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BMO FINANCIAL GROUP CANADIAN WOMEN'S OPEN

July 6, 2004

Isabelle Beisiegel

NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO

PAUL ROVNAK: Isabelle, thanks for coming in and joining us. I imagine this is a pretty special week for you playing in Canada. You're Canadian and you're the second highest Canadian on the Money List this year. So maybe if you could tell us about how it is to be playing in your home country, so close to home.

ISABELLE BEISIEGEL: Yes, there's nothing like it. The crowd, I never get a home crowd better than here. I wish there were more tournaments up here in Canada, but this is definitely a great tournament. The first time after I qualified for the Tour, that was the first tournament I thought I don't have to qualify for the Canadian Open; I'm already in. So I was real excited and this is definitely a special event for me.

Q. Generally to start with, how has the year been going for you and how do you feel about your game going into this weekend?

ISABELLE BEISIEGEL: Just trying to get better every day. It's a lot of fun. You can't predict any outcome because if I could, I would have won every tournament this year, but you can't control these things. So I'm just happy to be out here and try to play hard.

Q. Not quite halfway through the year but pretty close, what's been to you the biggest surprise, if there is one, about life full time on the Tour?

ISABELLE BEISIEGEL: I think playing on the BMO Canadian Women's Tour and also the FUTURES Tour really prepared me well. There's not really a big surprise to me from what I've played.

I guess I've had a few surprising places like I played in Rochester, New York and the fans there were just so awesome. You know, of course, I expected it but there was really tremendously a lot of people there. And I hope this week will be just like that, too. You know, I kind of had a good taste of what to expect this year from last year's BMO Canadian Women's Open in Vancouver and the year before in Summerlea. So I think those little snapshots of life on the LPGA prepared me.

Q. Did your parents or family come down?

ISABELLE BEISIEGEL: Yeah, I have an uncle and their children, I guess their grandchildren are coming. So, yeah a little bit.

Q. You qualified for the British Open, the final major; your thoughts on going to Europe?

ISABELLE BEISIEGEL: I'm so excited. I've always watched those tournaments on TV, and I can't wait to go on those courses. I love to play all of the different shots. Being in Oklahoma for the past five years, developed a "Sooner shot," which is a low knockdown, and I'm just excited I'll get to use it out there. It's going to be fun.

Q. Just specifically with this course here, have you played it much and does it suit your game?

ISABELLE BEISIEGEL: I played it on Saturday, and I love it. I mean, when I played it Saturday, the greens were really firm and fast. And, you know, the course is playing I think longer than what we normally play. If I had to order a course, it would be set up exactly like this. So I don't know what happened but, you know it's perfect, so I really love it.

Q. Why is it made to order?

ISABELLE BEISIEGEL: Because I don't think there's one hole where I can't hit driver off the tee, which, you know, I like. You know, there's a few nice par 5s and they are pretty much all within reach. So, it's a lot of fun.

And also, the course I think allows on some driving holes to choose whether you're going to hit you know, you can hit the safe shot or have a normal shot in, but you can also get with a really aggressive line and go for it. So that's what I'm looking forward to, pushing myself out there.

Q. (Inaudible.)

ISABELLE BEISIEGEL: No, if I do, you'll have to come and talk to me and ask me what happened there. Obviously wasn't thinking right. (Laughing).

Q. Being a Canadian and there being a large Canadian contingent here, I'm not sure you're aware, but a Canadian has not won this thing since the inaugural event. Is there motivation, do you think this might be the breakthrough year that things could turn around?

ISABELLE BEISIEGEL: Well, I don't know. Like I said earlier, you can't control that, and I think definitely we have the crowd advantage. I sure wouldn't be surprised if it turned around this year, but I just think it's a matter of time. There are so many, you know, Canadians coming out of the Canadian Tour and FUTURES Tour, so it just a lot of fun for me to see friends from the past.

Q. Is there any difference also knowing that Grace Park and Annika are not here, as well?

ISABELLE BEISIEGEL: No. I think that the Tour has a great depth and I think every week, you know, pretty much anyone can go out and win. So that's what I think.

