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GINN TRIBUTE HOSTED BY ANNIKA

May 30, 2007

Morgan Pressel

MOUNT PLEASANT, SOUTH CAROLINA

THE MODERATOR: Morgan Pressel, welcome to the interview room here at Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika. You've had four top-10 finishes and you became the youngest major winner in LPGA history at the Kraft Nabisco. You had a week off last week and now you're back. Can you take us through what the season has been like for you.
MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, it's been pretty crazy so far. I came into the season playing really well. I obviously won the Kraft. That was very exciting. Since then, after I lost my clubs, I'm struggling a little bit. Hopefully I can get it back on track here.
THE MODERATOR: Questions for Morgan.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about the golf course out there, the conditions, what type of player it may favor this week.
MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, it's a very nice golf course. It's a traditional, modern golf course. I haven't played it today, but yesterday was a little bit actually slower than it was playing on Monday. It played really fast on Monday. I think they watered it a little bit.
The greens are really, really firm, so that is going to favor somebody who can spin the ball a little more. Hopefully I can start hitting the ball higher, stop them on the greens.
You know, it's a good golf course. The greens aren't huge, but they're undulating and they're tough. We'll see.

Q. I know you've been busy with your schedule and all, but have you had any time to sit back and think about what you accomplished at the Kraft Nabisco?
MORGAN PRESSEL: I mean, you know, you look at it. To see the trophy in my dining room, that's pretty cool. But other than that, I don't really like to sit and think about it too much. I want to be looking forward, looking to playing better, hopefully winning more events.
By the end of the year, I'll look back and glance over everything that happened this year. That's really the time that you take to reflect.

Q. Can you talk about having Annika back in competition after her injury.
MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, we're all happy to have her back. I'm sure she's happy to be back. I hope she's feeling great. I'm sure it will take her a little while to get totally back into it. Swinging up to full speed is what I heard she really can't quite do that yet.
I'm sure she's happy to be back especially for this event that she's hosting. Timing for her is okay, it's good.

Q. Did you say your lost your clubs?
MORGAN PRESSEL: My clubs were stolen, yes.

Q. Where and what were the circumstances?
MORGAN PRESSEL: On my flight home from the Kraft, they were stolen out of the airport in Fort Lauderdale. Word is we might have found them, some of them, in Miami. I'm not sure exactly what's going on there. But that's exciting (laughter).

Q. How big a deal is that to a player? Can you go and get another set of clubs that are made for you or are those special clubs you really have a feel for?
MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, I change clubs quite often. I tried to look at it like that, that it's just another change. Unfortunately, it was a forced change.
But everything in my bag was fine to adjust to. Callaway got me a new set right away. They were great on that, set to my specs. The only thing I had a little bit of trouble with was my driver, finding a driver I really liked with a shaft, a loft, the whole combination, the head.
This week actually is the first week that I'm playing an FT3. It's almost the exact same driver I played at the Kraft. It's the exact same shaft, the same head, same loft. Obviously each head is slightly different on the composition. But this is the first time I've been able to find the shaft, the exact same shaft. I'm kind of excited about that. I don't want to jinx myself (laughter).

Q. Now that you've won a major championship, how does your mindset change going into the McDonald's next week? Does your preparation or mindset change at all?
MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, I wanted to win it before I won the Kraft and I still want to win it. In that sense, no, I'm out there playing to win. I can't think too much about anything else other than winning next week, this week, any week, but obviously next week is a major.

Q. Given that you're only looking forward to winning, you're the only person that could take the Grand Slam this year. Any thoughts of that in your head at all? Have your friends joked with you about it?
MORGAN PRESSEL: Obviously they joke about it all the time. But it's just something that I don't think you can necessarily think about. Maybe after three majors, then we could talk about it at the British (laughter). That's a little ways away. We've got some golf to play before then, so...

Q. Obviously the majors are the majors, but where does an event like this rank with the players on the LPGA?
MORGAN PRESSEL: This event here, look at the field. It's a great field this week. The best players in the world want to come here and play. Obviously we have a great experience in Orlando as well as here. It's a wonderful tournament. It's going to bring out the best players.

Q. Is there a different feel out here without a truly dominant player? Obviously Lorena is No. 1, but not dominating the way Annika did the last few years. Is there a different feel every week on the tour?
MORGAN PRESSEL: I don't know if there's a different feel. I wasn't really out here too long while Annika was really, but Lorena is playing great. I played her the first two days at Sybase. I'm excited to play with her again this week.
But that being said, there's so many great players out here, anybody can win any week. I think that's what has brought a lot of extra attention to the tour, that there are so many different people that can play well on any given week.

Q. Do you think that's better for the tour, to have that type of versatility in terms of players who can win?
MORGAN PRESSEL: I would say yeah. I would say yes. Definitely, yeah. Leave it at that (laughter).

Q. You said you found some of the clubs in Miami. Did you find them on eBay or did they surface somewhere? Where were they?
MORGAN PRESSEL: I don't know all the details. I just found this out yesterday. It's hot gossip (laughter).
Callaway was helping me try and locate them. Supposedly they were maybe in some small, I don't know, store or something in Miami. I'm not sure.

Q. Pawnshop?
MORGAN PRESSEL: Something like that. I'm not sure.

Q. Was there ever a doubt in your mind that you would be able to have the kind of success that you've had this quickly? How much did that experience back in I guess 2001 at the Open as a 13-year-old set the stage for what you've done?
MORGAN PRESSEL: We'll start with the Open. When I played, what was I, 13, it was like a light bulb went off in my head, this is what I really want to do, this is where I want to be in five, ten years, this is what I want to be doing with my life. That being said, thinking that, say, I would have won a major by now, it's not something that I turned pro expecting to do, but it's not something that I didn't think could happen.

Q. Can you appreciate, especially now that maybe she's not in her top form, what Annika accomplished over those prime years of her career, maybe what that did for the tour that you're enjoying now?
MORGAN PRESSEL: It's amazing what she's accomplished. It's nothing short of amazing. If you could tell me right now that I'd have half the career that Annika has had, I probably wouldn't be disappointed.
She's an amazing person and a great player. I've had the opportunity to get to know her a little bit. We're happy to have her back out here. I think in all of her years dominating, she brought a lot of publicity, especially playing Colonial. She has been the face of women's golf for quite a long time.

Q. Have you been back to Pine Needles since the Open?
MORGAN PRESSEL: No. I've been to Pinehurst a couple times, but not Pine Needles.

Q. You heard about the renovations, I suppose?
MORGAN PRESSEL: I have.

Q. Do you plan on getting over there?
MORGAN PRESSEL: I will be there a couple weeks early to practice.

Q. What does Michelle Wie do for this tour?
MORGAN PRESSEL: She brings tons of attention when she plays. I think we all hope that she does well because when she does well, it brings more attention. The tour certainly could use the publicity. They think it's helpful.

Q. Why does she bring more attention than other golfers?
MORGAN PRESSEL: Because you guys help it (laughter). The media's promoted her so much that she is this figure that everybody wants to come out and watch, everybody wants to watch on TV. It helps ratings and everything.
When she comes out, I'm sure the seven events, however many events she plays out here, they feel the effects or notice the effects, which is why they want her in their fields.
THE MODERATOR: Morgan, thanks a lot. Good luck this week.
MORGAN PRESSEL: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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