MCDONALD'S LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY AIG

June 6, 2002

Beth Daniel

Q. Thanks, Beth, for coming in. Nice round today.

Q. It might be of interest to you guys, it ties her career low opening round in a major championship, so off to a good start. You want to talk a little bit about that?

BETH DANIEL: Yeah. I mean, I am really, really pleased with how I played today. You know, I was trying to play smart golf out there, I was trying to hit as many fairways as I could, stay out of the rough, and then play smart into the greens, and for the most part, I managed to do that.

So, you know, that was -- I had pretty good control over my swing and my shots today and I putted extremely well today.

So all in all, I am very, very pleased with it.

Q. Does it feel -- how does it feel to -- this is a major, it's been awhile since you have been in here on the first day, hasn't it, of a major championship?

BETH DANIEL: Well, what was Nabisco, I was in on, what, the second day?

Q. Second day?

BETH DANIEL: If Laura was nice, she would have brought me in on the first day, too, at Nabisco, but since she doesn't like me, she decided not to bring me in.

No, I played well the first two rounds at Nabisco so I feel like I was right in there, and that's kind of a golf course that I don't have a real history of playing real well on; this course I do have a history of playing real well on, so it doesn't surprise me to be here the first round.

You know, I feel pretty good about my golf game but it's been a bit inconsistent, where I have played very good rounds, and then I have played some rounds where I shoot like three or four over, and that's been a little frustrating as of late, but I am trying to kind of figure that out a little bit.

Sorry guys, I am like sweating and it's freezing in here.

Q. Beth, you and Betsy are kind of unusual in that a lot of players -- and I can say this because I am kind of in your same age range -- but a player at your age sometimes is thinking about other things than being out here as much as you are and playing as well as you are. I mean, just your thoughts on that.

BETH DANIEL: Well, I am thinking about other things at this point. You know, golf is not probably my main focus right now in my life. There are some things that I would like to do, but for right now I have got 18 tournaments on my schedule this year, and I am fine with playing those, and the rest of the time I am home, and I am very happy when I am home. As a matter of fact, it's real hard to leave home to come out and play.

But I still enjoy it. I think the thing that I enjoy the most now is kind of getting with the younger players, and that still makes it fun for me to be out here, and I have never minded working on my golf game.

As a matter of fact, when I am home I will go out to the range and beat balls in the afternoon and chip and putt. I will probably do that for the rest of my life just because I -- I mean, I would almost rather be on the range than a golf course. That's a fault of mine, almost.

So -- and I think Betsy is the same way. She kind of likes to practice, so, you know, we have been able to keep our games a little sharper at this point than some people our age, because of that.

But, I mean, I don't feel old. Like Nabisco, it really bugged me that they kept saying on TV the whole weekend, 45-year-old Beth Daniel for a birdie putt here from ten feet. 45-year-old Beth Daniel teeing off, the 10th hole.

I mean, that's like -- that was like my new first name; Beth was like my middle name. 45-year-old was like my first name, and that really kind of bugged me because, really, what is age? Age is a state of mind, pretty much.

You have got guys on the PGA tour that are in their 40s winning golf tournaments. Why can't you have women 45 years old winning golf tournaments?

So that kind of bothers me when people say that, but in a way I take it as a compliment, too.

Q. It might be that there have been fewer women who are in their 40s who are competitive on this tour than, say, men in their 40s who are competitive on the PGA tour.

BETH DANIEL: Well, I don't know. I mean, I can think of a few off the top of my head. I mean, Carner won in her 40s, Sandra Spuzich won in her 40s, Pat Bradley won in her 40s. Come on, Laura, help me out. Betsy King, Juli Inkster. So, you know, we have got a few out here that --

Q. Early 40s, though.

BETH DANIEL: Yeah, but I am not late 40s yet.

Q. Middle 40s.

BETH DANIEL: You guys are like digging my grave for me.

Q. Beth, do you still have the burning desire to win?

BETH DANIEL: I don't know about burning desire. I don't have the burning desire to compete like I used to. But I do enjoy -- I do enjoy it, but I just don't do it as much. And I think that hurts you.

I think the more you compete, and the more you are in the heat, the more your body gets used to that. The less you do it, the less your body gets used to it. And it's really important.

That's why you see players that are in contention week in and week out, they are the ones that win. The ones who pop up there every once in a while usually don't win because their bodies aren't used to that adrenaline flow and all the other things that go with it.

Q. Was the heat present at Nabisco and could you take something from that and apply it here this weekend?

BETH DANIEL: Well, I think so. I only had one really bad round at Nabisco and that was Saturday, and I shot, I think, 1 over or something. Or did I shoot worse than that? I can't remember. I had -- Saturday was my bad round. So, you know, I think the more I kind of put myself in these situations, if I can -- I mean, ideally I would like to play 15 tournaments a year and be in contention in all 15. But that doesn't -- you know, it doesn't work that way.

