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TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP


June 23, 2012


Stuart Appleby


CROMWELL, CONNECTICUT

Q.  Are you happy with how you played today?
STUART APPLEBY:  Yeah, pretty much.  Got an amazing change in the course from the wind.  I didn't think the forecast was so much wind.  Maybe a little bit.  Maybe a half a club to a club.  And then it seemed to just get really strong, around 9, 10, 11 for us.  Then it got really quiet.  I guess it's sunset now.  I'm barely thinking about dinner.  More like breakfast.
But pretty good.  Played pretty good.  I'm feeling a lot more comfortable on the golf course.  Just trying to get my nerves in check.  It's been a hard road for me, a long road.  I'm really trying to enjoy the sport a bit more and really get stuck into each shot as they come.

Q.  You guys always tell me time and time again, you gotta stay in the moment.  You gotta stay in the moment.  So how do you stay in the moment on Sunday?  How do you focus on one shot at a time and not think about it's been a while since I've won.
STUART APPLEBY:  A very valid question.  How do you do it?  I guess you, I guess, get really good at one shot at a time, stay in the moment.  At an elite level of any sport, that's exactly what they're doing.  Any sport.  Name it.  That's what they're trying to do, one at a time, one at a time.
I think when I've played really, really well in any of my previous victories, I really feel like that's what I've done.  I guarantee you, a guy that wins any week, it feels like that's what he does.  So if I can just get into that and being okay with ‑‑ the biggest problem you have with the game when you start to go downhill is you're not okay with the results, you're not okay with the shots, and you start to put yourself in situations that you're never really ever happy.  And the game is hard enough on you.  So I'm going to go out tomorrow and have a bit of fun and enjoy it, enjoy the crowd and just be thankful that I'm talking to you for a start.

Q.  That in and of itself is going to make many of us happy.  So cheers.

Q.  It was maybe an advantage for you.  You got to sleep in this morning.  You're obviously in great contention.  Do you think you had an advantage over the guys that had to play 36 holes this morning?
STUART APPLEBY:  Well, you know, I guess, you know, to an extent, yeah, if the guys that were still shooting low, there's a lot of golf for them, the guys that were sort of 5, 6‑under, that sort of number there.  But at the same time, though, if you're in decent shape and you're playing well, the course is there for you, just get on a roll and just keep shooting.  Actually my first victory on TOUR was a 33‑hole Sunday.  I was a lot younger then.  Maybe good legs, you can do that sort of stuff.
But I like the idea of resting a full night, getting a sleep in and then getting out and playing a full 18 holes.  Tomorrow I guess we're back on schedule, tee times will be slightly earlier and it was just really slow with threes and such a big cut.  Now it's basically 8:00 at night and we're still finishing golf.

Q.  Is it kind of hard to get into a rhythm when you're playing on split tees in groups of three?  That's not what you're used to on a moving day.
STUART APPLEBY:  No.  You want ideally I think we would like to play 18 holes on a weekend in twos, ideally.  We will be that low cut by numbers and we'll be playing probably four hours tomorrow.  Just a really slow day today.  You go from 2:30 to basically 8:00.  We couldn't do anything about it, but tomorrow we should be able to get some good speed out there.
The course is in magnificent condition.  Travelers have turned it on for us and it should be a low shooting fest tomorrow unless the breeze keeps up like it did today for us a bit.

Q.  Stuart, a lot of first‑time winners here in recent years.  There's also a lot of great names on this trophy.  You're a brand name.  Are you confident that the recent trend can be broken tomorrow?
STUART APPLEBY:  Look, the form, when I came out on TOUR in the late 90s, you know, a young gun player was in his late 20s.  That was a young gun.  Now I reckon it's teens almost.  Certainly early 20s.  It's changed.  It's very quick.
You know, the conditions out there for scoring today wasn't maybe as easy.  Some of the guys got a low number in.  But the breeze was there.  So this place, if it's dry and windy, which we're not going to get, we'll maybe get some wind, it'll make it a little bit tougher.  Really anyone can come from anywhere here.  It's too bunched up as you see right now.
But personally, myself, if I can stay in the moment and just stay focused the way I'm playing the game and think properly and just stay relaxed as much as you can when you're trying to shoot‑out for a tournament, absolutely, it would be great to get back in the winner's circle.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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