LPGA CORNING CLASSIC

May 23, 2002

Val Skinner

MODERATOR: Nice playing. Can we do your score card first.

VAL SKINNER: I started on 10. Let's see. You guys want clubs?

MODERATOR: Yes.

VAL SKINNER: Length?

MODERATOR: Yes.

VAL SKINNER: 9-iron, 10-footer.

A little sand wedge on 12, 10-footer.

15, so close, almost made it, wedge, tap-in.

Then I lipped out for three holes.

I birdied 2, hit a bad drive there, scrambled for a birdie. Hit an 8-iron in and made about a 6-footer.

Bogeyed 3. 3-putted from off the fringe.

Then I birdied 4. I hit 9-iron to about 10 feet.

I birdied 8. Hit sand wedge about, I don't know, maybe six feet. That was that.

MODERATOR: Sounds pretty flawless. You must be pleased with that.

VAL SKINNER: Yeah. You know, I really enjoy playing here a lot. Some days here, you kind of get on the right side of the pin. You know the golf course well enough after being here so many years that you can read the greens with some consistency.

Overall, the round was decent. A lot of good iron shots. I had a lot of opportunities. Hit the hole a lot when I didn't make birdie. Could have been very low, but certainly a lot of players out there that can go low.

I didn't make eagle today on either 2 or 5. You hope you're going to do that, at least make birdie. So that was disappointing on 5 not to do it. I drove it in the trees left.

But it's a fun course to play, as you know. Hit it fairly decent.

Q. How close were you on No. 15?

VAL SKINNER: I literally rolled it over the hole. Had there not been paint on the cup, it really would have went in. Bader I think made hole-in-one there, right?

Q. Yes.

VAL SKINNER: I hit a wedge. A little downwind. I flew it actually beyond the hole about probably 10 or 15 feet, spun it back. Right over the cup.

Q. How long since you've done that?

VAL SKINNER: It's been too long in competition. I have them in practice occasionally, a couple times a year you'll knock one in, but it's your fifth shot, so they don't count.

The big thing in the hole-in-one thing is there's a caddie pool. The caddies have a hole-in-one pool. When the ball is in the air, said, "That's $150 for you," which is 10%. There's incentive. Apparently Beth Bader's caddie is not in the caddie pool. That's big news, that will be the big news on the putting green today. It doesn't double, it just stays. Like 1500 bucks for those guys. They'll bet on whether or not she's going to come out of the locker room with her shoes untied. They have fun with that. It's kind of a fun thing for them.

Q. How has the adjustment been as far as the way the course has changed over the week with the weather?

VAL SKINNER: You know, I got in Wednesday morning and played the ProAm in the afternoon. I was not privy to the hail, sleet, snow, all the different elements y'all had.

The golf course -- the greens aren't maybe as quick yet. I would assume they would get there by the weekend. I think we're here a week earlier this year than normal. I think we're adding leaves as we go. Should be in full bloom by the time we finish on Sunday.

It's so different when you play this golf course and the trees are all grown in, just the way it shapes the fairway. Right now, having -- not having as much definition, the golf course doesn't look quite as narrow as it can when it's full grown.

It's interesting. Corning, there's not a lot of room out there in places.

Q. How has your game been so far this year?

VAL SKINNER: I had a Top 10 in LA, which was good. But I would call it, at least, streaky. You know, on Sunday in South Carolina, made six birdies. If you look up the score, you wouldn't have known I made six birdies.

I've been streaky. I've been unlucky with a lot of injury. But I'm hungry. I'm always hungry. I always have desire to play well. It's in there. Just got to put it all together.

Q. What kind of injuries did you have?

VAL SKINNER: I herniated a disc last April. That was a pretty difficult injury to deal with. I seem to be managing it better now. Kind of found a way to play with it. I had a couple surgeries late in '99.

You know, for an athlete, as you get older, it's a different world. I mean, just as a human being, as you get older, it takes a little bit more effort to get ready to play.

But thank goodness for Health South and all their help. I'm in there, I'm a regular (laughter). I am a regular with my coffee there in the morning. That's what it's been, just a lot of different ailments.

Q. (Inaudible)?

VAL SKINNER: When I played last year here, it was one of the first events back. I herniated that disc April 11th. So Corning was one of my first tournaments back.

Q. (Inaudible)?

VAL SKINNER: I was probably steering it around pretty well because you didn't have to hit it really long. You can put a little punch action on it.

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