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SEMGROUP CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY JOHN Q. HAMMONSMay 3, 2007Morgan PresselBROKEN ARROW, OKLAHOMA PAM WARNER: Thank you for coming in and joining us today. You've had a great season so far. You've had three Top-10 finishes, including a win at Kraft Nabisco Championship becoming the youngest LPGA member to win a major. Just talk about your season so far. MORGAN PRESSEL: So far it's been a lot of fun. I've really had some great success this year, especially like you said the first major, and in the others I've just been playing pretty well. My last tournament was a bit of a disappointment, but that's behind me now and I'm ready to continue playing well. PAM WARNER: It's your first time in this tournament. Talk about being in Tulsa. MORGAN PRESSEL: This is my first trip to Tulsa and I've really enjoyed it so far. This is a great city; everybody is so nice and it's a great golf course. I always heard so much about it in terms of how the golf course really suits my game pretty well, which it does, and so I'm looking forward to playing this week. Q. You said "first" major win; so you plan on winning other majors; right? MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, it's definitely a goal. Q. Talk about what it's like? You've been out on the course. MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, I haven't been out -- I didn't play yesterday, so I'm going to go out this afternoon. But I did play Tuesday, in the rain, and it wasn't too bad out there but that was before a lot of the rain had come through. So I'm sure it's going to be a little wet. But the course did seem to drain pretty well, so we'll see. Q. Traditionally, this has been known as a pretty tough course. What were your first thoughts when you walked it? MORGAN PRESSEL: I think it is a very tough course, especially now with all of the rain, it's playing extremely long, and I'm hitting a lot of fairways woods, at least in practice to some of the greens. You know, the greens are pretty tough, and you have to putt well. Q. Who has been a bigger help regarding handling success, your grandfather or your uncle? MORGAN PRESSEL: My grandfather I would say definitely. I talk to my uncle a bit about it, but I spend a lot of time around my grandfather and he's definitely helped me keep my head on my shoulders. Q. Can you elaborate on that; is it his experience with his own son, is he able to transfer that helping you? MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, I'm sure -- I know he's learned a lot, or he had learned a lot through raising Aaron (Krickstein) and knows what it takes to be a top professional athlete, and he's taken the same ideas to help me. Q. You're friends with Cristie Kerr, and she mentioned she likes having a target on her back as the defending champ. How much does that amp you up to know you're competing with your friends this weekend? MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, she's won her share of events and hopefully I'll win mine. I'm playing with her tomorrow, so that will be fun. But, you know, she's out here to win this week just as much as I'm out here to win and everybody else. So it will be a tough competition. It's a good field. Q. You're still 18, right? MORGAN PRESSEL: Yeah. Q. What is your schooling situation? Are you finished with high school? MORGAN PRESSEL: Mm-hmm. Q. When did you graduate? MORGAN PRESSEL: Last May. Q. Are you looking at college or not? MORGAN PRESSEL: Not at the moment. At the moment I'm just out here concentrating on the Tour and see where that takes me for now. Q. Can you talk about what went through your mind, when you saw the ball went in the hole -- (inaudible.) MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, I didn't see the golf ball go in but I was standing in the fairway and I knew that it hit the flag, everybody cheered. Obviously it was just a "wow" moment where I was like, "Did that really just happen?" And you know, looking back on it, you have to take it as an experience where I put myself in a great position, and that's golf and things like that happen. Q. Did it help your career, getting that close? MORGAN PRESSEL: Yeah, it gave me a lot of confidence. But I mean, I always -- I always knew that I had the ability to do it. Just some things need to click, you need to get a little lucky sometimes. Q. Losing your clubs after the Kraft Nabisco, have the other ones been fine, no problem? MORGAN PRESSEL: Yeah, my new clubs have been great. Callaway was great in getting a new set to me as fast as possible. Within a couple of days, had a whole new set at home. I've actually switched a couple of clubs I'm playing now with the FT-5 driver, and this will be my first tournament with that. And I put an X Hybrid club in my bag which is going to be the first hybrid I've ever played. So it will be -- I'm really -- I really lost clubs, which otherwise I wouldn't put them in, having tested them only for a week or so. Q. Were they the same irons that you had before? MORGAN PRESSEL: Yeah, they are exactly the same. Everything is the same, the same irons, the X-Forged and the rest of the fairway woods and wedges are the same. Q. No news on the lost clubs? MORGAN PRESSEL: Nothing right now. I don't know, we haven't found them yet. We have people looking. (Laughter). Q. Before coming here, did you do any research on this course, like ask