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SONY OPEN IN HAWAII

January 13, 2006

Jim Furyk

HONOLULU, HAWAII

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Jim thanks for joining us, two rounds of 67 67, you're in great position heading into the weekend tied with Chad Campbell.

JIM FURYK: Yeah, I'm obviously happy with that. Two tough days in the wind, it started to let up a little bit out there while we were finishing.

But I'm tired, after two days of that, I think it tests you as much as or mentally as it does physically. Physically you've got to hit some good golf shots and control the ball in the wind, but it wears you out playing in all that wind. So I'm looking for a little rest and I'll be ready to go tomorrow.

Q. Four 72s last week, would four 67s win it for you this week, would that be a good number, 12( under)?

JIM FURYK: Probably would. It's going to depend on the weather, too. If the weather stayed severe, it would be a great score. If there's no wind the rest of the weekend, I think the scores will be pretty good.

Still, either way you look at it, it would be good scores. If I can get off two 67s this week, I would much rather it be on the lower version than the higher.

Q. How come you're so comfortable here?

JIM FURYK: Well, I've played well here in the past, so that has a lot to do with it. It helps. You can think back to good memories and you have good memories when you step on the property, which is always nice, rather than missing the cut two or three times before and you're not really looking forward to going to those events as much as you are and the ones you've played well.

The golf course sets up real well for me. It's not a power oriented golf course. It's all about control and being able to hit shots in the wind, put the ball in the fairway. The rough is actually I think quite difficult this year. It's very difficult to control the ball out of the rough.

You know, I think playing the Mercedes last week and playing in all that wind is a little bit of a benefit for me to come over. The golf courses are totally different but you still have to hit those low, piercing shots and you have to be able to work the ball into the wind a little bit. That was a big benefit. And the fact that Kapalua's greens were so much better this year and a lot quicker, it wasn't really much of an adjustment coming over to Sony as far as getting used to the greens here. Usually Kapalua's used to be quite slow and these were very quick and it was a tough adjustment. It wasn't nearly as difficult and they are really not that far off in speed.

It's just nice, it's a good golf course for me. It sets up well for me. It's one of my favorite events. It's one of my Top 10 events that I like to come to. I played pretty well last week, so I was excited about playing this week.

Q. After this, you're talking a week off, a couple weeks?

JIM FURYK: Taking three weeks off.

Q. Three weeks off?

JIM FURYK: Yes.

Q. Just the way the schedule worked or not the courses you want to go to?

JIM FURYK: You know, I usually play, if qualified, I obviously play both events in Hawaii. I like the courses at Pebble Beach and it's hard not to like Pebble Beach or Spyglass and Riviera. I like the golf course at La Costa, The Match Play, and I'm going to play Doral. And I need to take a little bit of time off after having a pretty full year last year; I never really did take much time off. Last year I played through and only had three weeks off before Mercedes.

Q. Is that a mental issue or physical?

JIM FURYK: Mental I think. Last year I played the Hope and I do once in awhile. I'm probably 50/50 throughout my career. But I haven't been to San Diego or Phoenix very often in the last six or seven years.

Q. So this is a good start, play two, take some time off?

JIM FURYK: Yeah, I'm really set for my schedule this year through August. There's only a couple tournaments teetering, but through August I'm 95 percent sure of my schedule, which is good. I'm trying to plan it I played a little bit much last year and I'm trying to plan it to where I get back to playing 25 or 26 events in the regular season, and I'm playing two or three afterwards and getting that number down to about 27, 28 rather than last year, 30.

Q. Do the majors set up well for you this year, the venues not that you've seen Hoylake.

JIM FURYK: I haven't seen Hoylake, whether it sets up well or not. I haven't seen since they have changed Winged Foot and it's become longer. One of my favorite major championships I played in was the won Davis won. I thought the course was phenomenal.

