LPGA CORNING CLASSIC

May 25, 2002

Laura Diaz

LAURA DIAZ: Are we ready?

LAURA NEAL: Yes.

LAURA DIAZ: I don't know if I am, but see how it goes here. Two, birdie No. 2, I hit it just short of the green, and got it up and down with a sandwich. I tipped it to about two feet. I 3-putted No. 4 from about 30 feet above the hole. My second putt was about six feet and my third was about six as well. Five, I hit the green. I was 154 yards out, and I hit 8-iron pin-high about 30 feet left of the hole, and knocked it down to about three, four feet, and made it. What do we have next?

Q. Seven.

LAURA DIAZ: Seven, I had 144 yards. And that's for par-3, right? Yeah. And I hit 8-iron to about 15 feet right of the hole. Eight, I had 77 yards. I hit sandwich about 12 feet past the hole.

Q. What are we on?

LAURA DIAZ: Nine, I bogeyed 9. I hit it in the trees, off the tee, punched it down near the bunker. Then I didn't get it up and down. Then I birdied 12. I hit the green in two, and I lifted out my eagle putt two feet, and made it for birdie.

Q. How far was your eagle putt to start with?

LAURA DIAZ: About 24 feet. Over all, a little frustrating day. I was having a little problem getting it to the hole, as anyone who watched me told me. So it was a little frustrating out there because I wasn't really getting consistency with my putt on the greens, but when I finished today, I didn't realize I shot 69; and now looking back, I'll take my 69 because it sure felt like a lot worse than that. But, overall, probably I would just say I had a little frustrating day.

Q. Have you been in the position where you have at least held a share of the week through the first three rounds, and, if so, does that make it easier, going into tomorrow or more difficult?

LAURA DIAZ: Okay. I haven't. I didn't have any idea whether I had or not. And since I had no idea whether I did or not, I would say it doesn't really matter. To me, it's a 72-hole event. We've got 18 more holes to play. Every day, everyone's playing well, making a lot of birdies. So I think that we've made it for an exciting Sunday for the gallery, and I think that everyone will have a really good time when they come out and spectate tomorrow.

Q. Obviously, there are a lot of players within striking distance. What kind of score do you think you are going to have to shoot, to make sure that you win the tournament? What kind of score do you think is going to win this tournament tomorrow?

LAURA DIAZ: Well, I'm going to have to shoot one better than everybody else, whatever that is. I don't know. I don't ever go out with a number in mind. As I've said in the past two days that I've been in here, I guess it's three days that I've been in here, I go out trying to make 18 birdies, and I have yet to do that. So we'll go out tomorrow, and try and make 18 birdies again, and then hopefully I'll see you back in here tomorrow after the day's over with.

Q. Talk about your putting a little bit. As you mentioned, you had a lot of opportunities that just barely got by. It wasn't that you were missing by a lot, but some putts that came up just short or just slipped by. Is there anything that you want to work on for tomorrow, to try and see to make some of those putts go in, just from a mechanical standpoint or a psychological standpoint?

LAURA DIAZ: No, you know, kind of the game of golf, sometimes you make the putts, sometimes you don't. I had a lot of putts that hit the edge today and just didn't fall, and it's unfortunate, and it's frustrating when you're out there, but I'm not -- there's nothing mechanically that I did wrong. It's just one of those days where I didn't make very many putts. So hopefully tomorrow will be more similar to Thursday, where I managed to hit it close and capitalize on those opportunities that I had to make birdie.

Q. I notice a lot of players were -- it wasn't just you. There were a lot of players that were missing a lots of putts that were just going by, breaking a little bit more than they thought. Are the greens playing any differently than you expected or any differently than they did earlier this week?

LAURA DIAZ: I don't think so. I think Corning is a place to where the greens are very undulated. You know, you have to be very careful when you're putting because, above the hole, whether or not you think it's slick or not, it ends up being pretty quick, and then you've got to shape all of your putts. There is no straight putt out here, maybe if it's two feet. But it's just one of those courses where you really get to design your putts and your shot. It gives you a little more freedom than some other places, and it also makes it a little more challenging than other courses.

Q. So you're going to be paired with Rosie tomorrow. What's that going to be like. She's obviously been here a lot of times, got a good crowd, it will be a good showdown, the two of you playing together.

LAURA DIAZ: Well, I'll be paired with Rosie, but there are a lot of other players on the field and there are a lot of other girls that are close to the numbers that rosy and I are at. Personally, I think it's a going to be a great group for the gallery because I have said earlier that I could hear Rosie's gallery ahead of me, and we had a great gallery following up today. So I think it's going to be a really exciting day tomorrow, and I hope everyone comes out and watches.

Q. When the year started, you still have the first victory and now, you know, you got it earlier this season going into tomorrow. Is there more confidence going in tomorrow than there would have been say before your first win this year?

LAURA DIAZ: Well, I think that a win gives you confidence. I don't know that it's going to do a whole lot for me tomorrow or not, because I won two months ago, and this is a new day and a new course, and it's helpful because I know that I can win, but I still have to go out and play really good golf to do that. So, you know, my focus tomorrow will just be on making 18 birdies, and really trying hard to stay in my own bubble, as my caddie called it out there today, because there are so many great players who are playing well, it's really all about what I can do on my own, and not what anyone else can do.

Q. It's got to be still kind of reassuring to yourself that, judging by when you said over the first three rounds, that you really -- you know, your game hasn't been too -- you know, hasn't been perfect in your eyes, or not perfect but not, you know -- you still find there's room for improvement. Is it encouraging to be in this position, considering you haven't played that round that you started to visualize maybe as an ideal type of round?

LAURA DIAZ: I think it's always encouraging to be at 12 under par through three rounds. I feel pretty good about everything. My swing feels pretty good, my putting feels pretty good. You know, it's just kind of one of those days today, where my putting wasn't quite as sharp as it could have been. So just go practice a little and get a good dinner at the Palms Restaurant, you know, Myra, and come back out, then see it up tomorrow.

LAURA NEAL: Thank you very much.

LAURA DIAZ: Thanks.

End of FastScripts....