ARCH WIRELESS CHAMPIONSHIP

November 16, 2000

Leta Lindley

LETA LINDLEY: Okay. No. 2, I birdied the par 5. I had 99 yards in. I hit a half-pitching wedge to about eight feet. Made that. Number 4, the par 4, I had 107 yards to the pin. I hit pitching wedge to about eight feet. Made that. No. 8, the par 5, great pin, tucked over on the back left. I had about 107 yards. I hit pitching wedge to about eight feet and made that. No. 7, I'm sorry, I bogeyed No. 7 the par 3. I was playing 160-something. I hit an 11-wood and missed about a seven-footer for par. Number 11, I had 157 yards. I hit a 6-iron, and I made about a 20-footer for birdie there. No. 16, the par 5, I hit a half-pitching wedge. I had about 90 yards to a foot.

LETA LINDLEY: I hit a lot of fairways and I hit a lot of greens today. I was really consistent today. I played the kind of golf that I wanted to, knowing the fairways are tight and the greens are small. Just had a few opportunities and took advantage of them.

LETA LINDLEY: Yes, I was very pleased when I played the golf course for the first time. I like the fact that it is tree-lined and tight and small greens versus a little more links style, wide open, big greens on the other golf course.

LETA LINDLEY: Well, I think that it is anyone; any 30 of us could win. Any one of the 30; whereas, I think the other golf course is more of a long hitter's golf course, and I think you have to think a little bit more on this other one.

LETA LINDLEY: Well, I guess you have fresh greens, but still, with 30 players, I mean, how banged up can they be? But it was nice. It was a little different waiting around until 11:00 to tee off, it being the first tee time. But there was no one in front of us, felt like we were all alone on the golf course, just me and Michelle.

LETA LINDLEY: Well, we didn't talk about it. We all know that there was a battle, and we both went overseas hoping to play well and squeak into the Top-30. And, you know, I was really excited that I did and that I was No. 30. But, you know, I'm happy for Michelle that she's here and has an opportunity to play.

LETA LINDLEY: Well, it's amazing how many people come up to me and say, "Oh, I read your column every week, I love it. It's great. It's so nice to follow you." And it surprises me, I don't really advertise it too much, and it's always fun when someone comes up to me and compliments me on that.

LETA LINDLEY: My caddy and I actually kept saying: "It's just swirling." One minute it would be into us and the next minute it was down. For the most part it switched around from yesterday, which was a blessing. I didn't have to lay up on 9 like I did yesterday when it was playing into the wind. It was playing downwind today, and I had a 6-iron in versus having to play up today. So I think today with the prevailing wind, I was glad to see it switch back around.

LETA LINDLEY: I know, I was keeping up with Michelle pretty good. Once in awhile she would bust one out there past me. But a couple times she would take out a fairway wood on the tee, like on 10, or another hole where I was still hitting driver.

LETA LINDLEY: Barry, the Callaway rep, brought me one this week just to hit it. It wasn't my shaft but he was really excited about it, but he said they were going to make me one up for recreational golf. I don't know that I've ever had recreational golf in the last six years. I guess when I'm fooling around at home, putzing around with Matt, my husband, sharing it with the people at my club so that they get an opportunity to look at it.

LETA LINDLEY: I don't even know what shaft was in it. I hit it all right. Not too bad. I'm pretty partial to my VFT right now. Pretty pleased that it's a very good club.

LETA LINDLEY: Two years ago. 20, 25 yards. It's a lot. I'm hitting it a lot longer. I was a little pleasantly surprised to see that, you know, I was keeping up with Michelle all right, where she used to be 50 yards by me. 6, 11, 5, 7, 9, 3, driver.

LETA LINDLEY: Maybe three or four years ago. I'm not sure. A long time ago.

LETA LINDLEY: I look at it as nothing but positive, having an opportunity, to, you know win my first event. And it happened to be the LPGA Championship, one of our majors. You know, I played really well. I played well coming down the stretch. I think everyone expected this youngster to fold coming down, you know, coming into the last 9 holes, and, you know I had an opportunity to win. So I take nothing but positive things away from that tournament. You know, I try and draw from that and think about the good putts that I hit coming in and the good shots I hit coming in. I continue to draw from that tournament. I thought I was destined to win that golf tournament. I really did. I felt it in my heart, and I couldn't believe when I didn't win. And when I look back now, hindsight is 20/20, and I know that I wasn't supposed to win then, and I might not have changed my golf swing. And I'm such a better player now. I have come so far, and, you know, just to be sitting here and be among the Top-30, I still get giddy about it, thinking that I'm here, I made it. This is one of my goals this year.

