Honda LPGA Thailand
Siam Country Club, Plantation Course
Pattaya City, Chonburi, Thailand
Feb. 28, 2009

Third-round interviews: Paula Creamer | Brittany Lang | Lorena Ochoa | Karrie Webb

Quick Quotes: Natalie Gulbis


Third-round notes

Creamer takes three stroke lead with 18 to go. American Paula Creamer carded the low round of the day with a 5-under-par 67 to distance herself by three strokes from the rest of the field at the Honda LPGA Thailand at 11-under-par 205 (68-70-67). Competing for the $217,500 winner's check and her ninth career LPGA Tour title, this is the 11th time in her LPGA career Creamer has been a leader or co-leader heading into the final round; winning six times. She earned a third-place finish at Siam Country Club in October 2007.

Lang, Ochoa tied for second. Rolex Rankings' number one Lorena Ochoa and four-year Tour member Brittany Lang are deadlocked at 8-under-par 208 after 54 holes at the Honda LPGA Thailand. The duo are tied for second, three strokes behind leader Paula Creamer. Lang (68-69-71), the 36-hole leader, went 39 holes without a bogey until the fourth hole of Saturday's third round. She more than compensated on the fifth hole, however, after sinking a 50-foot putt for eagle after driving the green on the 287-yard par-4. A bogey on hole 11 and birdie hole 13 were the only non-pars she made.

With 24 career LPGA victories under her belt, Ochoa (71-69-68) has continued her surge up the leaderboard, starting with a first-round tie for 12th, second round tie for sixth and, after the third round, within three strokes of the leader and tied for second. She started the round with a bogey on the first hole, but then carded five birdies throughout the round, including back-to-back on holes 17 and 18.

Webb moves into contention. LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Famer Karrie Webb, of Australia, holds the fourth-place position among the 60-player field at the Honda LPGA Thailand after a third-round 3-under-par 69. With her 5-under-par 211 (71-71-69), Webb is six strokes behind leader Paula Creamer (68-70-67=205, -11), but just three strokes behind Brittany Lang (68-69-71) and Lorena Ochoa (71-69-68). Webb has won 35 times on the LPGA Tour, including seven major championships, with her last win coming at the 2006 Mizuno Classic.

She has already competed in two events on the Australian Ladies Professional Golf (ALPG) Tour this season, finishing tied for 30th at the ANZ Ladies Masters and tied for sixth at the Women's Australian Open. Webb's season best finish in 2008 was runner-up at both the Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika and the ADT Championship, finishing the season with six top-10 finishes, ranked 18th on the LPGA Official Money List ($854,562 in 20 events).

Third-round interviews: Paula Creamer | Brittany Lang | Lorena Ochoa | Karrie Webb

Quick Quotes: Natalie Gulbis

Paula Creamer, 68-70-67=205 (-11)
Scorecard: Hole 1, 375-yard par 4:  birdie - pitching wedge from 114 yards to 12 feet
Hole 4, 382-yard par 4: birdie - 7-iron from 148 yards to 15 feet
Hole 6, 515-yard par 5:  bogey - pitching wedge from 40 yards to 50 feet (short of the green), chip to 10 feet, two putt
Hole 12, 178-yard par 3:  birdie - 7-iron from 157 yards to 10 feet
Hole 13, 520-yard par 5:  birdie - lob wedge from 73 yards to 20 feet
Hole 14, 396-yard par 4:  birdie - 9-iron from 141 yards to 12 feet
Hole 18, 360-yard par 4: birdie - 7-iron from 128 yards to six feet

DANA GROSS-RHODE: Paula, what a great round today. You had three birdies in a row yesterday to kick off the round and another three birdies on the back nine to take a three-stroke lead heading into Sunday.
PAULA CREAMER: I played well today. I started off with a birdie on the first hole which is always a good start. From there on, I just had a lot of good iron shots. I hit more greens today than I had the other two days.

