STATE FARM CLASSIC

September 1, 2002

Patricia Meunier-Lebouc

LAURA NEAL: I'm just going to let you tell us how you feel getting your first win on the tour.

PATRICIA MEUNIER-LEBOUC: Of course I feel good. I'm very happy. I just -- I'm just looking at the way I was today and I'm very happy about that. Not only the win, I was so, somebody told me, you were so cool out there. I said, yeah, I was much more relaxed in my body. I mean I was still, you still have some pressure. You still feel the pressure. But I, it was different way than I was used to. I won a couple, five times already, but it was very different. I was going through it very well. And I was very confident and I was really feeling inside myself the fact that I was playing well and that I could just rip at it and be confident. So I just was thinking about that. And, yeah, I just had a wonderful day.

Q. Did you talk last night with your husband about how you played too conservatively yesterday?

PATRICIA MEUNIER-LEBOUC: Well, actually, yesterday was a different day, I think. I think so. It was difficult. And today was, I felt a lot of pressure yesterday. I was very feeling a lot of tension and I was not able to focus the way I did the days before. So I was thinking, oh, the day was minus eight, minus five, par and then what? Can I keep going that way? And actually I'm working pretty hard on the mental part here. And I spoke to my coach and we spoke a little bit how it happens. And actually my round of par became a very good round from my, in my head because with, I think the third day was a lot of pressure. I was leading by three and was going into the final round leading by three. And it was pretty tough on me.

I mean it was pretty tough to keep going that way. So I think yesterday I thought I could manage, even if I had some difficulties out there, I still made the par. It was pretty good the way I was feeling, the score was pretty good. So all together I just looked at my, all the work I did this year to come here and physically in my technical, I mean in my game, I worked so hard, even if I didn't get the results I was still keeping fighting and working so hard.

So I just look at that. And look at my 8-under, my 5-under and my par, which were the three of them were good, very good rounds. And I just said, okay, you worked so hard, so you have to feel how strong you became with that. And you made three good rounds. And it was amazing. But even the par was a very good round in the conditions, the way I was feeling.

So I just put everything together and felt like the weight of it, in my body, like I could just get the confidence out of it. And I just had to play my game. And the last final thing I did is to set up a goal for today. So feeling about all these things that I worked so hard, and the way I played the last three days, I have to think about which girl I was, or I think that I could do today that what would be the normal score I could do. And I said, well, I think it's going to be in between minus, should be in between minus four and minus six. And I did minus five, which is right in the middle.

So I'm pretty amazed how the mental part of the game is very important and can be so powerful. But it's all about it. I mean I worked so hard and now I just had to let it go and just make the score happen.

So I was very relaxed. In my body I was feeling very heavy, like, okay being I was going through the fairways very easily. I was not tense like I'm used to be. I work very fast. Like I said the last few days. And today I was working fast, but in another way. Very, very relaxed. And so in some ways. And of course I got a lot of pressure going on, like from 16 to the end was big piece of cake. It was not a big piece of cake. So, but then I was trying to just keep coming back to my -- because, of course, I was thinking, oh, you can win. But you know, you still have this shot to do, it's not done yet. So I had to keep going, I had to fight and come back to my attitude, you know. And just stay on it. And just keep going the same way I did from the first one. Because it was working. That's what I did.

And I think that even with the pressure I was feeling more pressure and more, I was tense inside. But I think I really, I did this last shot very well. I mean I was surprised. I looked at the shot and said, oh, that was a very good shot out of there. Even the drive on 18 was, I think was a good shot -- was a little right, but actually for the pin placement it was good, because I was afraid to go too far in the rough. So it was good.

