DU MAURIER CLASSIC

August 11, 2000

Diana D'Alessio

DIANA D'ALESSIO: Today I was extremely, extremely nervous from, I guess, last night or after I did the press conference yesterday and the media attention, just made me more nervous. I didn't sleep well, I didn't eat last night, I didn't eat today. So I was really nervous. I got here early and started practicing to try and relax my nerves, but it was definitely a struggle out there. I didn't hit many fairways and didn't hit many greens, but made some putts.

DIANA D'ALESSIO: No, I was really happy when I saw Annika was in the lead. I thought: Thank God I'm not in the lead anymore. I can start playing again. Because you start playing better when you start playing from behind, I think anyway. It didn't seem to work today for me. But I'd rather not actually go to sleep with the lead of the final major of the year. So I was pretty happy about it.

DIANA D'ALESSIO: I won't mind being in the lead, but this is my first time in the lead -- was my first time in the lead at a major, so it was pretty stressful.

DIANA D'ALESSIO: 18 on Sunday. An 8-shot lead. I wouldn't mind that.

DIANA D'ALESSIO: No, not at all. I hope I can sleep tonight. Fortunately, I'll tee off late again tomorrow. I think that's the benefit.

DIANA D'ALESSIO: Do I really? I'd like to know who I play with.

DIANA D'ALESSIO: Yeah, I managed to make a couple of birdies to help myself out today. Fortunately, my putter stayed fairly hot. It kind of got a little suspect towards the end, but I still managed to do okay, by my standards. I didn't hit the ball well, at all. I need to go to the range and figure that out. My alignment is just -- I'm lining up way right, and it's playing games with my mind.

DIANA D'ALESSIO: Oh, yeah. Especially the lie was left-to-right. It was going to definitely push the ball off the lie, and I happened to line up -- at the bunker. So that wasn't very good. I have to work on that.

DIANA D'ALESSIO: A little bit. I really -- I didn't have a good feeling about that putt. I tried to convince myself to just put a good shot on it, and I didn't hit it hard enough to the line that I had chosen. So it kind of took the wind out of my sail a little bit. But I hit a fairly good drive on 18, and I was really nervous on 18. Just sort of wanted to get it on the green, get it in the hole, and let us go on until tomorrow. But I'm trying not to get down. I have a tendency to get down when I make a bogey. But I've proven to myself the last few days that when I make a bogey I can come back with a birdie. So I have good feelings for tomorrow.

DIANA D'ALESSIO: 4, I recorded my first bogey as a par-5. Today I had a tendency -- I was hitting it over the green a lot. They had firmed up, and I wasn't allowing for it. And I had a good chip, and that was my first short putt that I missed this week. So that kind of threw a little kink in my side, I guess you could say. It was about 4 1/2 feet. Then on 8 -- 8, I was going to redeem myself, because I made bogey there yesterday, and I hit a great shot there about 12 feet above the hole, and made a left-to-right breaker. I hit a 5-wood. It was 190. I can't remember. I made birdie. 9, par-5 that's reachable. I hit driver, perfect drive down the middle. Left my 5-wood out to the right, but hit a pitch about 15 feet above the hole, and made the putt for birdie. So I was pretty pumped up for that. That was good to go back-to-back birdies. 11, par-3, the pin was all the way back, and I just hit the worst shot of the day, like off the grip. It was so unsolid, it made me sick, I think. And it was way short, and just didn't play the right shot there. The rough was kind of thick. So I hit it on the green; 2-putted for bogey. 12 is another par-3. I hit it just to the back of the green, but had about 15 feet and made the putt off the fringe.

DIANA D'ALESSIO: 6, 148 yards I think it was playing, 6-iron. No, it was 155 -- I can't remember. 13, made a -- I made a bogey. I didn't hit a very good drive off the tee. Actually, hit the garbage can to help me out, and then I drew a pretty bad lie in the rough, and just hit 7-iron out there. And then hit -- I had 78 yards to the hole and hit it up, and I 2-putted for bogey. And then --.

DIANA D'ALESSIO: 15 feet. And then 17, hit a good drive. I thought I hit what was a great second shot, and I thought it was all over the pin, and it went long. I hit a good chip, almost went in, and I missed coming back. But it was about three feet, probably. A little hiccup in my day. But it was just a tough day. I'm really, really tired and really emotionally drained. But I have two more days to go. So I'm going to find some more adrenalin. I'm sure I won't have a problem tomorrow.

DIANA D'ALESSIO: No museum. Practice range. I haven't had time to go to the museum. I might not have time.

DIANA D'ALESSIO: I don't mind it right at that time. It's actually pretty good. But towards the end of the round when we have par-4 -- par-5, par-4, par-4, par-5, sometimes you would like a little break and have a little par-3 where you don't have to hit a wood off the tee, since that was my problem today. But that doesn't bother me. I like how the course sets up. I think it's kind of cool. When I played the practice round, I went to 11, said, "Look, it's par-3." And then 12, "Look, it's another par-3." It's fine.