RHONDA GLENN: Ladies and
gentlemen, before we begin our next interview, I'd like to introduce
someone who's a member of the media this week. She was a great
player on the LPGA Tour, she was runner-up in this Championship
in 1987, losing a playoff to Laura Davies and JoAnne Carner. Ayako
Okamota.
Our defending champion, Karrie Webb,
played today, and we're really glad you're back. And we want to
know how you feel about your game at this particular point and
how you played when you played your practice round today, Karrie.
KARRIE WEBB: Thanks, Rhonda.
Well, it's really good to be back at the site of my first U.S.
Open. I feel like my game is in as good a shape as it's been all
year. I put in a really hard working week last week and I feel
that my game is really coming into shape and hopefully is going
to peak sometime Thursday afternoon through Sunday would be good.
But, no, I feel really good about
things. I played the course today. And obviously with the rain
that we've had the last couple of days, it is a little soggy out
there. The fairways -- there's not a lot of standing water. But
you're not getting a lot of roll. It's definitely playing its
full length. The greens are quite soft right now and not putting
as fast as any of us really expect. But I'm sure by Thursday with
a little bit of sunshine the course will dry out and firm up a
little bit and play probably pretty similar to the way it did
five years ago.
RHONDA GLENN: You finished,
I believe, 7th in 1996, not quite that good in top-20?
KARRIE WEBB: I think it was
the top-20.
RHONDA GLENN: Do you think
this golf course, with your experience now, is a course that suits
your game?
KARRIE WEBB: I definitely
think it does. I think with the added length I think that -- I
think -- you're definitely going to see a ball striker or a few
ball strikers in contention. And I wouldn't be surprised that
someone that hits it fairly long and is quite a good ball striker
is going to win the tournament just because -- I do like the course
being as wet as it is on the fairways, just because -- I hit a
lot of 4, 5, 6-irons today into a lot of the par-4s, which with
the greens, if they firm up a little bit, it's a good test to
get it onto the green in the right spot. Because obviously Donald
Ross greens, half of the green is what you're aiming for, the
rest of it runs off away from the pins and off the green. So I
think -- I lost my train of thought there. But I think that a
ball striker has definitely got a good chance of winning this
week. And obviously same rules apply for hitting fairways and
greens and not try to get into too much trouble.
RHONDA GLENN: I know the
course will get a little firmer, play a little faster, but 4,
5 and 6-irons to the par-4s, that's a little bit longer clubs
than you normally use during the year in the regular Tour courses,
isn't it?
KARRIE WEBB: Obviously we
hit those during the course of a round on the LPGA. But not nearly
as many times as I did today, which I think it eliminates a good
majority of the field when it is playing that long. Just because
I feel like I'm above average in length and I'm hitting 4, 5s
and 6s in there. And there's people out there that are struggling
to get their 5-woods and 3-woods to the green. So I think -- and
-- if those players play well and they're on the green, they're
going to be in as good a shape as I am. But fairways and greens.
Just a little off the Open. There
was a decision made on Casey Martin today in his favor, did you
have any thoughts on that?
KARRIE WEBB: Well, throughout
the whole process of that case I think that I have seen both sides
of the story, and I think considering where both players are coming
from. But ultimately I think it would be pretty hard to disallow
someone that's been born with a disability and obviously has overcome
that throughout his life to be quite an established golfer. And
just because he can't walk 18 holes, I think it would be pretty
tough not to allow him to participate on the PGA TOUR, the Buy.Com
Tour, whichever Tour he's on. I think that he stuck it out for
-- I don't know how many years it's been now. It's been at least
a couple, four years, really. And throughout that whole time he
has -- he's played some pretty good golf and he made it onto the
PGA TOUR, I know, last year. And I think it's good for him.
I'm sure it's a big weight off his
shoulders. And I really don't think that if the PGA TOUR sets
the right regulations, I really don't think that it's going to
be taken advantage of. I think that it's something that he's been
born with, he's been born with the disability, it's not like it's
happened throughout his life and just has a bad back or something
like that. It's something that he's overcome. And he's a lot less
fortunate than most of us sitting in this room. So I think it's
great for him to have that opportunity.
Karrie, you said you're very happy
with the work you've done in the last week. Is your game now close
to where it was the first half of last year?
