McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola
Bulle Rock Golf Course
Havre de Grace, Md.
June 10, 2007
Final-round leader quotes: Suzann Pettersen | Karrie Webb | Na On Min | Lindsey Wright | Paula Creamer | Lorena Ochoa | Annika Sorenstam | Michelle Wie
Pettersen makes McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola first major victory
With her second win of the season, becomes the first Norwegian to win a major championship
From outside the ropes, it was nearly déjà vu watching Suzann Pettersen play holes 15 through 17 in the final round of a major championship in contention for the lead. But the swing created over those three holes at the McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola resulted in a dramatically different outcome. Rather than carding a 4-over-par as she did at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in April to lose by one stroke, Pettersen went birdie-par-birdie to claim her first major victory at Bulle Rock Golf Course on Sunday. Pettersen finished at 14-under-par 274 (69-67-71-67) and outlasted 2006 runner-up Karrie Webb (68-69-71-67) by just one stroke.
“Every shot came out as I thought and as I could see them, so that was pretty neat,” said Pettersen, who became the season's second multiple winner with Lorena Ochoa. “I've just been really feeling good with the putter this week. I could kind of see all the lines and it was just a matter of if you got the right pace or not.”
She was feeling good about a putter that had been in her bag for all of five days. During her Tuesday pro-am, frustrated with her putting after a tie for 45th—her worst finish of the season—at last week's Ginn Tribute Hosted by ANNIKA, Pettersen borrowed a putter from one of the amateurs and never gave it back.
“For me, it couldn't get much worse. I looked at it and I was like, ‘Wow, this is doing exactly what I want it to do, and it's so simple, so I'll just take it,” Pettersen said, just minutes after winning a $300,000 paycheck, which sent her past the $1 million mark in season earnings for the first time in her five-years on the LPGA Tour. “I hardly change my equipment during the season. If you feel good with something, you should go with the guts, so that's what I did.”
Pettersen was two strokes off the lead after the first round, but had built a one-stroke lead after 36 holes over Webb with 8-under (136) and 7-under (137) performances, respectively, at the halfway point.
“Suzann has always had more talent in her little finger than a lot of people out here. It's just been a matter of time before she started playing the way that she is,” Webb said about Pettersen after the second round. “She's got a good swing, a really good ball striker, and she's putting it all together right now.”
Webb, who lost to Se Ri Pak in 2006 after Pak made a birdie on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff, nailed her 8-iron from the 18th fairway to 20 feet on Sunday and sank the putt for birdie and the 13-under-par mark. In the group ahead of Pettersen, who entered 18 at 14-under-par, all Webb could do was wait by the scoring trailer for the final outcome. Pettersen's 8-iron landed 30 feet from the hole and she two-putted for her first major championship victory. Webb's mark is the lowest runner-up finish in tournament history, but the 2001 champion once again found herself just shy of winning her second McDonald's LPGA Championship title.
“I missed a handful of putts inside of four or five feet this week. But yesterday afternoon on the back nine, I really made some really huge putts that went against the little confidence that I felt at times over the putter,” Webb said. “She obviously executed very well coming down the stretch and she should be very proud of herself.”
Pettersen wasn't always in control, however, as she fired her tournament-high 71 (-1) during the third round, which was no match for rookie Na On Min's tournament-low 65 (-7). Min, an 18-year-old non-exempt rookie playing in her first major championship and sixth LPGA Tour event, dominated the course with eight birdies and just one bogey during the third round to take over the top of the leaderboard by one stroke. While her final round 70 was nothing to sniff at after rounds of 71-70-65, her 12-under-par was two-strokes off of Pettersen's mark. Regardless, a third-place finish was enough for a $129,880 paycheck, which more than doubled her season earnings leading into the week.
“My putting first and second day was not comfortable, but third round I found my stroke,” said Min, who moved into second in the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year race. “I just tried to keep that faith—and I just missed front nine, but I find again on the back nine.”
Lindsey Wright (71-70-71-66=278, -10) tied her career-low round on Sunday for a career-best finish in fourth place. Wright's game is suited to the Bulle Rock Golf Course as she has her best finishes in a major at this event with a tie for 16th in 2005 and tie for 20th last year. Rounding out the top-five was rookie Angela Park (67-73-68-71=279, -9) in fifth place. The rookie has played in all 13 events on the official LPGA Tour schedule so far this season and made the cut every week on her way to a commanding lead in the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year race.
Final-round leader quotes: Suzann Pettersen | Karrie Webb | Na On Min | Lindsey Wright | Paula Creamer | Lorena Ochoa | Annika Sorenstam | Michelle Wie
Final-round notes
Pettersen tops Rolex Player of the Year race. McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola champion Suzann Pettersen moved into first in the Rolex Player of the Year race on Sunday with 128 total points. Pettersen, who went into the week in third behind world number one Lorena Ochoa and Morgan Pressel, earned 60 points for her victory. Ochoa currently ranks second with 126 points while Pressel, Paula Creamer and Stacy Prammanasudh round out the top five with 77, 69 and 66 points, respectively.
