home

jobs

	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

WENDY'S CHAMPIONSHIP FOR CHILDREN

August 24, 2005

Morgan Pressel

DUBLIN, OHIO

PAUL ROVNAK: (No audio for intro.)

Q. Do you feel like you have to more or less prove yourself to the LPGA?

MORGAN PRESSEL: I don't like to think about it like that. I don't think that I have to prove anything to anybody, other than play for myself. I just want to play well just because I'm competitive and just because I like to do well and I want to win. I don't think I have to do it for this person or the LPGA or anybody. I just want to do well.

Q. Did you appeal the original decision or is there any recourse for you?

MORGAN PRESSEL: I had asked him to reconsider, and he reconsidered by giving me an extra week. Instead of having to start of the week after my birthday, because my birthday's on a Tuesday, so he was going to make me wait an entire 'nother week, but now he's letting me play the same week.

Q. You set your own goals, you're your harshest critic. A lot has been written and said about you and Michelle. What about Annika, do you get any extra buzz facing head to head against her?

MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, you know, it's not match play, so you're not really going head to head against anybody. But, obviously, in order to win, you're going to have to beat everybody, not just Annika, not just Paula, not just any of the other players that are on top, in the limelight, if you want to say that.

Obviously, she's a great player, one of the ones to beat this week. I don't think anybody can argue with that. To play in the same tournaments and do well, I mean, you know, at The Open, I sneaked by her by a few shots. That was a good feeling.

Q. How did you come to play with Meg this morning?

MORGAN PRESSEL: They paired me with her.

Q. Is that right?

MORGAN PRESSEL: Yeah, I guess so. We had a great group this morning. I was in an amateur position this morning getting to play in the ProAm. That's where they put me.

Q. You guys are pretty good buddies?

MORGAN PRESSEL: Yeah. We've known each other for a while. She lives right where I live in South Florida.

Q. You're part of a vanguard of young players, a long way from what those people became. Is it exciting being part of something new, a whole group of you constitutes something really special?

MORGAN PRESSEL: Yeah, well, it's definitely exciting. The LPGA has a lot of great young talent coming its way. It's definitely something new and something fresh and something that I think the LPGA definitely needs.

I'm excited to see what will happen with it, how everything will unfold, all the rivalries, great battles that will come out of this young generation.

Q. You've paid your dues, AJGA, USGA. How has that profited you? Are you glad you've done it that way?

MORGAN PRESSEL: I'm very glad I've done it that way. Especially going through AJGA events and things like that, they helped me tremendously. I mean, I can't think the AJGA enough for what they've done. It's such a tremendous organization. I've learned a lot of things, a lot of things, hitting shots under pressure, learning how to deal with expectations, just everything that comes with winning a tournament, even if it's a small open field AJGA event, invitational, or something like the US Women's Open, or the Am, for instance, being able to learn how to grind it out. I think you learn it step by step. I'm very grateful.

Q. So you learned how to win?

MORGAN PRESSEL: If you want to say that, yes, definitely.

Q. Couple words on the Junior Solheim Cup. Were you excited about that? Was it fun the first time did you it?

MORGAN PRESSEL: I am so excited about it. When I did it, the first time I did it, I had so much fun. We had such an unbelievable team. I made so many great friends, not just on our team, but the European team as well. Then going out the end of the week, we were walking under the ropes during the practice rounds with the professionals, got to meet a lot of them. Actually went into the locker room after the opening ceremonies, just partied for a little while. It was fun.

I'm really looking forward to it. For me that's a big deal. I like to be extremely patriotic. I'm going to be cheering loud the next few weeks. It will be fun.

Q. Meg said yesterday she wanted you to play the red tees today. Did you do that?

MORGAN PRESSEL: I didn't do it today. They kept bugging me. I think the 4th hole, the tee is a par 5, the tee is 120 yards up. Go play. I'll go play. Meg is like, "No, you haven't done it the whole way." I was going to on a couple of holes, but she said no.

Q. Did you help on any holes with your approaches?

MORGAN PRESSEL: Yeah, I helped sometimes. What kind of a question is that (laughter)?

Q. I saw 7:15 a.m. tee time. Is that what amateurs get stuck with?

MORGAN PRESSEL: That's what we get. Definitely, as a sponsors exemption, no status, no nothing. Those are the pairings I end up with. You'll be the first one out, fresh greens. Maybe the course will be a little softer, more accessible. Colder, as well.

Q. You said the influx of young talent is what the LPGA needs. If you were marketing director, how would you do it in the coming year or two?

MORGAN PRESSEL: How would I do it?

