ASAHI RYOKUKEN INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

May 18, 2002

Laura Davies

LAURA NEAL: Thanks for coming in. Let's go over your score card.

LAURA DAVIES: I had a birdie at the second, hit a pretty good drive and a wedge to about 10 feet and made the putt there.

Then at the third, an 8-iron to about six feet and made that one.

Bogey on No. 8. I didn't have a very good drive. The first really bad drive of the week. It went in the fairway bunker, tried to hit a 7-iron on the green, missed the green, went into the bunker. When these bunkers are wet it's like hitting out of clay. That's my excuse for a very poor bunker shot and two putts.

Did I have another birdie?

Q. 9.

LAURA DAVIES: Hit a driver, driver, hit into the greenside bunker, and I got it up and down, to about two feet and made the putt.

Q. How do you feel about tomorrow in your position?

LAURA DAVIES: Janice is playing very well. I'm three with 23 holes to go. Obviously she's going to be fancying her chances. Even Annika is 5 under. There's still five or six people, with so many holes, who can still win.

Q. (Inaudible)?

LAURA DAVIES: Annika is right in the mix as well. It's anyone's game tomorrow. The birdie Janice made at the last gives her a 3-shot lead rather than the 2-shot.

It's up for grabs. It's 5 holes in the morning. And that isn't really going to sort anything else. And then it's the back nine on Sunday, and hopefully I'll be one of the ones still fighting for it.

Q. Does that change the game tomorrow, less of a patience game tomorrow and more --

LAURA DAVIES: You have to be more aggressive now. There's no question. I didn't hold as many putts today. The pace of the greens slowed down dramatically, and I actually had more chances today than I had yesterday. You've got to make birdies now because it is such a good surface to putt on and you're able to really put it in the position you want it.

Q. It will be a long day tomorrow. I think you come back at 8:00. Is that right?

LAURA DAVIES: Yes. We have to be back here by 7:00 and ready to get ready for the day.

Q. Not just the holes, but when the course wet, is it harder to walk?

LAURA DAVIES: No, not really. We walk so much. Even if we had 36 holes to play tomorrow, it wouldn't particularly much fun on the second 18, but walking -- I've never understood that people get tired walking it. I think the caddies will struggle more than we will, because they've got 50 pounds on their back. I feel for the caddies on a day like tomorrow.

Q. You saw Janice play up close today. You put a couple of birdies on the board very early. Maybe some golfers might not have been able to come back and stay steady, especially with the conditions of waiting all day, yet she was able to maintain that and wait for chances --

LAURA DAVIES: She got off to a really good start. Janice made a couple of nice par putts. Not long ones, but they're missable on these greens, and then hit a fantastic shot into No. 6 for an eagle. Not a tap in; she had to make the putt, but it was a fantastic shot.

The thing is, we're so far from the finish line that you don't really start thinking about is she going to win, is she going to win, because there are literally so many players who still can do it. So you just worry about your own game at that particular point. But yes, Janice is obviously playing very well.

Q. Is this your best position going into a final round this season?

LAURA DAVIES: Yes.

Q. When do you think you were next closest?

LAURA DAVIES: Not particularly good, because I've been having really good Sundays. It's a mind set when you get up Sunday morning and you can't win. You're pretty much carefree and you don't care either way. You obviously want to do really well, and that's what I've been doing. So it's a slightly different mind set tomorrow because I have a chance, and I will be going for the pins and trying to make as many birdies as possible.

Q. You're two points short of the Hall of Fame. Two victories will get you that. Does that ever enter your mind?

LAURA DAVIES: No. If I get the 21st win then I'm obviously one point away, then it will obviously have more focus, because then I'm just one win away. When you're two wins away, you might as well be a million wins away. You still have got to win one before you can make it happen. We don't have Hall of Fames at home, so it's not the sort of thing that when I first joined the tour it was a goal. Now I see the great players are in there, and I would like to be one of those names, and obviously if I have my chance, I hope I take it.

Q. Laura, today, the way it was looking, it was looking almost like a two-woman race between you and Janice. Would that have been more to your advantage given your experience versus her relative lack of experience on Sunday?

LAURA DAVIES: No, not really. It is nice. I have to say that the tournaments where two of you break away is the nicest way to play a tournament. Not that you're worried about not finishing second, but if you do break free, you know it's first or second. That's a good position to be in. But you always know someone is going to come behind and post a score. Catriona is 6 under for the day, and Grace is maybe four under for the day or something. So you expect it on tour now. You never expect people to let you get away with anything.

Q. Realistically, tomorrow, how many people are still in it? How far back --

LAURA DAVIES: Annika is 6 -- because it's Annika, she's obviously -- she can shoot pretty much what she likes. She's proved it before. And Janice obviously is 11, so I would say you're down to five. I would be surprised if anyone other than one of us five wins tomorrow.

LAURA NEAL: Thanks.

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