U.S SENIOR WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 28, 2021

JoAnne Carner

Brooklawn Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We are here with JoAnne Carner. JoAnne, your third one of these now. What do you take away from the first two, and why are you back?

JOANNE CARNER: (Laughing) I'm back because I've got one more shot at doing it.

Q. What do you take from the course at Brooklawn so far from your practice rounds?

JOANNE CARNER: It was very hard. I mean, not necessarily tee to green, but on the greens it's so severe, all the -- it's almost like you one-putt or three-putt. You don't make many one-putts really. But chipping and playing out of the sand, you think you've hit a good shot, and it just keeps going, and now you've got an eight-, nine-footer for par.

Q. What is golf looking like for you these days in Florida, especially over the past year when there hadn't been much going on?

JOANNE CARNER: I didn't play for 14 months, so I started back about two months ago. I had gained 26 pounds in that COVID disaster. I didn't have it, but I stayed away from everything.

So I'm gradually working all that off. Coming into here I had two pounds to go to get back to what I was.

Basically it was golf 101. I mean, it was awful. I had no strength. The arms, the legs, the brain was dead. Everything was starting all over again.

Q. When was your first day back to golf?

JOANNE CARNER: I don't know.

Q. What month?

JOANNE CARNER: It was about two months.

Q. What was the hardest part of your game to get back?

JOANNE CARNER: All of the above. It was -- I started walking on flat ground trying to get to a mile, but I can't walk hills and that because I have COPD. But I can walk the flats slowly. So I was doing that to try and get my legs working.

Then just started with the short wedges and whatnot. The swing, it was always short, but this time it was really short, and then I basically duck into -- my old flaw of ducking in and never getting off the right foot.

In fact, I said when they bury me my right foot is going to be outside the coffin.

Q. We're so excited to have Carol back and it seems like you two have been playing some rounds together. Talk about your relationship with her.

JOANNE CARNER: I've known Carol for a long, long time. Knew her mother very well. Just have followed her progress. We play a lot in Florida when she comes down. She and I have a mutual friend that we team up with and play. She's just such a nice person to begin with.

Q. It's been kind of like a reunion out here this week. Has there been anybody in particular that you've seen that you haven't seen in a really long time that you were really excited to see?

JOANNE CARNER: Well, not really. I mean, all of them. When you're away from it for 14 months and whatnot, you say, now who is that? I don't know.

Q. What did you miss the most about golf in those 14 months?

JOANNE CARNER: I missed all the camaraderie that you have when you play golf, you know, the heckling and whatnot, and little side bets for a drink. So I play harder for a drink.

Q. What are your expectations this week?

JOANNE CARNER: Well, the cardinal rule is make the cut. My game is not quite solid to really contend, and I'm not long enough off the tee. You know, that's the most aggravating thing.

Q. Have you been watching a lot of golf in these last 14 months?

JOANNE CARNER: Yeah, I watch the men, the women, men's seniors.

Q. How familiar are you with Rose Zhang, and can you speak to how talented a young player is already?

JOANNE CARNER: Oh, yes. I'm not familiar with her at all, but I mean, the way they swing now is just beautiful. It's just solid. No flaws. They all hit it long.

You know, they're not swinging it out of their shoes like the men do. The men all have -- well, I've had two hip surgeries, but I say they're going to have hip surgery and all that because they swing so hard. But I guess if I made 10 million a year, I could afford hip surgery again.

Q. Do you have anybody in particular that you really like to watch or do you just turn golf on to have it on?

JOANNE CARNER: You know, some players are boring. I like someone like DeChambeau, he's always interesting. I can't say he's my favorite player, but I do watch him, just to see where he goes.