Q. Do you think, sort of, your veteran savvy was helping you out there today? It seems like a lot of people are fading out there and not able to sustain --

BETH DANIEL: Well, I don't know if it had to do with veteran savvy, I am not sure I have ever had that, but I just think that I -- you know, I was well in control of my golf game today and I think I had so much confidence over the putter today that, you know, I didn't have fear on other shots. And, you know, I was hitting it, basically, where I wanted to hit it, hitting the shots I wanted to hit, and things were working my way.

You know, I told somebody when I finished, I said, "There is a fine line between 4 under and 3 or 4 over," because the two players that I played with both shot over par, and if you were out there watching them you would not have believed that both of them were that much over par.

So they -- the way this golf course is right now, there is a very, very, very fine line shooting a good number and shooting a bad number.

Q. When you say "the way the golf course is now," what do you mean by that, what's out there?

BETH DANIEL: The rough is very high and the greens are very, very firm and fast. I think in my -- and I have played -- I think I have played every tournament here that's been at DuPont. This is the quickest the greens have ever been.

And they are pretty slopey greens. They are fast. And it's also the highest I have ever seen the rough. I don't mind -- I don't necessarily mind that, but it just makes it a very, very fine line between playing well and not playing well. You don't have to be that far off to not play well.

Q. Beth, do you recall the conditions when you won here in 1990? Was it sunny? Was it raining? What was it?

BETH DANIEL: It was raining, I believe, it rained and it was cold the whole week. The course played long.

Q. Having been on the tour for a while, take us through the last (inaudible) changes you have seen and where the game will likely go.

BETH DANIEL: Well, I mean, in a nutshell, I would just say that there is more depth out here, more players that are capable of winning, and stronger players, you know, women's golf, players hit it longer, they are able to hit more golf shots, but there are just a lot more players that can win now, and that's just going to continue to increase.

Q. Beth, you also won this tournament before it came here, I think it was --

BETH DANIEL: White Manor.

Q. White Manor. What do you remember about that?

BETH DANIEL: About White Manor?

Q. About the tournament, about winning there. Anything come to mind?

BETH DANIEL: I don't remember a lot about that tournament. I beat Carner in a playoff. We had the lead going into the final round, and I hit an incredible shot -- I still have the tape of the shot that I hit. It was an incredible shot from the trees on the left side of the 16th fairway to hit it up about 8 feet and made the putt for birdie to win it.

As a matter of fact, I played a practice round here with JoAnne, and we were talking about some of the things that happened that week. Both of us remember a lot about that tournament.

Q. Can you talk about the long putter and what it's done for your putting game? Do you feel like you have more confidence with it or is it something you are still trying to get used to?

BETH DANIEL: I think it's -- you know, it's like learning a new skill. I have played the rest of golf for -- since I was eight years old -- well, six years old when I started playing golf, and I have played with a long putter for just over two years, so it's still a skill that I am learning, but I wish I had gone to it earlier, I really do, because I feel like I see the line better when I stand up more.

I am much more comfortable over the putter. I was never at any time, as a kid or at any time since I have played golf, I was never comfortable with a short putter, I just could never get set up the same way two times.

And, you know, with this I feel like I can.

Q. Just noticing hole number 8, the par 3 has been giving people problems, I guess. Is there anything particular on that hole you are looking for? What was your thought process on number 8?

BETH DANIEL: I don't want to give away all my secrets, but number 8 is a green that goes away from you, so my idea there is if you are going to miss it, miss it short, because you can get it up and down from anywhere short of the green, you can't get it up and down from over the green, and I think that what's happening is that hole is playing into the wind today, and you are having to take a club, if you fly it on the green, it's not holding it, it's going to the back.

You know, I hit a 4-iron there and just knocked it on the front of the green. It actually landed short, but it jumped up just on the front of the green, and I had about a 30-footer, which is fine with me on that hole because it was a 30-footer uphill.

Q. Was there anything you did particularly well today that you haven't been doing?

BETH DANIEL: Well, I think I putted well, but I have been putting well lately. I have been rolling the ball very, very well, but I putted extremely well today.

Q. Beth, let's see your scorecard.

BETH DANIEL: Okay. I bogeyed the second hole, I drove it in the rough and drew a terrible lie, and just took a wedge and wedged it out on the fairway, but I was able to advance it enough where I had a sand wedge for my third shot, knocked a sand wedge 12 feet, and made it for par.

4, I birdied -- oh, wait, I bogeyed it. I went over number 3. See, I am getting senile, too.

2, what did I do on 2? I missed the green on the front bunker, I blasted it out to about 10 feet and I missed it, so made bogey there. 3 is where I missed the fairway, wedged it out, wedged it on the green and made a 12-footer for par.

