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WEETABIX WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

August 4, 2006

Karen Stupples

LYTHAM ST. ANNES, ENGLAND

COLIN CALLANDER: We have former Women's British Open Champion, Karen Stupples. 73-69, 2-under par for the tournament, you must be delighted.

KAREN STUPPLES: Absolutely. I knew I had to have a decent round today to keep hanging in there and to have a chance going into the weekend.

COLIN CALLANDER: Juli said you played well yesterday.

KAREN STUPPLES: Even today I still left an awful out on the golf course. Five-, six-, seven-foot putts really were not going in today, or yesterday for that matter. If I can start making those, I'd be doing really well. I'm really finally starting to hit the ball where I want it and driving the ball really well.

COLIN CALLANDER: A bit of a struggle leading in here?

KAREN STUPPLES: It's been a funny thing really. I felt like I've been really close. Most of this year you think, oh, just so close. I just have a mental, you know, error every once in awhile, I have a big number or I'll have one round that really blows me out or something always happens that I manage to mess things up.

But you know, I've been really close. I've actually started to feel more where the club face is now and that's going to be a big thing.

Q. Luck changed for you on 16?

KAREN STUPPLES: Yeah, that was fantastic.

Q. 113 yards?

KAREN STUPPLES: Yes, I played it to land 105 and just to get a little bit of run.

Q. When was the last time you holed a shot like that?

KAREN STUPPLES: It was Sunningdale, second shot on the second hole. It was brilliant, fantastic. You don't expect to hole them. You expect to try to give yourself as much of a chance to make birdies and that's a little bit of a dicey lie, but worked out good. I knew it was pretty good as soon as I hit it. My caddie was "get up, get up" because he was worried about the bunkers and things. But I knew I hit it well enough to carry everything pretty good. I knew I it would have a nice enough swing off the bank to get near the hole.

Q. What was your reaction?

KAREN STUPPLES: It was like, oh, thanks, and then, oh, it's got in.

Q. How were the conditions?

KAREN STUPPLES: Oh, it really was cold. Just trying to choose the right shot. That's the difference with links golf is you have four different options sometimes to get the same result. And making up your mind which one you want to do and sticking with it was the issue because the wind, it was cold and drizzly at times, too.

Q. Inaudible?

KAREN STUPPLES: I think it's total was something like 220 yards, something like that, maybe a little less. But I hit a 5-iron and it landed about 180 and just kept on rolling.

COLIN CALLANDER: Does this championship mean something special to you here?

KAREN STUPPLES: Oh, absolutely. This is the first time I've been back in this country for a year. I've actually been in the States for a whole year without coming back. For me, that's just too long. I miss my family and I haven't seen my sister in ages, so it's been really good catching up with them. I've been really enjoying it.

I think that's why I do well is that, you know, I enjoy being at home. I almost forget about the stress of playing golf and trying to make a score and I just go and have fun and I know that in the evening my sister and I will be laughing all night and it's just good fun.

Q. Why haven't you been back?

KAREN STUPPLES: Primarily I've got a dog in America. I got a dog in November and I wanted to train -- I wanted to make sure that she was trained and ready for when I started traveling in the States. I didn't think it was fair to leave her with anybody over Christmas, so I stayed there for Christmas. I got my parents out for the new year.

Q. What kind of dog?

KAREN STUPPLES: She's a Yorkshire terrier. She's called Emma.

Q. Does she travel with you?

KAREN STUPPLES: Yes, she does. She weighs four and a half pounds and she carries on as hand luggage in the States. You can put her under the seats in front and she travels with you -- can you not see the resemblance?

Q. Have you got her with you?

KAREN STUPPLES: I don't. I don't have her with me because on the international flight, they have to go under.

COLIN CALLANDER: And quarantined, as well?

KAREN STUPPLES: Not anymore, as long as you have the right documentation it's not too bad. But I didn't want to put her through that. She's not quite a year old yet, so I didn't fancy that.

