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THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY MORGAN STANLEY

June 3, 2010

Vijay Singh

DUBLIN, OHIO

Q. When you got the news about the U.S. Open yesterday, were you surprised?
VIJAY SINGH: At first they said no. Then I said, okay, that's fine. Then I think they read Jeff Rude -- where is he?

Q. He's not here this week.
VIJAY SINGH: I want to thank him for his comments on that. And I think they went back and rethought it, and it was unanimous. They all said sure, you know. It was a relief. I was hoping for an invite. If I really wanted to play the U.S. Open, I wouldn't have played the Texas swing, and I could have just maintained my rankings.
But I wanted to play, you know. Seemed like I need to go out there and play and start playing the way I know how, and just beginning to play good. So it's good timing.

Q. So actually first you talked to them, and they told you they weren't going to give you one?
VIJAY SINGH: My agents did, and they said well, you know - they said no. Then they went back and rethought about it, and they said yes. It was good relief.

Q. You've had some luck at Pebble. You've won there. Lowery was a pretty close call. Probably should have won that one in your mind. You must have wanted to get in there pretty badly.
VIJAY SINGH: I didn't really worry about it so much until Monday, when I found something out in my golf swing and really got excited about playing.
I'm really playing well right now, which is a big thing. So I think I'll -- I've got a week off after this and got to prepare. I think I have a good shot.

Q. Like Monday, three days ago Monday?
VIJAY SINGH: Monday three days ago. I was playing well in Texas, but something was not right. I kind of found out what I was doing wrong. It's a big, big find in my whole golf swing. So probably that's what it was lacking.

Q. Talk about your round today. Was there a huge difference in the golf course from how it was before the delay and after the delay?
VIJAY SINGH: Oh, I mean, I played really well today. I hit one bad shot on 11 and made a double there. It's really wet out there. You get a lot of mud balls, and a lot of (indiscernible). You got to almost get the ball thin sometimes to make sure it doesn't go off line. It's playing long. The greens are really, really fast, probably the fastest greens I've putted all year. That's why the scoring is not going crazy.
There are some guys that are playing well, but if you miss the shot, you're going to be penalized.

Q. When you have a delay like that, a two-hour delay, does it take you out of your rhythm at all?
VIJAY SINGH: We've all done it before. So nothing new. Just go out and prepare again and go play. So no big deal.

Q. You haven't missed a major since '94. I think it's 63 in a row you've played. I don't know if you're even aware of that.
VIJAY SINGH: I wasn't until Jeff told me last week.

Q. It's a career in itself in just majors.
VIJAY SINGH: (Laughing.)
Q. It is, man. Some guys don't get that many starts in a career. That's three years out here, three years of starts.
VIJAY SINGH: I'm so happy that they gave it to me. I really am glad. I thanked them already. I would have been disappointed, but, hey, you know, there's always the week after that.

Q. There's no Monday -- you're not going to play this Monday in the qualifier. I know you were entered technically.
VIJAY SINGH: I was entered, and I saw my tee time at 7:30, I said I'm not going to go and qualify 36 holes. I was really debating it. Most likely I wouldn't have done it.

Q. Where are you now with the back?
VIJAY SINGH: Good. No problems, no pain. I'm finding my game again. I played really well today. This is the best I've played for a long time. Very, very disappointed with 1 under, but we've got three days to go.

Q. Did it hurt to drop out of the top 50?
VIJAY SINGH: Yeah, you've got to play well. I just wasn't playing well. You know, my game wasn't there. My body wasn't there. I should have just not played, and I could have stayed there.
I want to go out there and play and feel it and see what the swing is doing and find it. You cannot find it staying at home and thinking about it. So bottom line is just play well.

Q. So it didn't really bother you?
VIJAY SINGH: I mean, I was disappointed going out of it, but, you know, give it another month and I'll be back on there.

Q. Vijay, is Pebble one of your favorites? If so, why?
VIJAY SINGH: I think so. I think it's one of the best golf courses in the world. The scenery is unbelievable. The golf course is tough. They've done a lot of changes to it. Old style golf courses never change. I think 50 years from now, it's still going to be one of the best golf courses. I think it's one of the favorites for everybody.

Q. Did the USGA give any actual indication they had read Rude's column and it influenced them somehow?
VIJAY SINGH: I don't know.

Q. I didn't know anybody read any of our stuff that influenced anyone.
VIJAY SINGH: I'm sure they do. I think they all do. It was a good article, too. It made sense. Made sense to me anyway.

End of FastScripts

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