LPGA CORNING CLASSIC

May 26, 2001

Maria Hjorth

MARIA HJORTH: Started on number 2nd, I hit a good drive. Then a 5-iron, just short right of the green. Chipped out to about 4 feet. No. 4, I hit a 3-wood off the tee, and great 9-iron my second shot. I was about 20 feet. On No. 5, I hit a good drive, hit a 7-iron just off the green, right, and chipped into a couple inches. 7, hit the 9-iron to about 12 feet. On 8, bogey. Hit a good tee shot, a 3-wood, then I hit a second shot in the bunker, and it was a pretty bad lie in the bunker. I had a decent bunker shot to about 4 feet, but missed the putt. On No. 9, hit a 3-wood off the tee. 8-iron, my second shot, to 15 feet. No. 10, hit a good drive, and my second shot was a wedge to 2 feet. On 11, I hit a 7-iron, pulled a bit left. I had about a 35-footer. 12, I hit a good drive and then a 7-wood onto the green. I had about 25 feet and 2-putted. On 14, I had 85 yards for my third shot, and hit it to 3 feet. On 17, I hit 7-wood off the tee, and the wedge for my second shot to 10 feet. 12 feet.

MARIA HJORTH: Well, really, the second hole and the 5th hole are reachable par 5s for everybody. You really have to make a birdie there to not lose shots towards the field. I made birdie there, but then made a good birdie on 7. And then I got into a row, made four birdies in a row: 9, 10, 11,12 and thought it would, this would be a good round. I didn't really make mistakes after that, and did some more birdies.

MARIA HJORTH: Yeah.

MARIA HJORTH: I had a 63, yeah. (Inaudible.) That was 64. I had a couple 64s before.

MARIA HJORTH: 61.

MARIA HJORTH: Actually in Paris, when I played as an amateur.

MARIA HJORTH: I feel pretty confident. I'm finally starting to make some putts. That's what I'm working very hard on because that's what I'm missing out on. I've been playing well but not really making the putts. That's what you have to do out here to be able to shoot low scores. I feel pretty confident tomorrow; and hopefully, if I can keep driving the ball as I've been doing, I should be able to have a good score tomorrow.

MARIA HJORTH: Most of the time I actually come from behind, quite a few shots. I don't know, really, when the last time was. But last week, I finished one behind, but I was five behind or something going into the last round, so I was having a good Sunday. I don't know really when it was, but it's always great to be up there and be in contention, because that really boosts your confidence quite a lot.

MARIA HJORTH: To do that?

MARIA HJORTH: Well, I actually haven't played for a few years. I played a lot up till I got my full card for the LPGA TOUR, but up till then, I played most of the Swedish championships. I was a substitute for the Swedish Junior Team in the world championship. And I played a lot. Now, when I'm out here, the season is too long and I don't have any time to go back to Sweden to play. I would love to play, maybe when I quit playing golf, I might pick it up again and then play.

MARIA HJORTH: Well, really, I was struggling a little bit, especially with my putting. Even my swing wasn't that solid. I came off to a bad start, and that didn't help my confidence. Toward the end of the year, I was struggling with confidence, and I didn't feel like I could do anything out there on the golf course. I was really struggling to make cuts. I changed the coach and beginning of this year, and we've been working really hard with the swing trying to be more consistent even with my putting. It's really starting to pay off.

MARIA HJORTH: Andrew Emory (phonetic),lives in Orlando.

MARIA HJORTH: Yeah, definitely, especially starting to make putts which I haven't done in a while. If you start to make putts, you can feel how you can feel the ball a little bit firmer and go for a straighter line when you putt. I think that's really where it comes down to the biggest difference.

MARIA HJORTH: Especially take advantage of the par 5s. Most of them are reachable. 12, I can reach 12, and 14 is just a lay-up hole. 3, that's where you have to take advantage. If I drive the ball well like I did today, there will be a lot of short irons to the greens and you can hit the ball closer. That's what you really have to do, make a lot of birdies because this is a birdie course. You have to be up there with the others.

MARIA HJORTH: Well, I think it's kind of fun, though, there's a lot of people out there. It put a lot of pressure on everybody. The ones who are not used to being out there maybe feel more pressure by the ones who really enjoy having the pressure around. I think they're really going to shoot up tomorrow and have the trophy.

MARIA HJORTH: I didn't think so. I thought actually the greens were going to be a little bit softer, they weren't really that much softer than they have been the other days. I thought I was playing about the same. A little more wind yesterday, so it made the course tougher yesterday I think than today.

MARIA HJORTH: Well, beginning of the year, I was definitely feeling that I was going to be in the team. But towards the, you know, the deadline and the -- when they were going to pick it, I felt I wasn't really playing that well, and I was still hoping for a pick. So many good players and experienced players in there, so it's hard to pick and she didn't pick me. Hopefully I will have a chance next time.

MARIA HJORTH: It might have done towards the end, beginning of the year I really didn't think that much about it, because I felt I was pretty solid in the team. Towards the end, I probably put more pressure on myself than I should have done, and that didn't really help.

MARIA HJORTH: Actually, just kind of a coincidence I went to Scotland. I didn't really feel like I wanted to go to America, because I still wanted to play some amateur golf in Europe and be around there. Then a friend of mine, she met the guy who was in charge of the (Inaudible) team in Scotland. He said you can come to Scotland and go on a golf scholarship. I thought that could be interesting. We went over there to look. We thought it could be fun to try it. We went there, I studied English as a foreign language and sports studies. I got a degree, a B.A. in English. I was there for three years.