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DURAMED FUTURES TOUR MEDIA CONFERENCESeptember 9, 2007Emily BastelMollie FankhauserAllison FouchSeo-Jae LeeVioleta RetamozaLISA MICKEY: We're going to get going. We've got five card winners here. I think everybody knows who they are. If you have some questions, I thought I would just start off with Emily. Emily, last year this time, you were on the LPGA Tour and you were just trying to hold onto your card, probably your confidence level was at a whole different place than it is now. Did you ever dream that you would be standing here or sitting here as the case may be, Player of the Year, top of the Money List, two wins; how different is this year from last year? EMILY BASTEL: Yeah, it's definitely different. Last year was -- now I can look back and realize it was a learning experience. But it was very difficult to go through. And I just feel, you know, really happy that I was able to turn it around this year and learn from my experiences and rise above the challenge of low confidence on the golf course to have a great year. LISA MICKEY: Any follow-up for Emily Bastel? Q. Can you talk about the difference in your confidence level? What did you learn from the LPGA your first two years on it to this year on the Duramed Tour and heading into next year? EMILY BASTEL: Well, I think I learned that, you know, on the LPGA, you're playing week-in and week-out against the best players in the world, and it's very easy if you don't have a lot of success or the success that you think you're supposed to have, to kind of let that bother you. But I think I've learned a lot about patience this year, and last year, but was able to carry it into this year, and I learned about patience and perseverance. Kind of learned how to play within yourself and to have some internal goals that allow you to kind of focus on what you need to do, as opposed to what's going on around you. Q. For the Top 3, can you just talk about the fact that you guys -- is there any rivalry, aside from the big ten schools, I know two of you went to Michigan State, but out on the golf course, is there a Big 10 rivalry on the golf course as well? EMILY BASTEL: As far as I'm concerned, once I have left college, I like the rivalry to continue on the football field. And we're all out here together. I like to think of it as just Big 10 coming together, not necessarily different schools and we're rivalries against each other. But it's totally different from these two because they are from Michigan State, so I don't know. Go Green! All I want to do every week is just beat Emily -- no, this is all about Big 10 golf has come a long way ask we got to be there while it grew, a lot. Emily was Top-10 -- and part of a team that was Top-10 in the country. Emily and I each finished -- we were kind of there when Big 10 golf came in, and we're all standing here going, yeah, of course we're from the Big 10. This is what the Big 10 is all about. We had a tough season with weather and we played in horrible weather for four years in college. We played in snow and rain and sleet and mud; and I think that's why a lot of us who are from that area who play in Big 10 golf have the ability to kind of grind it out. You learn a lot about that in college golf. And it's fun to be up here with these two. Q. Allison, how much did the pain of finishing sixth last year contribute to your motivation and determination to get it done this year and this week specifically? ALLISON FOUCH: Finishing sixth was tough last year. It brought me down, not necessarily to the FUTURES School, but more after Q-School last year not getting any stats and not having my card. That was really difficult for me. I went through the emotions of feeling like you failed and all of those things that, you know, are not necessarily good for your golf game. But I got through it, and have a wonderful family and such a good support system to help me get ready for the season. I came out playing well and playing tough and then I went through kind of a little lull with emotions and my mental attitude the last few weeks and just, you know, kind of went back to that place. And having gone through what I went through last year, kind of helped me realize where I was the last few weeks and that it wasn't going to get me being, it wasn't going it get the job done; and that I needed to get back on top of what was important, which was coming out here and playing with confidence and knowing that I had the ability to come out here and get my card. Like Emily said, it's a learning process. Everything we do every day, every week, whether it has a good result, a bad result, or something in between, we learn from it and if you're not, you're not taking full advantage of the opportunity that we get. So, yeah, it was tough, but I think it made me stronger. LISA MICKEY: One of your compatriots, Lorena Ochoa has certainly made a statement this year on the LPGA Tour, a major understatement, and on this tour, what do you want to say to the people back home in México about your year and what you hope to do in women's golf? VIOLETA RETAMOZA: I think Lorena, since I know her, she always wanted to be No. 1. And I remember since we were little, she used to say it, and I am so happy for her that now she is the No. 1 and she has a lot more to do, and I'm sure she's going to be there for a long time. It was a little bit different. I wanted to go to college and get a degree and kind of leave my teenager life. And now, you know, I went to the program after college, just followed the process. Now I'm just very happy. We are going to be two of us representing our country, and I'm always going to be there to support her and support my country. So whatever I can do to make México, myself and whoever else is in México look good, I'm going to try to do it. Q. How long have you known her? VIOLETA RETAMOZA: We grew up together, so we played a lot of junior golf and we represented México in a few tournaments together. LISA MICKEY: Seo-Jae Lee and Mollie Fankhauser, two players here are non-exempt Tour players, which means they can go back and forth between the two tours, which Molly did at the beginning, tried to Monday qualify for four or five events and ultimately came back here. I'm going to let her tell us why she came back here, and maybe Seo-Jae, you can talk about why you decided to stay here and try to earn your card. We'll start with Molly first. MOLLIE FANKHAUSER: Started out on the LPGA trying to Monday qualify for the first five events, and looking at the schedule, I thought it would be a great experience as far as, let's see if Monday qualifiers, 18 holes, one shot, is my thing. And if it is, that will give me a lot of opportunities to play in LPGA tournaments. After five tries, it wasn't my thing. It was grueling and it was a hard process, and it was pretty tough emotionally to go into a tournament and to get psyched up and then to leave four and a half hours later down in the dumps, saying, all right, what am I doing until next week. So my idea was to get that experience and to go and miss only a few tournaments here, and then if it didn't work out, I could come out to the Duramed FUTURES Tour and play pretty much almost a full schedule, missing maybe four or five tournaments. So turned out to be a great experience, and I wouldn't have changed it for anything. I now know what it looks like out on the LPGA. SEO-JAE LEE: I tried to Monday qualify five times but I missed, I played the FUTURES Tour this year. And everybody at my middle school, my high school, my friends, everybody go on the LPGA. So I really want to go and get my exemption card. So I really concentrate on the FUTURES Tour and I learn how important one stroke is important here. I hope next year that I will play next year. THE MODERATOR: Seo-Jae, who are some of your friends on the LPGA Tour that you played high school golf with, maybe some junior golf? SEO-JAE LEE: Really many players, about Angela Park, Seon Hwa Lee, really all of my friends have gone on the LPGA and I'm just concentrating more on here. Thank you to my dad. LISA MICKEY: Ladies, again, congratulations. End of FastScripts |
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