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U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPAugust 11, 2007Amanda BlumenherstCARMEL, INDIANA RHONDA GLENN: You played like a house fire today. You started out birdie on the 2nd hole, birdie on 5, birdie on 8. I think that was a conceded birdie. Birdie on 10, 11, 12, 13. Is that about as well as you can play? AMANDA BLUMENHERST: Well, I've done it a few times this year at regionals at LSU, kind of had the same feel where I was hitting the ball very solid and making the putts. It's so much fun, that type of golf. You're not getting into any trouble, just one shot, one hole at a time and just playing well. RHONDA GLENN: I did not get to see the back nine, but on the front nine I had a feeling -- you hit the green in two on No. 5 and two-putted for a birdie to go 2-up. That was kind of a big impetus toward winning. Did you feel that way? AMANDA BLUMENHERST: I did, and then when I won the next hole, that helped. And even though I missed the putt on 7, I still was very confident and felt great at how I was hitting the ball, and I had put a great stroke on it. So I wasn't upset. I kind of had a sense of calm after I had won 8. I was very, just, all right, I'm going to see how low I can go. Q. What club did you hit to the green on 7 because that was a very difficult hole location up on that little mound? AMANDA BLUMENHERST: I hit a wedge. Q. That was a fine shot. AMANDA BLUMENHERST: Thank you. Q. A lot of times after a real hot round it's hard to come back and play, but you've played four matches just kind of lights out. Is it easy to carry momentum in match play? AMANDA BLUMENHERST: I do, especially because I feel like you can treat each match like a separate tournament almost, a separate entity in itself. My uncle is helping me a lot with the putting, just helping me find the line, and I've always hit the ball solidly. That's never been -- the problem was always reading greens. So with him, he can kind of be my eyes on the green, and just putting a stroke on it, it's been a great combination. Q. You made a ton of putts, every one went in the center of the hole it seemed like. AMANDA BLUMENHERST: Yeah, it was great, and really, the 1st hole, just sinking that, kind of the putt for par, really gave me confidence and just got the ball rolling for the rest of the round. Q. You have so many members of your family here and friends. Are most of them from the Indianapolis area or do a lot come from -- AMANDA BLUMENHERST: Most are from Fort Wayne, which is like an hour and a half, two hours north of here. But then I had family come in from Cleveland, and my cousin drove in from St. Louis this morning. I was so shocked when I saw her after I finished because I didn't expect her to come at all. It's been great, you know, just having everybody kind of start pulling into the Indianapolis area to watch me. It's fantastic. Q. How many would you estimate? AMANDA BLUMENHERST: Well, I think at the beginning I said like around 12 to 13, but gosh, I think I had probably about 20 people out today, 20 to 25, members at Sycamore Hills where I grew up, like the head pro came down to watch. So yeah, it's really exciting. Q. Are we going to see a band of cars coming from Fort Wayne tomorrow for this? AMANDA BLUMENHERST: I wouldn't be surprised at all. I think a few elementary school teachers are even thinking about coming up. It will be great. I think Erica, my little sister, and my cousin, I think they're going to make shirts. I think they want to be on TV, but maybe it's to support me, too (laughter). Q. You've been making a lot of your birdies like 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. Is there something about that stretch that suits your -- AMANDA BLUMENHERST: I love the 2nd hole, and really kind of that last like 9, 10, 11, 12, they set up so well for me on a driver because of hit kind of a draw. 10 is actually a little tricky for me because of those bunkers. I've decided I just have to aim quite a bit right so it won't go in the bunker. But I think I hit it there a few times already, and I made birdie from the sand trap, so it's not really a big deal. Yeah, I must like those holes. Q. How many miles is it from Fort Wayne to here? AMANDA BLUMENHERST: I don't know, but it is an hour and a half drive. Q. Are they coming back and forth each day? AMANDA BLUMENHERST: Some of them are. My uncle, he's kind of been the designated driver. My dad's youngest brother, he's kind of making all the pickups, driving all the way down and driving back and picking up my grandma or my cousin on the way. But I