Park still top rookie with top-five finish. Eighteen-year-old rookie Angela Park used her fifth-place finish (67-73-68-71=279, -9) at the McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola to earn 130 points toward the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year race. Park, who has recorded three top-10 finishes this year, currently has 516 points which is 229 points ahead of second place Na On Min. Min, who is also 18, used her third place finish to earn 150 points and is currently in second with 287 points. In-Kyung Kim ranks third with 243 points, while Charlotte Mayorkas (120 points) and Jin Joo Hong (80 points) rank fourth and fifth, respectively.
Webb, Park move into top-10 in ADT Points race. Karrie Webb and Angela Park used their top-five finishes at the McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola to move into the top-10 in the ADT Points race. With the first half of the season coming to a close after the Wegmans LPGA—the next stop on the LPGA Tour—Webb used her second-place finish to move into seventh with 401,790 ADT Points, while Park used her fifth-place finish to move into 10th place with 358,764 points. Eleven spots will be available for the season-ending ADT Championship—and a chance to earn a $1 million first-place paycheck—after the final putt drops at the Wegmans LPGA in Rochester, N.Y. Lorena Ochoa currently leads the points race with 1,254,404 points, while Paula Creamer (668,974), Sarah Lee (580,948), Stacy Prammanasudh (552,707) and Mi Hyun Kim (526,988) are ranked second, third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
Pettersen qualifies for Samsung World Championship. With her one-shot victory at the McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola on Sunday, 26-year-old Suzann Pettersen qualified to play in the Samsung World Championship at BIGHORN Golf Club in Palm Desert, Calif., Oct. 11-14. Pettersen will join 19-year-old Morgan Pressel in the 20-player field. Last month, Pettersen also qualified for the ADT Championship and The Mitchell Company LPGA Tournament of Champions with her first-career victory at the Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill.
Trio of Solheim Cup vets card 66. Pat Hurst, Juli Inkster and Cristie Kerr—all past members of the U.S. Solheim Cup Team—carded final-round, field-low 6-under-par 66s at the McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola. Hurst posted three previous rounds of 69-75-76 to enter Sunday tied for 51st at 4-over-par. She finished the tournament tied for 25th. Inkster had been steady with 73s during her first 54 holes this week and she finished the tournament tied for 21st. Kerr, who started the day tied for 40th with rounds of 75-70-73, made four consecutive birdies on her first four holes of the final round. She finished the tournament tied for 18th.
Davies earns paycheck at McDonald's LPGA Championship. Karen Davies, who won the 2006 Golf For Women Magazine LPGA Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP) National Championship to qualify for the McDonald's LPGA Championship last week at Bulle Rock Golf Course, made the 36-hole cut on Friday and finished tied for 76th at 10-over-par 298 (73-74-76-75). Davies, the only LPGA Teaching and Club Professional to make the cut this week, played on the LPGA Tour for 12 seasons and recorded her career-best finish of sixth three different times. Six LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals earned their way into the prestigious event by winning their section tournament or the LPGA T&CP National Championship.
WD: Young Kim withdrew during the second round due to illness; Na Ri Kim and Sun Young Yoo withdrew due to injury. Seo-Yeon Jeon and Soo-Yun Kang each withdrew part-way through the first round due to illness. Jennifer Rosales did not start and Maggie Will replaced her in the field.
Final-round leader quotes: Suzann Pettersen | Karrie Webb | Na On Min | Lindsey Wright | Paula Creamer | Lorena Ochoa | Annika Sorenstam | Michelle Wie
Suzann Pettersen, 69-67-71-67=274 (-14)
Scorecard: Hole 5, 389-yard par 4: birdie – 9-iron from 120 yards to tap it
Hole 8, 481-yard par 5: birdie – 4-iron from 190 yards to 25 feet, two putt
Hole 9, 413-yard par 4: bogey – wedge from 110 yards right of the green, chip to five feet, missed putt
Hole 10, 373-yard par 4: birdie – wedge from 120 yards to six feet
Hole 13, 415-yard par 4: birdie – 8-iron from 140 yards to 10 feet
Hole 15, 493-yard par 5: birdie – 3-wood from 230 yards to 35 feet, two putt
Hole 17, 171-yard par 3: birdie – 7-iron to 15 feet
DANA GROSS RHODE: Thank you all for coming in. Suzann Pettersen, congratulations. This is your second win this season, your second career win, first major win. Just what are you feeling right now?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I don't know, I mean, it's a major, I haven't realized that yet.
But it's certainly a nice feeling to stand on the green by yourself and lift the trophy. It felt as good as it did at Kingsmill.
