ARCH WIRELESS CHAMPIONSHIP

November 19, 2000

Karrie Webb

KARRIE WEBB: I talked to you about this earlier in the week, but it's definitely been a great year. Like I said, once again, after last year, I had such a great year last year, I didn't know -- I thought it would be a tough task to back up last yeear with a better year again. You know, by the end of March after I won Nabisco Championship, I think I was on my way already to having a better year than I had already the year before. It's just been a great year. Seven wins, I mean, you know, I look back at it, and it feels like the year has gone so quickly. To have won seven times, you know, I know I can win every tournament I play in; it's just whether or not you play well enough. Like I said before, it takes a little bit of luck to win golf tournaments. Hitting the right shot at the right time. Obviously, all those things have gone my way this year. To win seven times and be in contention as much as I have, you know, it's been a great year. Even tournaments where I've not felt like I played well, I've also been in contention and given myself a chance to win tournaments. You know, I couldn't ask for any better year than I've had this year. As many tournaments as I've won, you know, my mindset is on trying to play well in the majors, and I played well in all four majors this year, ended up winning two of them, as you know. That's one of my goals, you know, is to at least play well in all four majors and have a chance to win, and hopefully win some. I think the two of them are my two favorite majors as well. The Nabisco Championship is my favorite course we play in year in and year out at Mission Hills. I was glad I could win there. The US Open I think to me came a little bit ahead of schedule. I felt like that was one of the toughest tournaments for me to play in. I think I still have a lot to learn. But the fact that I've got one under my belt takes a little bit of pressure off.

KARRIE WEBB: Well, you know, obviously I've played well in the British Open, won two of those already. Actually, I won at Sunningdale. We're going back to Sunningdale next year. You know, the four courses that are in the rotation for the British Open now, the tournament is definitely worthy of having a major title. You know, I don't see any harm, with as many international players that we do have on the LPGA, I don't see any harm in having one outside the United States.

KARRIE WEBB: Well, you know, I think I might have used up quite a bit of that luck in the 21 other tournaments I played this year (laughter). No, you know, I think if you did watch my interview on ABC, I think after the first round, I made a lot of careless mistakes the first round. I really wanted to be in contention, but my mind wasn't ready to put myself in that sort of position. I even said to Evan today, I was watching the leaderboard, knowing how much of a dogfight it was out there between Dottie and Annika, the last group. I was like I don't know if I even had got myself into that position, whether I could have pulled it out. I think mentally I was just not prepared to put myself there. I wanted to be there. I wanted to have a chance to be the first player to go over $2 million. But some of the mistakes I made on the course this week, I don't think I've seen that in four years. Just making bogeys from nowhere. You know, you just don't have any momentum. Even if you're going along okay, making birdies, you throw in a bogey just out of nowhere, shouldn't even be a bogey, it just throws any momentum that you have out the window. I found that I made a lot of soft bogeys this week. I think it just really boiled down to concentration, not mentally being where I wanted to be.

KARRIE WEBB: Well, I think it's not only this year; it's two years. I've had two unbelievable years. 13 wins in the LPGA. You know, this year I've won seven times, and twice internationally, too. You know, I've played quite a bit of golf. I've traveled a lot more this year. Still got a lot of travel to go before the end of the year. I mean, I'm not disappointed at all. I think, gosh, if this is the only week that I feel like in two years that I've lost focus, then I'm doing all right. I mean, I am looking forward to it next year. You know, it's hard to say that you want this year to be over because it's been so good. But I am, you know -- I love the start of the year because everyone starts at zero again. You've got to go out there and play some good golf to put yourself in a position to maybe win some tournaments, maybe at the end of the year win Player of the Year.

KARRIE WEBB: No. I don't think you can really worry about anyone else.

KARRIE WEBB: Yeah. I think as long as I continue playing the golf that I think I'm capable of, and I'm still working hard at it, putting the scores on the board, you know, I can't really help if someone else goes out there and has a better year than me and becomes No. 1 - as long as I feel like I'm happy with the way things are going for me. I'm not going to say that I won't be able to continue this pace. I said that at the end of last year and I had a better year this year. You know, I don't know what next year's going to bring. Hopefully it's going to bring a lot of good golf. At some stage, I'm not going to win six and seven tournaments a yearr. It's just a fact of life. You know, I just want to keep working hard, trying to play as good of golf as I can, as often as I can.

KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, I think the course definitely -- I mean, it was definitely in good condition for the little time that they had to prepare it. I think obviously it's been overseeded not long ago. Really, the rye hasn't taken. It's right in the transition stage. That's probably the only thing, you know, just a little inconsistency there. That is no fault to the superintendent here. He only had a couple of months' notice at the most. I think the layout is great. I think, you know, on the other course, when the wind came up, you know, you still had big targets to hit, big fairways to hit, big greens to hit. As long as you could putt -- make two good putts from long range, make your birdies when you could, you could still shoot, you know, 66 out on that course. But a 66 on this course today, with the wind the way it is, that's great playing. You still are capable of doing that, but it's just not as easy as it is on the other course. I think there's a little bit more character on the Legends course. With the wind the way it's blowing, you have some trees out there, it's hard to tell sometimes where it's coming out of. On a day where it's windy, that's always, you know, a hard thing to try to deal with. The greens are smaller. The pin positions this week, the officials have really put some good pins out there. For myself, who didn't feel like I was striking the ball very well, didn't want to short-side myself, you know, be chipping from an impossible spot. I'm like playing - because I'm not swinging it to my best - 20 feet away from the hole. Just not going to make a lot of those.

KARRIE WEBB: I think when this course matures, the superintendent here has more time to prepare the course, that course is going to be in as good of condition as this course is over here, which is going to make the Legends course a great course to play. You know, as much success as I've had on that other course, I do like a course that has a little bit of character to it and challenges people to hit good golf shots. If you do hit a good golf shot, you're rewarded so much better than someone who hit a mediocre shot. On that other course, you can get away with a mediocre shot and be 20 feet from the pin, have a flat putt. This course out here, if you miss it 20 feet from the hole, sometimes you feel further away from the hole. If you hit a good shot in there to 10 feet, you know, there's more reward to that than on the other course where if you're just on the right level, you're putting good, it's a putting contest on that other course.

KARRIE WEBB: I've been fishing. I haven't got much time right now to go fishing. Obviously going to Malaysia on the weekend. Not too much fishing this week. Hopefully between now and when I start up the season, I'll get a little bit in.

KARRIE WEBB: I've hardly used this one. I'm just breaking this one in (indicating).

KARRIE WEBB: No, no. I don't know. I want to be as comfortable as I can in the boat that I am first, learn as much as I can before I upgrade. There's no rush on that.

KARRIE WEBB: Exactly (laughter).

KARRIE WEBB: I have the World Cup, just a little bit of rest, I think. You know, I just have a lot of other things going right now, a lot of other things on my mind. By the first tournament back next year in Orlando, all those things will be all sorted out. You always start the year off fresh. I'll have spent some time back in Australia for Christmas with my family, opening the theater project that we've been doing all year. We're opening the theater just before Christmas. That's one of the things obviously I've had on my mind for a little while. You know, there's a lot going on. I'll get to relax a little bit, be ready for next year.

KARRIE WEBB: I'll probably try out a little bit beginning -- at the off-season and beginning of next. Mine has been working not too bad.

KARRIE WEBB: I have not seriously given it a try yet, but I will probably over the off-season.

KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, they do have a new driver in the works. I've only briefly seen it, a bigger head. I really don't -- I've hit it three times, that's it. I have one of those sitting at my house right now. When I get back to practicing at the start of the year, I'll -- I actually might take it to Malaysia and try it out, see how it goes.

KARRIE WEBB: The irons two, driver year and a half, putter two.

KARRIE WEBB: No, no. I don't know. If they ain't broke, they say over here, don't change it (laughter).

KARRIE WEBB: I've hit it a little bit. I know a couple of the girls, the good ball-strikers on this tour, have hit it, too. I also talked to Phil Mickelson a little bit about it. We're all under the impression that you do have to be able to create a lot of ball speed before you even can hit this ball. You can still hit this ball, it will still perform fine. But to get what some of those guys are getting out of it, which is more distance, you have to be able to hit it hard to start with. You have to be able to hit the ball hard to start with to get the benefit of extra distance out of it. I talked to Phil, even a couple of guys on the PGA TOUR that have said they don't know if they can hit it hard enough. But I know there's more balls -- they have a couple more balls in the works that will be coming out later next year.

KARRIE WEBB: I have no idea. I've just been told that they're working on a series of different golf balls with better performance. Not that any of their balls don't have good performance now, but just keeping up with technology.

KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, I guess -- I mean, there are certain players that I know that technology does help out more than others. I think the biggest thing that has seen improvement, though, is definitely the ball change. I think the ball has gotten so much better. You know, they're making balls that you can hit a long way and still spin it, whereas 15 years ago you either had a ball that you hit far and had no control over around the greens or you had a soft ball. As far as equipment goes, you know, like I said before, I mean, you know, I'm playing well, I'm successful with the clubs I have in my bag. I don't really feel -- I mean, I've gained probably -- with the driver I have, I've probably gained -- well, the average in the stats even I've gained five yards. I think I carry the ball further. I think I am hitting it consistently a little bit further. You know, to me, you can hit a ball far, but if it's not on the fairway, it doesn't matter. You're not going to be able to score very well. And the way you can make clubs these days, you can make a club to do whatever you want it to do. You can make one fly low, carry 220, run 40 yards if you want. My preference is to be able to carry it 230, 240, not have as much roll, but still be able to carry those bunkers out there that are 235 out.