U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 24, 2005

Paula Creamer

Q. Tell us how you turn it around in the middle of the round after the double on No. 4.

PAULA CREAMER: After that hole I told my caddie, like, there's no reason why I should be 3-over par through four holes because I was just -- I felt confident with my game. I said I am hitting the ball really well, we're just making bad mistakes.

With that said, then I started to play good golf and I gave myself some looks at birdie.

Q. How does that affect you?

PAULA CREAMER: I don't think it had anything to affect it. More of the rhythm that was ended pretty much. After that, I hit a good shot into that green. I made a good two-putt. And then on the par 3 I missed about a 4-footer, but I thought I made it, just the greens started to get really bumpy in the afternoon and it didn't go in. Other than that, I know that I can make birdies out there.

Q. Key hole on that stretch had to be 10, was that luck, a good shot, combination of both?

PAULA CREAMER: There's always luck involved when it goes in. But lately I have been zeroing in on the flags and I have been hitting a lot of flag sticks, so I was due for one to go in. We hit a good shot right where we wanted and it went in.

Q. Describe for us the club, the setup and your reaction when you eagled from however far out it was.

PAULA CREAMER: In regular non-altitude I had 132 yards. My caddie does all the yardages, but I hit a little 8-iron. We were in between clubs and we wanted to land it. I think it was six yards short of it and it did -- I didn't really see it go in. I saw -- everyone kind of went crazy.

Q. How big was the putt on 18 for you?

PAULA CREAMER: That was big. I will sleep better tonight knowing I had one par in the last several holes out there. Just knowing that I made a lot of birdies and I am under par for my day was enough for me because now I know going into the weekend that I can do it.

Q. Could you have imagined this two months ago, in the middle of the high school, that you'd make the cut at the U.S. Open especially to be on the front page of leaderboard?

PAULA CREAMER: My goals this year have been very high expectations: Obviously Solheim Cup and to win a major was one of my goals. Yes and no, to try to find myself in contention by two months ago, but just knowing that I am playing good golf and that we have two days left and I can play good out here, I think that that's the thing that I am really looking at.

Q. (Inaudible)?

PAULA CREAMER: On hole No. 9, from 9 to the delay, I had a really bad stomach ache. I think I just drank too much Gatorade too fast out here. I was trying to stay hydrated. I drank it too fast. It kind of cramped up on me. I fought through it.

Q. How is your wrist?

PAULA CREAMER: It's getting there. There's times where now it's like kind of going into my thumb. It is just a process where rest is the best thing for it, and I don't have that, so we're just trying to do what we can with it.

Q. In that one stretch when you were nailing all those birdies and the eagle, any better feeling in golf than you had during that one stretch?

PAULA CREAMER: It was kind of hard to actually talk like that because I was feeling so awful physically, I really wasn't focusing on what was happening at the time. I was trying not to get sick out on the golf course, and it was great though. I didn't have -- I think, the longest putt was ten feet on that par 3, so I mean it was good in that stretch.

Q. Five hours ago you were on your way to pretty early tee time tomorrow. Now even despite the bogeys at the end, have you had a chance to really absorb your whole day yet?

PAULA CREAMER: Not really. Not yet. I mean, if someone said, you'll shoot 69 and not play golf I would take it in a major championship.

And you know, this is an awesome golf course. Anything can happen out there. A prime example of it, I had a double then an eagle. It is one of those things where you have to stay patient out there.

Q. Did you feel at all when you had the string of the three bogeys that were you losing some confidence at all or did you feel like your game was still real solid at that point?

PAULA CREAMER: Well, like I said, I told my caddie there's no reason why I should be 3-over par. It shouldn't even be in consideration right now. I am hitting the ball good, I am standing over the ball and I feel confident. Just making bad decisions.

Q. Let's go over the card. No. 1 bogey.

PAULA CREAMER: No. 1, I hit it in the rough. I punched out. Then I hit it and two-putted on the green.

Q. The double on 4.

PAULA CREAMER: I hit it in the rough again. I punched out. A great shot in there, probably the purest iron I hit all day, went over the green, then I two-putted. I couldn't get up-and-down.

Q. Birdie run No. 5.

PAULA CREAMER: I had a little gap-wedge into the hole. I made a 15-footer above the hole.

Q. 7, birdie.

PAULA CREAMER: I hit a 9-iron into the green to about 10.

Q. 8.

PAULA CREAMER: A little 4 rescue to about a foot.

Q. 10 again, please.

PAULA CREAMER: 10, I had 132 yards in the hole. 8-iron.

Q. No. 11, the birdie.

PAULA CREAMER: Reached it in two. I got up-and-down, made about a two-footer.

Q. How long was your first putt?

PAULA CREAMER: I was chipping off the green.

Q. No. 12.

PAULA CREAMER: I hit a little 5-iron into the green to about nine feet, ten feet.

Q. 13, birdie.

PAULA CREAMER: 9-iron to about two feet.

Q. 15, the bogey.

PAULA CREAMER: I three-putted. About 35 feet.

Q. 16.

PAULA CREAMER: I missed the fairway. I had to punch out and I missed about a 15-footer or about 20-footer.

Q. 17, you three-putted.

PAULA CREAMER: Yes.

Q. 17, which has been a birdie hole, yesterday, today the pin placement made it almost impossible to be a birdie hole. Do you think come Sunday they will put it in a place where some people can shoot birdie on that 17th hole?

PAULA CREAMER: I mean, today it was a tough pin placement, like you said. You had five yards of green to work with. I think going into Sunday, they are only going to get tougher. I can't imagine where it's going to be on Sunday.

End of FastScripts.