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FRYS.COM OPEN

October 23, 2008

Chris Stroud

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA

JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Thank you, Chris, for joining us for a few minutes here in the media center at the FRYS.com Open. Nice start to your week. Why don't you just talk about your day out there. You played later in the wave, so I don't know if the winds changed much.
CHRIS STROUD: Yeah, it was a little windy this morning. We started off, I think, the first four or five, six holes -- 6 was a downwind par-4. Usually we never go -- I never go for that green, but today it was almost a 3-wood to get to the green, so it was really blowing early. I think 7, 8, when we were making the turn it really started calming down. Conditions are great, course is in great shape, greens are rolling beautifully. Actually didn't putt the ball that well today, but I hit the ball very nicely. Hit it very close and gave myself a lot of chances.

Q. Last couple weeks it looks like you've had a pretty good roll. You've shot, what, about seven rounds in a row in the 60s. Is there something that's just now starting to come around with your game?
CHRIS STROUD: Yeah, I actually talked to a sports psychologist named Rick Provost. It wasn't even supposed to be a session or whatever you want to call it. We were just friends. He just asked me -- because my attitude was down; I was down; I wasn't playing well; I was just not getting over my injuries. I told him I felt like I was playing well but I just didn't know what I needed to get it going.
He said, what are you doing out here? What do you want to do on the PGA TOUR? I said, I want to win tournaments. That's why I'm out here. He said, Well, what are you doing to win tournaments? So he made me pretty much write my goals down.
Long story short, I got all my priorities straight and I know what I'm doing every day when I wake up. I think the beginning of the year pretty much all year I'd wake up, go to the golf course and really have no reason to be out there except just to play golf, and now I've got a deep engrained reason to be out here, and that is to win golf tournaments and to give myself great chances to do it.

Q. So a serious reality check?
CHRIS STROUD: Just a reality check. It's amazing, I think a perfect example. I mean, there's a lot of players out here that have a ton of ability, a lot more than me, and if you can just get your mind in the right position, and you know what you're doing every day, you can do pretty much anything, I believe.

Q. More or less following a routine, more of a routine?
CHRIS STROUD: Yeah, obviously routine is huge in every part of our lives out here, from traveling to hotels to the golf course to practice routines. Yeah, I mean, seems like sometimes we want to get out of those routines, but routine is what really keeps us grounded out here on the golf course. Routine is very important, and I've been working really hard on that. I think if I can obviously keep giving myself chances this week and stick to my routine on the greens, I think I might have a good chance this week.

Q. What do these tournaments mean to you, to have these late-season opportunities?
CHRIS STROUD: Honestly, I mean, I wish I was playing this well early in the year so I could get in the FedExCup. I've gone two years and I haven't gotten in the FedExCup. I want to be in that.
But I can't complain. These are great tournaments. I treat them just like any other tournament. I'm playing very well. These are pretty much my safety net I guess you could call them. That's how it was last year for me. I finished 133 on the Money List after making maybe $500,000 in the fall, and I think I'm headed that way again this year.
I'm going to take one shot at a time, one day at a time, and just like I said, keep giving myself chances to win tournaments.

Q. You mentioned an injury situation. What was that and where does that stand?
CHRIS STROUD: Injury? Actually this year early at Pebble Beach, it was really mushy, the ground was mushy, and I hurt my knee really severely. It was very painful. On Saturday I had like nine holes left, and I hit a perfect drive. I was close to leading. I think I was 1-under and the lead was 5- or 6-. I was pretty close to the lead with nine holes left on Saturday, which is the cut, and I hurt my knee and I couldn't play. I tried to play the last few holes, I just couldn't do it. I ended up missing the cut.
But I went and got it checked out, went back home to Houston, had an MRI, no tears. What it was was it was tendinitis that was making everything tender, and I just happened to tweak it that one day, and I had some tendinitis on top of my patella and also femoral tendinitis, which is along the femur bone, and it was very painful.
So what I've been doing, I've been icing it every night on and off for three months, and it's finally come around. The last month and a half my knee has been very healthy.

Q. Did you have to take any time off because of it?
CHRIS STROUD: You know, I tried to play every event because I didn't want to waste any time. The doctor said I was going to be fine, just keep icing it. I was in severe pain. I had to withdraw from four or five events this year. The last one I withdrew from was Canadian Open because of my knee, and Turning Stone I withdrew because of my wrist.
I hurt my wrist up in Turning Stone. It was really windy one day and I tried to go at a little punch shot and I felt like lightning struck my hands. So I had to ice that for three days. It was bruised for a while, but it was okay.
It's just been a learning experience for me this year as far as injuries. One thing I've learned is I've got to take care of my body, take care of my joints, take care of my muscles. This sport can be tough on you if you're not careful.

Q. So you're getting hotel rooms close to the ice machines?
CHRIS STROUD: That's exactly right. Two weeks ago I had one right across the hall, so it was very convenient.

End of FastScripts

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