Q. Was there a men's qualifier you played in and where was this?

ISABELLE BEISIEGEL: A couple of them I've played: The Nissan Open qualifier and the Buick Open qualifier. I just kind of like to put myself in an ice bath right before the season starts to get the competitive juices going. And it's a lot of fun to push myself beyond, you know, to get myself as far as I can go.

Q. You've done it a few other times?

ISABELLE BEISIEGEL: Yeah, I tried for the Canadian Open, the men's last year. That was my first one and then a couple of Nationwide Tour ones.

Q. Have you ever come close to actually getting in?

ISABELLE BEISIEGEL: I mean, I shot even par in Arizona and that was, you know, obviously on a Monday qualifier. The odds are pretty slim but I did pretty well. I got 30th or something like that, a few shots off.

Q. And your thinking in doing that, is it just to raise your game?

ISABELLE BEISIEGEL: Well, yeah, that's definitely my goal is to well, my ultimate goal is not to play on the PGA TOUR. My ultimate goal is to become the best golfer I can become. And so but part of it is going and trying to qualify for the PGA TOUR, and I think there I will have a slight disadvantage as far as distance to some players, and I think that's going to make the rest of my game have to elevate. And along with also LPGA TOUR tournaments, I mean, which here the competitiveness is also extremely high, so I think that's definitely going to be the best mix to help me become the best golfer I can be.

Q. Is it because you're a long hitter compared to most women ?

ISABELLE BEISIEGEL: Right. Like here, I would say I'm at an advantage. So it's not as difficult.

Q. I know you talked the other day, you did intend to through the qualifying school again, the first sectional, have you had the first inaudible?

ISABELLE BEISIEGEL: No, they send out the applications July 1. So I am not home to take my mail, so I will wait for that. It should be all posted and all available. You can call the PGA TOUR and get that.

Q. You did so well here last year in Vancouver, despite some pretty bad moves with your husband .

ISABELLE BEISIEGEL: Yeah, I'm hoping to get a backup caddie in the crowd to follow me this week no. (Laughing).

Q. Just wondering if you can compare yourself now coming into this event compared to back then, what's the big difference?

ISABELLE BEISIEGEL: I think the difference between then and now is just more tournaments. I don't think there's any really significant difference. I haven't made many changes in the fall. I have a conventional putting grip now. I went back to conventional and that's one of the different things.

But I think the main difference is I think mentally and through my training, I think I got stronger physically, as well, but that also makes you, obviously, mentally stronger when you have to go through pain and really push yourself as an athlete.

I don't think there is much difference, like I said, when I qualified this year for the Tour. The year before, I missed a three day cut by one shot. The difference between the two is so little about what I can control.

Q. What sort of pain

ISABELLE BEISIEGEL: When I said pain, I wasn't talking about that. I was just talking about when your muscles burn when you're lifting weights and pushing yourself to failure. That's something I deal with and that's something I've learned to deal with. I mean, my lower back was killing me last year at Q School and I just went through it because I know that it's not an injury; it's a symptom.

Q. Qualifying with the men, isn't Q School kind of expensive, like $4,000 or $5,000?

ISABELLE BEISIEGEL: Yeah.

Q. If the goal is to find places to put you at a disadvantage, are there not simpler ways to do it than playing men's tournaments?

ISABELLE BEISIEGEL: Well, I mean, that's not I want to compete on the courses that are set up the most difficult in the world. I mean, to me, that is a goal that to be the best golfer I can be, that means pushing myself to the ultimate of golf. You ask me that question, I could have, you know, not tried to qualify for the LPGA and tried to play on the FUTURES Tour. I could have gotten better there, too, but I would rather be on these stages with the competition and the courses that are set up harder.

Q. In the back of your mind, do you think you might be able to sneak through one day?

ISABELLE BEISIEGEL: Oh, definitely. I'm not going to stop until I do make it and I just think it's a matter of time.

End of FastScripts.

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