U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 5, 2002

Laura Diaz

LAURA DIAZ: It was extremely windy today. Totally different than yesterday. The greens are firmer and the fairways are firmer in the afternoon than they were in the morning. It was a day where you had to get it up-and-down a lot.

Q. (Inaudible)?

LAURA DIAZ: I think that, you know, it's important out here to try and remember that you are going to get some bounces that you don't like, and you are going to get some bounces that you really do like, too. So I think you got to take the good with the bad and just learn to roll with it.

Q. You already have had a break-through year in a lot of respects. Do you feel like you are ready to breakthrough at a major?

LAURA DIAZ: There's a lot of golf here left to play. I think that I have had a pretty good year and we're about halfway through it, and I am looking forward to the rest of the year and I looking forward to the next two days.

Q. Anything that happened so far this year you think possibly could help you as far as doing what you want to do this weekend?

LAURA DIAZ: Well, I think the last 22 years of my life probably will help me. The three and a half years I have spent on the LPGA Tour has been a fantastic experience and just a lot of different types of weather and types of conditions and I -- hopefully I will be able to draw on all of that to get through the next two days.

Q. Talk a little bit about 7, your drive, what kind of lie you had in the bunker.

LAURA DIAZ: I couldn't advance it forward, the weeds in front of the bunker were just extremely tall and being concerned that I might end up in the weeds, I just went out to the side -- you want me to talk about the whole hole.

Q. Yes.

LAURA DIAZ: I had 287, I think after that to the point and it was -- the wind was helping so I was hoping maybe I could hit a good 4-wood and get a roll and get it up there, but instead I hit a bad 4-wood; got a lie in the rough that was pretty good, made a good pitch up there, about 77 yards away, and made about a 9-footer for par.

Q. (Inaudible)

LAURA DIAZ: I don't think it's head-to-heads. We're not playing match play. I think 60 and ties (sic) make the cut. So there's a lot of great players playing. It would be, you know, fantastic if I could play with either of those players. But I am out here playing the golf course. And so is everyone else. So I don't think head-to-head is really until Solheim Cup.

No. 8 hit a good drive and I thought the wind was helping a little more and just I didn't get my approach shot to the green; didn't have a great lie, and you know, didn't make a great chip. And missed the putt.

Q. How does this course rank as far as difficulty?

LAURA DIAZ: This is extremely difficult. I think I have been comparing this all week to the British, the first British I have played at which was Lytham, the weather on Tuesday was exactly what I played in over there that year. So I think that it ranks right up there with the most difficult courses I have ever played.

Q. Getting the right club selection with the wind swirling how difficult was that?

LAURA DIAZ: It is hard but you have get to kind of focus on the front of the green. Once you make your decision just commit to it.

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