Q. There was a lot of focus this being a major on what happened in the last one, and I think there was almost a wait and see, what's she going to do next. What was going through your head? Because it doesn't seem like you hardly missed a shot on the back nine.
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Stroke play is simple—the game is difficult enough as it is. So just try to hit the easiest shot out there. Every shot came out as I thought and as I could see them, so that was pretty neat. I've just been really feeling good with the putter this week. So I mean, I could kind of see all the lines and it was just a matter of if you got the right pace or not.
I mean, it was all very confident, very comfortable, and again I was really calm. I felt good. I could feel a bit of tension coming on the back nine, and then the last couple of holes. But while I must say, experience, it does help. It felt good.
Q. Do you think players from now on are going to be asking their Pro Am partners for their putter before they start tournaments?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Well, I don't know, depends on how they meet their Pro Am partners. But for me, it was—it couldn't get much worse. So for me it was just—I looked at it and I was like, ‘Wow, this is doing exactly what I want it to do, and it's so simple, so I'll just take it.'
That was the only reason. I hardly change my equipment during the season. But I mean, if you feel good with something, you should go with the guts, so that's what I did.
Q. Who was the gentleman whose putter you stole?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Tom Elliot.
Q. Did you pay him for the putter?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: No. But I did get him a new one because this one, it's so special, everything is special, he didn't want a replacement.
Q. Are you aware of the leaderboard and the pressure Karrie was putting on you?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: On the front nine I just tried to get in a good rhythm and hit good golf shots and give myself opportunity. Sure, on the back nine, I looked on the leaderboard and I could see a lot of players were playing well today. There were a lot of low scores. On the back nine, I mean, again, I felt pretty good. I hit the fairways, which was my main goal today. That sets up my iron shots pretty good.
So walking off 15 with a birdie, that felt good. I knew I could kind of make one coming in. I was really relieved when I hit the fairway on 18. Then I knew I could do it.
Q. Not knowing Na On before the round, can you talk about the pressure of being in the last group and how she handled her round, her first major?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I'm starting to feel good coming down and being one of the favorites. Teeing off on the last on the leaderboard, that's where you want to be in every major in every tournament. That's how you build experience and that's how you build your game.
You want to be under the pressure, and that's what you practice for every day. It's a good test. Sometimes you will pass it and sometimes you will fail it. In this game, you will probably fail it more than you will win it. So you just have to appreciate the wins when you finally do get them.
Q. Just wondering how long you've had McDonald's as a sponsor?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Oh, I've been with McDonald's—I'm a Ronald McDonald children ambassador at home, one out of five athletes. It's very special for me to stand here today and win McDonald's and being a part of the charity. I'm pretty proud of that.
Q. Tell me about your decision on 15, how far did you have and when you went for the green in two, how far did you have and what did you hit it with?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I had 230 to the pin. It's not a pin that you can attack from where I was. You just try to get on to the green.
The thing was to lay up, it's still a pretty difficult third shot with the pin up on top. So I thought getting around the green I would end up chipping—getting around so I can chip it, it's easier than having a 50 yard shot over the top. Then it just came out exactly how I thought.
Q. Can you talk about all of the changes you've made in the last few months with your caddie and with Gary and how much that has changed everything for you?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I mean it, was just a big decision from the end of last year to change something that's, I mean, you've had for a long time. You just have to make one decision that you're going to make a change; then you need to change and commit to the new stuff.
The work I've been done with Gary has worked pretty well, I must say. And then the combination of working with Pia and Lynn really helps my mental approach. Just trying to find the state of mind where you perform your best; I think I'm pretty close to finding it.
It was for me a good test in the practice round on Wednesday. I mean, I could feel my body just calm down, how I kind of just let everything come to me. My mental approach this week was just don't let anything get to you. Just let it bounce off and I certainly did.
Q. Did you hear the roar when Karrie made her birdie putt on 18, and as you were walking down 18, how did you manage to keep your focus?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: No, I just asked my caddie if that was a birdie because the roar was so big, and he said yes. I mean, I think we would have played the same way even if she had not made that birdie. My goal was just to hit to the middle of the green and I had a good two putt to win. The crucial point was the putt I made on 17. That made it a little bit easier.
Q. I know you said the other day that you put what happened at Kraft behind you, but coming down the stretch today, did you at all flash back to what happened, even just to tell yourself it's going to be different this time?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: No, because I felt different. I wasn't even close to being in those emotions that I was back then.
Now I finally proved to all of you that I can actually put it all together and take a major, so now I probably don't have to get that question again. (Smiling).
Q. I wonder, in 2005, you had a back injury that limited your season, could you talk about coming back from that, how serious was it, and was there any time where coming back was in jeopardy or in doubt?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I mean, I think I've said it a lot of times, but I didn't play for eight months. It was hard. It was—but as competitive as I am, you set yourself goals. When you're lying on the couch, your goal is to start walking and when you start walking, you want to start walking for hours and when you start walking, you want to start running and when you start running, you want to bike and then you want to do weight training.