Q. What shot out there, if you could pick one, made you think that you could win this?

PATRICIA MEUNIER-LEBOUC: 15? I think that the 3-iron I hit to the green, the second shot was just so pure. Very pure. I wanted to play it exactly the way I did. And the shape of the shot everything was exactly what I had in my head. What I had planned to do. And yeah, thought. So, but then I made the putt -- I knew that it would be much safer because Kim is a very good player. She played so well today. Which was good for me, I think. Because at least I was with her and we were just fighting both together. It was much better for us to be together. And so that's, of course that helped, but I still got the 16, which is not an easy hole, even with the pin placement under this pressure. And the 17th pin was not very --

Q. It wasn't a Sunday pin, like yesterday?

PATRICIA MEUNIER-LEBOUC: It was actually they're reversed. Yesterday was the last on 16, but you know it's good also. Because it's the same for everybody. Anyway. So maybe it could be -- maybe that it would give somebody a chance to make a birdie instead of doing pars like we did yesterday.

Q. Was that a big swing, on 16?

PATRICIA MEUNIER-LEBOUC: Well I had a pretty tough start because it was downhill with a lot of break and also a little bit, you know, at that time I had a lot of things in my head. It was tough for me to just hit it the way I did on 13, actually. So I just I said of course if it goes, good. But I thought it would be longer than that. But it stayed short and I didn't have to be so aggressive at that time.

Yeah, it was downhill and I thought it would go to the hole, but it didn't. But of course I think I just didn't hit it strong enough. But at that time I was thinking a par was good on that hole. Before the moment I said, okay, yeah, make par, go to the 17th. No problem.

Q. Did Kim going into the bunkers on the last three holes help you out some?

PATRICIA MEUNIER-LEBOUC: Well, yeah, of course it helped me a lot. Of course it helped me a lot. I mean she was knocking it close to the hole and making birdie for sure I would not be here. But I think she put a lot of pressure on myself at the beginning of the round and she played so aggressive and so good at the beginning of the round. And then when she, when I made that birdie and went in front of her, then I put a lot of pressure on her. And I think she didn't handle it that good, you know.

Q. But you putted first.

PATRICIA MEUNIER-LEBOUC: No, when I made the birdie on 17. 13? Yeah, but when I made it. I mean after that, for the next few holes she got -- I mean, you know, it puts a lot of pressure on herself, because at that time it's just the two of us almost. So you watch the other one. Even if you are not thinking about the win or just trying to play your game, this player just beside me, I see her shot so I'm going to feel something out of it. So I was pretty happy the way it went. Actually I was like on 16 I was playing first. I made it on the green. Then she had to play.

17 I played first. I made a pretty short shot, but still on the green and she had to play.

And then 18 was the same. I played, hit the green and hit a very good shot and then she had to play. So I think I put the pressure on her, that's it. And then I think I was very, I think if anybody looked at me today, I was maybe feeling I was not, I was confident enough to keep going that way. So that's also a big part of it.

Q. Was the biggest shot of the day that 50-footer for birdie on seven?

PATRICIA MEUNIER-LEBOUC: Nine? Oh, yeah. But you know it's not that easy to go after, to keep going after a putt like that. It took me a few holes to come back to normal, I would say. Yeah, I tried. I mean I made it and I had a -- it was so amazing. I was walking and I saw it going, going, I was moving with it, you know I was going into the hole with it. And I just did that. And then it takes so much energy out of you. Now after that you have to go to the next tee and you still got a lot of holes to play. So you can't --

Q. (Inaudible.)

PATRICIA MEUNIER-LEBOUC: Sorry? No. No. Because we got late because of the sixth hole we waited for a ruling and so the people in front of us just were going.

Q. Were you close to making bogey on any holes?

PATRICIA MEUNIER-LEBOUC: For sure there's one that was like I had a saving putt. Which one was it? I don't remember. Nine. Nine. I knew that was a turn, too, yeah. I had an uphill putt that I left short. Two meters short. And I had to make it to make par. And I made it straight in. At that time you think, oh, that is very important if you miss it. I don't know. I said, I'm just going to have a look. I think I have my little thing here. 18? 18. Yeah. Yeah, because I had birdies with one putt. The rest is two putts, yeah. But one I was like on 18 I was that out of the green. So it was, it was, so 18 is out of the green, actually. I got it but --

Q. (Inaudible.)

PATRICIA MEUNIER-LEBOUC: Oh, it didn't. That was just, I was that far.

