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SONY OPEN IN HAWAII

January 13, 2005

Michelle Wie West

HONOLULU, HAWAII

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Michelle, thank you for joining us for a couple minutes after the first round of the Sony Open in Hawaii.

You shot a 75, 5-over. Talk about the conditions today. Certainly not an easy day on the golf course with the winds blowing and the greens, the fairways drying out quite a bit.

MICHELLE WIE: Well, you know, it was tough out there. I mean, it was really hard. But, you know, I played so many times on the golf course, and I think it only blowed like three times, the Kona wind; so this is really rare. Even like blowing really hard Kona wind is even more rare. It was really tough out there, but I think I hung in there.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Talk about the last seven holes. You made seven pars coming in. Certainly par is a good score today. Just talk about your mind set; you made the turn at 38 and you recovered a little bit on the back side. Talk about the recovery on the back.

MICHELLE WIE: You know, I was 5-over and I was like, I can't afford to make anymore bogeys. I can't make -- I can't make a lot of birdies out there today with that wind.

I was trying to make pars and birdies, and I was trying to make at least three birdies, but that didn't work out quite well.

You know, I really tried out there. The last seven holes I made three great up-and-downs, and I feel really proud of that.

Q. Do you feel like you let a good score get away, or do you feel like you turned maybe a 79 into a 75 or do you think you shot about the way you played?

MICHELLE WIE: I think it could have went both ways. If my putting just went in, I think would have shot an awesome round, but it could have gone a lot worse. Especially those last few holes, I could have made easily five or six more bogeys. But I hung in there and hit it really good.

Q. Did your swing get away from you starting like at No. 16? You were hitting fairways up to then.

MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I was hitting great shots and then after 16th hole, I don't know what happened. I guess the wind started blowing a lot, and with the wind starts blowing, you want to rush a little bit. I think it was momentum. I think if I made a couple of birdie putts, I would have been more relaxed. I just missed a lot of putts, so I just kind of rushed up there.

Q. Can you talk about 17, would you like to have that tee shot over again?

MICHELLE WIE: Definitely. That was one bad tee shot. I think that was the worst shot I had all day. I just tried to hit it low, but I kind of let it out to the right. I hit a good chipping shot but I shouldn't have 3-putted that.

Q. What iron did you hit on 15?

MICHELLE WIE: Four.

Q. How did you feel emotionally with the atmosphere this year as compared to last year?

MICHELLE WIE: Last year was a lot easier than this year. You know, with the playing conditions and playing better than this year, it was a lot easier last year. This year, you know, it was a little bit harder, because like I wasn't really nervous or anything. Obviously when you're not playing good, you feel disappointed, but in the middle of the round, you just have to keep on going. So it was a little bit tough, but I think, I, you know, did okay.

Q. Last year, you shot 72 in fairly tame conditions. Did you play better this year or did you play about the same or worse?

MICHELLE WIE: I think my game got a lot better this year. My shots are a lot more solid. They are falling close to the pin a little bit more. Last year, my iron shots were going on the green, but they were way off-line. And so I think my game has improved a lot. It's just the conditions were so different than last year.

Q. What's your mind set for tomorrow? How do you feel right now? Are you really tired or do you feel ready to go for tomorrow?

MICHELLE WIE: A little emotionally tired right now after that battling with the wind, battling myself and stuff. But I think I'm ready for tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it. If my putts start going in, it's going to be a fun day tomorrow.

Q. You hit a lot of knock-down shots, a lot of them. How long have you been working on that, and at what point did you feel like you perfected it to get it like this in competition?

MICHELLE WIE: I've been working on that with David. He said before the Curtis Cup, you have to have that shot and so I've been working on that since then. You know, living in Hawaii, you have to have that shot with that much wind. I think I'm pretty close to it. I'm doing pretty well with it. My driver shot, my control shots were pretty good today, just a little bit off-line some holes, but I think it's getting there.

Q. Do you think your putting stroke was okay today, or putts were not falling?

MICHELLE WIE: My ball was rolling perfectly. I had the perfect line. My speed was a little bit off. I think I haven't played on fast greens in a long time. So my speed was a little bit, you know, off, but my lines and my roll was perfect. If I just get the speed right for tomorrow, then I think I'll be all set.