So everything was to try to set targets and try to achieve them. Yes, there was a doubt if I was ever going to play golf again. But I had good people, I had good doctors and I had good people to support me along the way. Now it feels great and I probably appreciate every day a little bit more being healthy.
Q. What was the injury?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I had a slipped disk from a ruptured disk in my L4 L5. So it was pretty bad. A slipped disk.
Q. No surgery?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: No surgery.
Q. So talking about new targets, what would be your target after winning a major?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: U.S. (Women's) Open. That's our next major and it's only in like, what is it, two, three weeks? So I'll have a week now to enjoy, think back and store the memories from this week, play Rochester as a warm up and then be ready again, U.S. Open.
Q. Do you see yourself as becoming number one in the sport as well?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Well, it is my target. It probably helped with this win today. There are a lot of good players up there. It all depends who has their week and who has the luck to pull it off.
I was fortunate today. I played well and I had some good breaks. I mean, as long as you put yourself in position to be there when it happens, then everything can happen.
Q. Could you talk about 17, after watching Min, birdie four straight holes and then hit it pretty close on 17, the club you hit and what was going through your mind?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: It was a pretty good yardage. It was 160, so that's just a nice 7-iron, so I didn't have to kill it. I put a nice, smooth swing on it. It came out pretty much as I wanted. I was surprised it actually bounced that far. But once I got to the ball, could I kind of see the line straightaway, so I asked my caddie, can you see that mark. He was like it's right up there it must be right at the hole. The line looked like it wasn't going to break too much, but I actually went with my instinct and it was just perfect.
Q. You keep saying everything, you saw everything the way it was; did you see anything that was not the way—on the back nine?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: No, pretty much every shot, all the tee shots, I just wanted to hit like little fades so I wouldn't hook it in the woods. And the iron shots came out all as I practiced this week. So when I really needed it, it came straight into me so, that was nice.
Q. Which has been more difficult, trying to control or get the mental part of the game in check, or trying to work on new things in terms of the swing and putting?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I think it's a fine combination. For me, technique gives me a lot of confidence.
But also, you also learn I mean, you're not going to play perfect every day, so whatever you have, you need to —you kind of learn to play with.
Like yesterday, I didn't feel like I was hitting it great and when I warmed up—I talked about it later, you can't judge three balls on how I hit it that day. But that's how I am; I expect the best out of me and when I don't do it, I'll be disappointed. You always have to be one step ahead of yourself so you don't drag yourself down in bad energy.
I'm getting better at it but it's one of my I really to hit the ball great, I need a lot of confidence.
Q. Karrie had said earlier in the week that you had more talent in your pinky than most people on this tour. I'd just be curious how good you think you can be.
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Well, I believe that I can be the best player in the world. But you have to give me time. But, I mean, if I continue like this, that helps. It definitely helps with my confidence. Once you have the confidence, you will probably tee it off every week and you want to win.
So it's been a good couple of months and I have to kind of reset my goals all the time because I achieve what I want to achieve, and I have to just look ahead. So not to set a limit, but just see the challenge in everything.
DANA GROSS RHODE: That was a great round. Once again, you qualify for the ADT Championship and you're also in the Samsung Word Championship and Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions.
Karrie Webb, 68-69-71-67=275 (-13)
Scorecard: Hole 4, 380-yard par 4: birdie – 8-iron to five feet
Hole 5, 389-yard par 4: bogey – tee shot missed fairway right into bunker, second shot out of bunker 40 yards short of green, chip to 15 feet, missed putt
Hole 6, 387-yard par 4: bogey – tee shot missed fairway right, wedge to 40 feet, two-putt
Hole 7, 170-yard par 3: birdie – 7-iron to 10 feet
Hole 8, 481-yard par 5: birdie – 22-degree rescue to 40 feet, two-putt
Hole 11, 596-yard par 5: birdie – tee shot missed fairway, second shot into left rough, 8-iron to 50 feet, two-putt
Hole 14, 372-yard par 4: birdie – sand wedge to 15 feet
Hole 17, 171-yard par 3: birdie – 7-iron to 15 feet
Hole 18, 385-yard par 4: birdie – 8-iron to 25 feet
PAM WARNER: Karrie, thanks for coming in and joining us. Second straight second place finish here at McDonald's. Coming down the stretch you made a few birdies and finished with 67 on the day. Just talk about your finish today.
KARRIE WEBB: Obviously, you know, to shoot 67 today, you almost would have thought that would have been good enough. The conditions were pretty benign and obviously a lot easier than yesterday.
But obviously disappointed that I lost by one, but pretty happy with my performance. Obviously coming down the stretch, I did a lot of good things. You know, obviously to lose by one, you can always question as to what if, and I didn't execute very well off the tee on 15 and 16. That was really the difference. If I would have hit the fairway on 15 and made a birdie there, there's my one shot.
