First Round Notes & Quotes●April 17, 2008

Carin Koch, 33-34=67 (-5)

Scorecard:
Hole 3, 518-yard par 5: birdie – second shot to left bunker, chip to 15 feet
Hole 5, 176-yard par 3: birdie – 24-degree rescue to 12 feet
Hole 7, 303-yard par 4: birdie – sand wedge to 15 feet
Hole 10, 528-yard par 5: birdie – wedge to 12 feet
Hole 11, 365-yard par 4: birdie – 8-iron to 12 feet
Hole 15, 340-yard par 4: double bogey – 8-iron over the green, drop, didn’t get up-and-down
Hole 17, 508-yard par 5: birdie – wedge from bunker to 20 feet
Hole 18, 421-yard par 4: birdie – 5-iron to 30 feet

ASHLEY CUSHMAN:  Carin, thanks for conning in and joining us today.  Great round out there, 5‑under par.  You're the leader in the clubhouse.  Can you talk about the conditions today and how well you played?  The wind is really starting to pick up, but you finished birdie‑birdie on 17‑18 to take the lead.

CARIN KOCH:  Yeah, the conditions were great today.  It was just a beautiful day, a little cold in the morning, and not much wind.  The wind kind of came and went a little bit during the day.  A few holes played a little more with the wind or into the wind.

Q.  When you get out on 18 and make a 40‑footer, how much can that do for momentum as opposed to doing it on the 4th hole, when you end the day like that?

CARIN KOCH:  It definitely feels more ‑‑ every shot is equal, but you can feel it more on 18.  Definitely it's nice to finish the day like that, especially after 15.  It was just one bad swing and it ended up worse maybe than it would have on a lot of other holes.  Yeah, it was nice to finish the day like that.

Q.  That's a lot of 12‑ and 15‑footers.  Is there anything you've got going here with your putting stroke?

CARIN KOCH:  My putting felt really good.  I shot 7‑under on Sunday in Mexico and really played well all week but made the putts on Sunday.

You know, I'm definitely rolling it good.  Usually that's my area where I don't think I make enough putts.  I usually make the shorter ones.

Today I made a couple longer ones, too, which is not that often.  It's not all luck; there's a lot of good putts.  I'm definitely confident on the greens right now.

Q.  Based on what you saw out there today and then based on the way a player like Lorena is playing right now, would you need four days like this to really pull off a tournament of this caliber?

CARIN KOCH:  Yeah, probably, depending on what the weather and the wind does.  There's a lot of girls playing really well, and Lorena being probably number one of them.  So definitely.

I'm just really excited right now.  I've had a couple of bad years and I'm finally starting to play solid golf again.  I'm hitting a lot of fairways and a lot of greens, so that's what I'm going to focus on, rather than what Lorena and Annika are doing.  It's so much more fun for me to play again now, and I've actually gotten to go to interview again, and it's a couple years ago that I did that, so that's a good sign.

Q.  Can you point to any one thing as far as being the turnaround there?

CARIN KOCH:  Mainly my driver.  I had a lot of trouble with my driver.  Still, 17 and 18 today wasn't perfect.  But I'm definitely getting there.  I almost had the yips off the drive for a while, and I'm not a long hitter.  The long hitters are used to that a little more.  It's just really hard to play golf from left and right of the fairway.  Right now I'm hitting a lot of fairways and just worked on simplifying my swing, and it's working a lot better under pressure.  And I can hit a lot of shots that I didn't hit very well the last couple years, like the ones out of the bunker, fairway bunkers on the last couple holes.  That's about it.

And I've tried to really work on my short game a lot, too, and get my putting stroke good again.

