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MCDONALD'S LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY COCA-COLA

June 8, 2006

Nicole Castrale

HAVRE DE GRACE, MARYLAND

PAM WARNER: Nicole, welcome to the media center. Thanks for taking the time to spend with us today. Great round out there. 8 under, 64. I think you tied the low round for first round for this tournament. Do you just want to talk about your day.

NICOLE CASTRALE: Great. You know, it was a fun day out there. I really had a good group. We all started off pretty well and we all played well.

So it was fun.

PAM WARNER: What were the conditions of the course like?

NICOLE CASTRALE: The golf course is in unbelievable shape.

The fairways are great, the greens are good, the rough's long. So it's in great shape.

PAM WARNER: We'll take questions for Nicole.

Q. This round kind of come out of the blue for you or had you been building toward this?

NICOLE CASTRALE: No, I've been playing pretty well the last couple weeks. I just haven't felt like I've gotten a whole lot out of my rounds. My golf coach Bill Harmon came out to Wykagyl a couple weeks back and so it was nice to work on a few things and I just really had to stay patient, because I know I've been playing well and just not really scoring.

Q. Would this qualify as your career round? And if not, what is?

NICOLE CASTRALE: This is my career low round. I've shot 65 before. So this, yes, this is my lowest.

Q. Did you have any sense coming in?

NICOLE CASTRALE: Like I said, I have been playing pretty well. I felt like it's going to come. It's just a matter of having to stay patient. Because I've been hitting it well and just hadn't been scoring the last couple weeks.

Q. What was it like to look up on the leaderboard and see your name at the top?

NICOLE CASTRALE: You know, I don't pay a whole lot of attention to leaderboards. I saw it a couple times. But really I was just trying to take care of myself and just hit fairways and greens out there today.

Q. Did the nerves ever get to you? I noticed you backed off a shot three times on the fourth fairway there.

NICOLE CASTRALE: The fourth fairway? Um, no, I think that maybe I didn't look at my target or whatnot. I was just trying to execute one shot at a time and just go from there.

PAM WARNER: We'll go over your scorecard.

Q. Talk about your career to date. Are you pleased with where it is? Do you think you should be doing more? Give yourself kind of a career assessment.

NICOLE CASTRALE: I had a couple setbacks the last few years and, you know, I've worked hard, like I said, with my golf coach, and my husband Craig caddies for me, so we have worked really hard on all aspects of the game.

And, you know, I think people play well at different times in their life and hopefully this is my time. And like I said, we have worked really hard and we have just really worked on trying to hit fairways and greens and everything else from there will take care of itself.

Q. Setbacks injury wise or anything we can discuss?

NICOLE CASTRALE: I had a couple injury setbacks.

Q. What were the injuries? What were they?

NICOLE CASTRALE: I had three rotator cuff surgeries. I was in a car accident and that kind of triggered it.

Q. Which shoulder?

NICOLE CASTRALE: My right and left.

Q. You obviously do your homework, Nicole. We obviously haven't done our homework.

NICOLE CASTRALE: That's okay.

Q. When was the car accident?

NICOLE CASTRALE: It was my senior year at SC.

Q. I did some homework.

NICOLE CASTRALE: Yeah, my senior year at SC and I was just on the freeway in L.A. and got rear ended. So everything happens for a reason, and you know, obviously I wish that it hadn't happened, but I think it's only made me stronger and to have a drive to work harder.

If I didn't want it, I think I could have easily given up a couple times. But this is what I want to do and I know I have the talent and I just go from there.

Q. Were you pretty badly hurt in the accident?

NICOLE CASTRALE: I tore my rotator cuff and had a bad whiplash and anytime you get in a car accident I don't think you come out too good.

Q. How long were you not able to play after that?

NICOLE CASTRALE: You know, I thought I was tough so I figured, oh, I can play with it torn, which I did for maybe about a year and a half.

And so as a result of that, you know, I obviously made it worse.

So I've had a couple months off here and there, but it was nothing ever career ending or obviously and whatnot, you know. I'm just a big believer that things happen for a reason and we get to certain places in our life and that was mine and I have gotten stronger from it.

Q. When did you start to feel like you were totally healthy? Is it just this season?

NICOLE CASTRALE: I would say the past about year and a half. I had a great off season with my strength trainer and my golf coach. And like I said, my husband caddies for me and we practice every day during the off season together with my coach. So it was a great off season.

Q. You said things happen for a reason. What was the reason for it?

NICOLE CASTRALE: You know, it just wasn't my time. I mean, everyone peaks at different times in their life, some people at 18 years old and some people at 30 years old and I can't ask why it happened. It did, and I'm just going to move on from there.

