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KRAFT NABISCO CHAMPIONSHIP

April 1, 2006

Michelle Wie West

RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIFORNIA

PAUL ROVNAK: Michelle, a 73 today, 1 over par but you picked up a stroke. You're three back going into the final round so you have a great shot to be the one taking a jump in the lake tomorrow. Talk about that and we'll take questions.

MICHELLE WIE: My game felt very solid today. I was just kind of like it was kind of like a bad break kind of day. It was like two feet from being perfect from every hole, kind of two feet too long, two feet too left, two feet too right. My game still feels very solid right now and I'm ready for tomorrow.

Q. How important was that putt for bogey?

MICHELLE WIE: It was very important. It was very important for me to make that putt and I'm very glad that I did. That helped me a lot with momentum, birdieing the next hole and makes me feel good about my round, kind of.

Q. Obviously conditions are tough out there, are you starting to get the feeling that it's going to be really difficult to go low and overcome a three shot deficit?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, you know, I don't think it's really difficult to go low. If everything works out, I think I'll be able to do it. I'm just going to try to play my game, not really going to force anything tomorrow. Just going to take what comes at me and just try my best.

Q. What do you think it's going to take tomorrow?

MICHELLE WIE: A very good round of golf.

Q. Can you elaborate?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, I just think that just fairways and greens, just give myself some uphill putts. I think that's what I failed to do today. I gave myself really hard putts going at it.

So I wasn't really aggressive with my game and my putts today. I just think that, you know, fairways, greens, make some putts and get things rolling, I think that will be good.

Q. Your putt on 17 looked like you had a shot and based on your reaction, was it frustrating to miss those chances?

MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I had a nice uphill putt, that was a little bit tricky. I thought I made them the moment I hit both of those putts, but I'm saving them for tomorrow I guess.

Q. Talk a little about last year and the Women's Open and obviously you were in a position to win there. What did you learn after the final round or what did you work on?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, I think I just tried to force things last year at the U.S. Open. That wasn't my day and I just tried to make things happen.

So tomorrow I'm just going to try to just play calmly, find my best, take what happens and that's the most important thing, fairways and greens.

Q. Can you do that, though, being three shots behind, or when do you have to start to force it?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, I mean, I think that if I'm destined to win, it's going to happen. If I'm not, I'm not. I mean, I'm just going to not really try to force things. I'm just going to try my hardest. It might seem like I'm forcing something, but I'm just going to try to just play along and see what happens and just play my hardest tomorrow.

Q. Did you feel like you had a makeable birdie putt at all on the front nine given that so many were above the hole?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, those putts were really hard, the front nine. I mean, most of those putts I was thinking I just have to get it near the hole; even if it doesn't go in, just make a good 2 putt, and I think I did that very well today. I don't think I made a 3 putt today. I think felt like I had a very good mind set going into those tough putts and it just you have to be below the hole.

Q. Is that one part of your game that you think has improved in the last six months or so; that the 4 to 6 , 3 footers, coming back, making those?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, you know, I've been practicing those a lot. I don't want to jinx myself or anything by saying anything, but I've just been practicing a lot.

Q. What do you tell yourself over those 25 footers?

MICHELLE WIE: I just imagine it dropping in off the front edge. I try to not be too disappointed if I miss it. Just hit it where I want to, let the break take it and if it goes in, that's wonderful. If it doesn't, just have a nice, you know, like tap in putt or something. But you know, it's very conservative when you're above the hole and the greens are fast.

Q. Is there a different feeling, whether it's the Open last year or any other Sunday when you've been in contention, is there a different emotion just playing on Sunday with a chance to win?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, I think it was very good that I played in the final group today, and I played in the final group yesterday. So tomorrow is going to be my third day playing in the final group. So, you know, I think I'm all ready for the final group thing.

Q. The final group on Saturday is still not the same as the final group on Sunday, what did you learn about those situations in the final round?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, I'll tell you tomorrow when I play the final round if it's any different.

Q. I know you're trying to be as focused possible, but did you ever imagine what it would be like to win a major like this?

MICHELLE WIE: I don't know, I think it would be when I'm at home, I'm always like imagining it and stuff like that. You know, I'm going to make sure I'm not going to wear white tomorrow. (Laughter.)

Q. Are you surprised that you're this close and you're only 2 under on the par 5s on this course?

MICHELLE WIE: I don't know. Thinking about it, I've got to be more under par on the par 5s. I think that's what I'm going to focus more tomorrow is more on the par 5s. That's where I can take advantage of the par 5s because hopefully because of my length and I'm just going to try to make some birdies tomorrow.

Q. What has held you back on those holes so far?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, today like on the 11th hole and the second hole, I just can't get it in the fairway, I just had really tough lies in the right rough, and so you know tomorrow just same old, same old; just fairways and greens.

Q. How much did you watch the score board, and did you notice that there were really no big names behind you jumping up and making a move?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, you know, I did notice I did see the score board from time to time. You know, it was just, the conditions were hard today. Obviously the weather was a lot better than yesterday. But still, the greens are very firm. They put pins in very tricky areas, and, you know, it was just really hard to go really low today. I think I did very well just staying where I was and making putts when I had to.

Q. Lorena obviously has not been able to pull away the last two days after her great round on Thursday. As solid as you played today, was today a missed chance to make a move on her?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, I mean, yeah, if you think about it when you're not really in the situation looking back at the round, I mean, I guess I could have shot a couple under par and kind of made up strokes.

When I was playing today, it was hard to make birdies out there. It was very tough. You know, looking back at it now or even like for people watching TV at their homes, it looks like, oh, come on, you can make birdies. The pins weren't really that tough. They were mostly in the middle kind of. It was very tricky when you were actually in the situation. I think I did very well by not losing a lot of shots.

PAUL ROVNAK: Take us over your score card starting with the bogey on 3.

MICHELLE WIE: I hit a good drive down the right side and I pulled a pitching wedge left. I didn't have a very good chip. I left myself about nine feet.

13, I hit my driver right. I had a horrible, horrible lie. It was like the rough was like yay high (indicating). I was just trying to get it to the front of the green. The club face turned over, so I went into the left rough which I also had a very bad lie, but it didn't really look like a bad lie. So those are the weird kind of lies that you can. So I got my 56 degree and tried to hit at it, but it just kind of like turned over again and I hit into the bunker. Then I hit a lob wedge, I kind of like didn't hit it that well but I left myself like an 18 footer for bogey.

PAUL ROVNAK: Can you tell me what you hit for the second shot out of the rough?

MICHELLE WIE: 9 iron.

14, I hit a 9 iron off the tee and then I hit to about 15 feet.

Q. Inaudible?

MICHELLE WIE: They were about 15 feet, 12 feet, 18 feet, not really sure but they were somewhere around there.

End of FastScripts.

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