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HSBC WOMEN'S WORLD MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

July 6, 2006

Marisa Baena

VIRGINIA WATERS, ENGLAND

MARISA BAENA: Absolutely. I think it's a very accurate statement. You know what, that's how match play works. You know, you just have to play your opponent. You don't have to play the rest of the field. I didn't hit very good shots when I had to hit good shots.

And Wendy wasn't sharp, either. She missed some drivers and some iron shots. It was frustrating because I didn't perform the way I wanted to. I'm just happy that I have another day tomorrow to go out there and play good golf again.

Q. What did you think it was going to take to win a match like that, this was a great first round match up?

MARISA BAENA: Golf, sometimes you wake up and you're not playing good and neither me or Wendy were in our rhythm today. We just were not in a good rhythm and we had to wait for 21 holes. We waited from the first hole to the 21st. So we never got in a rhythm. We were waiting and waiting and it's very difficult to play because you just wait all day.

You know tomorrow is a new day. I've got Paula Creamer which is a good player and I have to play good golf to win that. But you never know, Paula might wake up and she might have a bad day as well. That's the thing with match (play) you just never know, you're always expecting the person you're playing to play their best. But as the match goes on, you can't tell whether the player is playing good or not. We got hot in the middle of the round but we just got cold again. Tomorrow is a new day and I'm happy about that. I'm happy that I won playing not very good.

Q. Did either of you ever have a big lead on the other one?

MARISA BAENA: I had 2 up going to 8, and then I just hit a horrible tee shot and bogeyed that. Then she birdied 10, 11 and 12, and then I was 1 down and she gave me the opportunity to actually go up and I just from the middle of the fairway, I hit it in the rest, hit in the right. I hit good shots on 17 and 18 but the other ones were just not very good.

Q. Can you tell me what it means to be back here after you won it all last year?

MARISA BAENA: Well, obviously I'm very, very excited. It's an awesome golf course. I love The Match Play. You just never know what's going to happen, and the proof of it is today. We just like went and played and tried and I gave her the opportunity and she didn't take advantage. She gave me the opportunity, I didn't take advantage.

So I think it is a great thing, and at the end, you know, tomorrow is a new day, different players. But it's just great, you know, the golf course is in great shape. And it's just very exciting to be back and be the defending champion. Very special, special treatment.

Q. When you came back, did all those good memories?

MARISA BAENA: Absolutely. I think one of the biggest difference between today and last year, like every time I had a pressure shot and I needed to perform, I didn't. And it wasn't quite there. So like

Q. Last year every time you had a pressure shot, you did it?

MARISA BAENA: I really performed. Today it was very sloppy.

Q. Do you think some of that weighting that you were doing throughout did that throw you

MARISA BAENA: Absolutely. I think we just never got in a rhythm. You know, you're playing a match and we're here talking in the tee box. "Hey, what did you do, how was dinner." You know, we're talking about all this stuff instead of just having a game plan, because we're waiting, you know. So you know, to go from 18 to 19th tee, we had to wait 20 minutes before we could tee up. I think that definitely affected it, too the both of us.

Q. Tell me about the second time you were on 3, the 21 hole, I guess it was the last hole and you hit your tee shot out of bounds and she comes out and she hits hers and that pretty much sums it up?

MARISA BAENA: Yeah, I missed it way right and she missed it left. I mean, that was just the day. She gave me I gave her opportunities and she didn't take advantage. She gave me opportunities, I did not take advantage. I didn't end up making a long putt, which I wasn't even putting good all day, I was hitting it close to make my putts. I was like, where did that come from; oh, I'll take it.

Q. How long was the putt?

MARISA BAENA: 30 feet maybe, 28 feet.

It definitely hit a tier or it would have been in the long hay. It would have been a tougher shot.

Q. When she hit her tee shot first, what was your thought then, if she hits a good shot?

MARISA BAENA: You know what, at that point I didn't really care. I was playing so bad, I'm like, you know what, somehow I'll try to make par, that should be good enough. And I actually missed it. I was like, maybe par will win the hole. And actually this morning, I hit it about ten yards from that hole, too, so it's not like it was the same shot to me. I had already hit a very similar shot this morning and I almost made it, holed it.

So, I mean, I don't know, of course when I hit it right, I was like, oh, I can't believe I just did that. But I knew making par would have definitely got me to the 22nd hole.

Q. What do you need to do for tomorrow?

MARISA BAENA: I definitely need to go practice and somehow hit the ball better. I definitely need to take advantage when she gives me the chance, which I did not do today.

Paula is a great player. She has shown during the Solheim and the Singapore Lexus Cup that she's a very strong player playing match play. She's not as good as when she was playing last year obviously but I think it's going to be a great match. I think the two of us are great competitors and we like to win. All of us like to win and that's why match play is so exciting because you really want to beat the other player. I think it's going to be great. Hopefully I'll go to the range and hit.

End of FastScripts.

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