Q. What's it like having your husband as your caddy?

NICOLE CASTRALE: It's great, because he knows me better than anyone obviously. And you know, the fact that we practice together, he knows every shot I can hit and can't hit. So under the heat, he knows if I can pull a shot off. He's my best friend, so we have fun out there and it's been great.

Q. He's always been your caddy?

NICOLE CASTRALE: No. I mean, we when I had conditional status in 2002 out here, that's where we met. And he had been caddying out here for five years or six years. So he's caddied for me for the last year and a half.

Q. Does he know you better than you know you?

NICOLE CASTRALE: Probably. Probably.

Q. His name is Greg?

NICOLE CASTRALE: Yes.

Q. With a G?

NICOLE CASTRALE: C. C. Craig.

Q. Craig. I'm sorry.

NICOLE CASTRALE: That's okay.

Q. How much did winning last year sort of give you the confidence to keep going and to get back out here and think you could do something out here?

NICOLE CASTRALE: Right. Well, obviously finishing in the Top 5 on the Futures Tour was our main goal going into last year. Winning twice was awesome because they were my first two professional wins and I think whether you win on the Futures Tour or any other mini tour out here, you're still winning. And I think that you're nervous under the gun and you still have to pull shots off. So playing on the Futures Tour was a great stepping stone for me.

Q. Does this have, obviously have a different feel to it than the Futures Tour?

NICOLE CASTRALE: You know, I mean, obviously the arena is much larger and there's more fans out here, but you know, when it's all said and done, a 7 iron is a 7 iron, really, no matter where you are, what golf course you're on.

Q. During your round does your husband say anything to you? Does he calm you down? Does he talk you down over the wall?

NICOLE CASTRALE: No. I mean, we never once talked about where I was or great birdie there or anything. We just hit fairways and greens and obviously made some putts and just kept going with it.

There was nothing to talk about, because I was doing it well. So we just went with it.

PAM WARNER: Let's go over your scorecard.

NICOLE CASTRALE: Sure. I teed off on 10. Let's start there. Okay.

I parred 10. I birdied 11.

I made about a 20 footer there.

PAM WARNER: What did you hit up there?

NICOLE CASTRALE: I hit about 95 yards, so I just hit a gap wedge.

12, I parred.

13, I parred.

14, I made birdie. I hit an 8 iron in there and made it from 10 feet.

15, I made birdie. And I was just short of the green in two and chipped it to about four feet and made that for birdie.

16, I had about 80 yards and just hit one of my sand wedges to a foot and made birdie.

17, I made par there.

18, I hit a grip 8 iron to about eight feet, made that for birdie.

Q. Did you say grip 8 iron?

NICOLE CASTRALE: Grip 8 iron.

Q. That's a different one. Which is?

NICOLE CASTRALE: Well, it's 8 iron.

Q. A knock down?

NICOLE CASTRALE: Yeah, it's taking some off of

Q. Okay. I like that. I just hadn't heard it.

NICOLE CASTRALE: Yeah.

No. 1, I made birdie. That was from about 80 yards again. That was from six feet.

No. 2, I made birdie. That was another grip 9 iron, to six feet. Made birdie.

8, I hit it just short of the green and putted it off from the fringe to about a foot and a half and made birdie.

And 9, I made par.

Q. How are you going to sleep on this lead? Easily or

NICOLE CASTRALE: Great. I got to get some rest. I got an early tee time tomorrow.

PAM WARNER: Any other questions? Thank you.

Q. You were a fairly decorated junior player from what I read in the press guide. Has it been difficult for you to come out here and struggle after having so much success and as a junior and in college?

NICOLE CASTRALE: You know, I wouldn't say I never struggled. I wouldn't say I struggled. I would just say I never put it all together. And there were parts of my game that were weaker than they were, and I needed to work on it. And I needed to get better if I wanted to compete out here. It's a whole different ball game out here.

Q. Can you win the tournament? Do you have any question about that?

NICOLE CASTRALE: Hopefully if I keep hitting fairways and greens, you know, I mean, really it all goes back to that. I can't try to win the tournament. We got 54 more holes, so if winning the tournament's in my mind, then I'm not going to be able to execute the shot at hand. And if I do what I can, then, you know, if I'm the best, you know, on top, and I play better than everyone else, then I think I can win.

Q. Was that 65 on the Futures Tour?

NICOLE CASTRALE: Yes.

Q. But this is the lowest on this Tour?

NICOLE CASTRALE: Right.

Q. You finished fourth earlier this year. Have you led did you lead at all in that event?

NICOLE CASTRALE: No. I think I was maybe one back was the closest I had gotten there.

Q. First time in the press room?

NICOLE CASTRALE: Yes. You guys are friendly.

Q. It's not always this cold by the way.

NICOLE CASTRALE: That's okay.

PAM WARNER: Anything else? Thank you, Nicole.

NICOLE CASTRALE: No problem. Thanks.

End of FastScripts.

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