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RICOH WOMEN'S BRITISH OPENAugust 3, 2007Sherri SteinhauerST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND COLIN CALLANDER: Ladies and gentlemen, we have defending champion, Sherri Steinhauer, 71 today for a total of 143, 3-under par. You must be very pleased. SHERRI STEINHAUER: I'm very pleased. I had a real steady round today. Fortunately starting out in the beginning of the day, the wind wasn't blowing and it was actually pretty calm. So the outward holes were not quite as difficult. I wish could I have taken a little bit more advantage of those, but I did birdie 3 and 6 going out. So it was -- real happy with the day. COLIN CALLANDER: Were you pleased with the early time? SHERRI STEINHAUER: I actually like the time. I liked -- going late/early worked out to be a very good time it looks like with the way the wind is picking up now. So I may have gotten the best of the draw this week. COLIN CALLANDER: What is it that makes you play these links courses so well? SHERRI STEINHAUER: I'm not sure what it is but I just -- I do know that I love the imagination. I love to play a low ball. There's a lot of touch and feel involved. I think for my caddie, Joe Connelly, I think it's probably pretty difficult to caddie for me over here because it's just -- basically I go on instinct out there, and you know, I've been fortunate the last couple of days. My instincts have been pretty good. Q. Does this tournament mean more to you than any other? SHERRI STEINHAUER: I mean, this is a great tournament. I think it would be hard to rank them. You know, all of the majors are important events. It would be tough to put them in order, but you know, I'm very, very proud of my accomplishments over here, and very thankful for that. Q. Were you close to quitting the game a few years ago? SHERRI STEINHAUER: Very, very close. I decided that I was going to seek out a new pro. My pro, Manuel de la Torre, of about 18 years, he's from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, just a wonderful, wonderful gentleman. He's 84 years old today or at this time. He did wonderful things with my golf game, and I just got to a point where I wasn't hitting it as far as the rest of the players. It was actually getting demoralising being so far behind the other players, and so I needed to make a change. It was either I was going to quit, and I said, I was going to give it one more last effort. I began working three years ago with Hank Johnson, who is out of Birmingham, Alabama. When I first talked with him, he said that he could definitely help me hit it further. So, you know, it's not always about how far you hit it. I know the putting is the most important, but I definitely needed to gain some distance. And so he's definitely -- he's helped me with that, and I have a second career. Q. What would you have done? SHERRI STEINHAUER: I had no idea. No idea what I was going to do. You know, I have four older brothers. We're a very, very close family. I'm sure I would have become involved with them in something. They are basically retired right now, but they all get together every day and go into work, except for one brother is an optometrist. But the other three don't work and they go into work with my dad. They just have an office where they get together, so I guess they probably would have built another office for me. Q. Was that 2003 when you were thinking about quitting? SHERRI STEINHAUER: It was about three years ago, so 2004 -- 2003, 2004, right in there. Q. What sort of business did your family have? SHERRI STEINHAUER: They owned a butter production plant, so the creme came in. It wasn't a farm. It was a production plant, and they made butter for the United States. Q. Do you feel in any way that you're a better player now than you were when you were younger? SHERRI STEINHAUER: I definitely think I'm a better player now than earlier in my career. And my dad, he even -- he says that now, he's never seen me play like this. It has changed. Experience has helped, and working with a new teacher has definitely helped my game. Q. Today, you seemed to be standing almost vertically over your putts. Have you make a change to your putting style? SHERRI STEINHAUER: Well, the putting style or use the putter? Q. Style. SHERRI STEINHAUER: Oh, that was -- that started yesterday. (Laughter) That was very observant of you. I didn't know anyone noticed. COLIN CALLANDER: Why did you do that? SHERRI STEINHAUER: It just felt good. I was -- on the first three holes yesterday, I was crouching over it and I couldn't see the line. What am I going to do? Try to stand taller, so that's what I did. Q. Is that an example of something when you were younger, you would have been hesitant to change, to