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U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 11, 2006

Katharina Schallenberg

NORTH PLAINS, OREGON

Q. Katharina Schallenberg, who I had the privilege to talk to the other day but you've not met her yet. She's delightful young lady from Germany. And had a very tough match today, I'd say. Wouldn't you?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: I agree.

Q. You were never down in the match, though. You were up all day. That must have given you some fairly positive feelings?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: It did.

Q. How did you feel about your match, then, with Jennie? She's an acclaimed U.S. Curtis Cup player?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: I knew that. And I expected her to play good golf. And I had to play good golf to keep up with her. And I did.

Q. Do you feel it was the other way around, because she was chasing you most of the match?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Again, please.

Q. Do you feel it might have been the other way around because she was chasing you the entire match, like she was trying to keep up with you?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Yesterday I only knew the name and what she had played before. The Curtis Cup player. She must be a good player but, yeah, today maybe it switched.

Q. Were you pretty even off the tee in distance or did you outhit her?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Sometimes.

Q. She was longer.

By how much? 30 yards at times.

Let me take a look here. You birdied the 7th hole and do you remember what club you hit to the green there?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: It was a 7 iron.

Q. How long was your putt?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Four meters.

Q. 12 feet?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Uh huh.

Q. That was pretty much it, wasn't it?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: 18.

Q. 18. I didn't get to see that. Tell me how you played that hole?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: I had a pitch out of the rough on the right side. 49 meters. And I made a five meter putt.

Q. 15 footer?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: That was right straightaway.

Q. That was pretty thrilling, to win the match?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Uh huh.

Q. How excited are you to be in the semi finals?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: I don't know yet. I'm excited. Because I know I can win against the girls. Before I came here I didn't know.

Q. You'd only played in Europe really?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Yes.

Q. And your coach is with you?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Uh huh.

Q. He's caddying for you?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Yes.

Q. How about your family?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: They're staying they're at home, and my family and all my friends that came to sit in front of the Internet. It's 4 a.m. in the morning.

Q. That's all right. You're not alone. You have fans here?

What is your coach's name?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Marcus, with a C. Neumann. N e u m a n n.

Q. Thank you.

When did you come over to the U.S. before this tournament?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: On Thursday.

Q. So just last Thursday?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Uh huh.

Q. So you went to the qualifier and then did you go back home?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: I had to go back home because I had a team event in the time in between.

Q. What kind of town is Lengerich and where is it?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: It's in the northwest of Germany, and 23,000 inhabitants. It's rather small.

Q. What do people do there besides play golf?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Industry, you mean?

Q. Uh huh.

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: We have machinery. And I don't know the vocabulary, maybe cement industry. And that's about it.

Q. You've never been a professional player, right?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: No.

Q. You're not (inaudible)?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: No.

Q. You've been working as a bank clerk but when did you stop working as a bank clerk, when did you do that?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: I only did an apprenticeship in a bank. I learned for two years to be a bank clerk and trained as a bank clerk but it didn't work in the shop because I thought it was too boring and then I went to university to study to be able to do something else.

Q. What are you studying now, international business, was it?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Uh huh.

Q. Law or just international business?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: International business.

Q. Do you think you'll stay amateur for a while? Do you enjoy playing the game as an amateur, do you have a dream of turning professional?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Well, I don't know yet. I have to finish my studies first and it might take one, one and a half more years. After that, coach is pushing me, go on the Tour you can do it but I'm not sure about it. I'll decide it later. It's nice playing as an amateur because Federation covers all the costs. There's no pressure making money to make a living. And it's fine.

Q. I knew one really good woman player from Germany. Monica Steegman. Did you ever hear of her? She came over here many years ago, 30 years ago she would play in our amateur tournament. She played in this tournament. You didn't know of her?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Is it her maiden name?

Q. Probably.

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: No, sorry.

Q. Are there any other really good German players?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: What do you mean really good?

Q. Well, are there any players in Germany as good as you are?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: There might be Sandra Gaw. She's (inaudible) in Florida. Going to college there. But she usually doesn't compete in the tournaments in Europe in the season. So I only see her two months, a year.

Q. When you're practicing back in Germany, who do you play with?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: I'm pretty much on my own, because there are not a lot of good players where I live. I'm with my home coach. Yeah, that's about it.

Q. How did you start playing golf? How did you get involved in it?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: My dad brought us on the golf course, because he started playing golf and he got addicted to it and didn't appear at lunchtime. I have two sisters and we were asking mom, hey, where's dad. Why isn't he coming for lunch, and then they took us out.

Q. How old were you when that was happening?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: 10, 11.

Q. What is it about golf that you like?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Well, I don't know. Someone asked me the question a couple of weeks ago. I couldn't really tell. Sorry.

Q. Do you play some other sports through your life and still in the winter when you're not playing golf?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Badminton and volleyball, beach volleyball.

Q. Indoor beach volleyball?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Yes.

Q. Really. That's cool.

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: And I also like to go ice skating. I play tennis but I quit.

Q. You said your family and friends, they got in front of the TV at 4:00 in the morning?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: No, the Internet.

Q. The Internet.

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: The Web site.

Q. And where was that, at your home you mean?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Uh huh.

Q. How many times have you been to America?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Well, for school, four months in Oregon. Like Eugene. In 1997, I stayed four weeks in Ohio with a host family. It was an exchange trip.

We came with the national team, we came three times to Florida to practice. PGA National.

Q. When were you in Eugene?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: 2004

Q. In 2000 for four months?

Q. She didn't like the fly and the team had to fly a lot and she had a great aversion to flying. And so she decided to go back to Germany?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: I got really scared of flying.

Q. But she's dealing with that because her team now has a sports psychologist and she's doing very well getting over that?

Q. Because you have to fly in Europe when you go and play over there, too, right?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: I have to, yes.

Q. You told me yesterday you decided to play in this tournament in the springtime. What made you decide to play this year here?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: I knew that Kristina Rothengatter. She's a German player, too, she goes to college in Texas. SMU. She played in this tournament last year, and she got fifth. And, yes, and that was the way I got to know the tournament.

Q. You heard about it?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Yeah, I heard about it.

Q. So did you you went to the University of Oregon on the women's golf team, you played there?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Yes.

Q. That was 2000?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Uh huh. My coach qualified too. She was here.

Q. I met her, Shannon.

Have you made any friends this week? Have you met some people at the club?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Here?

Q. Yes.

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Well, there wasn't that much time. And I knew some from Europe like Davey and Carlotta and the British girls.

Q. Well, you know us that's all you need. You know us. Listen you did really well today and congratulations. You're a very fine player. Wish you good luck tomorrow.

Q. Before you played your warm up routine, how did you learn that?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: We have a physical therapist with us and she told us what to do to get the (inaudible) to get the right tension and to stretch and to mobilize the bag, like with turning this way that way.

Q. Because it appears to be very elaborate, but it takes some time to do all that?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: It does.

Q. So you do that every time you play?

KATHARINA SCHALLENBERG: Yeah. I'm supposed to. But sometimes I don't always do it.

Q. You've done great. You're a semi finalist in the U.S. Women's Amateur. You'll get a medal no matter what happens.

End of FastScripts.

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