But still made a great par there and made a great up and down on 16, and then two great birdies. So, you know, I made Suzann think about it on the last, which is all I could ask for on the end when I was two shots behind playing the last.
So, I'm proud of myself. I didn't putt my best all week, but obviously when it counted yesterday afternoon on the back nine and today on the back nine, I made the putts that counted. It's good to be it feels good to be up there in the mix of things again, and I think it's good timing with the big summer coming up.
Q. You always seem to get your game in top level right around this time of the year. Is it a fact that there's three majors in such a short period that helps your focus?
KARRIE WEBB: I guess so. I don't know if every year I'm fortunate enough to have my game in good shape, but I have been swinging it quite nicely for a month or so now.
You know, good to see some putts go in, and hopefully I can add to that at Wegman's, and looking forward to the U.S. Open and carry this form into the U.S. Open.
Q. How much would your experience a factor after the bogeys to get things back together and regroup?
KARRIE WEBB: I had gotten off to a pretty good start. I had three pretty decent birdie chances on 1,2 and 3 and didn't make very good putts. On 4 I was giving myself a bit of a kick in the butt walking down 6 fairway and ended up making my second in a row. 8 really got things going for me again.
Q. You've got quite a few majors under your belt; do you remember your first major what it felt like?
KARRIE WEBB: Mine was a come from behind win. I shot 66 66 on the weekend. For me it was I don't know, I still was quite young but I was feeling the pressure from the media at the time about when I was going to win my first major.
So it was kind of obviously I was very excited. My mom was over at the time but also relieved, too, that I didn't have to answer the silly questions anymore.
Q. I never asked that forward; can we get that in the transcript. You never really had a catastrophe in any of the majors; to have what Suzann went through at Kraft ten weeks ago and be where she is now.
KARRIE WEBB: I think winning at Kingsmill, too, she played pretty well coming down the stretch. But I guess in the back of my mind, I knew what had happened to her at Kraft and I just knew I needed to keep putting pressure on her.
Obviously I saw her hit a couple of loose drives yesterday afternoon on the back nine. So you know, I knew if I stayed pretty close that I would have a chance. She obviously executed very well coming down the stretch and she should be very proud of herself.
Q. Sort of to follow up on that, what does that say about her, to go through what she did at Nabisco and to come back and win the very next major she plays in?
KARRIE WEBB: It shows a lot of courage and guts and trust in her ability.
I mean, Suzann, I've played with her when I think she was 18 or 19 in Australia and was just oozing with talent at the time. She's had a couple of injuries since then.
You know, she's someone that you've been waiting to see sort of she's been an underachiever for a long time, and I think she's only 26 or something. So this is a great boost for her and I think with this confidence that she has, I think you'll see her continuing to play well for years to come.
Q. For someone who says you've been struggling or didn't putt your best, you made a bunch when you had to on the back. If you could just speak to that.
KARRIE WEBB: Well, I think that's sort of what I was touching on at the beginning; that I missed a handful of putts inside of four or five feet this week. But yesterday afternoon on the back nine and today on the back nine, I really made some really huge putts that went against the little confidence that I felt at times over the putter.
I was really especially the back nine today, I was really able to clear my mind. It's amazing how noisy it can get inside my head sometimes. So I was glad to be able to clear that a little bit and really put some good strokes on it.
Q. Is it at all encouraging in terms of whenever you get your confidence back in your stroke what you can accomplish?
KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, obviously it's good timing. I'm really excited to go back to Pine Needles. Obviously I won my second U.S. Open there, but it's probably been my most favorite U.S. Open course that we've played.
So I'm really excited to go back there and really pleased that my game looks like it's getting in tip top shape.
Q. If you were young and dumb, were there any other options at 15, the first shot?
KARRIE WEBB: I could have tried to play it, but I wouldn't have made par. (Laughter).
I think I learned from trying yesterday on 14, trying to move it when I knew I couldn't move it. And I hit some I hit three pretty good shots or two really good shots into that green, second shots. So I felt pretty comfortable with my shot in there. So I knew that making bogey, that would be the end of my tournament. So I had to at least make par.
Q. Besides the fact that you won by a million strokes, why is Pine Needles your favorite venue?
KARRIE WEBB: I was going to say it's a ball striker's course, but most U.S. Open courses are. You have to be really precise there. It's just a really pretty golf course. You know, every hole is just it's exciting to play every hole. To shape your tee shots, to hit great shots in, and then it's not just all about the rough there. It's typical Donald Ross course around the greens. There's a lot of run offs and a lot of options with your short game. That was the site of my first U.S. Open, as well, '96, as a rookie. Obviously I have great memories because I won there. But I don't know, it's just one of those courses that you could play every day and never get bored.
Quick quotes
Na On Min, 71-70-65-70=276 (-12)
Q. What was the difference?
NA ON MIN: I just thought too much in my head when I'm putting. Just want to forget about it and focus on the hole and my ball.