also have a group that are staying here. Q. You play a lot of tournaments in the course of a year. How important is this one? How bad do you want this one? AMANDA BLUMENHERST: I think like I said earlier, I've had such a successful college career that it would be great to do well in match play and really kind of put the icing on the cake, so to speak, just being able to show that I can play stroke play as well as match play and win such a prestigious amateur tournament. Q. Kim kind of had a pretty -- was down four I think it was at the turn, but she made a lot of birdies right there. Were you impressed that she was sticking with you? AMANDA BLUMENHERST: I was. I mean, I was playing well. Like I said, I birdied 10, and then 11 she had to make a good putt, and then 12 I think was almost a gimme for me. I think I had about a three-footer on 12 and she had to make a longer putt. And 13, I almost holed it. I think hers -- I could have given it to her. And then she almost holed 14. So it was definitely back and forth. We had quite a few birdies between the two of us. Q. I liked how on 13 you pulled your driver out immediately ready to go play 14, even before she made her putt. So you were ready -- AMANDA BLUMENHERST: I was ready. I knew she was going to make it. I just thought I'm going to have her stroke this anyway to see what happens, but I had my glove on and driver out because I was pretty confident she could make the putt. Q. Was there ever any thought that you could lose? AMANDA BLUMENHERST: Like when she started making -- Q. Yeah. AMANDA BLUMENHERST: No, I was playing too well. I was kind of thinking, all right, maybe I'll be able to see a few more holes than I thought, but I knew that I was hitting the ball so well and that I was going to par at worst. Yeah, I was confident. Q. So you played on in afterwards. I mean, you've seen this course a lot. AMANDA BLUMENHERST: I hadn't played 16, 17 or 18 since my first match, and I hadn't played 15 since my first match, either. So I really just wanted to see -- and tomorrow I'll definitely be playing it because it's 36 holes. I just wanted to get a little bit more practice, especially because 17 has kind of given me a little bit of problems when I have played it. So I just kind of wanted to become a little bit more comfortable with that hole. Q. What do you hit off the tee on the 17th? AMANDA BLUMENHERST: It depends, it's either like a 4-iron or a 5-iron, depending on the wind and yardage. Q. With all your family here and all your friends, do you have to get together with them in the late afternoons and evenings? Do you have to socialize? AMANDA BLUMENHERST: It is actually a little -- it's so much fun. I absolutely love my family and I love being in the middle of everybody because they're so loud, and we're just -- it's just a blast. But definitely you have to plan for a two-hour dinner or an hour-and-a-half dinner. Everyone says, okay, do you want to go watch a movie. I said, well, I kind of wanted to practice a little. So it is everything that comes with being in a big group. Like last night we had a table for I think it was 16, so just having to seat that many people and get everybody's food, and sure, it's a lot of fun, but it does take some time. Q. Does it wear on you a little bit? AMANDA BLUMENHERST: It definitely doesn't wear on me except right now my grandma's house, it's a two-bedroom house, and I'm thinking there are at least eight people in it. I get my own room, which is great, but we have people all over the couches. I'm trying to eat breakfast and someone is on the floor next to me. And I think there's one bathroom. Q. This is here in Indianapolis? AMANDA BLUMENHERST: Yes. Q. Is that your dad's mom? AMANDA BLUMENHERST: My mom's mom. Q. What's her name? AMANDA BLUMENHERST: Joni Abrams. Q. Where did you eat last night? AMANDA BLUMENHERST: Cheeseburger in Paradise. It's a cute restaurant. It's a lot of fun. Q. Is that a Jimmy Buffet type place? AMANDA BLUMENHERST: Yes, it was. They had his music going. Q. That's quite something, to have that many people assemble, to come from that far away, just because of little ol' you? AMANDA BLUMENHERST: Yes, it is, but I'm used to it. My family is extremely close-knit. I mean, we drive -- I think my cousin had a state tournament a few years ago and we made the trek from all over to watch that. We all support each other so much. They'd come even -- gosh, I think several family members went to Daytona for NCAAs. RHONDA GLENN: Good luck tomorrow. We'll see you in here at some point. End of FastScripts |
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