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MICHELOB ULTRA OPEN AT KINGSMILL

May 11, 2006

Karrie Webb

WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA

PAUL ROVNAK: Thanks, Karrie, for coming in. Great round today. You started with a terrific front nine, turned at 30, 5 under, and you're leading the tournament now. Tell us about your day and we'll take some questions.

KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, it was probably not my best ball striking day by any means, but I putted really well on the front nine which was the actual back nine on the course. Holed some really good putts there and got a lot of momentum going on that. My last nine holes was a little up and down, but managed to put up three birdies and three bogeys. So 5 under is a really good score today with how the conditions were.

Q. How tough was it with the wind, it seemed to be kind of swirling?

KARRIE WEBB: It pretty much blew from the same direction all day. But it was pretty gusty and you know it sort of picked up as the day went on. And when you're down in amongst the trees sometimes, it does swirl a little bit but you really had to trust it was coming out of the same direction.

Q. What was the mental approach that you came into round one with today?

KARRIE WEBB: Well, I've been playing pretty well the last few weeks. So just trying to do similar stuff to that. You know, the course I really like this golf course and I never got to play last year with the new green changes. I really, really like the changes that have been made, and you know, I just went out there and didn't make too many mistakes and got off to a great start.

Q. How about the fact that you're playing in such a great threesome? Was it cool for guys to feed off each other maybe and play with each other, three top players in one pairing in the first round?

KARRIE WEBB: It's always good when you're playing with two of best players on Tour.

Obviously their names speak for themselves, and I'm sure Cristie is pretty pleased with her round. I'm sure Annika will want a lower one tomorrow. But it's always enjoyable playing with the two of them.

Q. How drastic did you find the changes compared to when you were here two years ago?

KARRIE WEBB: Well, hitting into every green I think is like playing a different golf course. Off the tee, you know, pretty much the same sort of shape tee shots, they haven't changed too much there but into the greens, it's like you're playing a new golf course.

Q. The back nine seemed more forgiving than the actual front nine today?

KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, I guess so. The wind just picked up as the day went on, so that probably made the front nine a little bit more difficult today. But I just kept it in play a little bit more on my first nine holes and missed a few fairways.

Q. What happened to you on 8, you disappeared on that bank there. Did you have to take an unplayable lie down there?

KARRIE WEBB: I was in the hazard.

PAUL ROVNAK: Oh, you were in the hazard?

KARRIE WEBB: So I took a drop from the hazard.

Q. Do you think the changes they made to the greens were required to elevate the status of this event?

KARRIE WEBB: Oh, I don't know if it's to elevate the status of the event but I think you know, it's made the course an even better golf course. The condition of the greens are unbelievable. There's hardly a mark on them. We had a lot of poa annua on the greens before they redid them. There's probably not one bit on any of the greens out there. And I really like greens that don't have huge tiers and have more subtle undulations, so I really feel like they fit my eye pretty good.

Q. You're 6 under after 12 holes, what are you thinking?

KARRIE WEBB: Got six holes to go. (Laughter).

Q. Do you even think about the possibilities of how you're going to finish at that point or you're just playing it hole by hole? It's great to be 6 under after 12 holes, but you can go in either direction.

KARRIE WEBB: You know, on Thursday, it's still so much golf left to be played, I don't think you really get too far ahead of yourself. And with the conditions the way they were, you know, it wasn't an easy last six holes. So I just kept thinking one hole at a time. I know it sounds like the standard answer but, you know, there's no point getting too far ahead of yourself on Thursday.

Q. Was there a point not too long ago that you would get ahead of yourself?

KARRIE WEBB: No, because I wasn't shooting 66. (Laughter).

Q. But sometimes players that are not playing where they want to, sometimes that's one of their problems, they don't stay out of their own way.

KARRIE WEBB: You know, that wasn't, an issue for me. I probably tried to hard to get myself into a position where I tried too hard to get myself into contention early in the tournament, and, you know, just never did.

Q. The win at Kraft Nabisco, when you tee it up the next time ever since, did you feel the surge of confidence that provided or did you feel was that coming around?

KARRIE WEBB: Well, I think my game was coming around but it needed a boost of confidence for sure. You know, I guess whether or not that shot went in on the 18th at Kraft, you know, just the way I played under pressure that day would have been enough.

But obviously it's been a huge boost to actually get a win under my belt and, you know, realize that a lot of the physical work I've been doing with my swing and on my game and the mental side of it, that I can just go out and trust my swing, even if it feels a little off to go out and trust it. Then I've been making some putts. Really that's been the biggest turnaround is to see the ball go in the hole.