Q. How far were you from the hole?

PATRICIA MEUNIER-LEBOUC: I was 7 meters, I would say. Yeah.

Q. Is this the best putting day you've ever had?

PATRICIA MEUNIER-LEBOUC: Six meters. Oh, no. No. No. No. Because I just, I just had -- when you hit so many greens you of course your number of putts is higher. But that's the way it is. If you just hit 7 greens then of course if you do 27 putts it's normal. Almost normal. So I just had, I don't know, yeah, I made a birdie with two putts on 15. So it's on the -- so it's like 32 putts, which is not very long. But with the number of greens I hit, it's good. It's good.

Q. Will this do anything for golf in France? Will it be big news over there?

PATRICIA MEUNIER-LEBOUC: Oh, I don't think it's going to be a big thing in France because golf is not as famous as here. You know what I mean. But I hope I would be in the papers.

(Laughter.) I will be able to tell you that tomorrow. In the world of golf, in France, yes, I think everybody's going to hear about it. On the European Tour too because I'm coming from Europe. I've played 7 years there. So it's pretty -- yeah, I think that they are going to hear about it, of course. But in my country it's getting better about golf. It's getting more popular. But it's still behind compared to the states. So.

Q. Is this your biggest day in golf?

PATRICIA MEUNIER-LEBOUC: Well, you know, I think it's the, it's the -- all the big days in golf they're very different ones. So I never compare them. Because it's so much different every time. Because I improve and I get some different feeling out of it. So, but it's a big day, it's a really big day, because this year has not been easy for me. And that's the first time I think that I come out and win after having a poor year. Usually I will have good a result regularly enough to give me confidence to keep going. This year I didn't get the results, but I kept going. So that was very important to me, just to feel that I -- I had to build my confidence, you know, my own confidence, because I'm not somebody who was very proud of, I'm not proud of myself that much but now I think I'm going to start to be like that.

Q. Can you talk about the transition from playing golf in Europe to playing here?

PATRICIA MEUNIER-LEBOUC: Actually, it's a big move, yeah, to come down here for Europe being a -- as I said, I won five times over there, I won Solheim Cup in 2000. And then I was feeling like I knew everybody, knew everything. I had not won any Majors, but I won big tournaments. So I just felt like when my husband decided to come with me, I mean just keep going or caddieing for me I said, okay, well now in my head I had a little light, you know, I say, okay, well, now because I'm somebody who likes to improve, I like to work on myself and go further and further, so I think I just had the click, I had to go. I just said, oh, if you're with me, we go. I mean I don't want to go by myself, but, okay, if you're here, maybe we should go there and just push it a little bit further the learning golf. Learn golf a different way. Because I knew he was much more competitive and very much different than what I was used to, to in Europe. Because I knew everybody, you know, it's kind of like home. I was exempt every year because I won the first year I played, so I was exempt for years and years.

So I was really, it was a big, big challenge for me. Because getting out of Europe, out of your comfortable world, to get out of it, get through the Q School like everybody. And just nobody know me here. You know, they don't even know that I won any tournaments and just like, you know, just a golfer, that's it. So it was a big challenge. And I think I was right to do it because I learned that what is very important for me over the winning and all these things is that I learned so much on myself being out here on the LPGA tour and I'm so different. I'm, I really became different.

And I think I would have a better life like that. So I thank the LPGA tour for that because it's a very, very, very, strong tour. Very well organized. Very professional. And when you get out on the tour, on the LPGA tour first you see, even when you go on the range, you have all these clubs you can try. So normally you are so motivated because everything is pushing you to do more, to work more. Everybody's working so hard. It's so well organized, so professional that it's just my, the way I am in my head, I'm pretty, I mean, you don't have to push me too much to do things. If you just, if I have a good, good view of what I have to do and that everything is going that way, you don't have to push me. I'm going to do it by myself. I mean I like that.

So here you have to -- yeah, I have. Yeah, I was, when I was young, when I was younger I was 10 years old I was playing tennis before golf and I was like out of 8 tournaments I played I won seven. So I was like, yeah, I was young and it was little tournaments but even so I've always been competitive anyway.

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