Q. The four straight birdies, did that make you feel proud?
NA ON MIN: When I get like 16, my last birdie, I didn't know just focus.
Q. You were focused?
NA ON MIN: I didn't know it was four birdies.
Q. What were your thoughts of Suzann?
NA ON MIN: Suzann is really great player. She hits long and she just keeps trying to play. She is a very strong player
Q. What did you learn this week?
NA ON MIN: English.
Q. About yourself or about your game?
NA ON MIN: I came here just last year. I practice in my country and here.
Q. Does it prove that you can compete and contend out here, that you can play with the very best players stroke for stroke; you came within a few strokes of winning. Do you feel more confident?
NA ON MIN: Yeah, I just yeah. Just feel comfortable and my putting first and second day was not comfortable, but third round I found my stroke. So I just tried to keep that faith and I just missed front nine but I find again on the back nine.
Q. The tears, is that just disappointment?
NA ON MIN: (The media from Korea) just ask about my father.
Q. What did they ask?
NA ON MIN: "Say something to your father."
Q. Is it just because he's invested so much in your career?
NA ON MIN: Yeah, for me, he's done everything.
Q. Before you go, could you do your four birdies in a row?
NA ON MIN: No. 13, 8 iron about six feet and made the putt.
14, I hit a gap wedge about 15 feet, 18 feet and made the putt.
No. 15 was about 12 foot, made it.
Then 16 was a 6 footer. Gap wedge into 16. And 15 was just a half of a pitching wedge.
Lindsey Wright, 71-70-71-66=278 (-10)
Q. Lindsey, you certainly put yourself in position, you have to feel good about your rounds?
LINDSEY WRIGHT: Yeah, I haven't even had time to absorb it. I've just come straight off the course. It's awesome. I'm so excited, I didn't look at the leaderboard all day. I didn't know where I was until probably 15. It's awesome. I'm so excited
Q. Do you think about that front nine, that it really set the tone with the four birdies on the front?
LINDSEY WRIGHT: Yeah, I was putting great and I took advantage of the front nine. Not saying it's playing easy today but there's a lot of birdie opportunities. I took advantage of it which is in my favor.
Q. How nerve wracking will the next hour or so be?
LINDSEY WRIGHT: I was pretty nervous. I've been choking the last nine holes of the tournament so I was a little nervous coming into the last nine.
But I held it together which I'm really happy with.
Q. What will your routine be as you wait to see if the other players come back?
LINDSEY WRIGHT: I'll probably just chat, sign autographs, and have a look and see how everyone is going. But I haven't even seen the leaderboard. I don't know what's going on right now.
Q. It seems like you've played well here at McDonald's the last couple of years, is it the course?
LINDSEY WRIGHT: I love the course. Yeah, it's a great course. I've stayed with the same people for three years now, so everything's great off the course. I have a great time. It's a great area. I love it.
Paula Creamer, 71-68-73-68=280 (-8)
Q. Paula, I guess you felt like you left a few out there today?
PAULA CREAMER: I did. I hit the ball really good today. I had a lot of 10, 15 footers, pretty much all throughout the back nine. It's just unfortunate I couldn't make more of them.
But, I put myself in contention with a good front nine. But 4 under today is not bad on Sunday.
Q. Do you still sit and watch and wait and maybe hope they come back a few?
PAULA CREAMER: Oh, I'm pretty sure that they are going to Karrie is in there, Suzann, they are pretty much going to hold it off.
Like I said, as long as I keep giving myself chances and opportunities, that's all you can ask for.
Q. Another major, so do you gain some experience from playing on the weekend?
PAULA CREAMER: Of course. The more I'm out on Sunday in the later part of the tee times, the more I can take into my golf game. I made enough birdies to win the tournament, but it's just those bogeys that creep in once in awhile.
Lorena Ochoa, 71-71-69-69=280 (-8)
Q. Are you happy with the way you played this week?
LORENA OCHOA: Well, I tried really hard and I gave everything. I'm really happy because of that. There is nothing else I can do. I played really good. Just my putting didn't really help me today and a little upset about that, but nothing else I can do.
Q. You had a really good chance; you were in it all day. Can you tell us about what happened on the last few holes? Did you misread greens or not feel comfortable on the greens?
LORENA OCHOA: No, nothing really happened. I just had a really bad break on my second shot, on 16. I had a really bad lie, downhill deep in the rough. One yard to the right I'm in the bunker and one yard to the left I'm in a good lie in the fairway. Just sometimes, you know, you need to have good breaks and make them.
So it didn't happen for me.
Q. You had a lot of people pulling for you; talk about going into the next tournament.
LORENA OCHOA: We have a big event with Annika in México and then go to Rochester. There's nothing that I can really change, just keep trying and hopefully it will happen.