around, other players, Cristie or Natalie or anybody? MORGAN PRESSEL: I just had heard a lot. My coach has been here and he said, "It's a really great course for you because it's tight, it's narrow and it's a shot-maker's golf course." Other than that, I didn't really know that much about the golf course, no. It's hard to learning things without seeing it. Q. You seem really at ease in this situation for someone in your age, and it's because you've been exposed to it in the past I suppose; how long did it take you to get acclimated to these people and being in front of the cameras, that situation? How long did it take to get comfortable and how do you feel now? MORGAN PRESSEL: I don't really remember. It really started when I was 12, so I have been doing it for a while, and you know, I qualified for the Open and there was a lot going on there. I've always been pretty outgoing, and I don't get too nervous in this sort of situation. Q. You've been on Conan O'Brien and some other shows, so not phased by any of that stuff; just swallowed your tongue? MORGAN PRESSEL: Yeah, it's fine, it's a great experience. It's a great opportunity for me, and I just have to be myself. Q. One of the things everybody talks about and it's been done to death is the whole batch of young stars that are rising. Do you embrace that, being a part of that and what it can mean to the LPGA, or does that not mean so much to you personally? MORGAN PRESSEL: Oh, it means a lot. I think it's a great place for the LPGA Tour to be in right now, and I'm honored to be a part of that list of the young stars and the young Americans. You know, I think that especially the way the season has gone, the first half, the first part of the season so far, it's looking pretty good. You know, I hope to continue to help carry that. Q. Beyond that, you know, with Annika being hurt and Michelle hurt a little bit, do you feel like you're carrying the mantle now of stars? MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, you know, we're just out here -- there's plenty of depth on this tour and we're just out to play well every week. Some days, some weeks I will play well and some weeks I don't. That's just how it happens and you can't feel pressure to have to perform. In the end, I'm out here performing for myself. Q. Winning a major obviously gave you a chance to have a big splurge; did you buy yourself anything? MORGAN PRESSEL: I went shopping a little bit but nothing, not too bad. I was pretty reserved, for me especially. (Laughing). Q. I'm from Arkansas; do you know if you're playing at the first-year tournament they are having? MORGAN PRESSEL: I don't know yet. I'm not sure about that. Q. You mentioned Michelle. For the people who don't follow the LPGA, you mentioned the younger stars and the first person comes to mind is Michelle, and she may be the person that's played the least of you guys on the Tour. Does that ever bug you a little bit; just that she's the big name and you guys are the ones that spend more time on Tour? MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, she's had a great PR person behind her and she's really marketed herself very well, and especially wanting to play men's events, and that's how she gets it. You know, we definitely have played more than she has out here, but she's a great player and when she does come out, she played well, so looking forward to coming back. Q. If you want a better PR person, let me know. MORGAN PRESSEL: Oh, okay. (Laughter). Q. Is your grandfather here this week? MORGAN PRESSEL: He's right there. (Indicating). Q. We know Michelle is not going to be here because of the injury but there is a new No. 1 player, Lorena Ochoa and she doesn't have a huge following. Talk about what you see in her and her solid play? MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, Lorena is an unbelievable champion, obviously tremendous player, and she's just so consistent. She just manages to stay right at the top of the leaderboard every week. And even when she has a poor round, she bounces back like last week, with a 64. It's so much fun to play with her and to watch her play, because she just knows how to get the golf ball in the hole. Q. Are you aware of the -- I know you're aware of it, when you play with her, do you see the attraction she has from the Mexican people who follow her around? MORGAN PRESSEL: Oh, absolutely. Well, I didn't play in México this year, but last year, I played in Morelia, the tournament that was last week, and I had never seen anything like it really. It was unbelievable. You heard "Lorena" cheers coming from just about every grandstand, and it was really cool. She handled it so well and that's why everybody loves her. Q. Is it like that when she's here in the States, too? MORGAN PRESSEL: Yeah, but it's not because there are so much Mexicans here as there would be in México, but yeah, there are people, I haven't played with her that much, but you do see that she gets quite a following. Q. The flags and stuff like that that you don't normally see? MORGAN PRESSEL: Exactly. Q. There was a woman who tried to Monday qualify for the Nationwide Tour at Fort Smith; is that something you ever thought about trying to do? Or if you got a sponsor's exemption offered to you, would you do that? MORGAN PRESSEL: I doubt it. Not right now, anyways. PAM WARNER: Thank you very much, Morgan. End of FastScripts |
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