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U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 30, 2006

Se Ri Pak

NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND

RHONDA GLENN: Ladies and gentlemen, Se Ri Pak, the LPGA champion this year, has a 2 under par 69 on the day.

Se Ri, this is a little bit more your kind of game. I mean, this is the way you used to play golf, where you were in contention all the time, especially in the majors, right?

SE RI PAK: I don't know. Usually slow first two rounds, but I guess first time ever I'm leading the first round. Well, depends what the people are going to finish in the afternoon. But I think just so much enjoyed it out there all day long and so much comfortable and confidence in myself, it helped me out with a good round.

RHONDA GLENN: Is this sort of a statement saying, "I am back?"

SE RI PAK: Well, I'm always back (laughing). I'll always be here if anyone forgets about me. Actually I feel great to be back. At the same time my game is back, too. I feel so great, I feel so much confidence in my game right now. The last couple weeks have been perfect, not only the last couple weeks in '06, been like slowly moving each week better and better, more consistent. Still right now I'm not even rushing. I feel so good still. It's a big major this week, and starting today I feel so good, don't have any pressure, don't have any thought on my mind just keeping a lot of stress off.

I just feel so comfortable. I don't know why it just feels great to be here.

RHONDA GLENN: When we were driving up to the media center, you said it took you about eight years to really feel comfortable playing professional golf in this country. What were some of the problems that you had to overcome?

SE RI PAK: I think just too much pressure on myself to be in the top, like the best, trying to be always play so well, trying to focus more and work more harder and harder, never giving myself a break. I was giving myself a lot of just too much carryover for me. Every week is a new tournament, every week is different, every year is different, but I always expect myself so much high expectations of myself to be out there trying to win. I mean, that's a lot of pressure. I don't know why I kept doing this, but I don't know, the last eight years been the same way, never change.

But the last two years I've had a little break and now I got injured and I can't play anymore, giving myself a little break, and by the time I realized it, you know what, I'm still a lucky person. I don't think everybody in the world is as lucky as I am. I'm still playing what I love, the game of golf. I mean, that's the person I am and have to be always true to myself.

It takes about eight years to learn that, a little while to learn it. But now as long as I'm learning, and now it's just perfect the way I want it, so just really no complaining at all, I enjoy it and very exciting all the time.

Q. There was a time a couple of years ago when you won McDonald's in 2002 and then looked like you were getting very close to Annika, being ranked ahead of Annika, and then you go up against her at the British Open and she wins on the last hole. Was that frustrating for you, trying to catch her and then slipping back?

SE RI PAK: Not really. I mean, I know I'm always a little bit behind Annika, which anybody knows that. Everybody keeps asking me, but it doesn't really bother me at all. I know she's good, and as long as I'm trying to be on top or the best, it will carry over. One week you can play great and try to win, and next week you never know. The game of golf is never perfect. You can't expect anything from anywhere.

A lot of things to go through those questions every year, but I'm always saying, for me I think it's perfect she's there because it makes me work hard and makes me up there. It's not easy to get there, so I realize that.

Q. Were you ever trying to instead of working hard on you and your game, working thinking too much of her? Were you ever guilty of that?

SE RI PAK: Huh uh, I always work so much myself, trying to get there instead of thinking about her. I knew I felt great, I knew I could handle it, I knew I could do it. I have so much confidence in myself. Every year I start giving more and more, and not really giving myself time to take a break. Last couple years I realize that I am a human being, I'm not a machine, too. Now it just feels like it's perfect right now, I know I can be there at the top again, and I know I feel good to be playing again, so I just really does, I'm very happy right now.

Q. You said you like the way you're swinging the club now. Are you swinging the club the same way you did when you played well a few years ago, or have you made changes and you like what you've done with your swing currently?

SE RI PAK: I don't think I'm changing anything about my swing, but I always work on same stuff the way I used to with my coach. But now it seems like mature. I know what to do and I know what it should feel like. I feel like now I've taken a little break, a lot more control, which is different. Before, even though I tire, I try not to stop it. Even when I'm tired I keep working on it, keep doing it and doing it and then can't feel much. I know now when it's time to take break and when it's not.

