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JOHN DEERE CLASSIC

July 11, 2006

Michelle Wie West

SILVIS, ILLINOIS

JOAN v.T. ALEXANDER: Thank you, Michelle, for joining us for a few minutes here in the media center at the John Deere Classic, a place you ought to be pretty comfortable with, coming back. You had that opportunity earlier this year at the Sony. Talk to coming back to Moline and the John Deere.

MICHELLE WIE: I love coming back here. People are so nice here and the golf course is in awesome shape. I love playing the golf course. Playing the John Deere is very special to me. I really like coming back here and playing. I think it's going to be a lot of fun this week.

Q. You've had a very busy summer, played in two majors, played a 36 hole men's Open qualifier, and you played the Match Play. Two questions: How is your level of energy, and is there any club in the bag that you'd like to fine tune for this week?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, for the first question, I mean, I feel really good. Obviously I was a little bit tired on Sunday coming from a 36 hole, but I took it really easy on Monday and Tuesday. I only played nine holes on Tuesday, so I actually feel really good now.

To the second question, there's not really a specific club where I have to fine tune. I just have to work on every single club because if I just work on one club then the other stuff doesn't work.

Q. What is your comfort level, this being your second year on this golf course? Do you know the shots that you need to play and the shots that you want to avoid?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, I feel really comfortable on this golf course. It feels like it's not really that long, but I feel really comfortable out here. The fairways are pretty forgiving. But it doesn't really matter. All that matters is how I have to hit the shots come Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Hopefully it'll be a good one.

Q. At this stage in your career, would you consider it a bigger accomplishment to win an LPGA event or make the cut on the PGA TOUR?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, I'll tell you after I do both (laughter).

Q. What do you have to say to the young females that you've captivated? You've got a lot of following out here. What do you have to say about being a role model for so many young women out there?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, I don't know if I'm a role model, but I think it's awesome that more and more young girls are starting to play the game. I just think that if golf is really what you want to do, then do what you want to do. You don't really have to follow any, I guess, rules. You don't have to do what other people do. They don't actually have to follow my footsteps, they just have to do what they want to do.

Q. How has your mindset changed as you come back to this event again? Are you going to be more aggressive and feel like maybe you've got more of a shot to make a statement here?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, I don't think I'm really changing anything. I mean, mindset is really not that different. Obviously I feel more comfortable with my game and am feeling more confident with my game. I mean, it's about the same mentality that I go into every week, I'm just going to try my hardest and play my hardest and see what happens.

Q. We talked about the foursome you played with today, Jason only 18, Sean only 24, Zach is pushing 30. Talk about the youth of golf right now.

MICHELLE WIE: It was so much fun today. I feel very lucky, very grateful that they asked me to join in their foursome today, and it was a lot of fun. They're such nice people, and I've learned so much from playing with them.

It was a really fun practice round. I met Jason for the first time today, and it was a lot of fun. He just crushes the ball every time. It was really a joy to play with him. I think it's great that a lot of young players are coming up and playing, and they're just doing really well and they're doing a lot for the game, so it's really nice.

Q. On a lighter note, I'm working on a story on fashion. You have great earrings. Can you talk about your style on the golf course?

MICHELLE WIE: I don't know about my style. I just put on whatever in the morning. Nike does a great job of really pushing stuff forward, like really making really good statements. I mean, with the dress, it was like, okay, I'm going to play golf in a dress. It's cool, it's comfortable, it's cute, and it's really nice. I love fashion, love putting things together, especially when you're playing with the guys and you have to wear long pants, so I can't be too creative there. They make you wear a polo shirt, so I'll get the earrings going on, and it's a lot of fun. If you're going to be out there in front of thousands of people, why not have fun with your clothes?

Q. Kind of a follow up on the role model question, there's a youth golf clinic out there today. What would be some of your advice for young kids that want to be serious about pursuing golf as a career?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, they're just kids. I mean, one day you want to be an astronaut and another day you want to be a firefighter. You never know what you want to do with your life. Golf is just a game. Enjoy it. I mean, I think kids should really start getting serious when they're in their teens. I mean, when they're kids, go out and have some fun, play with your friends. That's what I did, too. I mean, obviously when you're getting serious playing the junior tournaments, obviously that's when you have to practice.

I mean, golf is still a game. You just have to have fun. I don't think you should see golf as a career. I don't see golf as a career for me, it's just a game.