Q. What has kept you motivated so far this week?
PAULA CREAMER: You've got to go out and post a lower score everyday. It is nice to have a three-stroke lead before playing on Sunday. It has always been at the back of my mind. I wanted to go out and play a solid round of golf and I did.

Q. Do you feel pressure when you are the leader?
PAULA CREAMER: I don't feel pressure. I feel like I want to win the tournament. However, you still have 18 holes tomorrow, so you can't be too far ahead of yourself. You just need to focus hole by hole.

Q. You practiced until dark yesterday. Are you planning to do the same for today?
PAULA CREAMER: Probably. I am working on something not only for this week, but for the rest of the year. It is only the second tournament and I still have a long season. I am working on my swing and my short game.

Q. All of your fans and reporters said that you are cute and the most beautiful players in this tournament, how do you feel about that?
PAULA CREAMER: Thank you very much. That's a nice compliment.

Brittany Lang, 68-69-71=208 (-8)
Scorecard:  Hole 4, 382-yard par 4: bogey - wedge out of bunker to 30 feet, two putt
Hole 5, 287-yard par 4:  eagle - driver to 50 feet
Hole 11, 500-yard par 5: bogey - pitching wedge short of the green to 18 feet, three putt
Hole 13, 520-yard par 5:  birdie - 3-wood to 40 feet, two putt; seven-foot putt for birdie

DANA GROSS-RHODE: Brittany, you just got in from signing a lot of autographs. You have a lot of fans out there. What it has been like over the past couple of days?
BRITTANY LANG: The fans here are fantastic. There are very gracious and admirable of the players.

Q. In the beginning, you were leading and now Creamer took up that position and Ochoa is catching up fast? Do you feel intimidated?
BRITTANY LANG: No, I feel fine. I am doing great. Like I said, I like this course so much. I left a lot of strokes out there and feel very confident that I will go out tomorrow and shoot a low score.

Q. Today you played as a leader but tomorrow you will need to catch up. How do you feel about that?
BRITTANY LANG: I haven't had a lot of experience in the lead, but I have had a lot of experience being a few strokes behind. I am comfortable there because the spotlight is not really on you. So, I like my chances tomorrow just to go and play well.

Q. What can you improve with your game for tomorrow?
BRITTANY LANG: I really need to capitalize on the par 5s. So, I just need to take advantage of the par 5s. I had opportunities, but I missed putts so I need to take advantage of those opportunities tomorrow.

Lorena Ochoa, 71-69-68=208 (-8)
Scorecard: Hole 1, 375-yard par 4:  bogey - chip from short of the green to 12 feet, two putt
Hole 5, 287-yard par 4: birdie - chip to five feet
Hole 7, 382-yard par 4: birdie - pitching wedge from 107 yards to 12 feet
Hole 13, 520-yard par 5:  birdie - 7-wood (hybrid) from 210 yards to 32 feet, two putt
Hole 17, 423-yard par 4: birdie - gap wedge from 120 yards to 15 feet
Hole 18, 360-yard par 4: birdie - pitching wedge from 104 yards to four feet

DANA GROSS-RHODE: Lorena, what a great run you had today at the end of the round and you are now tied for second place.
LORENA OCHOA: Thank you. For sure, I did not have the best start because I bogeyed the first hole. After that, things were a lot easier. I am really happy with the way I finished. I made a couple of birdies. I am in a good position for tomorrow. I will try to do my best.

Q. Your score is getting better and better everyday. What were some of your mistakes in the first two days?
LORENA OCHOA: The first round, I made too many bogies. I think everyday I have been very consistent with the birdies. It is important to feel more comfortable with the grass and the wind. The more you play, the more familiar you will get. Hopefully, tomorrow will be another good day.

Q. Do you play differently when you are leader than when you are behind?
LORENA OCHOA: Yes, everyday and every round are different. If you get good breaks, you can do well. There are many different ways to win. Right now, I am behind and I need to shoot the low round to win. I need to play aggressive.