Teresa Lu, 34-33=67 (-5)

Hole 10, 528-yard par 5: birdie – wedge to 15 feet
Hole 12, 153-yard par 3: birdie – 8-iron to 1 foot
Hole 15, 340-yard par 4: bogey       
Hole 17, 508-yard par 5: birdie – 5-wood short of green, chip to 2 feet
Hole 18, 421-yard par 4: birdie – 8-iron to 3 feet
Hole 2, 146-yard par 3: bogey – 8-iron to 10 feet
Hole 3, 518-yard par 5: birdie – wedge to 10 feet
Hole 4, 356-yard par 4: birdie – pitching wedge to 3 feet
Hole 8, 406-yard par 4: birdie – 9-iron to 5 feet

MIKE SCANLAN: Teresa, talk about how you played today.  You’re 5-under and tied for the lead.

TERESA LU:  I feel pretty good the way I played today and everything just went really smooth.  I'm really happy about it.

Q.  What would you say your best shot of the day was?

TERESA LU:  I would say on No. 18 because I missed my driver a little on the left and I had to punch a little 8‑iron, and it turned out pretty good, three feet from the hole.

Q.  How is your game this year?  How do you feel?

TERESA LU:  I feel like I'm improving a lot from my rookie year to now, and I can feel I'm really improving everything.

Q.  When you look at the leaderboard and you see you're 5‑under and then Lorena Ochoa is 4‑under, what do you think about that?  Does it give you more pressure at all?

TERESA LU:  Not really today.  I just tried to focus on every shot I hit because I just changed a little bit my swing on Monday, so I just really have to focus on my tempo, otherwise my ball is going to go everywhere.  So I didn't look at the scoreboard and just played the way I play.

Q.  You said you made a swing change with your tempo?

TERESA LU:  Yeah, on my backswing.  I had a really long backswing and I shortened the backswing a little bit.

Q.  So you just did that Monday?

TERESA LU:  Yeah, I've been working on that a long time, but I didn't really get it done.

Q.  Do you feel comfortable right now with your swing?

TERESA LU:  Yeah.

Q.  So you're not really ‑‑ when you're out there you're not really thinking about what changes you've made?

TERESA LU:  Not really because I have to focus on my tempo since I couldn't do anything on the golf course.

Suzann Pettersen, 36-32=68 (-4)

Scorecard:
Hole 2, 146-yard par 3: birdie – 7-iron to five feet
Hole 3, 518-yard par 5: birdie – chip to six feet
Hole 6, 415-yard par 4: bogey – two putt from 12 feet
Hole 8, 406-yard par 4: bogey – two putt from six feet
Hole 10, 528-yard par 5: birdie – sand wedge from 70 yards two feet
Hole 11, 365-yard par 4: birdie – 9-iron to 10 feet
Hole 14, 387-yard par 4: birdie – gap wedge from 105 yards to tap in
Hole 15, 340-yard par 4: birdie – sand wedge from 70 yards to tap in
Hole 16, 194-yard par 3: bogey – three putt from front of green
Hole 17, 508-yard par 5:birdie – up-and-down to tap in 

ASHLEY CUSHMAN:  Thanks for coming in and joining us today.  Great round out there, 4‑under par.  Your name is up on the leaderboard.  You're currently tied for second place.  Can you talk about how you played and the kind of round you posted?

SUZANN PETTERSEN:  I mean, I felt pretty good warming up.  I felt that this was probably as receptive as the greens would be playing early, and they were still a little soft, so took a little advantage of that, having good control of the ball coming into the greens.

Other than that, I mean, I had some good chances and just tried to be aggressive on the holes where you can really stay aggressive, and par is a great score on some of those holes out here.

And the wind kind of gusted and dropped a little bit at the end there.

This course is playing pretty tough with the greens and how they're rolling and how firm they are.  They're really dry, so you've really got to think twice before you think what kind of shot you want to approach with and see what kind of control you can kind of maintain over the ball.

Q.  It sounds like your short game was really working.  Just talk a little bit about that, a lot of tap‑ins, I guess that can give you some momentum?

SUZANN PETTERSEN:  Yeah, I was just hitting the right shots at the right time on some of those holes and had a lucky break.  You've just got to kind of play with ‑‑ some of those holes you play for the ball to bounce like ten yards.  You just kind of hit the shot you're trying to produce to see what kind of control you can maintain over the ball as far as kind of ‑‑ the greens are going to get firmer and firmer and it's going to be harder and harder, and the fairways are super‑firm.  It's not like you ‑‑ that's hard and the greens are hard, so you try to hit it hard off the ground and it's very hard to control it.

