The 2001 U.S. Women’s Open kicked off with several
player interviews on Tuesday, beginning with a pregnant Brenda
Corrie Kuehn. Rhonda Glenn, USGA Manager of Communications, served
as host.
Rhonda Glenn: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome
to the 2001 United States Women's Open Championship. All of us
in the USGA are really pleased to be back at Pine Needles. I see
many familiar faces from five years ago.
We'd like to start off our player interviews, with
Brenda Corrie Kuehn. As all of you know, she will be a mother
in about another month. And Brenda is not the first mother to
compete in the U.S. Women's Open. Dawn Coe-Jones in 1995 was 6
months along in her pregnancy, and she finished 7th. So Brenda,
that's a pretty good omen. What do you think your chances are?
Brenda Corrie Kuehn: I like that. I didn't
talk to Dawn about that, see what her trick was. Because that's
pretty amazing to me right there.
Glenn: How has your stamina been and your
health as you get ready for a major championship like this?
Kuehn: I've been fortunate. It's been a pretty
normal pregnancy. I haven't had any complications. I've gained
about 25 pounds. And it takes a little bit of a toll on you, but
I've tried to stay active the whole pregnancy. I'm active all
the time. The only thing I begged the doctor was no bed rest,
because I don't think I could deal with that. So I’m just playing
along and trying to stay active.
Glenn: I was asking Brenda if they actually
make golf clothes for women who are expecting a child.
Kuehn: Like I said, I will not be making
a fashion statement this week. It is pretty interesting. You'll
see a lot of men's type golf shirts -- it will be ugly, I have
to admit.
(Questions opened up to the media.)
Brenda, you said you weren't making any fashion
statements. Are you making any kind of statement with this?
Kuehn: No, not at all. I'm fortunate to be
here. I'm so excited to be here. I went out and qualified I guess
two or three weeks ago. I had no expectations of making it. Really
just wanted to go out and have fun. And I knew the Open was close
to home. Had it not been here at Pine Needles, I would not have
tried it. He said go out and try it and see what happens. I was
surprised to make it. I'm thrilled to be here for the week.
I covered the Solheim Cup a few years ago, and
Tammie Green was pregnant and competed and won a point or two.
And her doctor explained that there's a difference in philosophy
now about a woman being active while she's pregnant. Have they
discussed that with you? Is that your philosophy? He did explain
to me a woman can have problems with swelling in her legs, and
I wondered if that was a factor for you?
Kuehn: No, what we discussed with my doctor
was pretty much anything -- he didn't want me to start anything
new. So bungy jumping and parachute jumping were out of the question.
Golf was fine. And I've been lucky. Some women do retain a lot
of liquid and have swelling in their feet and legs. I've been
very lucky. With either one of my pregnancies -- this is my second
one -- and it's been pretty normal. And he said, ‘You can continue
to play golf throughout, as long as you want up until the day
you deliver, if you want to. If you feel comfortable doing it,
go ahead and do it.’ He has asked me to stay hydrated and to drink
a lot of liquids.
Is it true that you said one of your goals was
just to finish 18 holes?
Kuehn: One of them.
With that in mind, do you feel guilty at all
that even though you're not going to be able to play up to your
expectations, you might be taking away a spot from someone that
is viable?
Kuehn: I think that's a tough question for
you to ask me. The way I see it is I earned the spot. It was not
given to me. I went out and I qualified on a course that was very
hilly at 7-and-a-half months pregnant. I think I deserve to be
here just on that merit. But I hope that doesn't sound too bad.
But I'm excited to be here.
Being this far along, has it forced any swing
adjustments? Is there anything that way?
Kuehn: Yes, fortunately you gain the weight
slowly. It's not like you wake up the next day and all of a sudden
you have this big, old tummy. So my swing has changed slowly throughout
-- probably starting at about four or five months. I started just
a natural adjustment. I haven't purposely made any changes. I
pretty much have trouble in my follow through. And I think --
there's definitely differences in the ball flight. I'm not hitting
it very far and not hitting it very high. It's almost like I'm
hitting knockdown shots. Everything is knockdown.
How much did Eric support you? Were there any
reservations that maybe he didn't want you to do it?
Kuehn: We talked about it before going to
qualify. He said, ‘What are you going to qualify for? You're not
going to play if you make it.’ I said, ‘We'll see.’ He was hemming
and hawing before we went. And after I qualified he was supportive.
He's been excited about it.
I was worried in Atlanta when I actually -- I think
I was going up to the 18th hole, and the thought actually crossed
my mind that I had a chance to make this. And I said, ‘Oh, my
gosh, this is not good. I'm going to make this tournament. I'm
going to make my husband mad. I'm going to make my ob-gyn mad,
and this is not good.’ It was not a good thing to qualify at that
particular moment. When I did call him, he was excited and he's
been supportive of me. And so has my doctor. He's actually been
a good support.
Have you played this course? Are you familiar
with it or can you tell us anything about this course as it applies
to your condition now?
Kuehn: I was fortunate I made it here in
'96. I played here in '96. I wasn't playing my best golf then.
Hopefully this will be a better time this year. I remember playing
-- remember it playing pretty long. I think it will be a challenge
for me, because it plays long, from what I gather. I haven't played
it this year yet. I haven't played a practice round.