Q. Did you expect to have so many fans before you came to Thailand?
LORENA OCHOA: I am good friend with Virada (Nirapathpongporn) and she said that there is lot of great things in Thailand. It has been great. Thailand is a beautiful place and I had lots of fun. And I just want to say thank you to all the fans.

Q. Did you think it would end up being your day today after making a bogie on the first hole?
LORENA OCHOA: Sometimes you start badly, so you feel angry and motivated at the same time. It is better to make bogie on the first hole than the 18th because you will have 17 more holes to go. I try to be positive.

Karrie Webb, 71-71-69=211 (-5)
Scorecard:  Hole 2, 537-yard par 5: birdie - sand wedge to five feet
Hole 5, 287-yard par 4:  birdie - chip to four feet
Hole 6, 515-yard par 5:  birdie - chip to 10 feet
Hole 14, 396-yard par 4:  bogey - short of the green, chip to 10 feet, two putt
Hole 15, 354-yard par 4:  birdie - sand wedge to seven feet
Hole 17, 423-yard par 4: birdie - sand wedge to 10 feet
Hole 18, 360-yard par 4: bogey - 8-iron into the bunker, chip to three feet, two putt

DANA GROSS-RHODE: You had a great round today. You were 3-under for the day and 5-under overall for the tournament. You played a couple events this year before coming here. How does it help you to have played in Australia before starting on the LPGA Tour?
KARRIE WEBB: I had a couple of months off. It takes a little while to get into it. I think those two tournaments were good warm up for me. I had some good days and some bad days. I think that helped me to get here. When you're off for two months, you don't generally walk 18 holes or are on your feet for six or seven hours. The toughest part is to maintain your concentration for that long, especially in the heat.

Q. How will you prepare yourself for tomorrow?
KARRIE WEBB: Tomorrow I will still do the same thing as I did today. I just hit the ball very well and gave myself a lot of chances.

Q. What are your expectations for this tournament?
KARRIE WEBB: I just want to have a solid round of golf and then see what happens. If I have a shot of winning, I would love to. I am really happy with the three rounds I played so far. I just want to have another solid round tomorrow.

Q. Looking ahead of this week, what do you think will be the key for success this season?
KARRIE WEBB: So far, I have driven the ball really well. That was one thing I needed to work on during the off-season last year. I have to keep the momentum going.

QUICK QUOTES

Natalie Gulbis, 71-71-74=216 (even)
DANA GROSS-RHODE: Natalie, this is one of your first events apart from Hawaii. How are you feeling about this season? How do you handle with the heat in Thailand?
NATALIE GULBIS: I am excited to be in Thailand. This is my first time here. It has been an incredible event, Honda and IMG have done an unbelievable job, especially the way they treat players. It is pretty amazing. I have been working hard on my game.

Q. What happened to the last nine holes because on the first nine holes, your name went up very quickly on the leaderboard?
NATALIE GULBIS: I shot 3-under at the front nine holes. As you said, I went up on the leaderboard. But, then, I short-sighted of myself on 10, bogie. I missed the 11th hole and made bogie. I short-sighted myself on 14, 16 and 18. Even though I missed shots in the wind, you have to miss them on the right side. You have to be smart, missing the right spot but I didn't do that.

Q. How do you balance yourself of being superstar at the LPGA and your performance?
NATALIE GULBIS: My performance always comes first. When I look at how I schedule my day, my practice always come first, my training, my sleep and what it takes to be a professional athlete. If I have time to do other things, I would love to do. I have been blessed to have good opportunities to do some different things. It has been a lot of fun.

Q. What is your target for this year?
NATALIE GULBIS: My first goal is to make The Solheim Cup team. The Solheim year is a big deal for us. I also want to continue to work on my world ranking. My world ranking got really low last year. I would like to get it back up to the top 10 at least in this season.

Q. What is the most interesting thing in Thailand?
NATALIE GULBIS: I am pretty excited about the Thai massage. If I had more time, I would like to visit Buddhist temples and spend a little more time downtown. People have been great to us. They are really excited to see women golf and that is the big deal for us.