U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 5, 2003

Hilary Lunke

Q. For your final round, what would you say?

HILARY LUNKE: I was very happy. I don't know if I necessarily would have thought I'd be leading. I'm very pleased with the score I shot, regardless of where I stand against the field.

Q. What went well for you today?

HILARY LUNKE: My ball-striking got a little bit better today than it has been the last two days, and I continued to putt well, which as I said yesterday, that's what I was hoping was going to happen. So hopefully just keep it going one more day. And my game is -- it's not at its absolute tip top in terms of ball-striking, but I've been making a lot of putts these last few days, and it's keeping me together.

Q. You've never had a top-10 finish in a LPGA event, and now you're the leader going to the final day at a U.S. Open.

HILARY LUNKE: It's pretty much a surreal feeling. I can't believe I'm standing up here. But I'm learning as I go. It's a good feeling. I was by far the most nervous on the range. And once I hit it pretty close on 1, that kind of calmed me down. And playing with Mhairi was great. I had a good time out there. I just have to get out there and get over my nerves.

Q. Angela said the same thing, that she's enjoying sort of a surreal experience here this weekend. Will it help playing together, because it's new for both of you for the most part?

HILARY LUNKE: Absolutely. I was hoping as I was coming up the 18th fairway, she was going to par the last hole, and she ended up birdieing it. She inspired me last week by winning. We've been friends throughout junior and college golf. We played on the Curtis Cup together, we were roommates there. When she won last week, I was happy for her. It inspired me, and I said, "If she can win, maybe I should play better." And I'm looking forward to tomorrow. We'll have a great time. And hopefully we'll match birdies out.

Q. Did you watch the leaderboard today?

HILARY LUNKE: I did. I watch it here and there. I don't focus on it too much. I'm trying to concentrate on my game. People were making a lot of birdies at the beginning, but I knew we were going to start coming back, as we came back into the back 9. I watch it, but try not to concern myself too much with it.

Q. When did you first realize you were leading?

HILARY LUNKE: I think when I made the putt on 8, I turned to my husband and I was like, "I just took the lead in the U.S. Open, what am I doing?"

Q. Would you say critical holes or maybe the most critical were 15 and 16, because I think 15 you had a par save. And 16 you turned around and birdied?

HILARY LUNKE: I hit a great shot into 15. The wind was swirling on us there on 14, 15, 16, so I was kind of mad. And I thought I hit a pretty decent chip shot. I was mad that I had that putt, and I was happy when I made it. I thought I hit a pretty good shot into 16, and it started drawing, and I got a very friendly bounce. That's definitely -- I think that would be the key to my round, even the bogey putt that I made on 14, too, just to kind of calm me down.

Q. What did you hit on 15 off the tee?

HILARY LUNKE: I hit a 9-wood.

Q. 9-wood. And then on 16, on your approach?

HILARY LUNKE: I hit a 7-wood.

Q. How far out were you?

HILARY LUNKE: 190 to the pin.

Q. Talk a little bit about your emotions, is this a blast, is this fun, are you nervous, what's it like out there for you?

HILARY LUNKE: It is a blast at this point now. This morning on the range I felt sick to my stomach, I was so nervous, I could barely stand up on the range. And I don't know what came over me. I just prayed and said, "Lord, just give me calm right now and give me confidence and help me with my game". I was still very nervous on the first tee and the first shot into the green. And when I heard the crowd scream like that, that definitely calmed my nerves, I knew I had a tap in birdie. It's nice to start out that way.

Q. What will you do tonight to help calm the nerves?

HILARY LUNKE: I'm not planning on doing anything different than I normally do. I'm going to hang out with my family. My husband's parents and his sister came out to see me as well. And we're just going to hang out and have a good dinner and hopefully get some sleep.

Q. When you're playing tomorrow in the final round is there anything in your background that you might draw upon to sort of stay calm?

HILARY LUNKE: Yeah, I think the thing that I'll draw the most upon is my faith and I'll be praying out there and just having Him keep me calm. But I've been in this position before, just not in a LPGA event, so I'm just going to try to draw on those experiences from college at golf and from amateur golf in the tournaments that I've won in the past.

Q. Will you change anything in your plan, knowing that you're in the lead group?

HILARY LUNKE: Absolutely not. I've been playing my game the whole time and that's what's gotten me to the point where I'm at. Like I said, I'm a pretty conservative player. I tend to play to the fat side of the green and just take lag putts, and if they go in, then great. Luckily they've been going in a lot of the time this week. So I'm just going to stay with that game plan. No, I won't change anything.

Q. One question, Aree Song is in 2nd place, any thoughts?

HILARY LUNKE: I played with Aree before, actually, one of the experiences I had before winning a tournament I was with in the final group with Aree at the South Atlantic Ladies Amateur. She's a great player. Personally I'm not that surprised she's doing well. And I think she's going to be a great player out here, there's no question about that and I'm happy that she's playing well.

Q. There's a lot of Stanford players that's been on the leaderboard this week. And I saw Caroline on the range, has that helped you this week?

HILARY LUNKE: Yes, it was nice to play with Mhairi. And yesterday it was fun looking up on the board and seeing Louden, Lunke, and Stanford and McKay. It's calming. It's nice to have fans cheer you on, and hopefully keep you going.

Q. Caroline is here just for one day?

HILARY LUNKE: Caroline, she was here Thursday and Friday. She watched me almost all the round Thursday. But yesterday she watched mostly Stefanie and Mhairi.

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