I tried to take advantage of some of the short par‑4s, and the par‑5s was pretty good.  No, it was a good start, very good start.

Q.  When you combine firm fairways and firm greens and then you factor in the wind, talk about all that as far as the mindset?

SUZANN PETTERSEN:  It's very challenging.  I mean, you just have to accept you might hit a good shot and you might be 30 feet from the pin.  So you will have some good breaks and you will get some bad breaks probably on these greens.  Best to hit every shot perfect.  You just have to accept it.

Sometimes like a two‑putt is a good score on certain holes, so get to the green and get your par and get out of there.

Q.  Did you have problems with the wind or no?

SUZANN PETTERSEN:  Today was probably not as strong as it's been at past couple days, and it's supposed to drop.  Now it's kind of gusty, dropping.  It's not as hard as it was yesterday.  It's very playable, but I mean, it's tough out there.

Q.  What are some of the pros and cons of playing at home when you're here all week, in your own bed and all that?  Are there distractions there?

SUZANN PETTERSEN:  I think it's very distracting.  You get home and there's always stuff to do.  Usually you get to the hotel, you can relax and watch TV.  Here, as soon as you walk in the door, the house for me is like ‑‑ I have a list this long, and it's like I can't cross it out this week.  But it's always in the back of your head.

I'm just trying to do as little as possible.  First priority is getting enough sleep.  It's nice to be here and I can work with my trainer, work with my physio like I do during my off weeks, so I always maintain how the body feels.

Q.  Are you throwing a party or anything?

SUZANN PETTERSEN:  I'm trying not to, no.  I'm just a guest.  I have my mom cooking, so I'm just trying to be as under‑noticed as possible.  It's really nice to stay at home.  But at the same time if you're at home yourself, there's always stuff to do.  There's positives and negatives about being at home.

Lorena Ochoa, 33-35=68 (-4)

Hole 10, 528-yard par 5: birdie – 50 degree wedge to 25 feet
Hole 14, 387-yard par 4: birdie – 50 degree wedge to 12 feet
Hole 17, 508-yard par 5: birdie – 4-iron into greenside bunker, blast to 6 feet
Hole 7, 303-yard par 4: birdie – driver into left greenside bunker, blast to 1 foot
Hole 8, 406-yard par 4: bogey – 5-iron to 35 yards, 3-putt
Hole 9, 492-yard par 5: birdie – 5-wood to 25 feet, 2-putt 

MIKE SCANLAN:  Not a bad round today at today Lorena. You’re 4‑under.  Like I said on the way in, it seems like every day you're in here in the interview room.  Does this ever get old for you?

LORENA OCHOA:  I'm happy to be here hopefully every day for many years.

MIKE SCANLAN:  Talk about your round today, what went right?  Only one bogey, five birdies.

LORENA OCHOA:  Yes, well, I'm happy.  I did leave some birdies out there, especially making the turn.  17 I made birdie, and then 18, the first hole, 1, 2, and 3, were short putts for birdies, and I missed those.  But that's the way it is.  I think these greens play tough, especially in the afternoon.  They are kind of bumpy and really fast.

I think we got lucky with the weather, just a light breeze, nothing too hard that we couldn't control.

I took advantage of a good round in the afternoon, and tomorrow we will hopefully have better conditions in the morning and I can be a little more aggressive and make more birdies.

Q.  What was your best shot of the day and why?  Was it the sand shot on 16, or was it the putt, the 25‑foot putt?

LORENA OCHOA:  I want to say my second shot on No. 6.  I was in the left rough and I had like 185 yards to the pin.  There was a lot of wind right to left, and I managed to put it just pin high, a pretty good shot.  I didn't make the putt, but I was happy with that.  It was nice to finish with a birdie, too.  It gives you ‑‑ you feel happy and ready to go for a good dinner and straight to bed.

