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LPGA CORNING CLASSIC

May 26, 2007

Beth Bader

CORNING, NEW YORK

ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Thanks for joining us again. You were 4-under today and you enter tomorrow in a three-way tie for the lead. Can you talk about your day?
BETH BADER: Yeah. 4 or 3-under? I think I was 3-under.
ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Okay. We'll check that. Yeah.
BETH BADER: Today was a little different story than the first few days. I knew it was going to be a little bit more difficult with the crowd and the media. I had a couple shaky holes, but I made some good recoveries out of trees.
So I was happy with the way I held strong. Towards the middle of the round I was getting rocky and was able to get through that and posted a good number today.
ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Can we go over your scorecard, starting with the eagle on 2?
BETH BADER: Yes. I hit actually -- it was a little downwind today. I hit 9-iron into that green, driver 9. I had 130 front and 140 to the pin, and I hit 9-iron to about 25 feet below the pin and rammed in the eagle, which was a good way to get started.
6, I hit it in the fairway and had, you know, just a little pitching wedge in there and I hit it fat. I left it short and just didn't get up and down there.
ASHLEY CUSHMAN: How are were you from the hole?
BETH BADER: Oh, from the wedge shot? Like 125 yards. And then like 5 yards off the green.
ASHLEY CUSHMAN: And 2-putt there?
BETH BADER: Yes.
ASHLEY CUSHMAN: And 10?
BETH BADER: 10 was actually a good birdie. I kind of pushed my tee shot into the right rough, but I luckily had a little bit of an opening and hit -- punched a little 9-iron up there. I had like 98 yards and hit it pin high right 10 feet and made the putt.
13, was a good hole. I was kind of hitting my driver off line a little bit, so I finally got that one down the middle. I believe I had like 128 pin and hit a really good 9-iron in there just over the pin.
Had like an 8 or 10-footer downhill and made that putt, so that was a good momentum boost for me there.
ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Questions for Beth.

Q. Just checking the Golf Channel, you were tied for third entering the final round in the tournament before. Could you go over how that was and (indiscernible.)
BETH BADER: I think you're talking about Youngstown, Ohio which happened maybe four years ago. So, yeah, that's one that I still felt I was just kind of a spring chicken out here.
So I was excited to play in it might have been the second to the last group then or something.
But I just feel like I've developed more as a player these last couple years. I felt really comfortable out there, although I did get a little nervous. I still felt good and focused on my goal ahead of me.
I was just pleased the way I had a couple of those holes that could have gone a little awry and they didn't. I hit a couple good shots there and had a couple really good putts coming down the stretch.
I like to think I matured a little bit and I'm able to keep my frustration and my anger a little bit better. So it was very good.

Q. You'll be playing in threesomes tomorrow instead of twosomes. Does that make any difference to you as far as the pace goes?
BETH BADER: No. Because this is a pretty fast golf course anyway. It doesn't take a lot time from the greens if you move pretty fast.
Three might be kind of nice, because we kind of felt like we got a little behind today. I felt like I was rushing about four holes just to catch up with the group in front of us. So three actually will maybe slow us down a little bit. We might be running trying to avoid the rain, but I don't mind three at all.

Q. (No microphone.)
BETH BADER: Yes. Well, I think today we had a pretty decent gallery, so I obviously know that it's going to have to happen.
When I'm down the road in contention hopefully this will seem a little bit easier to me. I will be nervous tomorrow but I was nervous today and I handled myself well.
So there will be maybe a little bit more people, but I do like playing in front of people. But, yeah, if you could be in obscurity out there and win a tournament that would be great, but it's not going to ever be like that.
So I just have to get better and better and hopefully today will help tomorrow.

Q. Can you talk a little more about 13. That was a pretty big hole?
BETH BADER: Yeah, 13 was a good hole. It's always -- I remember if the past always having to hit 5-irons and 4-irons on that hole, so the wind I think was -- has been different this week as opposed to the last few years.
But, you know, I wasn't really interested in Young's game. Today she was making some good birdie putts and I was feeling like I was trying to hold on at first and keep up with her.
But after I made that birdie -- I think she bogeyed that hole -- and I think that may have put us tied or something.
Honestly I didn't really think nothing of it because I knew I still had a lot of tough holes coming in. If I was in the lead or not going into tomorrow I'm going to have to play anyway.
This is a golf course where you can make lots of birdies. I wouldn't have been bothered if I was a couple back going into tomorrow, no.

Q. Does it take a little bit of the heat off that it's not like it's just you in the lead, it's three of you sharing the spotlight?
BETH BADER: Yeah, possibly. Maybe. It could probably help, the fact that there will be mores eyes on three girls instead of just me.

