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WGC BRIDGESTONE INVITATIONAL

August 26, 2006

Stewart Cink

AKRON, OHIO

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Stewart Cink, thank you for joining us, currently the leader in the clubhouse after a third round 64 here at the Bridgestone Invitational.

Great day for you, no bogeys and six birdies. Maybe some opening comments about a good day.

STEWART CINK: Well, thanks. It was a very, very good day. I played well all the way, and when I made mistakes I was able to save pars, and on this golf course it's so tough, it feels very much like a major out there. When you play a course like this, you know you're going to be confronted with those kinds of situations.

Today I rose to the occasion and was able to save myself and save a good round.

Q. Where particularly did you save your round do you think? Pick one hole.

STEWART CINK: No. 3. I hit it just an awful shot off the tee. I mean, they wouldn't see shots that bad in the club championship here. Way right and off the top of the club, it was almost like a sky slice. I got behind some trees, had to chip straight sideways, had about 140 left and had to chip it about eight feet and made the putt.

Q. From the trees you just pitched back to the fairway?

STEWART CINK: Yeah, I had nothing except straight out to the fairway because there was a pond in front of the green and I had to take a low shot and I wouldn't have been able to do it. That was a big save because I really missed an opportunity on No. 2 making par there, and the good par on 3 kept me even, and then I birdied the next two holes. So I had some good momentum after that.

And then I had another good save on 6 where I hit behind some trees off the tee and saved there from about 55 yards out and hit it to about two feet.

Then I settled down, and other than No. 15 I really didn't have any other real tough par saves. I was putting for birdies most of the day.

Q. Does this feel like deja vu all over again?

STEWART CINK: Any time you're in this situation it feels a little different. Last time I was in here, being the leader after three rounds, it was by five shots. So it was a new position for me to be in. So here I've got a lot more of a dog fight on my hands. I don't control my own destiny near as much as I did that time. So it feels quite a bit differently.

But the one thing that is a common thread between the two is I've played well and putted well this week.

Q. I don't remember exactly what you said two years ago, but it would apply anyway. Is there any sense of relief or freedom or lack of tightness when you've been in a race to make a team and now we're done with it and now we're just back to golf?

STEWART CINK: Yeah, there's no question. That sense of relief you're talking about is evident with me, Davis, Lucas, all the guys that were borderline or pressing hard to make the team. You can see it this week that everybody has sort of exhaled and now we're just back to playing regular golf again instead of the Ryder Cup process. It's resulted in a lot more calmness out there for those guys, including myself, and a lot better shots sometimes.

Q. When you talk about it feels like a major out there, is it more about the course, more about the field, maybe a little bit of both?

STEWART CINK: It's everything. I mean, the course is extremely demanding. We've got the type of rough you normally see in a major, we've got the narrow fairways, the long par 4s, the fast greens, everything. It's just a really impressive place to play right now the way it's set up. I hope it doesn't rain too much because this course is just primed for a tournament, especially for a Sunday finish.

Q. If it rained, that would be another thing in your favor, wouldn't it, if we're looking back?

STEWART CINK: Well, it rained the last time I was here, so actually if it rains that's okay with me. The golf course is just playing it's so demanding out there right now. I'd hate to see it get drenched tonight and come out for us to come out tomorrow and it be totally different, but it may happen. I think everybody is more prepared for a birdie fest tomorrow if that's the case.

But if I had my way with it, I'd rather it stay like it is now because I think it's more of a test and more of it's really identifying who's playing the best.

Q. Is it a tougher test than last week?

STEWART CINK: It's tougher than last week. The fairways are harder to hit, the greens are faster, the greens are more firm. Last week I think was a product of the grass on the fairways and the greens just didn't have a lot of real good root structure so the balls were just hitting and making craters, like astroids hitting the moon, just huge craters, and the balls weren't going anywhere.

This week if you don't hit it solid, it's probably going over. You need to spin the ball. The only way to do that is with crisp contact and the only way to do that is to stay nice and calm, hit it in the fairway.

Q. Are you a little surprised, whenever Tiger gets near the end, and certainly his recent form has been winning form, are you a little surprised that he kind of came back towards y'all today?

STEWART CINK: I was surprised. I looked at the leaderboard today on 13, I believe, I looked over at the 12th green and I saw that he had made some bogeys or a double or triple. I didn't know what it was because they don't show it hole by hole. But I saw that and I birdied two holes and I went from like five shots behind into like one shot behind.

Yeah, I was a little surprised because it's Tiger Woods and the way he's playing lately. But the way the course is, anybody, even the great Tiger Woods, can make some bogeys out there. It's just with him it's only a matter of time until he gets back on the birdie streak again, I'm sure. He is a human being and he's going to make mistakes just like everyone else. It's just when he's playing his best, he seems to make fewer of them.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: If we could touch on your score card and we'll maybe take a final question. First birdie of the day came on No. 4.

STEWART CINK: We already talked about 3, that was a big hole. Then 4, I hit the fairway, which is almost impossible to do there with the fairways rolling this fast and hit a 6 iron about 20 feet, made the putt.

5, hit a 7 iron about ten feet.

8, drove it down the fairway again, and that's a hole where if you hit fairway you're rewarded with a lot of yards. I hit an L wedge in there about 15 feet and made that.

Then 12, hit a 6 iron about 20 feet.

13, pitching wedge eight feet.

17, I missed the green right in the first cut of rough and chipped in. It was about a 20 foot chip.

Q. What did you hit in there?

STEWART CINK: I hit an 8 iron from the right rough and hit that in the right rough.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Stewart Cink, thanks.

End of FastScripts.

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