Q.  You mentioned yesterday about being a little tired.  Were you able to get the rest that you were looking for and feeling about where you want to be?

LORENA OCHOA:  Yes.  I mean, I'm still a little bit tired.  I wouldn't say it's all the energy that I ever felt, but I'm okay.  I think I'm hanging in there.  I know there's three more days.  I'm going to do the same the next three days, just take it easy and hopefully go home early and relax.  I should be good.  I think it's important that you know the way you feel and just try to work with that, and I'm excited for tomorrow.  I'm in position, and I'm going to make sure I give myself a good chance to win the tournament on Sunday.

Q.  Does it help you knowing that next week is a week off, so it's really only three more days for you and then back to Mexico?

LORENA OCHOA:  Very much.  If I knew I had maybe two more tournaments coming, I would be crying right now (laughter).  But that's for sure something that I keep in my head.  I'm having lunch with my family on Monday, and it should be great.  That's always nice to keep in mind.

Q.  Just talking about that, how do you stay focused this week, knowing that, okay, you're looking forward to that Monday lunch?

LORENA OCHOA:  I do different things.  I'm here because I'm ready to win.  Every tournament I play, I play to win, and I'm going to do whatever it takes.  I'm 100 percent, and tomorrow I'll be there 100 percent again to play 18 holes.  But like I said, it's nice thinking that I'm going home instead of having two more tournaments.  It's something that gives me comfort.

Q.  Obviously a lot of people have been talking lately about the rest of the field chasing you and you've had these large leads and obviously the lead in the standings.  But at least for one day you're doing the chasing.  Do you like that position where you're kind of looking at those leaders and going after them whether it's the first round, second round, third round?

LORENA OCHOA:  Of course I like my position right now.  I like to play and come from behind.  It's impossible, I guess, to win a tournament by seven shots the first day.  You have to move your way up there.  That's why I feel very happy with my round today, and hopefully tomorrow we keep making birdies and improving.

Mhairi McKay, 35-33=68 (-4)

Hole 10, 528-yard par 5: birdie – lob wedge to 15 feet
Hole 16, 194-yard par 3: bogey – 3-rescue pulled left, chip to 25 feet, 2-putt
Hole 18, 421-yard par 4: birdie – 6-iron to 1 foot
Hole 3, 518-yard par 5: birdie – lob wedge to 1 foot
Hole 4, 356-yard par 4: birdie – lob wedge to 30 feet
Hole 7, 303-yard par 4: birdie – lob wedge to 18 feet

MIKE SCANLAN:  Thanks for coming in.  4‑under today, nice round.  Can you just talk about it a little bit?

MHAIRI McKAY:  I got off to a nice start.  I birdied the 1st hole and I was just kind of over that first putt, and I just said, come on, let's start as you mean to continue, and it was good to see that one roll in.

I dropped one shot, I can't remember at which hole now ‑‑ 16, and I just was trying to stay within myself, and I knew that they were all pushing the tees out there and I had a good day on the greens and hit a lot of good approach shots, so I was really pleased with the round.

MIKE SCANLAN:  If you could just talk a little bit about your game right now so we can find out about how you're feeling this year, what's going through your mind, how you're feeling physically.

MHAIRI McKAY:  I didn't play last week in Mexico.  I played the week before at the Kraft, and I felt like I was playing really well.  I've been working with Bryan Lebedevitch at the Jim McLean School at PGA West, and we just really are working on kind of staying down through the shot longer, and something that he kind of noticed in the week of the Dinah, kind of worked on a few things to help me stay through impact better, and it's definitely helped me a lot.

I feel like my ball‑striking is in a good place, and I switched putters the week of Dinah and that's given me some more constants on the greens, too.

