DU MAURIER CLASSIC

July 31, 1999

Karrie Webb

KARRIE WEBB: Well, things were pretty much the same today, except that I made putts and I made a couple early on and gave me a bit of confidence. First couple of days I hit it pretty close in the first few holes; didn't make any of them. Then I'd miss the fairway, miss a green, and make a bogey. So there was just no momentum out there. I really didn't have any confidence with my putting. Didn't practice yesterday, and made one on the first hole. I think that was sort of a bit of a confidence boost. And I hit 15 greens, and I have hit 13 greens every other day, but sort of feeds to your game when you are not making any putts. You try and hit it closer and closer, actually makes you hit it further away from the hole, I think. You just start trying too hard. Making a couple birdies early on gave me a confidence boost, and just went from there.

KARRIE WEBB: First hole, I hit wedge to about twelve feet. 2, I hit 8-iron just on the bottom tier; 3-putted from about 35 feet. 3, I hit 4-iron to about 18 feet; 2-putted for birdie. 6, I hit 5-iron to about 20, 25 feet; made that. 8, I hit 4-iron to about six feet. 9, I hit 8-iron to about eight feet. 17, I hit a 9-iron just through into the back rough

and I, like, hit a 5-wood putt shot and made it. I was about 20 -- not even 20 feet. Just less, 18 feet probably. 18, I hit 3-wood just short of the green, chipped it up to about four feet.

KARRIE WEBB: Well, I had lunch, and it started to rain and it got colder, so I just -- actually, I was leaving. I just wasn't in the mood after that. I had a big lunch and was ready to go home.

KARRIE WEBB: Yes.

KARRIE WEBB: Pretty rare. Especially in a major, normally, after every round pretty much I practice pretty hard. But this course is pretty tiring, too, so I was probably going to limit my practice this week anyway just so that I didn't overwork myself. It was just convenient yesterday that it rained.

KARRIE WEBB: Well, I still have a long road ahead. It depends what the leaders get in at. If they get in at 10, I am still five shots behind, so still got to play really well tomorrow. Obviously it has just given me a better chance at winning now. Just have to do sort of the same things today and hit some good iron shots. Hopefully, the putts will drop again.

KARRIE WEBB: Well, looks like it is going to rain again. I am going to have some lunch, then I will see what happens.

KARRIE WEBB: Sometimes, because I am not putting bad on the practice green. It is just confidence out on the golf course. Today, like I said, I rolled one in on the first. And, really, just that was enough for me to see one go in of a decent length. Sort of just went from there. I made a really good one on 6. That probably really got me going on 6, because that was the longest putt I have holed all week. We will just see what happens tomorrow. At least now I have seen some go in. So tomorrow I will start off with confidence; whereas, today I still didn't know what was going to happen.

KARRIE WEBB: No. I just -- I don't think anyone can putt -- I mean, I am having the best putting year of my life. Not that I expect to have a bad putting week or round, but it happens to everyone. And no one putts good all the time. So I will take my share of bad putting rounds with the amount of good ones I have had this year.

KARRIE WEBB: You know, that is just -- that is such a negative question, it really is. Because in six weeks, I finished in the Top-10 five times, and I finished third last week; then finished 6th and lost in a playoff in Toledo. So that is just -- really, that is just a really negative question. So I don't really think I need to answer that.

KARRIE WEBB: It is really good. I am really glad she came here, because it is just a beautiful part of the world. And she got to go up to Banff and she toured around Calgary. So she has had fun, as well as charging up and down the hills watching me play.

KARRIE WEBB: Not really. I think you got to realize when you hit a lot of greens you have a lot of chances. You don't look like you make as many putts as some other people who hit 9 or 10 greens and make the most of the chances that they get. When you hit an average of 14 greens a round, you're just not going to make any chance you get. And when you realize that, I think it took me a little while to realize that. But and I never say that I am a bad putter. I just putted bad for one day or one tournament. But when you do have a lot of chances, you can't make every putt. It is just not heard of.

KARRIE WEBB: I have used it quite a bit. I have used it in Rochester. I have actually holed quite a few shots with it. I have used it in Rochester. In one round I holed two shots with it, then today I holed that one on 17. It is just -- I like to use it because it takes -- it really takes a miss-hit chip out of the equation. I think I can get it to, at the worst, five or six feet. And a bad chip shot could be a lot worse than that.

KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, well, I feel -- that is my personal opinion. I feel it is safe for me.

KARRIE WEBB: Obviously watching all those guys use it. But, yeah, I guess probably just watching someone else do it. I have tried it in the rough and used to belly wedge a sand wedge and didn't find that nearly as consistent. Belly wedge the same wedge today, and then I chose to hit the 5-wood. So I am glad I did. Just found that the sand wedge shot was just not as consistent. I can play the 5-wood shot about another 8, 10 inches back into the rough as well and hit the same sort of shot.

KARRIE WEBB: du Maurier in my rookie year, I think, I wasn't -- I had led going into the third round and then I don't know where I was, but -- I finished second in that year, but I can't remember -- I wasn't more than third or fourth, I don't think.

KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, well, that -- I mean, I didn't really want to say anything because to me that sounds like sour grapes, but Mardi Lunn was only 9 shots out of the lead; she finished third, I think, so it is very possible that someone from ten shots back can have a chance at winning the golf tournament. I mean, that is just the way it goes. There is weeks out on Tour too where ten shots misses the cut too. In a major I obviously was just disappointed, but that is just the way it goes. I wasn't going to say anything because it is just sour grapes. But I just made a comment to a couple of my friends and my caddie that perhaps if it was ten shots -- I mean, I didn't feel like I played that bad to be only 2-over on that golf course. I felt like if I had a big weekend I could at least finish in the Top-10.

KARRIE WEBB: Not really. When I was driving up here and it was raining I really wasn't looking forward to playing but it stopped raining and I made a birdie on the first. So it sort of changed it a little bit.

KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, amateur golf. In Australia we played in winter. I mean, we played the middle of the year which is our winter and played in Melbourne and Sidney and Melbourne just a horrible place to play in winter. Yeah, I played a little bit. Not really, really cold probably, about the temperature we had today, 15 or 16.

KARRIE WEBB: Not rain and cold because it gets colder when it rains and just have to have too many clothes on.

KARRIE WEBB: Oh, no, it had stopped raining by then. Actually stopped raining when I was on the range, so -- but we couldn't believe that we got through 18 holes without a drop so we are pretty lucky there.

KARRIE WEBB: They have firmed up, I think, with the rain overnight. They weren't soft, by any means, but they had softened up a little bit to where some of the really tough pins are a little bit more accessible. They are still -- I mean, one of the best pins today was on 14. I really -- I was coming in, I was right in between clubs, but when you have -- like I had to hit a little 8-iron in there and you really only have to just land it on the top because if you pitch it too far it is going to go through to the rough. It is nearly worse than trying to 2-putt from 30 or 40 feet away. So it is still a lot of thinking out there with the greens and the release. I mean, they are not soft by any means.

KARRIE WEBB: Well, I think when you are in the lead in a major you sort of, you know, you try not to, but you try -- people tend to look at the people who are leading and the people in their group and no one is doing anything so, I am okay. I am not losing any ground I am still only one shot out of the lead. In my position, I had to do what I did or I didn't have a chance at winning. So my mindset is totally different. I like the fact that I see that the leader is not doing anything because it gives me more confidence and hopefully I can get a couple more birdies on the way in to, you know, get a little bit closer to the lead.