LETA LINDLEY: No. I've continued to improve. I know that my time will come. I work really hard, and I know that that hard work is going to pay off. Yes, it would be nice if I had won some tournaments, but if I continue to put myself in position, my time will come.

LETA LINDLEY: Exactly. I shot 4-under on the back side in Japan, just to be here. I shot 3-over on the front side and I'm thinking, you know, what is going on here? A few missed shots and I didn't get up-and-down and I know what I had to do. I had no idea -- Michelle is on the other side of the golf course; I have no idea how she is playing. I'm going to assume that she is playing well and I've got to birdie some holes to make sure that I'm in the Top-30. And I did that. So I'm very proud of myself, the way I played those last nine holes in Japan.

LETA LINDLEY: Sure. And I think just the fact that I'm fired up to be here. I'm really excited and I want to have a good showing. I want to play well.

LETA LINDLEY: Well, I learn from every round of golf I play, whether it is the last round at McDonald's four years ago, or a round I played in Columbos earlier this year. I'm continuing to learn. I learn every time I tee it up, and I only -- I just try and draw from the positive and not focus on the negative. I keep playing the way I'm playing -- my focus was really good today aside from my one bad chip that I hit on the par 3. If I can continue to stay focused. I'm hitting the ball well enough. It always comes down to putting. If I can continue to putt well and make birdies. You know, par is not going to cut it. You've got to make birdies.

LETA LINDLEY: I try not to let it -- you know, I don't really focus. I try and let it happen, and my God, if I had that kind of attitude, I would have killed myself by now, I think. I missed 10 cuts in a row. That's how I changed my golf swing three years ago. I missed 10 cuts in a row. If I had a horrible attitude, I never would have recovered from something like that. And, you know, if I never win in my career, then I never win in my career. And I'm going to still be proud of myself that I'm here. You know, I'm finishing up my sixth season on TOUR, and after -- when I came out on TOUR my rookie year, my whole goal was not to go back to Tour school. And, you know, sometimes I think I can't believe I do this for a living and I'm still here and I'm at the Top-30. That was the year after the McDonald's whatever year that was. I missed 10 cuts in a row. That's an awful lot of cuts. I went home for two weeks. Two weeks, and changed my golf swing and came back and had two Top-5 finishes and hit the ball 20 yards further. Sucked. (Laughter.) My rookie year, my husband and his effort to help me gain yardage, I started hitting a 48-inch driver. And over the course of that -- that accentuated terrible things in my golf swing. It helped me -- it made me flatter and it made me swing slower. So flat and slow are not good things. So I went the opposite. I got rid of the 48-inch driver. I'm now hitting a 45-inch driver and I have a much more upright swing and I have -- I think I increased, at one time Callaway said I increased my swing speed 7 percent. I don't know what it is now, but this is awhile ago. No, I just happened to go in there and I got on their machine and that's what they told me. This was a couple of months after I made the swing change. But I went home, Matt, my husband and I went home to San Diego and worked with my coach there and completely revamped it. It was like revamp it or I'm going to find another job, because I can't continue to play like this. I had a 48-inch driver. I threw it in the garbage. Since then, my husband -- well, I will have to say, it was his idea to put in the 9-wood, his idea to put in the 11-wood. 99 percent of Matt's ideas are fabulous. At the time, though, it was a good thought, and it did help me, initially. I only think it was over the course of three years that it just wasn't a good thing.

LETA LINDLEY: My teacher from high school, Mike Keehn, I've been with him a long, long time. He's like a second father to me. Lud, Ludwig.

LETA LINDLEY: No, not really. At the time, you know he watched me hit it, and you know it was working. So it made sense at the time, and, you know, I was hitting it a little bit further, and, you know as long as I can continue to hit it well, then, great. But, you know, it is hard for him. He's not out. He doesn't see me day-in and day-out, and I'm hitting it a little bit shorter and hooking it a little bit more; so now it is low left.

LETA LINDLEY: I don't think my swing was that great when I first came out. I think it accentuated my swing and made it worse. No, I didn't do poorly. I had some great rounds and I had some good tournaments. I can remember finishing, maybe having a Top-10 there or something -- running and me streaking across. I think they showed that on TV. I was streaking towards the clubhouse. No, I mean, I've had good rounds. I just think that it is a putting contest over there. You don't necessarily have to hit accurate shots. You get away with a lot more than you do on the Legends. 6-iron. That's my longest iron. If I'm in the trees, I punch out with woods. Three wedges. Yeah, a lot of woods. I haven't tried that one. Good thought, Tom. I might try that.