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CN CANADIAN WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

August 17, 2007

Lorena Ochoa

EDMONTON, ALBERTA

THE MODERATOR: Thank you for coming in. Phenomenal round, 6-under par, six birdies, no bogeys today. Talk about what was different maybe yesterday versus today, or was everything kind of clicking for you today?
LORENA OCHOA: I had an easy day. Sometimes you just see everything. I hit really good tee shots, and that made things a lot easier. I had a lot of birdie chances, just close on the holes. It was a great day. I took advantage of it in the morning and I'm in good position for the weekend.
THE MODERATOR: Can we go over your score card?
LORENA OCHOA: I birdied the second hole. I hit a 9-iron 125 yards to about four feet and made it.
No. 7, I hit a 50-degree wedge to about six feet, and I made it.
8, I hit a 5-iron 165 yards to about six feet, and I made it.
Birdied No. 11, I hit a hybrid club, 200 yards, about 15 feet, and I made it.
Birdied No. 12, I hit a wedge, 115 yards about six, seven feet and I made it.
Birdied No. 15, I don't know how long it was. I hit a 9-iron, and I finished about 15, 17 feet, and I made that for birdie.

Q. Do you find right now even though you're in Canada, you had a huge following. Do you feel the Canadian fans embrace you?
LORENA OCHOA: Very much. I want to say thank you to a lot of them, and all of the volunteers. Volunteers were cheering for us so many times today. Even in the morning, at 8:30 in the morning, it was cold and a lot of them were here. It feels really good. We appreciate the support, and hopefully we can pay them back on the weekend.

Q. Was there any certain point out there this morning that you felt you could really rack up a good score, any time you felt like maybe you could get something going?
LORENA OCHOA: Well, just since I wake up. I told my brother I'm going to shoot 6-under, he told me, no, no, only 4. So he's not going to be happy with me.
But I warmed up, and I knew I needed to play good to catch up, so it was just a good day from the beginning.

Q. Yesterday you said that you didn't hit your driver as well as your irons, and you also had to tee off in the afternoon yesterday. Today you had a morning tee time, a little bit better conditions, and I assume your driver was a lot better today, too?
LORENA OCHOA: Yes, I think I only missed maybe one fairway, and it was just on the first cut. And that makes a big difference. I think the course was a little bit more difficult because of the variation of the wind. Some holes changed. We had to be careful with the tee shots, and I played more with 3-wood today than my driver, and it worked, so I think I'm going to try to do the same on the weekend.

Q. When you're this close to the top of the leaderboard in a tournament, do you look at it and say, okay, I'm Lorena Ochoa, and if I play as well as I can play, I'm going to win this thing?
LORENA OCHOA: I play to win every tournament, and I know I can win, and that's what I feel. That's why I here.
What I really want to do is put myself in good position on the weekend, not five, seven, six shots behind. I like being in contention, and I just love where I am right now. I don't know how will be the scores in the afternoon, maybe somebody will shoot really well, but I like my chances and my position.

Q. Do you feel a little more at ease, a little more relaxed after winning a major? When you play now is it sort of clear that you don't have anything to prove?
LORENA OCHOA: No, no, I'm doing good. I've been enjoying myself very much. I've been I think relaxed, even before winning the British. I think it was more pressure from the media and people outside. I know who I am, and I knew it was coming, I just needed to be patient. I am very happy that I did that (laughing) so nobody can say anything anymore. Hopefully it's the first one of many, so I'm going to keep working hard.

Q. When you watch someone like Michelle Wie who's very young, way less experience than you, it took you a long time to be very comfortable as you seem. Can you tell us how difficult, to be that young, a player like yourself with a lot of experience (inaudible). Do you think it's a big disadvantage for her to be so young compared to someone like yourself?
LORENA OCHOA: No, I would not say disadvantage. At the same time she's young and she has nothing to lose, and she's fearless. She's a very good player, very talented, but I think where it's important is -- everything is a process, and you cannot jump one or two stages because then you will go back eventually.
The only way to learn is experience, and being in that situation many, many times, and you're going to make mistakes many times, too, before you get comfortable. It's just a matter of time, but I think she has nothing to lose. Just play more and feel more comfortable every time.

Q. The shot on 15, the 9-iron in, did it hit the flag on the fly?
LORENA OCHOA: Yes.

Q. Like it bounced 15 feet away. If it doesn't hit the flat, you're, what, a foot away? Isn't that one of the goofy things about golf?
LORENA OCHOA: I was happy just finishing on the green. Usually it goes into the bunker or off the green or in a bad lie. And I made the putt, so it was -- it's almost like I deserved that putt. It was good.

Q. I just wonder about your strategy for tomorrow now, and I guess it probably maybe depends on where the rest of the golfers finish up. But you're still close to the top of the leaderboard now, a lot closer obviously than yesterday. Are you a player that is going to try and get aggressive tomorrow and try and distance yourself, or do you want to just not change your game plan, play within yourself, or maybe your strategy for tomorrow?
LORENA OCHOA: I'm going to keep doing the same. I think it's working, just keep doing the same. I don't like to pay attention to players in particular, just play my own game. I'm an aggressive player; I'm going to try to make as many birdies as possible, and it will be hard to get a big distance because there are so many players in between one or two shots, but I think it should be a fun weekend.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you for coming in. Great round, good luck tomorrow.
LORENA OCHOA: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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