Then 4 I hit -- I think I hit a 9-iron in there. 9-iron to 6 feet, made that for birdie.

5, the par 3, I came up short on the front of the green and had about a 40-footer and made it. So that was kind of a gift.

Then 9 I just had a sand wedge in and knocked that up 6 feet below the hole, made that.

11, I actually went for 11 in two, came up short, hit a flop shot over the bunker 3 feet, made that for birdie.

13, again, I came up short, I hit a 4-iron, came up just on the front of the green and made a 60-footer for birdie, so that was another gift.

And 16 I hit a 3-iron on the green in two, about 35 feet, and two-putted, and I made probably about a 5-footer down the hill, coming back for the birdie.

And on 18 I hit a 3-wood off the tee, tried to hit it too hard, hooked it into the creek, dropped out and knocked it to the front fringe, and two-putted there for bogey.

So two bogeys, six birdies.

Q. I have a question. Beth, how motivated are you by the Solheim Cup this year?

BETH DANIEL: I don't know.

Q. Do you want to play?

BETH DANIEL: You know what? I have talked to Patty about it, and I told Patty, if I am playing well, I want to play. If I am not playing well, I told her I would be the first one to tell her not to pick me.

You know, I have played five Solheim Cups. I would like to play, it's a great golf course, it's a great event, but, you know, if there is a younger player that's playing better than me, then more power to them, go for it, go play.

Q. You keep talking about younger players. What do you think about Annika? I guess you could say she is still a younger player, although she is getting closer to being middle-aged. What's your thoughts on her? In '90 you had a monster season, I believe it was '90.

BETH DANIEL: It was '90.

Q. So what do you think?

BETH DANIEL: Well, I think Annika is -- I mean, she is very focused on golf, she is very disciplined individual, and I think discipline is like -- might even be the number 1 quality in a champion. She is as disciplined as they come.

She has grooved her golf game, she has the best equipment for her to play well, you know, all matched to her needs. And she works very hard, not only at her golf, she works very hard at her physical fitness.

She works a lot on balance, which is something that, oddly enough, I worked a lot on balance the winter before the 1990 season. You can't overemphasize how important balance is in the golf swing or in the golf game, in general.

And, you know, she has got the confidence. She believes she should win every tournament, I think, that she tees it up, and she just about does that.

Q. Is there any other player that you have played with in your career who Annika reminds you of then?

BETH DANIEL: I don't know. You know, I hate to compare players. I mean, there have been other players that have been as disciplined, as focused.

Q. Just with all the parts?

BETH DANIEL: Uh-huh. She has put it all together.

Q. Do you ever wonder "what if," with all the injuries you have gone through, Beth?

BETH DANIEL: I don't think you can look at it -- I just don't think you can look at it that way. I mean, I would be -- why? What's the reason of looking at it that way? I choose not to do it.

Yeah, I have had a lot of injuries. You know, but that's just been part of it. Actually, with all the injuries that I have had, I am pretty fortunate that I am still playing, really, if you look at it that way. But that's part of sport.

There are players in any sport that you look at and some have a lot of injuries, some don't. That's just one of the things to deal with. I don't know.

Q. You talked about working on balance. What sort of things are you talking about?

BETH DANIEL: I actually swung -- would swing a golf club standing on a balance beam, things like that. I worked a lot on a balance beam at that point in time. I still work on balance. But now I don't do -- I still have my balance beam, but I don't use it.

I have those -- they are two little round, kind of, foot pad things that are filled with air, and they are very unstable, and you swing golf clubs on those. I work a lot with Physioball, try to kneel on a Physioball and keep yourself upright. Just things like that that are real important for golf.

Q. When you had a balance beam, you are not talking about a tall beam?

BETH DANIEL: What I did is -- no, I wasn't that dumb. I am now Nadia Comenech [ph]. I can see me doing flips on a balance beam with a golf club in my hand. No, what I did is I put big sponges under either end so it made it real unstable. The balance beam was probably 9 feet long.

Q. Have you ever worked with those balance boards?

BETH DANIEL: Uh-huh. I have some of those. I worked with those a lot, still do.

Q. Did you do exercises for your legs or --

BETH DANIEL: Yeah, but look at them. They are strong, though, they are like filly legs. But I do a lot of exercises to strengthen my legs, but they don't build, my legs don't build.

The only thing on my body that builds are my shoulders. The soccer players who are my friends give me the hardest time about my legs because they are so thin, but yeah, I do a lot of stuff.

I think the most important exercises you can do for golf are to strengthen your inner and outer legs, because you think about in a golf swing, how much you use them, so I do a lot of things, a lot of my exercise now is directed towards strengthening the inner and outer leg muscles. See, I am giving away all my secrets, you know.

End of FastScripts....