Q. Do you ever get distracted by the fans or the crowd and what their expectations are for you to do well?

MICHELLE WIE: No. I don't really get sidetracked on that much. But it was great having all the fans out here. They were supporting me and like, "Oh, you can do it" and "good round." It was great. It helped me.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Michelle, if we could go through your round. You started on the back side, a bogey on No. 11.

MICHELLE WIE: I hit a great tee shot, but I just realized that the wind was a lot stronger than I thought it was, and it went in the left bunker and that was a hard up-and-down. Then again, the putt, I hit it too hard; the line was correct.

The next hole I made birdie. I hit a nice control shot there, and I hit a nice control second shot and then I think that was the one putt where I had the speed right.

Q. What was your iron?

MICHELLE WIE: 6-iron.

Q. How far was the putt?

MICHELLE WIE: About seven feet.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Next bogey was on 16.

MICHELLE WIE: The wind was left-to-right there, and I guess, you know, I just kind of pulled it a little and I just had a really bad lie, so I just laid up. I just hit these great like 50-, 60-yard shots, but they were a little bit short. Again, I just hit it too hard, my putt.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: We touched on 17 and then 1 and 2.

MICHELLE WIE: 1 was a par 5 today. I mean, it definitely can't be a par 4. It was really hard with that wind coming at you. Just have to get it in the fairway there because the rough is so tough on both sides.

But I think I did okay there. My second shot was in the rough but it was okay. I had a long putt for par.

2, that one, I hit my 3-wood like 300 yards. That's not possible. I kind of had a bad lie, so I just laid up to the left, the left part of the green. The wind was blowing really hard on the back side. The thing is, I rushed on my stroke a little, and so I hit it too hard and had a 3-putt.

Q. How big was the -- you saved par from the bunker on 3. How big was that, and considering that you've gone on a string of bogeys here and you could lose it at that point?

MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, that, really, if I didn't make a par, I mean, who knows what my score would be. I was having a string of bogeys and I think that was really important to stop it and to start a new game, and that really helped me mentally.

Q. You obviously don't know exactly where you'll be after the round today, but how would you assess your chances on making the cut?

MICHELLE WIE: Hopefully, the wind will blow a little bit harder this afternoon. (Laughter.) I'm not supposed to say that -- but this course, the scores are pretty high. I think if I shoot under par tomorrow, I think if I end up at like 1-over par maybe I'll make it, but I'm definitely going to go for under par tomorrow.

Q. Considering how hard the wind was blowing, when you got to fifth tee, did you have a target score in mind in these conditions?

MICHELLE WIE: Like I said, I wanted to shoot 68, but once I felt that wind, I was like, even par is a good score out here. I was trying to make as much birdies as possible on the easiest holes so I could have some room for error.

Q. What was going through your mind when you walked from the 17th green to the 18th tee?

MICHELLE WIE: I was really mad at me. I really shouldn't have 3-putted that, so I really was aiming for a birdie. You know, I hit it really close my third shot, but just my putting didn't work today.

Q. Did you get a sense of the crowd this year compared with last year?

MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, they were really supportive last year and this year. I guess, I think the spectators were a little bit disappointed today. There weren't many shots that they could clap over. But I think I kind of excited them the last few holes saving par.

But they were really great. They have been encouraging me and it's been great.

Q. When is the last time before you before nobody, like a very small gallery? Not out here, practice rounds out here don't count; on Tour.

MICHELLE WIE: I guess it was my first LPGA tournament, the Takefuji. But that was pretty big, too, so I don't know.

Q. You don't know what it's like for some of these guys to go out there and play before like five people, including two sisters?

MICHELLE WIE: I don't know, I never really felt it before. You know, when there's added pressure on me, when there's a lot of cameras and a lot of people, I think I tend to play better. When there's really no one watching I kind of go through that mode, "Oh, no one is watching me, I can't embarrass myself, I don't really care." But if there's a lot of people watching me, they keep me on my toes.

Q. Do you get a sense, you had a big gallery at the Women's Open, for example. Is it harder here knowing that some people know you or they feel like they know you?

MICHELLE WIE: It's great out here. I some of my friends came out. I can connect with these people. They are my hometown people, and it's great playing in front of them.

JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Michelle, thank you very much.

End of FastScripts.

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