PAUL ROVNAK: Take us over your score card today, Karrie. We'll start on the back side, or your front side. You birdied No. 11.

KARRIE WEBB: No. 11, I hit my 53 degree wedge to about 18 feet.

13, I hit a 9 iron to about 30, 40 feet.

14, missed the fairway right there in the rough and got to just short of the green and chipped in.

PAUL ROVNAK: How far would you say the chip was?

KARRIE WEBB: About 15 yards I guess.

15, I laid up there and hit my 53 green wedge. Actually from what the crowd said, took one bounce and went into the hole and then spun out to about six inches.

17, 5 iron there to about 40 feet, 45 feet.

No. 1, 9 iron to 12 feet.

4, bogey, missed the green with an 8 iron there short and 3 putted from the fringe.

PAUL ROVNAK: Do you remember how far the first putt was?

KARRIE WEBB: It was just up the green, about 45 feet, 50 feet.

6, bogey, missed the fairway left. I was in the front green side trap and missed about a 12 footer for par.

7, I hit 5 wood into the right short right green side bunker and hit it out to about eight feet and made the putt.

PAUL ROVNAK: 8, you said you went in the hazard?

KARRIE WEBB: Hazard left off the tee and then I just pitched it out on to the fairway and hit a wedge to about 15 feet and made it.

9, 8 iron into the last. Holed about a 15, 18 foot putt there.

Q. When you're making all those long putts, do you just kind of have to fight the feeling that, man, this can't continue; nobody makes, you know, 45 footers from start to finish in terms of a round. Do you kind of feel like you're playing on a pass; that sooner or later you have to start hitting better shots to make your score?

KARRIE WEBB: I guess. I used to try so hard to make the game look perfect and look pretty and I'd play alongside people that did what I did today and it would really frustrate me.

Now I don't really care how it goes in the hole. So I shoot 66 and have, you know, a couple of 40 footers go in, I really don't care.

It's all about putting the score on the card and I think that's the best lesson I've learned to try not to make it look so good and so pretty and I just get the job done.

Q. An example of what you did at 8 to make that 15 footer, so you don't put a really big number on the board?

KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, well, you just grind away. You just don't try and get too worked up over the score that you're shooting and just think about that putt. That's that was as good as a birdie because after my tee shot, it quite easily could have been a double.

Q. When did that transformation in your thinking take place?

KARRIE WEBB: Just when, you know, I was playing poorly and watching players that didn't necessarily hit it pure, you know, beat me every day.

You know, now I don't really care like I said, I don't really care how I make my score. Obviously the key to me playing good golf is my ball striking generally. And on days that it's not quite up to snuff, if I make some putts good, for me, I'm pretty happy on that. I'm working hard on my putting as well, so to see those putts go in feels really good.

Q. Without naming names, was there one particular day or one particular event where you said, this is ridiculous?

KARRIE WEBB: No. When you're not playing that good and you're seeing you know, you always feel like you're not getting the breaks and you see the people that get the good bounces and make the 40 footers, you know, that just makes when you're playing poorly, more hard to. Take and there wasn't one in particular.

Just I don't feel embarrassed by hitting a 40 footer in the hole after hitting a poor iron shot anymore, and I used to be like that. I used to be like, that's not how golf is supposed to be played. You're supposed to hit it to a thin 15 feet, hit a pure iron shot in there. It doesn't matter. Plenty of people win so many different ways, so it just doesn't matter anymore.

Q. So you've become a fan of Seve's?

KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, I mean, I love to play hit 14 fairways and 18 greens every day. I mean, that's typically what I think is a great ball striking day, and a good the way to play golf, a good game of golf. But, you know, if you struggle around and miss a few greens and get it up and down, you're trying to get it in the hole. You know, you're aiming to hit it in the hole, so why feel embarrassed if it goes in? That's what you're setting out to do.

Q. When you were struggling with these issues, trying to deal with this, was there anything in particular that you would do from a mental standpoint to try to deal with it, because obviously the ball kicks one way, goes in the hazard, it's kind of hard to deal with that; is there anything that you did to deal with that?

KARRIE WEBB: Not really. It's amazing what shot goes in the hole to pretty much make you win a golf tournament, you know, I don't think you see too many bad breaks anymore, you know. And since that tournament, I've played a lot of solid golf, and again, I've made some putts.

I think putting is just such a huge key to playing good because it doesn't again, it doesn't matter if you hit 18 greens if you can't get that ball in the hole, you're not going to shoot a good score. So, you know, I'm just glad that all the hard work in all areas of my game is starting to pay off.

End of FastScripts.

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