Q. Talk about playing with Paula. She's been here before. Do you feel like maybe you and Young are the underdogs and she's the favorite going in?
BETH BADER: Well, statistically, yeah, we would be the underdogs. This is Paula's first year here, right?
ASHLEY CUSHMAN: First year at Corning.
BETH BADER: So maybe in that regard she might be the underdog. I played here the last seven years, so I may know these greens a little bit better.
Obviously she's been in the spotlight and has won events. So in that regard she's obviously -- I will be the underdog. But I will embrace it and have a good time nonetheless, no matter what.

Q. I came out to watch your first five holes because I thought that was important to see. First hole you looked a little nervous. Second hole you rammed that eagle in.
BETH BADER: Yes.

Q. Does that just ease the tension, take some things off your mind?
BETH BADER: Yeah, it did. And I was nervous on the first tee. I hit a pretty good tee shot, but it seemed like the tee shots I missed were just in the first foot of rough where it was the worst. I wish I would have blown it off wide and it would have been a little bit better.
But 2 I felt good off that tee shot. And then I just knew it was uphill. I kind of felt like I was going right up that ridge on that putt and it could have fallen right or left, either way, if I would have taken the speed off of it.
So I said, You might as well just ram it. And the fact that I did and hit it right where I wanted to, that kind of got me off to a good momentum.

Q. (No microphone.)
BETH BADER: Yeah, yeah, exactly. But you're going to have those and I hit a good shot. That's a tough green and a tough hole to judge what you want to hit off the tee. I hit a great 5-iron just past that pin and just slipped off that putt, but you're going to have those here.

Q. Talk about what you were thinking mentally coming down the stretch today. You had not as close as you probably wanted the last three holes or so.
BETH BADER: Yeah, I didn't hit it all that well. But I sure made some good putts. On 16 I made my first putt -- they were getting really slow and sticky out there and I left it 4 or 5 short, 5 or 6 feet short. Made a good putt so that kind of eased my mind a little bit.
But there have been holes coming in. And you have to be accurate. I hit the fairway on 16 and gave myself the opportunity and didn't make that putt. Then even 17, yeah, had a bad kick.
But that's fairway you have to be kind of on that right side because I just know it kicks down the left side. Hit a good shot out of the rough.
Again, that was a good downhill 25-footer and it still came up short so -- and then made a good putt. But the last three holes I was proud of my second putt attempts, because I didn't make it easy for myself. But I'm happy that I made pars coming down the stretch.

Q. Nothing in your swing that was going awry?
BETH BADER: No. Just had trouble with the speed of the greens. I felt they definitely were slower today. It wasn't sunny out so they didn't really get faster.
Obviously also it grows more in the afternoon, so without sun and the growth it was -- they were pretty slow.

Q. You seem to be a fast player. Young Kim is a notoriously methodical slow player. Does that effect you at all?
BETH BADER: Yeah, it did, actually. I could see the group in front of us when we were on 14 green and they had just gotten off 15. I just knew we had to speed up.
With our new policy of the pace the play, we have the obligation to tell our group, you know, We need to pick it up a little bit. That's what I did and she responded and that was fine.
But, yeah, she's a bit more methodical on the greens than I am. It did affect me, but you have to kind of shake it off and keep going for it.

Q. Do you think it speaks to your experience on the Tour that you can look at what you did right in today's round instead of dwelling on what you did wrong?
BETH BADER: Absolutely. And that's what I have praised myself on over the last year and a half: That I don't dwell on the bad things anymore.
A perfect example is the first few holes I was pushing my driver right, but I hit it right on 8 and made a spectacular shot out of the trees to get up to the front of the green.
I didn't get mad and huffing and puffing walking up the fairway. I just cooled my head and hit a great second shot, recovery shot.
So that has helped me significantly in my attitude out there, and I just kind of let things roll off my shoulders a little bit more now.

Q. You didn't take yourself out of the game mentally.
BETH BADER: Right, exactly. And I could have easily done that the last couple holes, but I stayed in there and made some good solid par putts coming in.

Q. When Paula was in here earlier she said she only glanced at the scoreboard twice. Did you look over your shoulder figuratively speaking looking at the scoreboard?
BETH BADER: I didn't really look at the scoreboard as much as I usually do. I think I looked at it on the back side, maybe 12. And that's really the only time I maybe looked at it until we were at putting green after I had made that par putt and saw that Paula had played well today and saw that there were three of us in the lead.
I didn't look at it much today and that was okay. I really was in the bubble today, and that was pretty good. So...

Q. Are you a superstitious player? Is there anything that you've done over the last three days that you're not going change? Any routines that you want to stick with?
BETH BADER: Not really. I try not to be superstitious, but I always seem to have that one song on my CD that I play when I come out here. It's only like a five-minute drive, and I pop in No. 14 on my dance music.
I've given Becky Morgan a ride the three days, and I said to her this morning, Let's make sure we shoot in the same time so I can give you a ride again tomorrow.
So I guess I am a little superstitious, but not really out there on the golf course.

Q. What's the song?
BETH BADER: You know, I don't even know the name of the song. It's a dance -- whole bunch of mixes of dance music.

End of FastScripts

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