Q. How much has your game changed from when you were here last year until now?

MICHELLE WIE: Hopefully I've gotten better. I think I've gotten a lot more consistent. My putting feels pretty good, and I've been working a lot on my swing, consistency of my game, and hopefully I've become a little bit more mature than last year.

Q. People have said that they expect you or anticipate you to make the cut this year, whereas last year it might have been a pleasant surprise. Do you feel a shift in expectations this year?

MICHELLE WIE: A lot of people have expectations of me and I have my own expectations of what I want to do or accomplish. I'm not going to think about this the cut this year. I really want to play well and maybe go to the British Open. If I go to the British Open, then I've made the cut (laughter).

Q. Earlier today Sean said that he thinks you're extremely talented and that you definitely belong here, but he said he thought you should win a tournament on the LPGA Tour before coming here. How do you respond to that?

MICHELLE WIE: It's not like I'm a full time member of the LPGA or a full time member of the PGA. I'm just still trying to figure out what I want to do and doing what I want to do, and obviously I want to win an LPGA tournament and I want to play in PGA tournaments. I feel like I'm having a really good balance right now of playing men's events and women's events, and I know that a win on an LPGA event will come. I just want to do what I want to do, and that's always been my kind of motto. I'm just going to do what I want to do and not really follow anything.

Q. I came here to ask the professionals about you, and they say that you are a great talent with everything. I watched 18 holes, also. You are a great talent for sure, but why you are not winning big events. They said to me mental toughness. Are you also practicing some mental toughness kind of stuff at home?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, I mean, I don't think it's obviously mental toughness has to do with winning, but, I mean, I'm pretty mentally tough. I have a sports psychologist. I work with Jim Loehr on the mental side, and that's very important. But that's not the reason why I'm not winning tournaments.

Q. Do you speak some Korean at home?

MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I'm fluent.

Q. You finished in the Top 5 in five of the last six majors on the LPGA Tour. What have you taken from those experiences that you feel eventually will help you reach your goal of winning on the LPGA Tour?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, I've been really I really had a chance to win in every single one of those majors, and I feel like every single time I'm learning how to win. I'm learning how to handle that kind of like last round pressure going into the last couple of holes, and I feel like it really showed at the U.S. Open where I really felt like I made some smart moves. I made pars, even though you never really know in a U.S. Open, and I felt like I played really smart.

I learned a lot from the majors, from the Kraft. I learned a lot in the McDonald's and the British Open. It's just being able to go in the last couple of holes, being able to win, I think it's an amazing thing.

Q. Whenever you look back on John Deere last year, do you feel like you let one get away, or do you learn something from the specific experience of being 3 over on the two holes on your back nine? Do you reflect what you might have done differently?

MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, definitely. I mean, I've thought about it and then I forgot about it. I made a couple of bad decisions coming into the final holes, but I was only 15. I can make mistakes when I'm 15. Hopefully I learned a lot from those mistakes that I made last year, and hopefully I won't do them this year.

Q. Did you feel like you were too aggressive last year?

MICHELLE WIE: I don't really remember (laughter), but it's just a couple bad decisions. You can't really generalize it. When you're in that situation, I made a couple bad calls, and that happens.

Q. Brittany Lincicome made some comments, one of them being about how you didn't talk during the round. When you're in match play, is it different? Do you have a different attitude? Can you talk a little bit about that?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, it's a lot different in match play than stroke play. I feel like you just have to be I mean, I don't talk when I'm in match play. I just try to focus on my own game, and it's very different. It's a lot more intense in match play than stroke play. I mean, in stroke play you just go around, but in match play you have to win or you're not going to play the next day, so I become a lot more intense.

Q. Do you have a preference right now between the PGA TOUR and the LPGA?

MICHELLE WIE: No, I don't really have a preference. I really enjoy playing the LPGA and I really enjoy playing the PGA and I really enjoy playing in Asia and Europe. I love going all over and playing and I don't really have a favorite.

Q. Do you sense that expectations have kind of been ratcheted up outside of your own circle, people disappointed that you haven't broken through yet? Has that affected your confidence at all?

MICHELLE WIE: No. I mean, obviously people are going to have expectations. I can't please everyone. I'm just out here for myself, and my parents still love me even though I don't win tournaments (laughter). It's great.

I mean, I have my own expectations. Obviously I was a little disappointed after not really obviously when you're done after the round, you wish you could have done a couple shots better, but it has nothing to do with kind of making me less confident about my game because I still feel like I'm playing really solid.