Q. What do you do with her at tournaments?

KAREN STUPPLES: When I'm playing golf -- normally they do have like doggy day care out there. Don't laugh, she's my baby. (Laughter).

But you know, a lot of vets or a lot of places have places where you can take your dogs and you play with other dogs all day, and when you pick them up they are all played out and they are tired out. In the course of the week -- I take her maybe four times in the course of the week. The rest of the time she's really good and sleeps and waits for us to come home. I actually go out and find one in the area.

Q. What's your sister's name?

KAREN STUPPLES: My sister, Susan and she's a deputy head teacher at primary school.

Q. Is the rest of the family here?

KAREN STUPPLES: Everybody's here, yeah. It's fantastic. We've got a house all together.

Q. Inaudible?

KAREN STUPPLES: Furness (ph) just outside of Folkestone. I actually went there and did some tri-golf with her class which was good fun so I need to go and look at this tri-golf system they have got out here with the trees and things, that was really cool.

Q. Where is that?

KAREN STUPPLES: Just beyond Lytham at Cliffe's (ph). I have to go through the main drag.

Q. Inaudible?

KAREN STUPPLES: Over here I haven't been enough to really see. Definitely in the States, you just have to look at the age of the girls coming out on Tour now that everybody seems to be getting younger and they come out ready to play. It's not like they have to do a few years to get used to being a professional. They are all ready to go for it.

So I think that it's just a matter of time before we start doing the same thing over here as well.

Q. Inaudible?

KAREN STUPPLES: Had to make a choice between that and Mexico and come home again is going to be the order of the day. More breakfast.

Q. Inaudible?

KAREN STUPPLES: No, I did. I really did. I went down and played a few holes and it was just amazing to me, just brought it all back how crazy it is hitting 3-irons that just keep running and running and really got a feel for it. I did that before I went to Evian and I was really excited about coming here and playing and I'm pleased it's still bouncy and dry and even though they have had a bit of rain. It's exciting, I love it. It's in good shape, too.

Q. Inaudible?

KAREN STUPPLES: No, actually I was there, I played about three rounds.

COLIN CALLANDER: Could we go through the birdies and bogeys?

KAREN STUPPLES: 3, I hit it in the rough left and then hit it in the front left bunker, just got it on to the green and 2-putted.

4, I hit 3-wood off the tee and then hit a grip 6-iron and the putt was about 12-foot.

12, another 6-iron and the putt was about eight-foot.

13, I hit a 5-iron off the tee and a little 9-iron and the putt was probably 25 foot.

16, that was pretty good, you all know about, that was just a pitching wedge I played for 105 yards and the actual yardage was 113.

COLIN CALLANDER: And a good up-and-down on the last?

KAREN STUPPLES: Yeah, you know, the greens still surprise me here. You just think, you've just got to run through a little bit of fringe and boom, once it hits the green, it's gone. They are just running out. I mean, such good conditions, really. You know I probably used the putter from the fringe more than I ever have. Why didn't I do it I didn't was younger?

Q. What did you hit on 14?

KAREN STUPPLES: I bogeyed 14. Forgotten it already. I 3-putted actually. It was about 50 foot. It was a long way.

Q. How was it playing with Juli?

KAREN STUPPLES: It's great fun playing with Juli. We get on really well, always chatting about something, she's a great golfer, very classy lady and always good fun. And we have the same birthday. So we're probably very similar.

Q. Does it make a difference --

KAREN STUPPLES: I think it does. Although yesterday it felt like I was shooting a million. Because she played so good and was so solid and you know, she could have been many more under yesterday as well. She just played so good and so solid. It was kind of good today because I managed to make up a little bit of ground, but to her credit, she really hung in there well today and her round could have been a little bit difficult for her. She made some good par saves and pulled it all together nicely for even par today.

COLIN CALLANDER: Karen, thank you very much indeed. Good luck tomorrow.

KAREN STUPPLES: Thank you.

End of FastScripts.

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