In light of Casey Martin -- and you have a temporary
disability -- do you think that pregnant women will one day ask
for a cart? Would you want a cart or do you think that takes away
from the game?
Kuehn: No, I don't think I should get a cart
at all. I don't think I would ever think about asking for a cart.
If you can play here, you're going to play with everybody else.
And if you can't play, like you asked me earlier, you give the
spot to somebody else.
No, I don't feel like I have a disability, even
if it's temporary. I see it as part of normal, every-day life.
The fact that you are pregnant, you're giving birth to a child
and you have a baby in your tummy, it's part of life. And like
I said, I've tried to live my life completely normal -- I haven't
gone skiing again, or I haven't done anything risky. But my every-day
life has not changed.
I wonder if this baby has been giving you any
messages when you play golf. Tammie said the child she carried
gave her messages every now and then?
Kuehn: All I know is this child is going
to be an active one. We'll be sitting here; you'll be seeing a
foot in a minute coming out and a little behind on the other side.
It's been active. It's been an active baby. But nothing out of
the ordinary. My first one was also very active. So hopefully
it's a good message. You’re tell me it's going to be a good week,
right?
Did your doctor give you any danger signals or
anything to look for when you're on the course? Are there any
concerns he has about you doing this?
Kuehn: Actually, you know, I saw him last
week. And my concern was when I went into labor with my first
one -- you don't know what to expect -- you don't know what labor
is when you have your first one. Actually, I didn't know either,
because the signs of labor were that my water broke, so I knew
I was going into labor.
I was there on Thursday and I said, ‘Doctor, tell
me, what do I look for because I have been -- I've had Braxton-Hicks
contractions very early on.’
So I'll be talking to you here, and all of a sudden
I’ll feel pressure in my stomach and tightness. And he says, ‘Oh,
you'll know. If you go into labor, you will know the difference.’
But he was not concerned at all about going into
labor. I think he did say -- he said statistically -- and I think
I'm going to quote him, ‘I think statistically you have the same
odds of going into labor on the golf course as you do sitting
at home watching television.’ So it can happen. But that means
it would happen anywhere. He was not concerned about it.
Glenn: Brenda, have you spoken to any USGA
officials, asking them to be sort of prepared if something happens?
Kuehn: No, I have asked where the bathrooms
are, though. (Laughter.) I've tried to get a map in detail of
where the bathrooms are. I'm hoping to not get a 2-stroke penalty
for slow pay in that sense.
Do you know what you're having?
Kuehn: No, I don't know what I'm having.
I'm kind of old-fashioned when it comes to that. I really like
the surprise. Like I said, I have a four-year-old son. And fortunately
he's adapted very well. He changes his mind day-to-day what he
wants. I think he will adapt well to what comes, versus wanting
a specific brother or sister.
Do you have any names picked out?
Kuehn: We're still discussing it. I think
we will get to the delivery room and have to decide on a name
on the spot.
Does this condition make you more easygoing,
so that maybe that would help you this week? There are really
no expectations on your part, right?
Kuehn: I've got to tell you, for the qualifier,
that was definitely a factor. Somebody knows, I'm a little nervous
most of the time. I had absolutely no expectations. Somehow here
you guys got a hold of this; you changed that situation a little
bit for me. But I really just want to go out and play golf the
best that I can. I don't know -- my expectations, I don't know.
I think I have my own expectations. I'm really going to try to
block everything out and just enjoy the week and see the best
golf that I can play. It might be good, it might be bad, it might
not have nothing to do with the fact that I'm pregnant and just
go from there.
Did you have a sonogram at all at any time, just
to be sure?
Kuehn: Yes, I've had several. I've had three
ultrasounds and a complete checkup last time I went, which was
fun. They always like to make sure that everything is OK. So this
tournament has caused me a few extra checkups that I was not planning
on having.
These ‘man’ shirts that you have, are they your
husband's? What size are they? Did he help you pick them out?
Kuehn: Most pregnant women will use their
husband's shirts. He's an XXL. That is not conducive to looking
good. We live in Asheville; there's not many maternity stores
in Asheville. So I've been trial and error. I have some men's
mediums, some ladies’ large. I think I do have one maternity shirt;
it's one of these frilly things.
Are you going to wear that?
Kuehn: On Sunday (laughter.)
It's your Tiger outfit?
Kuehn: That's right.
Did you have any idea that your presence here
would create so much interest nationally? Could you discuss that
for us, your reaction to that?
Kuehn: You know, not at all. Again, for me
it's been normal. For me, there's nothing unusual about this.
But it is amazing. I have to say I have been overwhelmed by the
attention that it has gotten. Again, I don't see it as big a deal
as you guys have made it. Because I've been to other Opens, and
I think in Mississippi, I think Carin Koch was pregnant. There
have been other people that have played pregnant throughout. So
I'm just thinking, ‘Why me?’ I know I'm probably a little further
along than everybody else was. But we amateurs, we don't get a
whole lot of attention. So it has been real hard for me as far
as the attention that I've been getting.
Tammie Green had a jar of peanut butter in her
bag during the Solheim Cup. Have you been craving anything?
Kuehn: No, no pickles and ice cream. I think
I picked up some cookies on the way from the locker room. It's
been normal; I have not had any cravings with either one.