It's very hard to win when you're playing one tournament, then take a month off. This summer I've been playing every week, so hopefully I can play a lot better, but it's hard when you don't have that momentum going into every week. People's expectations are going to go up, it's natural. But I just feel like I'm playing very well right now, playing very solid, and it's going to happen.

Q. Michelle, you're the star of the show. I mean, the reason that people are buying tickets this week is to come see this, and you're just 16. How do you avoid being overwhelmed by kind of all the attention that you get on weeks like this?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, I mean, I don't really think about it, you know. I guess being from Hawaii, being very relaxed, I just have kind of a "whatever" mentality. I just have fun with it. I'm very grateful and I feel very lucky that people like watching me play, and I have a lot of fans. I think that's wonderful. But I don't really take it as kind of a hard thing; I just look at it and have fun and just play golf.

Q. You are a role model and kids want to know what you have in your i Pod and how many pairs of sunglasses do you own?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, I have a Walkman.

Q. What do you have in the Walkman?

MICHELLE WIE: Wait, what was the other question?

Q. What kind of music do you like and how many pairs of sunglasses do you own?

MICHELLE WIE: Sunglasses (laughing). I really like alternative music. I'm really into like Korean music these days and alternative, just whatever songs are on MTV. I really like the Black Eyed Peas and Bon Jovi.

How many pairs of sunglasses? A lot, actually (laughter). Nike is making a lot of new sunglasses. Like if you've seen me wear sunglasses, I like to wear them on the golf course, and they're making a lot of casual sunglasses, too, which is really cool. I just like to go shopping, so I get a lot.

Q. That is a very cool belt you were wearing today, and someone with better eyes than I said that they saw a 59 on the buckle; is that correct?

MICHELLE WIE: Really? I don't know. They must have better eyes than me.

Q. Does it say 59 on the buckle, and is there any significance to that?

MICHELLE WIE: I don't see 59. I don't know, but it's cool. I like belts. I mean, if I'm going to wear pants and I have to wear a belt, then why not wear a fun belt?

Q. Do you have a number on a belt buckle with a number for the week?

MICHELLE WIE: Not this week I don't think. I'm not really sure. I have not like checked into my belt bag, but I'll see when I get home.

Q. Growing up, who did you look to as inspiration for you to try to compete against men? I know your parents were huge role models for you, but were there one or two people, females, that you looked up to?

MICHELLE WIE: Well, Babe, I really looked up to her, and Mickey Wright, obviously I learned about them as I was playing golf, but I think they were great. Obviously Mia Hamm, I really look up to her. She's a great role model. Obviously Tiger Woods, I really look up to him. He really makes me want to crank the ball. He just crushes it. It's amazing to watch.

Q. On Friday, and I know your parents are here, so who's going to know first you make it through the cut, okay. Last year you failed, but this year you make it. If you make it, who are you going to call to let them know first?

MICHELLE WIE: Who am I going to call first? Well, obviously my friends back home. I don't really call anyone after I play well. My friends don't care actually (laughter), so I don't know why I call them. I'll call them and be like, "Hey, I just made the cut." They'll be like, "You just made what? What's the cut?" They don't care.

Q. Are you tired of hearing about putting, and do you feel like you've made strides there having had a good week with the putter at the Open?

MICHELLE WIE: It's natural for people to try to pinpoint something if it's not if I miss a couple of putts, it's like, "Oh, my God, she's a really bad putter," and they make a big deal out of it. I feel like I've been getting better. I feel like every putt I make just builds up my confidence. I feel like I'm putting very solidly. I feel like it's been good.

Q. You talked about you have some of your own personal goals. The youngest golfer to ever win a major was 20 year old young Tom Morris when he won the British. Is that one of your goals, to try to be one of the youngest golfers to win a major?

MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, definitely the youngest person to win a major. I think that's awesome and I want to do that.

Q. They call golf a gentlemen's game. Do you think that needs to be revised, and if so, how would you revise it?

MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, definitely. Come on, I mean, a gentlemen's game? It's just such an old mentality, and it's for anyone. It's really a people's game.

Q. Can you compare where your confidence is this week to where it was a year ago coming in?

MICHELLE WIE: I don't know really. I don't really compare confidence levels. I don't really put it on a sheet and write, oh, I had a confidence of level of eight last year and I have a confidence level of seven. I don't really keep track of that.

Q. Do you feel more confident than you did a year ago?

MICHELLE WIE: You know, I feel better about my game, I feel like I'm progressing, I feel like I'm a little more confident. I feel like I'm progressing every year.

End of FastScripts.

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