U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 11, 1995

Tammie Green

TAMMIE GREEN: Well --

TAMMIE GREEN: They are rolling so true, but you definitely want to stay below hole and there are certain greens out there, if you are above the hole; if you don't hit the hole in your first putt, you are going to have as long a putt coming back up the hill as you did when you started, and they are tough. There are going to be some interesting scores this week. My caddie called me last night and he says, "gee, I just don't see what is with this golf course out there, the fairways are wide and the greens are hitable." I played it today and I thought, well, he thought all the records would be broken for the U.S. Open. When I got out there on the greens, I don't think that is going to be the case. There is going to be some interesting scores if you miss the ball on your own spot.

TAMMIE GREEN: I think a lot of it will have to do where they do set the pins, but still sticks if you are -- you don't really have to be above the pin to have a tough putt. You could have a sidehill putt that you have to putt up the hill and then it is going to take this other break, and once it starts down the hill, you are not going to be able to stop it. It is -- so, it is not just the downhill putts that are treacherous, it is some of the sidehill putts. I had a 3-foot putt out there today that I had to play at least six inches of break on, so if that tells you a little bit ... I mean, every putt is crucial.

TAMMIE GREEN: I like it this way. I think it helps the players that really think their way around the golf course, and you have to play it smart. You just can't beat up on it. I mean, brute strength is not what is going to take to conquer this course. It is going to be the player that can figure out which side of the hole to be on. If they hit the good shots, I mean, you are rewarded for it.

TAMMIE GREEN: Yes, yes.

TAMMIE GREEN: Yeah, and you have to drive the ball well, and to make sure you have a good shot into the green. It is just the greatest of golf.

TAMMIE GREEN: Well, if you do all those things, exactly what you are talking about, yes, I think that you can score on this golf course because the greens are so true, and if you are putting it up the hill or just have a relatively flat putt, that you can read, the ball is going to go exactly where you hit it.

TAMMIE GREEN: No, I do not anticipate that.

TAMMIE GREEN: That is pretty difficult to say, but judging from the past U.S. Opens and how they will make sure that you are just right around par, just overpar, I'd say if someone shot an 8 under, they would have a good tournament. That is hard to say.

TAMMIE GREEN: I'd like to think so. If I didn't think that way, I wouldn't have bothered to come out. I am striking the ball well. I look forward to playing. I got awful close last year. I'd like to be at least one better, so --

TAMMIE GREEN: I think it was a positive effect. Certainly it was disappointing not to have won, but I played the best I could and coming down the stretch, I had -- didn't lose anything and I stayed right there with the full go and had a chance at the putt on the last hole and I felt like I did everything in my power to win that golf tournament and Patty was just one better. I had a very successful U.S. Open last year.

TAMMIE GREEN: I would say -- yeah, I would hope to think that I am getting better every year -- smarter, at least. I think my ball-striking probably is better than it has been over the past month than it was last year going in.

TAMMIE GREEN: I think so. I have enjoyed the course today and it is a beautiful resort. You look up at those mountains and, you know, it is scenic, and, I mean, it's got all the ingredients. Definitely got the golf course and it is a true test. I think I hit every club in the bag today in the practice rounds so that, to me, is a true test.

TAMMIE GREEN: I know I was huffing and puffing going up these hills today. I wasn't used to the altitude. Once you get up there, you think, oh, my Lord, I have to hit another club, just for the fatigue you have, but you really don't. I will tell you if the wind picks up that will make club selection real difficult. The initial bounce on the greens seems like it is just going to take off, but once it bounces; once it grabs and it is a different look at some of the shots as you see them going in and if you are thinking that way when the wind is blowing, you are thinking it is going to take that big bounce if it is into -- it won't be as bad as if it is downwind then you can get on with some of the back sides of these greens and most of the -- most of the greens have a big dip behind it and in that dip you have got some pretty steep or deep grass and the greens will slope away from you after that, so it -- you could put yourself in some pretty good spots.

TAMMIE GREEN: Yeah, the wind can definitely make a big factor -- really make it tough.

TAMMIE GREEN: Well, on a few of the holes -- I did hit less club today, but I don't think it is as much as I thought it was going to be. Somebody told me a figure, like, you are going to have to hit 10% less or whatever, and a lot of the holes are uphill. You are hitting uphill, so you figure maybe a half a club; you do have a tendency to second guess yourself a couple of times, but like a day like today, the conditions were calm; I always figure about a club less, or a half a club less.

TAMMIE GREEN: I think you can get yourself into that position a couple of times. Hopefully I won't do that and if it gets to the point where I am real indecisive, I will probably go for the center of the green or depending on where the pin is.

TAMMIE GREEN: That is a pretty good question because I think that is a sort of a give-and-take in a sense. I played with Michelle McGann today and she is long. And I wish I had that length. She is got the finesse, though, too, and Laura Davies does as well and you can't take, I guess, that length away from anybody. I mean, I wish I had that, but I think that it will open the doors to the smarter players that maybe do play a little more conservative in certain instances and don't always just fire at the pin. I mean, sometimes you are better off not firing at the pin and putting it in a good position than to get yourself in trouble.

TAMMIE GREEN: I only took out the 3-wood once. I have been driving the ball well and even in situations where I probably should have played 3-wood last week, I went ahead and hit driver and hit the ball just about the way I wanted to, so I am probably going to use driver all of it, maybe one or two, two holes out there.

TAMMIE GREEN: I think -- well, it should be the same every week and everybody has to think out there and we have got the best professionals in the world and all of them are going to be playing pretty smart, but sometimes you find that maybe some of the younger players will take more chances than the older players, or vice versa. I mean, it is kind of that veteran -- a veteran will probably win this golf tournament.

TAMMIE GREEN: Thank you.