U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 26, 2005

Michelle Wie West

Q. You got off to a tough start. Why did you get off to such a tough today?

MICHELLE WIE: Just rolling lies that next turn. I go in -- I have to give my ball a GPS, because it was lost. It was confused. From the get-go it was a little, you know, I mean not a little, it was a lot -- couldn't get things going.

Q. It was just a difficult day all around for you, fairways, greens, putting, how did the day unfold for you?

MICHELLE WIE: "Difficult" would be it too easy a word. It was really hard out there for me today.

Q. Did you learn anything from this experience? Do you have something you can take with you to your next tournament?

MICHELLE WIE: I haven't played this bad in a long time, so I definitely learned a lot of things from today. One of the things is I definitely have to get a GPS for my ball because it was lost out there today. I mean, put a magnet in the ball or something, because that thing was not going towards the hole.

Just have to next tournament just have to -- because I am going to shoot bad scores, have to get back better.

Q. Did you at any time give up?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, once I was in the two digits, I knew I was out of contention but I still wanted to finish strong.

Q. Just sort of situation where things started to snowball for you, got in a rut, you couldn't get out of it?

MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, it was in a deep rut. It was hard for me.

Q. Were you nervous? You don't usually get nervous in big championships, what was different?

MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I really wasn't nervous today. I felt pretty good about my game.

Got things started in the wrong direction.

Q. (Inaudible)?

MICHELLE WIE: I kind of pulled a tee shot. Then I tried to lay up, but got just a little too long and, you know, realized the greens were a little firmer today than they were, so, I just hit it a little bit too long, bad putts.

Q. Were pin placements same as yesterday or a little tougher?

MICHELLE WIE: They were a lot more tucked in than the last three days and I think the one of the things that got to me, after I made a couple of bogeys, you know, I got a little bit too impatient.

Q. Did you see Birdie's birdie at the end?

MICHELLE WIE: Yes, I did. I rooted for her all day today. It was a great feeling.

Q. Did you talk much with each other?

MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, 17th hole we made a plan that we make two birdies on the last two holes, and she made a birdie on the last hole so I am really proud of her.

Q. Did you speak in English or Korean?

MICHELLE WIE: Korean.

Q. Thinking about qualifying for next year when you start getting little higher and higher?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, it's kind of such a bummer that I have to qualify for next year for this event. It just happens.

Q. Did you go out aggressive enough?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, I was aggressive enough, but I hit some good shots out there and missed a lot of two-footers.

Q. More nervous because you got off to a bad start --

MICHELLE WIE: No, I knew under par was not going to win this tournament. I knew a couple over was going to win. Even though I made the double on the first hole, I knew if I just got back on track a little bit. Didn't work out.

Q. Second thoughts about whether John Deere is a good idea or not?

MICHELLE WIE: No, I don't have second thoughts at all. Well, if I played bad here then hopefully I will play good there. I am going to practice a lot harder and well, I learned a lot from this experience and I am still pretty confident about next week.

Q. Lip-out for birdie really hurt the most?

MICHELLE WIE: I think so. After that it was just all my putts didn't go in basically.

Q. John Deere, if you play well, there is one spot left for the British Open -- (inaudible)?

MICHELLE WIE: That's definitely on my mind. I just want to make the cut there. That's definitely my top goal.

Q. You know you can qualify for the Women's Open next year if you win an LPGA event?

MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, that's a good idea, too. So hopefully I have three more left and, you know, wish me luck.

Q. Birdieing No. 11 just a feeling of "got one"?

MICHELLE WIE: I felt if I died right there, I'd die happy. But I had to play the next couple of holes and went downhill from there.

Q. What did you think when you saw Birdie make the bunker shot?

MICHELLE WIE: I had a good feeling about that. I knew she was going to make par. But I guess her name was lucky, so she made a birdie, so I felt really good.

End of FastScripts.