I guess there's a lot more feel. Before I said I so much pressed myself to out there just do really well. Now I know I have a lot more control in myself out there, and swing actually is even better right now than when I played good.

Q. We walk around this golf course and we see a lot of players wearing CJ logos, a lot of young players from Korea who obviously followed you here. What kind of things do they tell you? Do you know how much they look up to you and how a lot of their being here is because of what you did when you first came out here? Like what do they say to you? Do they thank you? Do they know how you kind of paved the way for them?

SE RI PAK: Well, I think they work on their game and don't need to say thanks to me. I think they're really glad to see us here because probably we make them a lot more comfortable out here playing LPGA Tour now. I guess they think probably we are the support to them basically because they can't speak English as much as another country other players, and now they're learning, but it's a hard time to learn a new language. It's not easy to do that. But now not only me and Grace and Mi Hyun and a couple players here, again, I kind of help them a lot if they need it. I guess they really appreciate it, but at the same time really glad to see them out here and ask them for help, which is really more like a team now.

Q. What does it mean to you to see the young players, Seon Hwa Lee and Shi Hyun Ahn and young players like that out here?

SE RI PAK: I've been very proud. First time getting a lot of pressure because still, many people is expecting me out there and always want me to win, but now so many Korean young players out here play so well, they've won so many times, but now just tell me that I'm very proud of them. It's not easy out here traveling in a new country, new culture, new language, new food. I go through all those times, but now they're hitting so well and always work so hard for it and they pay for it. As I said, I'm very happy to see that.

RHONDA GLENN: Do they ever come up to you and say thank you for influencing them?

SE RI PAK: They don't really say thank you, but sometimes pretty hard to say because they're shy to say that. If it would be me I would be the same way. But they always just tell me that I'll always be there for them and they're really happy to see me out here, and they feel like comfortable out here. Not exactly say the words thank you, but I can feel that. They give the feel of the words they want to say.

Q. Do they ever call you Queen Se Ri?

SE RI PAK: (Laughing) no.

Q. Talk about the course today, how difficult it was because of the

SE RI PAK: Wet. All day long, we have a lot of drops because of all the casual water in the fairway. Still probably had to hit a lot of 4 and 3 irons to the green, which is not really easy.

Probably in the afternoon it's a lot harder because the wind right now is starting to pick up. The morning times seems like a lot easier somehow. Today's wind is not really as many as were expecting it. It's a lot longer and so much wet out there, the greens are slow. The condition of the golf course is really making it a lot harder. So I said, today to me somehow, all day long, just so much comfortable out there on the golf course, so that's why I finished so good.

Q. In your group, just an estimate, how many drops did you have in 18 holes for your whole group, 10, 12, 15?

SE RI PAK: Pretty much every hole one or two.

RHONDA GLENN: So you had like

SE RI PAK: Pretty much like

RHONDA GLENN: 30 drops?

SE RI PAK: I'd say so. I'm hitting it here and somebody else is hitting it there, so the rules official has a lot of work to do. So much water on the golf course still, but we can't do anything about it.

RHONDA GLENN: Were those all casual water drops?

SE RI PAK: Yeah, even the rough, tons of water there.

Q. I think there's 19 Korean players in this field. Any idea why the Korean women have been so successful and the Korean men not quite as successful?

SE RI PAK: Wow. I just don't know why. I mean, I don't know why the guys didn't ever try it. I think the women's probably a lot easier to get traveling instead of the guys traveling, helping out the family, I guess. The first thing, a lot more younger players, ladies it's a pretty difficult answer. I don't know why.

First of all, the guys just for us LPGA is not easy to play this Tour, but the guys, it's harder. Like there's 100 points. But guys probably 200 points to play there. Basically like you have to hit it so long and physically get ready for that.

But I guess Asian players, we don't really have tall guys, we don't have any physically strong guys. I mean, K.J. Choi is one of the strong guys in our country, but most of them pretty much skinny, not too big, not too tall. Maybe distance wise it's too hard for them, but I don't know. Don't ask me about that (laughing). Really hard for me to just answer for it.

End of FastScripts.

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