KARRIE WEBB: I don't know
about that. I think I've got to put a good tournament together
to really say that. But I've gone into the U.S. Open last year,
I didn't think my game was in good shape at all, and I won the
tournament. I feel a lot better about my game than I did leading
up to the Open last year, so I feel like if I can just get off
to a pretty good start. And Thursday and Friday I feel like things
will be rolling pretty well.
If I may ask a follow-up, after the
Nabisco, I think you said you needed a long break because you were
very tired. Was that just what the doctor ordered? Was that all
there was to it or was there more to it than that, something to
do with your swing?
KARRIE WEBB: It was something
that I had been planning back in September, October last year,
when I knew what the schedule was going to be this year. I had
a four-week break at that time last year. I just added one more
week to it this year. And I think the last couple of years really
have caught up to me. It's been a tremendous couple of years for
me, successwise on the golf course, and there's a lot involved,
not just playing good golf and keeping your game in good shape.
It's obviously a lot of extra things go into that. And I think
just the build up of everything caught up to me just a little
bit. And I did need that five weeks off.
And I think it's also -- it's also
good to have that five weeks off, because we have not only this
week, we have a number of big tournaments coming up on the LPGA,
as well.
Karrie, your course management over
the last two or three years has been absolutely superb. Whether
this course is wet and slow and long or dry and fast, is patience
going to be the key for you this week?
KARRIE WEBB: I think that's
the No. 1 key for anyone, I would think. And obviously I talked
about that the last couple of years at the Open. And I think it's
always a big key for me is not to -- probably heard this line
many times, you can't win the tournament Thursday and Friday,
but you can lose it. So just go out there -- I don't anticipate,
even with -- if we were starting tomorrow and the course is wet
and the greens are a little slower and a little softer, I still
don't anticipate this course to be low at all. I think anywhere
around -- if you're anywhere around par come Saturday or Friday
night, you're definitely in for a good shot winning it throughout
the weekend.
Karrie, when you look at players
like Morgan Pressel, who was just in here, and the Wong Luekiets
twins, does it suddenly make you feel older than you really are?
KARRIE WEBB: I'm a veteran
now, I'm a 26-year-old veteran. But it's great to see. I really
-- I was talking to the TV guys out there before I came in and
when I was 13 I was just happy to break 80. I couldn't even imagine
playing a U.S. Open. I mean, that's just -- I can't imagine what
is going through Morgan's mind. I know the twins have both played
in LPGA events, so they've had that little bit more experience.
But it's definitely -- I know when I was 21, I was very overwhelmed
to be at my first U.S. Open. That's eight years older than what
Morgan is. I just hope that she just really enjoys the experience,
because not too many kids her age get to do that. And just not
to be too hard on herself. I think the fact that she's here is
an accomplishment of its own.
Karrie, you spent a lot of time last
year at the Olympics in Australia. I don't know if you've heard,
but they're talking about the possibility of bringing golf to the
Olympics in 2008. What are your feelings about that? And talk a
little about the Olympic experience. Do you think golfers would
be excited about playing in the Olympics?
KARRIE WEBB: I definitely
would be. I think as popular as golf is today, and as much as
it's changed over the years, you do have to be an athlete. You
have to be fit to play golf. And I think there's instances in
every sport where there's probably someone that isn't as fit as
others that's successful, but not nearly as often as the fittest
in their sport. So for me I think just the whole Olympic experience
would be something. You watch the 100 meter sprints and the men
and the women as a favorite, and the favorite normally wins the
golf medal. Golf would be totally different, because the favorite
doesn't always win a golf tournament. So it would be great just
to -- my whole experience would be just to be able to stay in
Olympic Village and stay with all the different athletes that
are the best of their sport from their respective countries and
just to walk out on the track in green and gold and be with all
the other Australian athletes. To me that would be the experience
-- that would be the reason I'd want to be in the Olympics, just
to experience that. Because we get to play in big tournaments,
like this tournament, every single year. For a lot of those athletes
that's one of their biggest events for their whole life. I'd just
like to be around that and just to be able to witness all of it.
What specifically did you work on
your game, what part of your game last week to prepare for this
week? And then also, second part, is there a stretch of holes or
a couple of particular holes out there that you really feel you
have to score well on?