Q. PGA is at Medinah.

JIM FURYK: Another pretty darned good golf course, and I guess they have made some changes, also, which I'm actually excited to see. I like golf course architecture. Last time, it was four or five greens they changed and I played one practice round and I said okay, bam, bam, bam, you could tell. So I'm anxious to see how it sets up.

Q. Has anybody asked you about the change to PLAYERS to May, will that be good as far as the golf course, the weather?

JIM FURYK: Well, the weather is going to be phenomenal comparatively to March. My favorite time of the year is probably the month of May, actually. It's warm, low 80s, but it's very comfortable. Basically June starts getting too hot.

And the problem before was that they overseeded the golf course so much that it wasn't always maybe in the best of shape. But they are going to kind of change their plan around a little bit and make sure that the golf course is perfect now in May, rather than March.

I'm actually looking forward to it. I think it will be good for the TOUR for it to fall between two majors. It will be a big tournament in that month. And from a selfish reason, our facility is going to be in better shape year round because of that move. Right now, it's such a heavy overseed in the winter getting ready for March that when we come out of it that, the transition is very difficult. They overseed, they put a lot of ryegrass on the course and when it dies out, the bermuda, the transition is rough and the golf course isn't in as good of shape year round as it could be.

I think now they are going to overseed a lot lighter and that transition is not going to be nearly as bad. I think they are going to make some improvements to the golf course, hopefully those turn out well, the golf course is going to be in better shape year round. I think it's going to be a better tournament for us and I think it's going to be a better place for the average guy that comes there, also.

Q. Somebody said Fred Klauk had seven or eight holes with the new sand base, that the bermuda was coming in better.

JIM FURYK: I played a little bit before the Mercedes and it got cold, so some of the bermuda that was in there playing in November, December when it was skill quite warm, before it got cold, it was thick with grass and it was a little thinner. With the cold weather we had, some of the bermuda dried out, and you get some of the that thick overseed, it will be perfect for the tournament and we won't have to worry about that as much now. They can kind of thin it out, keep the golf course firmer in the off season and just kind of keep it playing with the overseed and keep it nice, rather than having to keep dumping the overseed in there. I don't know that much about agronomy, and that may be wrong, but I honestly think it's going to be better year round. So from a selfish, personal standpoint, I'm glad that the course I play most on is going to be in better shape year round.

Q. You're playing well the last six rounds, and then you're talking about taking three weeks off, is that hard to do when you know you're playing well?

JIM FURYK: Yes and no. I actually need a little time right now. I also have a vacation planned after this tournament, we're leaving Sunday night, so I'm kind of really anxious to hang out and be with my kids and my wife for a few days before we go home.

Yeah, if I felt like I was playing and I do feel like I'm playing well, it can be difficult to take some time off but I've kind of set up a schedule and planned it. I've been looking forward to that time off, as well. So it's not going to affect me. If I went on and played good and won the tournament, I won't be upset about having three weeks off. If I didn't play well this weekend, I'm still not going to be upset about having some time off. It's needed and I'm looking forward to it. Nothing against those three events. It's just we're stuck in a situation as a player where you need to pick out your 25 or 26 favorite events. There's still some events you can't get to, but I have a number that I can play, and it's actually a few more than some guys in my situation. I pick the ones that I feel like I have the best opportunity to win on those golf courses.

Q. Any holes on the second side you wish you could have over?

JIM FURYK: Well, I drove it absolutely perfect on 18 and didn't make birdie. Hit a pretty good second shot that ran through the green.

I missed a 10 footer for birdie on 17 and pretty good birdie putt on 14. I played the side pretty solid. Hit a lot of fairways, a lot greens. Ball just didn't go in the hole as well as it could have on the back side.

And on the front side, I got the ball in the hole super, so that's part of it. It was flip flopped yesterday. I played great on the back starting out and then I shot 4 under on the back starting out and shot 1 over on the front and in some tougher conditions the front was playing a lot tough yesterday. So I played good on both sides at least.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Jim, thanks.

End of FastScripts.

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