make that kind of a change in your game? SHERRI STEINHAUER: Well, I think -- I think my mind is much more wide open now to other ways of playing, other possibilities. You know, when I was younger, there was one way to play. I didn't have -- I didn't have much creativity. And, I don't know, I think now I'm just -- it's more about just trying to score. I mean, there's days when you don't hit it well and you try everything and it doesn't work. You just never know. But I just keep an open mind out there and always thinking of just constantly working on the game. This game, you never, ever, ever have it. You never completely understand it. But I just -- every day probably I learn something new. Yesterday it was putting. COLIN CALLANDER: Can we go over the three birdies and the solitary bogey, please? SHERRI STEINHAUER: I birdied the third. I hit a wedge in about ten feet. Made that for birdie. 6, I came up short, and I made -- I made about a 50-footer on that hole. It was the longest putt I've made all week. I think -- I can't remember, what club did I hit in. I think I hit a 9-iron in. Then I made a good up-and-down on 8. I missed the green and it was a disaster, just over that bunker. I hit a wedge out of the tall grass from about 80 feet and made that, or just hit it up there real close, tap-in. Then No. 12, I made a bogey. 12, it's a difficult hole. I played the shot down the right side and I'm always pointing for the rough. I hit it in the rough and just kind of misjudged my shot coming out, a 9-iron, went up the slope and came back down and I 3-putted. I hit it up probably about five feet and I missed that. Then 16, I hit a 3-wood and a 4-iron to about 20 feet and made that for a birdie. Q. What apart from the trophy would you like to take back from St. Andrews? SHERRI STEINHAUER: I think it's just going to be amazing memories. I'm going to have a lifetime full of memories from this week. Q. Do you have any friends with you? SHERRI STEINHAUER: There's about eight or nine people that traveled from the United States. I have a little -- small group of people that are just friends of mine and have become friends because they followed, and they are just wonderful, great supporters of mine. That's pretty nice to have that many people that have traveled over here to watch. Q. How are you playing 17 this week? SHERRI STEINHAUER: Just hitting driver off the tee on left side and I'm playing for the front of the green. I had 175 to the front and about 205 to the flag today, and I just chose a 5-iron and hit it up right in front. Just trying to take that bunker out of play. Tomorrow is going to be difficult. I saw the pin placement for tomorrow, and it's way back left. So there's a lot of different ways you could play it. You could even go left of the bunker, but I don't know if I'm going to be that brave. We'll see where the drive it. But I'm definitely just playing short and hoping to get dip for birdie. Q. How would you play it if it were a par 4? SHERRI STEINHAUER: Same way. Same way. Q. You're alongside the former No. 1 and the current No. 1 is leading. Given your record in this championship, do you think they might be more wary about you than you are about them? SHERRI STEINHAUER: Say that again? I'm playing with -- Q. You're alongside the former No. 1, and the leader is the current No. 1, do you feel you have no reason to fear them? SHERRI STEINHAUER: I respect them immensely. They are great players. You know, when we go out there tomorrow, we're all just going to be playing our game. So I'll just be concentrating on what I have to do, and you know, let the chips fall where they may be at the end of the week. But you know, those are two pretty tough competitors to be up against. So it's going to be quite a challenge. COLIN CALLANDER: Has this week been any different to the other British Opens you've played? SHERRI STEINHAUER: I don't think I've ever been in the press room this early. Usually I come in from behind. COLIN CALLANDER: I think last year the last day was the first time you were in here. SHERRI STEINHAUER: I know it was like that the first time because I shot 81 the first day, so they were not calling me in. COLIN CALLANDER: Is the atmosphere different? SHERRI STEINHAUER: It's hard to describe, because it is, it's just -- to be out there, it's just the best way I can describe it is just a surreal feeling; to know of all of the greats that have walked this golf course, and to know that this golf course has been here since the 15th century. I mean, that's amazing. You know, I have a love for the game of golf, and I appreciate this place and for starting, and this place found my career. COLIN CALLANDER: Thank you. End of FastScripts |
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