KARRIE WEBB: Well, first
question, I didn't really necessarily work on anything specific,
just the things that I've been working on all year. I just felt
like it's been a gradual progression, and felt like the two weeks
that I was out on the LPGA Tour in Nashville and Dayton, I was
going to have plenty of time to really work on my game. But mother
nature didn't want me to do that. Last week I probably worked
a lot harder than I ever anticipated. But it was really good.
I saw a lot of good things throughout my whole game that just
really needed to put the hours in. And like I said, I feel a lot
better coming into this tournament than I did last year for this
tournament.
Well, I think that -- I'm trying
to think where it starts. I guess from 13 through 18, you play
those at even par, you're probably going to have a pretty good
round.
You think scoring has to come a little
bit before that and then just try to maintain that score?
KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, I think
so. The finishing holes are some of the toughest, just because
of hole after hole after hole, from 13 through 18, there isn't
a hole that you get on the tee and say I can play this pretty
aggressively. You've just got to put in good swing after good
swing. Because I think bad swings on those holes are where you're
going to get penalized the most. But there's some holes that set
up -- I don't ever think you can play a U.S. Open hole and think
that you can birdie it. Both par-5s are pretty reachable. I think
one is less reachable -- the yardage is reachable, but because
it's your first hole of the day for the most part, except for
one round, you're not about to get up there and jump all over
a drive on the first hole. So it's not as reachable as the yardage
seems.
But 10 is definitely reachable.
And there are a few shorter par-4s out there that you want to
try to take advantage of. But like I said, you take those for
granted and make silly bogeys on those holes, it makes the other
holes really tough. I just play every hole as tough, and if I
make a birdie, I'm pretty happy.
You've pretty much spotted Annika
the first part of the year. You looking forward to getting out there
and giving her a run for the money?
KARRIE WEBB: Well, I really
can't -- I had no control over that, believe it or not. She did
that all on her own. But I think that for me personally I didn't
expect to be the No. 1 player every single year I was out here.
I know that there's some people that expect that of the top athletes.
But for me, personally, I don't believe that that's a possibility,
as much as I would like it. I think that I've been fortunate enough
to have two really successful years. And this year is not over
by any means.
The biggest tournaments are yet
to come. And if I play pretty decent throughout the summer, I
still feel that I'm going to end up with a pretty good year. I'm
not too disappointed with the way things have gone this year.
I feel like I've played pretty decently. I just haven't done what
I've done over the last couple of years. And I didn't really expect
to do that every year.
The last couple of years have gotten
off hot the first few months. And this year may be different.
Maybe I'll play June, July and August pretty well. All I can do
is work hard and put 100 percent in it like I've done the last
five-and-a-half years. And if things work out in my favor, that's
great. If they don't, it's someone else's turn.
In your time off what did you do
to relax? Did you go away or what did you do?
KARRIE WEBB: The five weeks
you mean? I took three weeks off from touching a club, pretty
much. I did a couple of photo shoots for sponsors where I had
to swing a golf club, but I didn't have to care which way the
ball flew, because they weren't watching that. But pretty much
three weeks off without touching a club. And then in that time
tried to do a little bit of fishing. But it was pretty windy in
South Florida for about three weeks, so didn't get as much done
as I would like. But other than that, the last couple of weeks
just worked on my game and tried to get things back into shape
to come back out on Tour.
Karrie, if you played your very best
golf this week, how many players, if any, could beat you?
KARRIE WEBB: That's hard
to say. You can play your very best golf and someone could just
play better that week. That's hard to control what other people
do. But I know if I play my very best golf, I'll have a shot at
it on Sunday.
I was wondering if you could talk
about maybe what's changed most about you and what's changed most
about your golf game in the five-year period. This was your first
Open, and now you're coming back as a defending champ.
KARRIE WEBB: Me as a person
and away from the golf course, I don't think too much has changed
except that I've gotten a little bit older. I think I've matured
on and off the golf course. But for on the golf course I think
just the maturing factor has made my game better and better every
year, because I'm not -- I'm still very hard on myself, don't
get me wrong. But each year I'm less and less hard on myself to
the point that I know if things are going to be good sometimes,
and things -- they're going to be okay, and sometimes they're
not going to be good at all. And I went throughout my career with
finishing 1, 2, 3 or 4 on the money list every year, then I'm
pretty lucky. But I know that's probably not going to be the case.
