be a part of it, and I think this is one of the finest Europeans teams we've ever had. It has a very good mix and balance of a lot of things and I really want to be a part of it. So does Lee.

It's not going to be easy. And it's going to take a while to kind of let it sink in and I think Lee will feel the same. But golfing life goes on and a few weeks down the road, everything will be back to normal and the Ryder Cup will be over with and then we carry on as usual.

Q. What do you think Ian Woosnam brings to the European Ryder Cup Team?

THOMAS BJÖRN: It won't be dull. Woosie has a great respect of the players, and you know, he will bring a lot of great team spirit into that team. He will get everybody fired up the way that they should be fired up. You know, it's always difficult at the Ryder Cup to manhandle everybody, and he has to go in and do that. He has to try and understand every single player and I think he has a pretty good idea about how everybody is going to react.

You know, he will do fine. Captaincy, you're only as good a captain as your players and he has a wonderful bunch of players. Hopefully all 12 of the players that are going to go are going to perform like the 12 that went the last time. That was out of this world and if they perform anywhere like that, they are going to win easy again.

Q. Has Woosie been as up front as what he's doing?

THOMAS BJÖRN: He's kept his cards very close to him and captains do things different ways, and I think Woosie has been in a situation where he hasn't really known what was going to happen last few weeks. He's been very quiet. I'm sure with the players that have been in the team for a long time, he's had some good conversations with them and he has a very good idea of what he wants to do.

You know, on the top of the head, it's very easy to see for me how he's going to handle the players and handle the whole team. His pairings in my eyes are sitting right there in front of him. I don't think he's going to have that many problems. You know, I don't think he's going to go into it being worried. I think his biggest worry is going to be how he's going to putt the team out.

Q. Some of the European players are saying this week that they are really getting a little worried about the Americans; despite having four rookies, they are looking leak a very strong opponent.

THOMAS BJÖRN: Well, there will never be a day when the American team doesn't look strong on paper and that will always be the case and it will be for many years to come. People talk about us being favourites. For me, it's difficult on paper to say a European Team is the favourite. Yeah, we're favourites because we won it the last well, we've won five out of seven. So, you know, on paper, yeah. On that merit, you look like favourites. But player for player, I would say, you know, it would be an unbelievable disappointment in America if they don't win, and that's very rarely happens when a favourite if you're not favoured, if you lose, then the disappointment will be over with quick. I think they will be very disappointed if they don't win this one.

Q. Inaudible?

THOMAS BJÖRN: Well, Henrik (Stenson) is a great friend of mine and I know him better than most. I'm in a situation where I know a lot of the players very well on that team, and there's certain groups of players, Robert (Karlsson) and I used to play a lot of golf together so I know him very well. From that perspective I know a lot of the players very well, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to play well with them. Woosie is going to do what he thinks is right.

I have a great relationship with all 12 or all 11 and the captain, and I'll have a great relationship with them afterwards, as well. See, nothing is going to you know, I don't think was we is going to look at those things, I think he's just going to look and see, well, how can I pair people and who is going to be I'm going to need a couple of guys that can, if things go wrong during practise, if things or somebody starts playing very well, I need somebody I can throw in pretty much with everybody, and unfortunately for Woosie, me and Lee both fit in that category. We can play golf with anybody.

End of FastScripts.

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