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DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP

October 1, 2005

Kenneth Ferrie

ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND

SCOTT CROCKETT: Thanks for coming in as always, another good day and you're in a good position in the tournament. You must be delighted with the way things are going this week.

KENNETH FERRIE: Yeah, I am. I played really nicely the first three days. Just pretty confident really. I've been playing well for a while now and been working hard on my game, working hard on my putting and it's nice to see a little bit of reward for all of the hard work I've been doing.

SCOTT CROCKETT: You are a consistent striker and you hit the ball quite low, I suppose that helps in these conditions, but you must have played well on top of that.

KENNETH FERRIE: Yeah, I played really good. Obviously my own game is based on fairways and greens. So any time the conditions are tough, as The K Club was, as this week is, as long as I can keep my head straight and not lose my head, then these sort of conditions suit my game.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Some details before questions. You birdied the third, what did you hit there?

KENNETH FERRIE: Driver, driver, wedge to about six foot.

The par 5, my tee shot, I had to lay up, I wedged to about six foot again.

8, a 3 putt. 9, drove it over the green and chipped it to about eight, ten foot and holed that.

11, hit it long, long left, about 15 foot, 20 foot behind the flag just slightly left. I marked the ball and replaced it, went around the hole just as I got back, the ball rolled down to about six foot. So I knocked in a 6 footer.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Nice little break there. And birdied the 12th as well.

KENNETH FERRIE: On the green and 2 putted.

15, 3 wood, sand wedge to about 12, 15 foot.

16 was driver, sand wedge to about four foot.

17, 3 putt. Drive down the right, wedge into the first, sand wedge on to the front of the green and about 5 1/2 four, hopefully tomorrow it will be a four.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Jonathan Edwards had a birdie.

KENNETH FERRIE: Jonathan has been playing really nicely, good drive right down the middle of the fairway, bump and run rescue from about 80 yards. Missed the hole by inches, went about eight, ten foot past and he holed it coming back for three.

SCOTT CROCKETT: And you lead the team competition as well.

KENNETH FERRIE: Yes, it's good. Jonathan has been obviously you usually find whatever pros do well in the tournament, their teams do well, too. Obviously I'm competitive in what I can do and Jonathan is pitching in every now and then with some help. He helped us by seven shots today, which on a day like this, when you're 5 under, to help by seven is good, so it's always nice to have the backing of a partner.

Q. What did you on 17?

KENNETH FERRIE: 17 was just driver, sand wedge on top, a foot right and tried to 2 putt. Was played to a four and a half, 3 footer, right of the green.

Q. How far?

KENNETH FERRIE: 30 foot, 40 foot. I'm sure Jonathan hit it to six foot, eight foot. Being a foot further left, he was in the bunker and you have to be sensible on that hole. And today, like I said, just wasn't my day. After he putted in, just one of those things.

Q. Without getting too far ahead of yourself, chance to go to top of the Ryder Cup standings with a win tomorrow.

KENNETH FERRIE: Yes, obviously, I'm sure there's not many of the guys that will be too worried about the top of the points list. It's a long, long time left in the Ryder Cup points. This would be a great head start as The K Club was a great head start for the Seve Trophy. It's not guaranteed but obviously to get a big win early on would be brilliant.

Q. Do you always relish these conditions?

KENNETH FERRIE: Yeah, like I said before, my whole game is based on fairways and greens. I'm not one of the power hitters. I can't overpower golf courses. When it's tough like this, it sets up well for me.

Q. Do you hope the wind continues?

KENNETH FERRIE: Yes and no. If the wind blows, it's tough for everybody. If it doesn't blow, it's easy for me. Whatever comes I'm playing well. It's not the wind. I have struggled until the wind as much as anybody else, my scores look very good, very steady, but I've holed some key putts. Especially at Carnoustie coming in later on, it was getting cold, getting dark. I holed some key putts. Obviously if it's flat calm, it's as easy as it is for me as it is for everybody else.

Q. Ashington is famous now not for the Charltons but for you and Steve Harmison?

KENNETH FERRIE: I've met Steve a few times. He's a good lad. He's a down to earth lad as I am and we have a lot of things in common. I have a little bit of contact with him. Been planning to have a game of golf for a while now. Every time I'm home, he's away and every time when he's home I'm away. So trying to fit two busy schedules together, but I'm sure something will come of it soon.

Q. You say you don't overpower courses, but do you think you lost distance when you lost weight?

KENNETH FERRIE: Probably a combination of that and new ball this year and a new driver as well. I think everything all and all is probably added a little bit of yardage. You look at my stats on Tour, I think I'm averaging about five or ten yards further than I did last year. Losing weight, it helped a little bit that way, but more in just getting around the golf course side of it.

Q. Is keeping the head for you a battle?

KENNETH FERRIE: I'm a pretty fiery guy. I've shot 68 68 67 this week and just finished 3 putt, 3 putt. And even though I'm leading the tournament by four, the standards I've set for myself that's not good enough. I can't afford to have three 3 putts today. And I know in that wind it's very tough, it's something you can't afford to be doing, 3 putting greens in my eyes just giving shots away. If you miss a green with a 3 iron that's acceptable because everybody does that. But 3 putts in my eyes, there's no real excuse for putting and you're there and there's not a great deal of things that can go wrong with putting.

Q. Are you more relaxed the more success you have had?

KENNETH FERRIE: Yeah, I am. Obviously the more success you have, the easier you find things, the more at ease you are with yourself.

Obviously since The K Club I've been a little bit more relaxed than I have been, but that's just me. I'm very hard on myself and the times. I think if you asked caddies and a lot of other people around, they will say that I'm too hard on myself, but that's just me. If I give myself an easy run of it, if I'm happy with mediocre golf and happy with, like I said, finishing 3 putt, 3 putt, then maybe I'm probably doing the wrong sport. It's not a game of perfection, but everybody strives to get there.

Q. Have you ever led going into the final round?

KENNETH FERRIE: Challenge Tour, led by three shots after the third round.

Q. More nervous in the final round?

KENNETH FERRIE: No more than I normally would. But going into tomorrow I would rather be four ahead than four behind (You're five ahead though) KF: Okay, I'd rather be five ahead than five behind.

Q. The details of the two 3 putts?

KENNETH FERRIE: 17 would have been probably 45, 50 foot something like that.

The last, I was just on the back edge. That would have been the best part of 60 foot. Like I said, the first two putts were poor putts. I left them both about ten foot short.

Q. What did you do last week when the Seve Trophy was on?

KENNETH FERRIE: I didn't watch telly. I didn't sit and watch SKY, put it that way.

No, I've got a reasonably early start, off to San Francisco next week for the AMEX, so maybe missing last week was a blessing in disguise, who knows.

Q. I had a question but I have forgotten it?

KENNETH FERRIE: That's age. I have that problem, too.

Q. Any horror stories playing the Old Course?

KENNETH FERRIE: No, I've got no horror stories, and I've also got no great tales of success. I've played here since I think the first time I played the Old Course was when I was 11 years old and I played in St. Andrews Boys for four or five years and was in the final one year with that. I've.

Got memories, just memories of St. Andrews. It's a special place. It's like no other place in the world. I've never been to a town that has the buzz that St. Andrews has. So to be here playing in a tournament, never mind contending, never mind leading the tournament, just to have the privilege of being able to play St. Andrews in a tournament as good as this, it's a privilege and I think we're all very lucky to be able to do that.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Thanks and good luck tomorrow.

End of FastScripts.

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