Q.  Can you talk about the par‑3, No. 16?  It seems to be giving a lot of people trouble today.

MHAIRI McKAY:  Well, it's a long hole.  You're into the wind.  The pin was kind of cut toward the right side of the green.  There's kind of some mounds there, and I pulled my shot left.  It was an awkward chip because there was a big hump there that I had to come across, and I just misjudged the break and it broke much more left to right than I expected, and then I ended up kind of hitting this other hill and I ended up about 25 feet away.  It was just a tough shot.  If you don't stand out there and hit a good, constant swing with a longer club in there, then you can be left with a tricky chip, too.

And the greens are starting to dry out now, too, and it's making it awkward.

Q.  I was going to ask about the weather.  Is it going to be a factor this week?  It's going to get a lot hotter.

MHAIRI McKAY:  Yay.  It's been cold the last couple days.  I think we were all a bit shocked on Monday and Tuesday ‑‑ I wasn't here Monday, but Tuesday.  It's nice that it's a little bit warmer and the wind is definitely making the course a bit challenging.  As the greens dry out it's going to be tricky to make sure you're on the right side of the hole because there's some putts out there that are incredibly slick.

Q.  Would you be surprised if 4‑under stood up today?

MHAIRI McKAY:  I'm sure somebody will sink a few more putts, have a few more birdies.  I'd be surprised if I was still the leader at the end of the day, that's for sure, or tied for the lead.  

Allison Fouch, 34-34=68 (-4)

Hole 7, 303-yard par 4: birdie – 60 degree wedge to 4 feet
Hole 9, 492-yard par 5: birdie – 56 degree wedge to 12 feet
Hole 10, 528-yard par 5: bogey
Hole 12, 153-yard par 3: birdie – 8-iron to 6 feet
Hole 15, 340-yard par 4: birdie – 60 degree wedge to 2 feet
Hole 17, 508-yard par 5: birdie – blast from greenside bunker to 15 feet 

MIKE SCANLAN:  Allison, you’re tied for the lead.  It's got to feel good to be here.  A little bit windy today and I know the greens are rolling a little fast, but you managed to get 4‑under.  Can you just talk about your day?

ALLISON FOUCH:  Well, the golf course is in great condition, and I think as for most of us, we like the faster greens.  I definitely do.  It accommodates my putting stroke a little bit more.

The wind wasn't too bad this morning, a little bit ‑‑ I had to play a club here and there, but playing in the morning usually is a good draw.  It was nice to just ‑‑ I've been making birdies the last three or four events that I've been playing in, four or five birdies a round; I've just been making four or five bogeys with it.  It was nice to put a round together without the bogeys and doubles in there.

Q.  You talked about how when you take off in the morning it's a little easier.  Tomorrow you'll take off in the afternoon.  It's supposed to be maybe in the mid‑80s.  Talk about what adjustments you have to make when it does get hotter.

ALLISON FOUCH:  Shorter shorts, sleeveless shirt, a lot more sunscreen, and you kind of anticipate playing in windy conditions tomorrow and really expect to have some tough shots and get ready to hit putts maybe over a wobbly golf ball and kind of maybe expect the worst and kind of get set for that.

Q.  I mean, you touched on the bogeys the last few events.  Has there been one common theme there?

ALLISON FOUCH:  No, there really hasn't been.  It's been a three‑putt here, a snipe drive there and a missed wedge.  It kind of got a little frustrating.

I went back and worked with my mental coach a little bit, who was here this week, and we just really talked about how important it is to bounce back and to not let those bogeys turn into bogey trains.  That helped today.  I made a bogey and just wanted to make sure if I did anything, I made a birdie before I made my next bogey.  So that was kind of ‑‑ kind of got me through today, and it proved to work.

Q.  Right after a bogey like that, is there something that you go through mentally or say to yourself that kind of helps?

ALLISON FOUCH:  Well, for me I have a real hard time not getting upset, not getting angry, so it's the initial trying to calm myself down, not get too down on myself, not blame my caddie for something he didn't do just to emote a little bit.  You know, I tried to pay attention to what I'm thinking and what I'm feeling and kind of the whole "not today" mantra.  I'm not going to get down on myself today.  We need to make birdie before we turn this into a train wreck.  So really tried to put myself right back into the mindset of making birdie.

