U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 21, 2014

Juli Inkster

Q. Can you go through your birdies and bogeys.
JULI INKSTER: I birdied 1. I'm trying to think what I hit into it. I hit 9-iron. Sunk about a 15-footer. I birdied 5. I hit it in the gunge left, had a chip out, and wedged up to about 8 feet and made that for birdie. I birdied 7. I hit driver just short. They moved the tees way up today. Hit a great little chip in there to about four feet and made that for birdie. I three-putted 8 from about 30 feet. Pin was left, I was right. Knocked it about six feet by and missed that. 10, I hit it in the right bunker in 2, hit a good bunker shot out about 15 feet and made that for birdie. 12, I hit -- they moved the tees up again, I hit driver, pitching wedge about four feet, three feet, made that for birdie. And that's it. I think. Is that right?

Q. So how do you feel?
JULI INKSTER: I feel -- played really good. I hit every green. I mean, really the only green I missed was 4. And, you know, I was this far off, I putted it. I hit my irons really good. I had a lot of chances for birdies, especially on that front side. I was close. I managed my game on the back. A little trickier pins on the back. So really the only bad shot I hit all day was my second shot on 16, I kind of drop kicked it, but it ran up there. I played very smart and I played good.

Q. Coming up 18, the cheers.
JULI INKSTER: It's great. It never gets old. It's nice, especially when you're playing well. I felt that right out of the hopper on 1. It was good. I had a really good round today. Yesterday I didn't play very well. I could have lost it. But I kept it together and managed to get in. And today I came out and played really well.

Q. After not being here on the weekend, it will be five years, do you relish it all the more?
JULI INKSTER: Oh, yeah. I mean, I guess when -- I came in hitting it pretty good, so I kind of felt good about that. My putting is always a question mark. Today I putted really well. I made a lot of 3, 4 footers for par. This game is so weird. You never know. It's like, the first day I played great. Yesterday I played horrible. Today I played great. So hopefully I'm going to break the pattern and have a good one tomorrow.

Q. Did you feel like coming in here you could do this on this course?
JULI INKSTER: In The Open we have a lot of players, and especially this golf course, I mean you just got to -- you've got to play safe golf a lot of times. The greens definitely held better today, no doubt about it. I don't know if they got some rain last night or whatever. It's like my shot on 12. I hit wedge and pretty much flew it there and it spun. Another shot I hit on No. 14, I think if I would have hit that another day it would have rolled all the way in the back. Definitely the greens were more receptive today.

Q. What's the ribbon for?
JULI INKSTER: Danielle Kang's dad passed away.

Q. When did he pass away?
JULI INKSTER: He passed away December, I think, so I think they just wanted to do it. I think The Open was a course he really loved.

Q. What's it like being back with Greg?
JULI INKSTER: It's great. It's been, I think, seven or eight years since we've been back. So we were having a good time. Greg is like a brother to me and he worked for me for 11 years. So -- and then he dumped me, but that's okay. Most brothers do.

Q. You've been part of the theater of this event on Sunday afternoons, to know that you'll have an opportunity to be there again on a Sunday afternoon and it is theater out there as much as it is a sporting event, just thoughts of being a part of it?
JULI INKSTER: It's great. I'm going to be right in the mix. I don't know how they'll finish. They've got a lot of holes left. Let's just say I'm in a lot better shape today than I was yesterday. I knew I had to come out here, if I wanted to do anything, and have a good round and I was able to put it together today. So who knows tomorrow. I'm just going to enjoy it. It's a great golf course, so enjoy the walk.

Q. When you get in this position do you think like Tom Watson did a few years back, at the British Open?
JULI INKSTER: No, I don't. You can think and you can dream all you want, but the bottom line is you've got to come out and make the shots. So, tomorrow I've got to come out and make the shots. And if I'm tied for the lead coming up 18, then maybe I'll think about it. I've got a long way to go. I'm just going to enjoy the moment and hit a few balls and see what happens.

Q. Did you think coming into this tournament that you could be competitive or was this more like a sort of --
JULI INKSTER: No, I always think I can be competitive. I just don't play that much anymore. I still hit the ball relatively good, it just my concentration and I hit a few loose ones and miss a couple short putts, and you just can't win that way. And that's kind of what I do. So I'm just not as sharp as I used to be. But I still really, really enjoy playing golf.

Q. Have your thoughts veered at all towards possibly coming back and playing another one next year?
JULI INKSTER: No, I'm good with it. I'm totally fine with it.

Q. You're a big baseball fan, do you want to be like Ted Williams and your last at bat is a home run?
JULI INKSTER: That would be nice, but I've got a long way to go.

Q. Did you watch The Open last week?
JULI INKSTER: Very little. A little bit.

Q. Can you compare how the course was set up last week to this week?
JULI INKSTER: No, I didn't watch that much.

Q. How are you feeling in the heat and humidity?
JULI INKSTER: Well, it was nice starting out this morning. It's gotten hot. Yesterday it was just five and a half hours hot. It was a long day. I was done.

Q. (Inaudible.)
JULI INKSTER: Yeah, so far. So far.

Q. (Inaudible.)
JULI INKSTER: Because, you know what, I've played 35 of them. Is one more going to really make a difference, one way or another? I don't think so. It's a grind. It's a lot of work. The practice rounds and then the playing and five and a half hour rounds. It's just -- I'm good with it (laughter).

Q. Last year your daughters were at Sebonack, are they here this week?
JULI INKSTER: No, it doesn't quite have a Hampton's ring to it. They're working.

Q. How proud are you to be in this position after 54 holes?
JULI INKSTER: I'm very proud. Very proud of myself and the way I came back today and played. I played aggressive. I hit a lot of beautiful iron shots. I putted good. I'm very, very pleased.

Q. Is this tournament almost like the advertisement where it talks about golf is a game for lifetime. We've got an 11 year old and almost 54 year old.
JULI INKSTER: It is. It's the only game that you can go out and play together and compete against each other. It's a great game.

Q. Were there some former Open champions watching you?
JULI INKSTER: I don't know. I don't know.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports