CURTIS CUP MATCH

August 2, 1998

Kellee Booth

Brenda Corrie-Kuehn

Barbara McIntire

Jo Jo Robertson

RHONDA GLENN: Ladies and gentlemen, Barbara McIntire has only been captain twice. Once was 22 years ago, she won then, and she's still winning. Congratulations, Barbara, to your team Brenda Corrie Kuehn, Kellee Booth and Jo Jo Robertson. Barbara, I want you to just start things off by giving us your reaction today because it wound up being really close.

BARBARA McINTIRE: When we finally won the first point this afternoon and then won the second point, I must say that I kind of relaxed right at that point in time. But I hadn't up until then. We were -- we were more ahead and then suddenly some things happened and then we weren't so much ahead. But we were ahead in enough matches that I felt confident we were going to win the two points that we needed to win the Cup back.

JO JO ROBERTSON: Oh, this is really fun. I had such a good time here. The team was great. We had fun all week and it was fun for me and Carol to go out and watch them every morning and I'm glad it worked out the way it did.

KELLEE BOOTH: It felt wonderful, but I have to attribute two of points to my partner. She said and she keeps saying I'm her hero, but she's mine. When she hit her shot there on No. 9 with the 3-wood that she's scared to death to hit out on the fairway -- she knocked it out just 30 feet of the hole and gave me at least a chance to win it by making par. She is my hero, and I think all of us knew going in that this was a team effort and Brenda and I, for sure, showed that and I think everybody else did as well.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Even though we were not victorious then but it's -- I was so proud to be a member of the team. It's hard to explain. You're very proud to be part of the team. Disappointed if you lose but all players always give it a 110 percent. We did that then and we did it now. The results fortunately were different. This year we had such an awesome team and it wasn't just Saturday and Sunday. The whole week has been terrific, on and off the golf course. It's just been a terrific experience.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I think so and I think that was the difference two years ago. Two years ago I think we outplayed them from tee to green and we were outplayed on the greens. And I think this year it was a flip and we definitely outplayed them on the greens, at least from the putt that I saw we outplayed them -- the short game was better and I think that's why we were victorious.

BARBARA McINTIRE: Well, this team did an awful lot of practicing around the greens and on the greens every day before the match, even when we played foursomes, the way we would in the match, you know, with just one ball on Thursday, I mean they kept practicing. They were very diligent about it. I suggested they do it, and every time I turned up they just dropped balls in and just started chipping and putting. But they prepared themselves very, very well.

Q. Barbara, can you talk a little bit about how you made match-ups in terms of the foursome teams? Was it something that you went by style of play, matching up? There was some speculation here in this tent earlier in the week that Beth Bauer and Carol Semple Thompson, old and young, match them up, how do you go through that practice?

BARBARA McINTIRE: I decided that wasn't what I was going to do, but then I thought that was a good idea. I matched Beth and Jenny because they are going to be teammates at Duke. I thought it was a natural kind of a thing. I matched Brenda and Kellee because they are the two most exuberant players on our team. There's no doubt about it. They can talk more than anybody else on our team and they just seemed to match well in personality. I really -- I really didn't consider games, you know, whether one was a long driver and one was a good iron player, whether they were both long hitters or -- I really didn't consider the golf game. I considered more the personalities. I can remember Billie Joe Patton, who was captain of the Walker Cup saying: You've got to love one another when you play in foursomes. And I think these girls did love one another.

BARBARA McINTIRE: Probably, I would assess their performance as tremendous. I mean, it's rare to get a player who wins all her points. To get two players who win all their points is magnificent. You know, as a captain, well -- I kept playing them and I thought: Am I asking them too much to go back out this afternoon? And I kind of said that to them and I could kind of tell, you know, they were ready to go and they earned the right. They certainly earned the right to play four times when they won all their points. I just didn't want to ask them to do too much. But they were ready for the task.

JO JO ROBERTSON: I have one more year of college and I'll probably stay amateur for awhile, I haven't really thought about it too much.

JO JO ROBERTSON: Maybe, I haven't thought about it too much.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I think she had a great feel for personality for our players. She was extremely inspirational. I don't know how to put it in words. I can't tell you why. I can't tell you what it was that made me feel that way. But she was very inspirational. I think a lot of it was the -- to me and I've told her this -- you're going to make them cry -- we've already cried. But the trust that she had in us that we could go out there and do it, it just poured over onto us. There was just not a doubt in her mind that we could do this. So we go out there and you know you can do it but you know they can do it, too. So you kind of go out there not knowing what to expect, and she says, "I have no doubt. You can do it. You just go on and play your game." And I just think her serenity she passed on -- I felt all her years of experience kind of passing on to me. And I can't put in words why.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: It felt that way.

KELLEE BOOTH: Barbara was very positive with us. I don't think I ever heard a negative word come out of her mouth the entire week we were here and the week we were here for practice. And one thing I think was very special about this week for all of us was she invited the past captains to come and speak to all of us. And I think they were an inspiration not only to us but also to Barbara as well. To hear some of the stories they had told of their teams and some of their words of wisdom. Brenda and I were out there and we kept saying remember what Polly said, remember what Polly said. What she told us was: When you get them one down, get them two down. When you get them two down, get them three down. And that's something Brenda and I kept in our minds throughout our matches when we were out there together and when we were out there on our own. Those inspirational words really got us going. I think maybe had Barbara not been the captain that wouldn't have happened for us. We wouldn't have had those inspirational words. But now since she's as experienced as she is, she knows us as well as she does, and you know she brought that -- that extra little bit of inspiration that I think all of us needed. Plus we had little signs in our rooms that -- little sayings. I mean my sign was, "Believe you can do anything and then take a stab at it." And I kept that in my mind throughout the entire week and that's very special. That's Nancy Lopez's quote, there we go. And that was really special to remember the sign that was hanging right by my bed and sort of was another inspirational part of this week.

JO JO ROBERTSON: It was a lot of fun. Every time I saw Barbara on the course she always said something nice to me and smiled and she was a lot of fun this week. I'm glad I got to play for her.

KELLEE BOOTH: Yes, I know there was a mission. We had a little revenge in our mind, the two of us. We went out there seeking revenge and the thing is the person we were seeking revenge against, Brenda played twice and I played once. And the thing was, she was in our position two years ago, so we kind of stepped up to the occasion and we are now in her position and that's what make this so special.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I think what happens is you get a taste of what you don't like and it lights that fire under your feet. It just makes you want it a little bit more -- it makes you want to win -- it makes you want to not lose because you know what losing is like, so you know you want to be -- it makes you want to win -- more badly, more badly. More, let's just leave it at that. Don't quote me on that. So I think it did. To me it definitely -- it definitely moved me.

Q. Jo Jo, you spent quite a bit of time walking the course and practicing and writing the course with Carol. Did she sound like a future Curtis Cup captain at any point during those matches?

JO JO ROBERTSON: Carol was a big help to me this week. She answered all my questions and -- she was just a lot of fun for me to be with. I learned a lot from her so, yeah, maybe.

Q. Barbara, I was hoping you could express a little bit how much patriotism plays into this and what it meant to bring the Cup back into the U.S.

BARBARA McINTIRE: Well, I cry when they play the Star Spangled Banner even when I'm watching a baseball game and they start playing it on television. So we had a couple of songs that, you know, that we played on the way out here and I think the favorite was -- what is it -- Proud To Be An American. And that's a great song, that Lee Greenwood sings. And it's my understanding that Norman Schwartkopf could have played that tune for his troops when he sent them out into Desert Storm, and it's always been a favorite of mine. But patriotism, I think to win the Curtis Cup back for America, not necessarily for ourselves but for our country was really what we had in mind the entire week.

BARBARA McINTIRE: I have only captained two and they have both won.

BARBARA McINTIRE: You know we really don't do that over here. We have state teams now. We have had some -- like a state team that would get together and use this same kind of format but I've never been involved in that. I've never been the captain of another team except the Curtis Cup team. I'm going to captain in the world amateur team in Chile.

BARBARA McINTIRE: Yes.

BARBARA McINTIRE: I thought the world would be asking that question. I really thought that this should be a total team effort and these two here on my right kept winning and I -- I didn't think I could, you know, ask them to sit down. I asked them how they felt about playing this afternoon and they both said: "Whatever you decide is up to you." Jenny and Beth had played three teams times. Someone had to sit out this afternoon. If Jo Jo and Carol were going to play -- and it was my -- I wanted to play Jo Jo and Carol. They only played once. I thought they should play again. And that's why -- and I told Jenny and Beth that, you know, they played well this morning. The team they played played very well against them. So it certainly had nothing to do with them losing this morning. And they were great. They were absolutely terrific about the decision. And it was unfortunate I didn't get to tell them in person until the whole team was together. And I told them in front of the team and they put on the sparkly hats and started laughing and kidding about it and planing their afternoon. And that's pretty much the way this team has been. You know, the hardest part of being captain is telling two players they are not going to play.

KELLEE BOOTH: Well, I think we had a little motto out there. It was "fairways and greens". And I hit a ton of fairways this week and that was really key to playing well, not only with Brenda but not only for myself; out there playing Kim Rostron the two times I played her and I hit lots of greens giving myself lots of opportunities. And I also chipped real well. So when we did miss a shot I did get up-and-down or I chipped real close and I think that was the key to the two of us playing well and playing well myself.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I don't think Kellee missed a fair when I when she played with me. And she nailed them. Seriously, I've been having irons I didn't think you could have into some of these greens. And you know that was -- that's the -- the weakest part of my game. So she handled that and then would I try and put it up there or she would -- if I would miss the green, she would chip up and I putted pretty well this week. So I think we complemented each other's game. Between the two, we kind of had everything covered, the long shots and the short game.