Q. What needs to happen?

MORGAN PRESSEL: The first thing that needs to happen is they need to encourage the younger players to play, just try and embrace the talents, promote it. Obviously, try and get like the US Open, for example, they got a nice contract with NBC obviously for that week. You see what putting women's golf on that huge stage, on a major channel, what it does, how the ratings were just way up just from the young players who were playing. You got a combination of trying to promote all the young players and trying to get it into more of a mainstream television. It would work pretty well.

Q. What about rivalries?

MORGAN PRESSEL: I think rivalries unfold themselves. They'll happen. They're inevitable. Especially with so many players are going to be battling week in and week out, it's going to be a lot of fun.

Q. One potential rival would be Michelle. You're competing in different spheres. Do you look forward to playing her more regularly?

MORGAN PRESSEL: Yes, I would obviously like to see her focus more on the women's game. That being said, this is what she chooses to do for the moment. She's obviously free to do whatever she wants. I'm sure we'll meet many times in the future.

Q. How much have you studied Annika's approach, the way she goes after fitness, practice?

MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, obviously she's the best player maybe the game's ever seen. She was definitely one of my biggest role models growing up. You don't want to copy anybody but the best. Getting to know her in the past year, maybe even going back a little further, I've just tried to take as much as I can.

Obviously, she works so hard. She loves it, too. I love getting to be around her, getting to see how she practices, how she plays, how she performs under pressure right up close. It's a lot of fun.

Q. After The Open, talk about your confidence level. Has to be very high. How are you playing fundamentally right now?

MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, after The Open, obviously I put myself in a tremendous position to win the US Women's Open, standing in the 18th fairway on the last day. That's a great feeling. The fact that maybe she got a little lucky and holed a bunker shot, hit a good shot, who knows, that happens in golf. I mean, just to know that through all the pressure and how difficult the course was playing that my swing didn't fold and everything, I didn't go towards my tendencies of possibly hitting the ball towards the heel or anything like that.

I had worked hard enough on my swing and had grooved it so I was still able to hit a good shot and handled the pressure very well. That obviously gave me a lot of confidence going into all my other events, the Women's Amateur, especially knowing that USGA courses I think set up pretty well for my game and I was able to perform well.

Obviously, fundamentally my game is pretty good right now. Still working on my putting, still a little sketchy. Obviously I'm still working on everything. We'll see how it unfolds this week. Hopefully I can strike it well.

Q. You obviously have experience with these early starting times. How have you done in any of your previous tournaments that you might have started early?

MORGAN PRESSEL: I don't think I've played poorly. I don't really know right off the top of my head how I played those days. I haven't done really poorly in any events so far.

Q. You're a morning person?

MORGAN PRESSEL: Sure.

Q. If I say so?

MORGAN PRESSEL: Tomorrow I will be. The next day I'll be an afternoon person, how is that?

Q. If you're coming down the final nine holes of the tournament, Michelle or Annika, which one would you rather play against and beat?

MORGAN PRESSEL: Why should it matter? Either way, I don't think there's one person that I would rather play. Obviously, they're both great players. Obviously now Annika has definitely proven herself as the best. In order to be the best, you're going to have to beat everybody, whether it's Michelle, Annika or anybody.

I don't like to consider it like that, like who would I want to come down the 18th and be battling against. Anybody. A win's a win, against anybody.

Q. You have a reputation for being willing to work. If you're not involved in a competition, you're back home, between conditioning, practice, how much time might you devote in a day?

MORGAN PRESSEL: When?

Q. When you're not competing.

MORGAN PRESSEL: Am I in school? We'll go I'm in school. I go to school until 2:30, 2:45 on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 3:30 on Monday and Wednesday. I'll get home, change, go out to the range. I'll practice and then go out and play until just about till it gets dark. On weekends, I'll be playing I'll go out and play 18, practice before, practice after. Probably six or seven hours on the weekends at least.

Q. How are you a four point student?

MORGAN PRESSEL: I squeeze it in.

Q. Is pink going to be the color for this new generation of players we're expecting?

MORGAN PRESSEL: I don't think so. Well, from Paula maybe, but not from me. I've got two pink shirts. It's not like I have a whole pink wardrobe. This one happens to match with this outfit. Not a big pink fan truthfully.

Q. (No microphone.)

MORGAN PRESSEL: Usually two minutes and 30 seconds Spaghettios in the microwave. I wolf it down in about 20 seconds. I eat really fast, so that works well. I eat fast and read slow. I have to spend extra time.

PAUL ROVNAK: Thank you.

End of FastScripts.

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297