BANK OF MONTREAL CANADIAN WOMEN'S OPEN

August 14, 2002

Karrie Webb

LAURA NEAL: We'd like to welcome Karrie Webb. Thanks for joining us. I know we have asked you this a lot of time but can you put into words what the victory, meant to you and to your career.

KARRIE WEBB: Well it's definitely very special. I think especially because the British Open was the first professional tournament I ever won. So to win it again and to win it at Turnberry, which is probably one of the best golf courses I've ever played and you know, to cap off the five Majors, I guess the Super Slam as some people have called it. But it's very special. It is hard to put into words and it's hard to come back to reality and have to work hard and to play this week.

LAURA NEAL: Questions.

Q. What is your physical state right now. After you win obviously there's a lot of stuff that goes on that happens with you. You've just flown across an ocean and time zones. How are you physically right now?

KARRIE WEBB: Physically, well I think every one that played last week is going to be a little jetlagged, a little tired. That sort of travel is all right if you're going home, but when you've got to back it up and play in a fairly big tournament again the next week it's hard to try and catch up on your sleep and refocus and I think the best move I made was not to come out here yesterday. Just obviously because of how hot it was. I don't think getting in late Monday night and then coming straight out here yesterday would have helped the cause very much at all.

Q. How is the golf course here? Is it difficult? How do you find it?

KARRIE WEBB: Well I think it's in great shape. The greens are in really good shape. And I think that the layout is pretty good. I think it's been set up pretty well. It's hard to tell what sort of score is going to win because on a new golf course you never really know how it's going to play. But there is a big premium to hitting fairways and the rough is pretty high. And on the greens you've got to be able to put it in the right spot because you can have some extremely tough putts on the greens if you are not hitting it to the uphill putt all the time.

Q. How did you play the 12th today, the par-4?

KARRIE WEBB: To be honest with you I probably cannot remember that.

Q. Dogleg right up the hill.

KARRIE WEBB: I don't know.

Q. How does it -- prior to last weekend where did you think this season was going for you in terms of your performance overall?

KARRIE WEBB: Obviously I was fairly pleased with it. Obviously not up to the standards of some of my most recent years. I think fortunately one of the big things that I've gained in the six and a half years that I've been out here is a little bit of perspective. And I at least had a perspective to know that I probably wasn't going to continue on with the same sort of golf that I played in '99 and 2000. And even last year. So it's, I was fairly pleased with it. I was being patient. I was working on a few things and I could feel that things were coming around. And I felt pretty good about going into last week. I thought I had a pretty good chance and I think for the first time in my whole career that my game is as good as it's ever been. Because normally by now I've played all of my good golf normally by now and although I have won late in the year, I don't think I've been at the best of my ability whereas I think I'm just coming into that as the year goes on.

Q. Do you feel that there's time left for you to make a run at Player of the Year?

KARRIE WEBB: Not unless I win another four or five tournaments. But, no, that's not what my goal is to finish out the year. It's just to try and finish it as good as I can and hopefully it's, it will be as good of a finish to the end of the year as I've ever had.

Q. The LPGA came up with the five points and that whole system. How have you taken to that personally and what do you feel about that strategy?

KARRIE WEBB: Well I think that that whole summit was definitely a bit of an eye opener and I think that sometimes we all have to sit down and look at how good we have it out here. And we're doing a job and especially -- well, probably 10 percent of us are doing pretty well, making a very good living. And that 10 percent is probably the 10 percent on Tour that sell the Tour. So it was sort of just like a kick in the butt sort of thing. Where you just -- we know how good it is but to be told by someone else it really makes you sit down and think about things and realize what's important. And even though there are days where -- we're human beings so we're going to be in not a very good mood and you might upset a fan or two by being in that mood. But if you can eliminate as many days of those as you can by just having that in the back of your mind, take a deep breath and go, okay, they're having a good day, so don't ruin it for them. So it's -- the good thing is I think it's in the back of everyone's mind still. Which I didn't know how long that would last. And I think that it's continued throughout the year.

Q. We heard that you had a lot of problem with your luggage arriving here.

KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, I did.

Q. What was the problem it's not fixed yet?

KARRIE WEBB: No, it's not fixed yet.

Q. Your golf bag is with you?

KARRIE WEBB: I have my golf clubs. So that's the main thing.

Q. Is there any sort of Major hangover with this tournament? Is it still, is there any essence that makes it feel like a Major, even though it's not any more?

KARRIE WEBB: Well, obviously the same tournament staff still run it and the tournament still runs just as well as it was when it was a Major. We still get treated very well. Blue and white used to be red and black. But it's still the same sort of look. And I think that it's sort of just a mindset. It used to be a Major. So you came here and things were just a little bit more important. But it's still a big event. It's still the only event that we have in Canada. And like I said, it's one of those tournaments that we get treated the best throughout the year. I mean we really get looked after this week and so it's still a top class event as far as that's concerned. And we still play on really good golf courses throughout Canada. So I think that for being the week after the British Open, I think that the field is, shows that. Shows that we do appreciate how well we are treated when we come here.

Q. If the heat that we had at the beginning of the week doesn't relent how much of a factor is it going to be for this tournament?

KARRIE WEBB: Well, we play in this sort of heat all summer. Apart from last week, I didn't play in the week before the British Open, but I understand it was as hot as this if not hotter. So most of us have been playing in this all summer. So if you can't handle it by now, then you're not going to get used to it.

Q. A specific question from my friend here, she would like to know at what age you start your career.

KARRIE WEBB: Started my career? I turned pro just before my 20th birthday.

Q. And your first time you touch a club was what was your age?

KARRIE WEBB: I was 8 when I first started.

Q. Thank you very much.

KARRIE WEBB: Yes.

Q. What's your view on the Super Slam? Do you feel you've gone one better than Tiger or what?

KARRIE WEBB: Well, I'm sure if he had a fifth Major to win he would go out and do it anyway. So, but no, it's just obviously something that only people that have won the du Maurier have had a chance to achieve in their career. So I feel really fortunate that the du Maurier was only around for I think the first four years or so that I was on Tour. So I feel fortunate that I won one of them while I was while I could.

LAURA NEAL: Thank you, Karrie.

KARRIE WEBB: Thank you.

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