KELLEE BOOTH: I think the putting is pretty well an understatement. She was wonderful.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: No, the putt is Jenny's putt at the Open. We have to change the name. The putt at the Open has been named "The putt". So we named it Putt No. 2, the Putt No. 2. I was aware because I knew Kellee had already one and I was actually -- I didn't know what I would feel like, having to make, you know, Putt No. 2. But I actually was very excited and I was not -- I'm a very nervous player and that is probably an understatement and I think that probably keeps me going. And I thought I would be very nervous over, you know, a putt like that and I was so excited and I had to take a deep breath and say: Put that behind you now and let's concentrate on your routine and making -- making a good stroke on it. And when that ball left the putter, I knew it was in the hole because it was on the line that I had seen and it was -- I mean, the life just went out of me. I was so excited. I mean, not for me, but, you know, for the nine of us up here and, you know, just everybody. Everybody was out there. You know, your country, it was just -- I can't -- I mean, I can't explain it. It was a great feeling for me and I'm lucky that I had that opportunity to clinch it for all of us.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I tell you, that was probably the best put that I had all week. I put that putt so well and now, you know, obviously I think it -- I should have stepped it off. I have my yardages but I'm guessing it was like a 60-footer, probably, is what it felt like. The pin was 18 back and I was a couple yards off, so that's 20 yards, 60 feet. And that was another one I felt relief -- it should be pretty close and three neat from the hole I saw it go in and I was so excited. And as you can tell, I'm working on not getting too high and too low but I can't help it. I got so excited out there. I was High Five-ing my caddy. I saw Beth who was out there yelling: "You go girl," out there on the side and you know I just had no idea what was going on. I'm thinking: Okay, good, I'm 3 up, let's go to the next tee. And I was working on my next tee shot, which we've been struggling with so the 9th hole. I'm just thinking: Keep it left, keep it left. And the next thing I hear is: "Brenda, Brenda, stop, stop, stop," and they told me what was going on. And it was -- I was -- it was a shocker for about, you know, it took me about 10 or 15 seconds and my emotions, you know, went like this (indicating, moving hand up and down) because I didn't want to be mad at my caddy. Because Ben had just been tremendous through two days and it was a mistake that could have happened to anybody. I should have yelled: "Pull the pin". I just -- you know, it was my mistake. It was his mistake and it happened. So you've got to put that behind you and say now well you're only 1 up so now you've got to play even harder. And so I had to really concentrate hard for my drive on 9 and I wanted to win 9 very badly. More so than probably had I been 3 up. So you never know why things -- maybe it was for the best.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Yeah, I knew I had asked him to tend the pin. They asked me: Did you it ask him to tend the pin. And I said yes and they said he didn't pull the pin out. And I thought two-stroke penalty. And she said loss of hole. And I said: Are you sure it's not two-stroke penalty? No, it's loss of hole. I mean, what can you do?

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: But you know, Rhonda, for me when I have long putts -- it gives me a better depth perception. I refuse to wear glasses and contacts. So somebody standing up there gives me a better feel for the distance and that's why I requested it. And you know, I had done it before off the fringe and I guess I had never paid attention if he had pulled the flag out or not. And I just assumed that he was going it pull it out. And when it halved I just didn't even notice.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: He said he was sorry. What do you say?

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: He did not know. He thought that because I was off the green he didn't have to pull the pin. And I said: "Hey it happens, it could happen to anybody, let's go on. It's over with. " I didn't want him dwelling on it because it was going to make me dwell on it and I want to put it behind me and go on.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I don't know. Don't ask me that. It's Ben.

BARBARA McINTIRE: I think the two longest players on our team are Kellee and Robin, no doubt about it.

BARBARA McINTIRE: Well, you know the two girls, it's been their dream to make this team and they waited a long time to make this team. Virginia had some health problems and -- I just thought, you know, she seem to get on well together and they did. And they had great confidence in one another and I think that's what makes a partnership good when the two players have confidence in one another. That's what makes a partnership.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: It was -- it's something that I do for myself to get a feel for the course. And it wasn't anything special. Basically I didn't mark -- I didn't have a sprinkler in there. I didn't have anything in there accident the bunkers, maybe some over hanging trees, depth of the greens, and you know, when the -- when the green dropped off the sides and things like that. So it was just very basic. And I think for me, it's something that I use if I get into trouble and need to punch it, you need to know how many yards the bunker is, something like that. And I think for most of us, I didn't pull it out once, really because by this stage of the game, you know that course. We've played it so many times that there's no need to pull it out. If there's an emergency -- I mean, I had a couple of emergencies in that singles match and I was like, how far to that bunker again? But I think it was more for me. I don't think any of us used it.

KELLEE BOOTH: I used it. I used it quite a bit. (laughter) So I could look on my pin sheet and some of the things that Brenda had written down and figured out almost exactly where the pin was on the green. And also on a couple holes where they are bunkers that they hid the pins behind. You kind of wanted to know how far into the green was that bunker; how far did I have to carry it. And those were things that she wrote down that helped out a lot. And also for us, we knew exactly how far it was to the tee shot there the bunker that we laid up shorts up. And that really helped on some of the lay-up shots, especially on the par 5s.

JO JO ROBERTSON: I thought it was nice to have. I had another book at the beginning of the week and my caddy said some of the yardages were wrong because they changed the course a little bit so it was nice to have Brenda's book and read some of the notes in it.