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WEETABIX WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

August 2, 2006

Gwladys Nocera

LYTHAM ST. ANNES, ENGLAND

COLIN CALLANDER: We have by far and away the No. 1 player from the Ladies European Tour, Gwladys Nocera. You've won three times and you're obviously got to be fairly confident coming in.

GWLADYS NOCERA: Well, you're never confident enough but I'm feeling good. Hopefully I can play good again this week.

COLIN CALLANDER: You were a fairly consistent player before but suddenly you've come out and won three times. What do you think has made the difference this year?

GWLADYS NOCERA: I think it's just work has been paying off and I did good last year, I just didn't have any wins. But I was playing good.

COLIN CALLANDER: Have you been working on anything specifically that helped you to improve?

GWLADYS NOCERA: No. I just work on everything the same for three years now with my new coach. So the same every day, like a magician that works on his piano, so it's the same, work, work, would.

COLIN CALLANDER: You're obviously one of the leading players on the LET at the moment. Does that put extra pressure on you coming in this week against players from America?

GWLADYS NOCERA: It was the same thing last week at Evian. But I guess that's what we call experience and hopefully I will get that one day and I won't be so stressed in front of these girls.

COLIN CALLANDER: Have you much experience playing links golf courses?

GWLADYS NOCERA: Yeah, I've done a lot. When I played the junior golf, British Junior.

Q. Inaudible?

GWLADYS NOCERA: Maybe the game but I don't have the experience of being with these girls all the time, which maybe if I go to the U.S. next year, I will be like, okay, I can play next to these girls and play as good as they do. Right now it's kind of difficult so I just try to play my game and enjoy it.

Q. Inaudible?

GWLADYS NOCERA: Why, because they are all so good and they have done so many good things in golf. They have won so many tournaments, their golf game is just close to perfection, so of course I am intimidated.

Q. Inaudible?

GWLADYS NOCERA: Well, that's the way it is, I'm not going to lie about it. I mean, if I say, no, I'm not intimidated, it's not true and I will be on the first tee box.

Q. I think some other people would not

GWLADYS NOCERA: I don't know, that's just the way I am. Maybe that's bad, I don't know, that's the way I am. As long as you know, you know, who you are that's fine.

Q. From what you were saying, you're almost saying as if The European Tour is not quite as strong as the American tour. Is there any shot differential, one shot or two shots?

GWLADYS NOCERA: It's not about one tour being better than another one. It's just that obviously the best players in the world are competing in the U.S.

So when you play all the time in Europe and you see these girls coming, you feel intimidated because they are so good and they are so used to big tournaments like this one. But I will never say that one tour is better than another one.

Q. Inaudible?

GWLADYS NOCERA: Well, I can't say. I have no idea.

Q. Inaudible?

GWLADYS NOCERA: I don't know, it's hard to tell, I have no idea.

Q. How strong do you think the Ladies European Tour is at present?

GWLADYS NOCERA: I think it's getting stronger every year. I think it's getting really good. There are a lot of girls competing to win every week and I think it's really good because it makes the Tour look competitive. So it's really good.

Q. Are there more good players than there used to be?

GWLADYS NOCERA: I think so.

Q. About half an hour ago, Laura was in here and she was saying that Annika pound for pound is a better golfer than anyone, the best golfer that's ever been. What do you think?

GWLADYS NOCERA: I don't know. I haven't been here for long enough to say. But I think Annika is great. She's one of these great champions. She's so good playing golf and such a nice person, too, on the course and off the course. I think she's human wise, she's a great person. That makes her even a greater golfer. But golf wise, I played with her last week and it was intimidating.

Q. Did you have any role models or heroes when you were coming into the game?

GWLADYS NOCERA: Yeah, Meg Mallon.

Q. Why Meg Mallon?

GWLADYS NOCERA: Because I love her swing and she's a nice person and she won so many tournaments. She's great.

Q. Your goals for this week

GWLADYS NOCERA: I said this last week at Evian I wanted to do Top 10, Top 15, which last week I totally failed. So this week

Q. The whole year before any tournaments started?

GWLADYS NOCERA: No, my goal was just to win the tournament. I won three. So now, yeah, my goal is to play well this week now.

Q. Inaudible?

GWLADYS NOCERA: Well, of course, they are really hard. I think what she did is once in a lifetime or golf lifetime or whatever, nine tournaments, it's pretty much impossible now. But, you know, I won three and now I think about four. I win four, I think about five. But I think one step before another one, don't look too much, too far.

Q. The way she plays

GWLADYS NOCERA: The way she plays is very simple. She doesn't miss shots, fairways, greens. She plays and then she makes putts sometimes and sometimes she doesn't. She keeps going and going and going. But I think what I learned the most is if you can't be myself, you can't be good and that's what I learned from last week. I couldn't be myself, couldn't play my game.

Q. Inaudible?

GWLADYS NOCERA: Well, maybe except that I'm one of the good players. That's probably one of what's going to be the hardest.

Q. Inaudible?

GWLADYS NOCERA: Like once I do it, yeah. I believe in what I see. So the day I will see it, I believe in it.

Q. Do you believe that you're one of the best golfers, close?

GWLADYS NOCERA: Almost.

Q. Could I get an explanation of why you think Annika is so good?

GWLADYS NOCERA: First of all, she's doing her own thing. She has her own plan and she is doing it no matter what. She is very consistent. She has been working on the same things forever and she works every day, she's always here, she never complains, she does the job, and she does what she loves.

So when you see her and when you play with her, it's just simplicity. It's just like, you know, this machine that goes on the rod and makes the rod flat, you know, this thing that rolls, very slowly but then you know, everything is flat and perfect after. That's how I feel. She just does things the perfect way.

Q. Have you played with Michelle Wie?

GWLADYS NOCERA: No.

Q. Are you intimidated by her?

GWLADYS NOCERA: Of course. All of the players are intimidated one way or another.

Q. Would you be intimidated if you were playing your best golf?

GWLADYS NOCERA: It depends. At the Solheim Cup I was very intimidated. But I don't know, playing for the team, something came to me and I just played very well. Sometimes it does bad things to me like last week. It really depends. I guess I have to work on that. I'm doing it. So I guess I need more time.

COLIN CALLANDER: Gwladys, thank you very much for coming in to speak with us. Good luck this week.

End of FastScripts.

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