Q. The U.S. Open coming up, your next chance, is there more pressure on you being No. 1?
LORENA OCHOA: No, I don't feel the pressure. I'm enjoying myself a lot and I'm really having a good time. I want to, you know, stay there. So I'm going to keep working hard and hopefully next time.
Q. What are your thoughts on the course?
LORENA OCHOA: I think the course on the weekend played a lot more like a major. During the week it was soft greens and soft fairways but they did a great job on the weekend. It's a good challenge.
Q. And how about the crowds?
LORENA OCHOA: I always enjoy it very much. They give a lot of support and a lot of Mexicans come to watch me play. It feels very nice.
Annika Sorenstam, 70-69-73-71=283 (-5)
Q. Must be nice to end with a round under par.
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, I must say today I felt really good all day. There was something special today. The score might not show it, but I just felt I felt like my old self today. I had a pretty good feel with the grip. It was just a good day, it really was.
Q. Do you feel like you've got your competitive legs back under you?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, that's what Terry told me. I said, "We're competitive again." I'm really looking forward to the Open. It's been a while since I've looked forward to another tournament. Now I have two weeks off and I'm really looking forward to it.
Q. Do you feel like your return is sort of peaking at the right time for the Open?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I'm not sure if I will be peaking, but I really feel like it's coming around. I've come a long way the last two months really the last three weeks in the last two months. Today was a special feeling. I can feel it again.
You know, I was in between clubs a few times and I was able to hit with feel. It's been a long time since I had that. Last year was just, you know, I had no feel.
Q. When you say you have the feeling again now, what does that mean exactly?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: It means I feel it in the grip, in the club, in the backswing. It's hard to explain. I just really feel the grip. I feel the club, in the backswing it's tough to explain. I'm getting some of the distance back. I mean, I flew the green on 16 and it was, you know, one of the biggest pitching wedge I've ever hit; it was just smooth. Those are things that I'm looking for that makes me it makes me happy that I'm going in the right direction.
Q. Did the practice on the putting green pay off?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: A little bit. I think I hit some good putts today.
You know, again, this is only my second tournament back, and I thought last week it would take four to five weeks, so I think it's coming further and faster than I could have expected.
Q. What will you work on to get back to 100%?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I need to work on all parts of the game. I'm looking forward to getting a chance to practice. I haven't been able to practice because I've had to pace myself. I've been warming up with less than my normal routine and I haven't hit balls after the round because I have to pace myself. Now I have two weeks where I can hit some balls and work on some things.
I feel better. There's an excitement there that I have not felt in a while. That to me is very important.
Q. How is the body holding up?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: It's fine. I'm thrilled. I think two weeks off is going to do me really well.
Q. On a scale, from 1 to 10
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: My performance? I think it's up there. It's not the old me but it's a lot better than I expected. To finish in the top 20 in a major, I'll take that.
Michelle Wie, 73-74-83-79=309 (+21)
Q. When was the decision made that you felt like could you give it a go today?
MICHELLE WIE: You know, I visited with my doctor yesterday. He said that I could play today. But you know, I was very frustrated with my round today. I felt like I was playing a little bit better but the score didn't come out and I made a couple of silly mistakes. I know what I need to work on now and just keep working at it and be patient with myself and just work at it.
Q. Did the wrist feel better than it did 24 hours ago?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, but unfortunately I was stuck in the rough quite a few times so that was unfortunate. But like I said it's a work in progress. I'm definitely going to try to be patient with myself.
Q. Did you find your misses were one direction more than another?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, you know, I think that's where I progressed, missing from both sides it's kind of one sided a little bit now. I feel like it's getting a little bit better each day. Like I said it's not going to happen overnight.
I just have to be patient with myself and work diligently on it. Still have to work on my putting and short game and long game. I just have to work really hard at it the next two weeks and after playing four days in a row, I've figured out what I have to work on and I'm just going to work on it and hopefully play 5,000 times better than this week.
Q. Your wrist is still bothering you; are you comfortable with your decision to play this week, do you think it was the right thing to do?
MICHELLE WIE: I think that it was a good decision but also maybe a couple of weeks too early. I think I gained a lot of experience and confidence by playing four days this week. Like I said, I have to test the waters sometime. There's really no given date for this. Like I said I've never been injured before. This is my first injury.
I was playing it by ear and testing the water and I felt like this week is a lot better than last week and I hope the U.S. Open is going to be a lot better.
But like I said I just have to work really hard on it. I know what I have to work on and all I have to do is work on it and be patient with myself.
Q. What will you do?
MICHELLE WIE: I'm going to New York for a couple of days and then I'm going down to Orlando. Just work on it, get a lot of rounds in and it's just really just work.