Q.  With all that said, how much does it help to get off to a great start in the first round?

ALLISON FOUCH:  Oh, it's so nice.  It's been calling home and saying, well, I'm only 10 back of Lorena today (laughter).  That's tough.  We want to win tournaments, and that's why we're all here.  Not to say that the best players in the world aren't here, and there's three more rounds left, but it's nice to know that you don't have to press the issue tomorrow just to stay in the hunt.

Q.  This is your first time in an interview on this Tour.

ALLISON FOUCH:  It is.

Q.  How do you feel about that?

ALLISON FOUCH:  Not a bad thing.  It's nice to be up here.  I think most of us want to talk about what we do and what we're passionate about, and it's nice to share it with people.

Q.  You talked about working with your mental coach.

ALLISON FOUCH:  Gary Ganakas.  I've got a whole crew here.  They're here this week.

Q.  The whole group here, has that helped, having your whole team?

ALLISON FOUCH:  Yeah, I was kind of thinking last night that there's a lot of people here helping, and I could definitely have let that turn into a pressure situation.  But I've got people here who drove ten hours, flew down, who love me and care about me, and I'm very, very fortunate to have that.  So I just really tried to enjoy the experience here at the biggest event we are playing in so far, at least this season in my LPGA career.  So it was just comfortable; it's nice.

QUICK QUOTES

Karrie Webb, 35-33=68 (-4)

Scorecard:
Hole 10, 528-yard par 5: birdie – pitch to four feet
Hole 1, 389-yard par 4: birdie – 8-iron to 15 feet
Hole 3, 518-yard par 5: bogey – lay up, two putt from 20 feet
Hole 5, 176-yard par 3: birdie – 7-iron to six feet
Hole 6, 415-yard par 4: birdie – 6-iron to 20 feet
Hole 7, 303-yard par 4: birdie – pitch to 12 feet

Q.  Great round out there.  You're tied for second in the clubhouse now after the first day.  How were the conditions today?

KARRIE WEBB:  I'd like to think it wasn't as windy as they thought it was going to be this afternoon.  The wind was full out, but it laid down a little bit from when we first teed off, so it makes the scoring a little bit better and the greens when it wasn't as windy didn't dry out as much as they would have.

Q.  The course seems to be playing pretty well for you.  You had five birdies and one bogey.  Yesterday we watched you in the Pro‑Am, and on your last shot you knocked it within a couple feet of the pin.  Is there something about this course you like?

KARRIE WEBB:  I have played pretty well here in the past.  I just enjoy playing in Florida.  I play a lot of golf in Florida because I live here and it's similar to where I grew up, as well.  And I enjoy playing in the wind, too; it makes you a little bit more creative.

Q.  So same plan for tomorrow?

KARRIE WEBB:  Hopefully, yeah.

Yani Tseng, 35-33=68 (-4)

Scorecard:
Hole 11, 365-yard par 4: birdie – 9-iron to two feet
Hole 1, 389-yard par 4: bogey
Hole 5, 176-yard par 3: birdie – 6-iron to 14 feet
Hole 9, 492-yard par 5: eagle – 5-wood from 210 yards to 23 feet

Q.  You said that was your first eagle on the LPGA Tour.  How did that feel?

YANI TSENG:  Very exciting.  I see the ball to make that putt.  I'm so happy I jump up.  I don't know, I was like ‑‑ when I backswing I was stuck, I don't know why.  I just feel, I don't know how the downswing.  Me and caddie, we were laughing because I didn't know how I hit it.  But we had a lot of fun on the last three holes.

Q.  You're having a great rookie season, so how does it feel to only be eight events into the year and to have all these Top 10 finishes?

YANI TSENG:  Yeah, I feel I'm learning a lot from a lot of good players and I really enjoy to be in this group.

Q.  There's 54 holes left of play, so what's your plan for tomorrow to stay on top of that leaderboard?

YANI TSENG:  I think just don't try too hard, just play one shot at a time.  My coach always told me good putter, they always think just hit a good stroke, so I just keep a good stroke, and straight in.