And I think a sign of a great player
is a player who when they're not playing so well still manages
to finish all right at the end of the year.
As far as how my game has come from
'96 to now, I just think that because I have matured, I don't
let certain holes get to me as much. But trust me, there's still
times where I'm still a 21-year-old rookie out there sometimes
and make some rookie mistakes still. But I think everyone does
that. And I just think I make a lot less of those. And it's less
and less every year.
Q. Do you feel a rivalry with
Annika? And what is your relationship with her like?
KARRIE WEBB: I don't really
know -- rivalry because the last five-and-a-half years we've both
finished relatively -- one of us has finished No. 1 in the money
list or 2 or 3 or 4, but we've both -- since I've been out here,
I haven't finished any less than 4th. And I don't believe since
I've been out here she's finished any worse than 4th, either.
Rivalry, because we've played so well for such a long period of
time that we're bound to look like we're rivals because we're
always trying for the trophies. And more often than not there's
a few tournaments where we're in the last group together or where
on the last hole of the tournament, maybe if we're not in the
last group of each other, we're within a couple of groups of each
other and we're one and two in the tournament.
But I think that's as far as it
goes. Obviously Annika has told people that my last couple of
years motivated her to get her game in better shape and play better
each year. And her play motivates me -- I don't think I can work
any harder on my game. I feel like I put 110 percent into it already.
I know there's always room for improvement, and I'm always constantly
trying to do that. Whether or not she's doing what she's doing,
I'm going to be doing what I'm doing. And the fact that she's
doing what she's doing does make me want to get back to it sooner
rather than later.
But our relationship is obviously
-- we're two very competitive people and we both know what we
want and where we want to go. And I think we're pretty friendly.
I like playing with Annika. I know that when we're both paired
together, that you're going to see some good golf out of both
of us. But off the golf course I think we don't socialize a lot
together. But I don't really think a lot of people expect two
people that are at it as much as we are on the golf course to
go out and socialize every night of the week.
Besides you two, who would you pick
as a favorite this week?
KARRIE WEBB: You know, I
don't look at favorites. I think everyone has a chance to win,
everyone is capable of playing good golf. If I pick one or two
people out, then someone is going to come up from behind me and
take everyone by surprise. So I look at everyone as capable of
beating me. And if I do that, then I'm not going to let anyone
-- I'm not going to take anyone for granted, and I'm going to
put 110 percent into it and at the end of the week if someone
is better than me, then I can't do anything about it.
I was wondering if you could talk
about your favorite moment from the Olympics last year. Was it Cathy
Freeman or the swimming or the couple of moments that you really
enjoyed the most?
KARRIE WEBB: Well, obviously
for me personally I carried the Olympic torch on the last leg
of the Thursday night, which was the night before the opening
ceremonies. So for me personally, that was my highlight of the
Olympics. Just to be able to participate in the Olympics was --
in any form was definitely a big thrill. But I was at the opening
ceremony, so I felt very proud to be an Australian. It was just
such a great success. And I just look at it -- all the athletes,
they were just tremendous. Anyone that won a medal, there was
so much pressure on our top athletes down there to perform well
in their home country, that I was just astounded by their performances.
I think that I do this every single week. And some weeks are good,
some weeks are bad, but when it comes down to just one week for
them in their home country, and it's just -- it was simply amazing.
Can you imagine having to cope with
the pressure that Cathy had to cope with as favorite for the 400
meters?
KARRIE WEBB: No, because
I think that -- it was more than just Cathy. But I think what
added to her pressure was that the rest of the world was watching,
too, not just Australia. Until the opening ceremonies -- she's
a household name in Australia. But until the opening ceremonies
she wasn't a household name in the rest of the world's houses.
After the opening ceremonies she was. There was so much more focus
on that race than there normally would be. I think that she came
through and Susan O'Neill and Ian Thorp was unbelievable. We take
for granted the women's hockey team. We just take for granted
that they're going to win the gold medal every year. Just everyone
that performed the way they did, it was great. I was so glad that
I was down there for the most part of it. And the second part,
the second week was back here in the States, which was a little
frustrating, because we already knew what was going to happen.
But other than that, it was a tremendous experience. I was really
glad that I took the time to be down there and just to watch some
of it was great.
RHONDA GLENN: Ladies and
gentlemen, thank you. Karrie, thank you, wish you good luck.