Q. What will you take away from all of the adversity you've gone through?
MICHELLE WIE: You know I'm going through a hard time right now. Obviously injuries are not fun. It just shows me who you know, who I really trust and it just really shows who people really like me for, whether it's me as a person or just as a golfer. I'm really getting close to my friends and my family because they have been really getting me through this. It's not a fun time really. But it's just going to be really hard. I've got to work with David, I've got to work with myself and I just have to be confident.
Q. Do you find that you're having a hard time trusting your swing?
MICHELLE WIE: No, not really.
Q. At impact, I guess.
MICHELLE WIE: I haven't really played for a long time, and that's what happens when you don't play for a long time. Right when I injured my wrist I was like, okay, I'll just take a couple of months off and everything will be back where it was. But it's not. Like I said, I've never been through an injury before and it's not like that. I'm back at step one and just have to build on it and over the next two weeks, three weeks I'm just going to work really hard at it and just be patient with myself and just work on it.
Q. I was thinking of the shot yesterday when you were standing on the rocks and there were still rocks near you, and you were getting ready to punch it, were you like, my wrist is still sore and there's these rocks in front of me?
MICHELLE WIE: I was more like scared that I was going to fall off the rock. It was an interesting shot. But obviously that's kind of running through my head, the main thing that's running through my head is how am I going to get my shot on to the green.
Q. Have there been any discussions at all about possibly shutting it down for the rest of the year just to regroup physically and emotionally?
MICHELLE WIE: No, definitely my wrist is healing. If it wasn't healing, if I broke it again or if I, you know, had another accident, maybe. But I feel like it's healing right now.
It's just like I said again and again, rehab is not fun. It's just you're back at step one again and I just have to work on it and I just have to be patient with myself and just keep on working on it. That's just what golf is; you just won't be back where you were if you take five months off, four months off.
I'm back at step one. I'm just going to really work on it.
Q. How much do you look forward to college?
MICHELLE WIE: A lot actually. I think it's going to be so much fun. High school is more like a mandatory thing. You have to go to high school. I have to wake up at 7:30. But college, you know, you can make your own schedule. You can learn whatever you want. You know I'm just really excited. I'm going to be dorming next year, so I just turned in my housing applications on Friday. So I'm just really excited.
Q. Do you have to dorm at Stanford?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I do, but I also kind of want to, just to get the freedom a little bit and experience it. Because, I don't know, I just think it would be kind of weird if I stayed at home.
Q. When will you find out who your roommate is?
MICHELLE WIE: I'm not really sure yet. I want my friend to be my roommate, we were kind of like, oh, let's be roommates, but we'll see if they let us.
Q. Will we see you at Pine Needles?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I'll definitely be there and try to play better.
Q. What have you heard about that course?
MICHELLE WIE: That there's a lot of pine trees.
Q. Good answer. Are you going to go early and play a few rounds?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I think so. I'm definitely going to go to Orlando for a little bit and work on my swing and then go to Pine Needles.
Q. What's the best new movie of the summer?
MICHELLE WIE: Well, um, I'll have to see but I have to say Shrek 3 was really good I sound like a five year old, great. (Laughter) I'm going to see Ocean's 13 next week, so I'll let you know in the next couple of weeks.
Q. Any consolation getting your first paycheck of the year?
MICHELLE WIE: It's kind of fun actually it's a good feeling. It's a good feeling to get a paycheck. (Giggling).
Q. What is it like to see Morgan win a major, and atop the leaderboard is another 18 year old? What is that like to see these teenagers?
MICHELLE WIE: I think it's great for them. You know, they deserve it. They have worked really hard at it. And obviously they have the talent and you know they are up and coming risers. I hope the best for them. They are really talented and I just hope they do well.
Q. Does it fire you up at all?
MICHELLE WIE: Most definitely. I'm a competitor and no matter who wins I want to do better. I think that's the fun part about the game is that you play better and other players play better, so it's always a constant struggle to be at the top. Right now like I said I'm back at step one and I have a lot of building to do. I think it's going to be a long, hard road to get there but I think it's going to be a fun adventure.
Q. When do you think you'll be back to the point where you can compete for titles?
MICHELLE WIE: You know, we'll have to see about that. It might happen quicker than I think. It might happen slower than I think. Like I said it's my first injury so I'm not sure what's going to happen. I'm going to be patient with myself but at the same time work really hard at it.
Q. Have you figured out a major for Stanford?
MICHELLE WIE: I'm kind of in between economics or communications or maybe like international relations or maybe something with math.
Q. Journalism?
MICHELLE WIE: I don't know. Maybe. I'm not actually a great writer. I'm more of a math person, so we'll have to see.
Q. Will you scale back your playing once you start school?
MICHELLE WIE: No. I think that high school was a full time thing for me and I think college like I said college is more of a mandatory education system where I had to be there. I was only allowed to miss two weeks a semester.
College is I'm paying my money to go there and I think that I'm just going to study a lot in my off season and play a lot of golf. I think hopefully it will be a good balance. We'll see when I get there. But I'm definitely not taking more time off. I'm going to play more.
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