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U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 29, 2007

Lorena Ochoa

SOUTHERN PINES, NORTH CAROLINA

Q. Lorena, that got you to within one shot of the lead at the time, so you were pretty pumped after that eagle fell down, weren't you?
LORENA OCHOA: Yeah, that was a great shot. I'm glad that I saw it on TV first time.

Q. Is that the first time you've seen it?
LORENA OCHOA: Yeah, it is. So I'm going to keep that in a good place for a good memory, just the feeling, it was amazing, just at first I first of all to have a chance to make a birdie I see everybody clapping on the green and then it got louder and louder and then I thought, oh my God, it was too far, I couldn't see anything.

Q. As you go for your first Major Championship, and that is something you hear every time you arrive at a Major Championship venue, how comforting is it to have a lot of your family here, your mom is here this week, you got a couple of aunts, a few friends have flown in, your brother just got in this morning. And I know how important family is to you and to have them around you this week at this championship has to put you at ease a little bit?
LORENA OCHOA: Yes, well I love to have them. I do have them very often, Mexicans, you know, they all like to stay together and have a fun week. But it's been great. It's been an easy afternoon, we actually played some cards and we're having a good time. And today it's been different, just kind of waiting to see what happens. But I'm enjoying my week a lot and hopefully all of them too.

Q. A lot gals killing the time down there playing ping pong. You grew up playing ping pong are you holding your own down there?
LORENA OCHOA: Well, now that I know that I'm going to go down and try to play some.

Q. I want to know if you're watching any of the coverage seeing how the golf course plays?
LORENA OCHOA: Not really. I've been busy, I tried to sleep in and watch a few movies. Dave, my caddie, has been around and I guess the greens are playing pretty much like yesterday. A little bit of rain, not much, but they are still just in good shape, not super fast.
I think that they will be fast probably tomorrow. And either way you just have to put the ball in a good position on the green and just try to, when you have a little time off, just to be off, and not even to think about it, because it's too much stress and too much pressure for one week.

Q. You're getting a lot of questions, I hope not too many from me, but from everybody in the media about trying to win the first Major Championship. About making it happen. That was a step last week when you won the first playoff.
LORENA OCHOA: Yes. And hopefully I will win another time and it was very important to me to get that win last week. The playoff, I have a, that is done, and now I got to get my first Major.
I don't want to put pressure, like I always say, I try to play like any other tournament. And the most important thing for me right now is having a good second round, putting myself in a good position for the weekend and I'm going to try hard to get that trophy.

Q. Is there one key that you think will give you a chance to be a contender come Sunday on this golf course?
LORENA OCHOA: Well, for sure the speed on the greens. There are going to be a lot of long putts, and yesterday I had one 3-putt. And, but I was still very happy, very pleased with my putting. I think it's just really hard to get the birdie chances to be close. Just real birdie chances. The ball breaks a lot and they are really long putts all the time.
So I'm going to work on that and just making sure I get the speed down and be very careful during the weekend and not trying to be too aggressive and give myself long putts coming back, just to play smart.

Q. And up to now this weather hasn't produced any water on the greens and they haven't changed much. We talked about everybody's past history in this championship, Annika winning here, second straight U.S. Open title, and then we talked about the youngsters, Morgan Pressel and Alexis Thompson qualifying at such a young age. You have a little history, weren't you an alternate here back in 2001 -- didn't get a chance to play in the championship, but you didn't leave the grounds here, you kind of hung around and watched a lot of the golf, didn't you?
LORENA OCHOA: Yes. It was different. I was first alternate. It was just a new experience. I got here very early and watched from the first tee time to the last tee time and just waiting to see something happen to a player. And that I wasn't able to play, it didn't happen, but I was lucky enough it was the first time I watched pretty much everybody. Laura Davies, Annika, I just remember being there and walking with them -- Karrie Webb -- just watching the practice rounds and just seeing how they hit the ball and I was very impressed. I was amazed. And I thought, oh my God, they're really good.

Q. And here you are some six years later the top player in the world. Just before we let you go, give people a sense of what it's like to play not only for yourself, your family, but really for an entire country. You really put everybody on your shoulders when you're out there going for a title and it really shows with the way they absolutely adore you and wrap you in the flag after victories. Give us a sense of what that's like.
LORENA OCHOA: Thank you. Well, I do feel very fortunate and I always say I have a lot of support from home. Just people waiting for me, not only my family, but people in the whole country. And they know that I play for them. It's not only about me. And I love to hear it when I do. And hopefully I won't get too angry and hopefully they will celebrate on Sunday.

End of FastScripts

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