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USGA SENIOR WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

September 6, 2007

Anna Schultz

SUNRIVER, OREGON

PETE KOWALSKI: Anna Schultz, the 2007 U.S. Senior Women's Amateur Champion. Congratulations.
ANNA SCHULTZ: Thank you.
PETE KOWALSKI: How does that sound, those words?
ANNA SCHULTZ: It sounds too good.
PETE KOWALSKI: Expand on that. It's got to be more than too good?
ANNA SCHULTZ: Well, you do, you work out, you practice, you dream of it, I even thought about it, I kept telling myself don't think about it on the course, but even being a runner-up would have been fine. You want to win, but just getting as far as I did was awesome.
First coming down the stretch when I had a 4-up lead then I thought, oh, this is going to be devastating to come back from if I lose. But everybody wants to win a USGA championship.
PETE KOWALSKI: There's the old axiom the third time is the charm. This is your third USGA final, you finally made it the one that counts, and now your name is on a national championship trophy. That's got to be something great.
ANNA SCHULTZ: It's something that nobody can ever take away from you. You have earned it, it doesn't matter what you do from here on in, you have achieved that. And it's a fantastic thing to have my name with all the other great names on there. It's just a huge accomplishment.
PETE KOWALSKI: Before we go talk about the match, let's talk about the competitive golfers in your family. You got three sons who are all very good players. Have you gotten any phone calls yet?
ANNA SCHULTZ: I haven't check my messages. I was getting text messages, but I haven't checked any messages. But yeah, they're all pulling for me.
PETE KOWALSKI: But you're 1-up on all of them now.
ANNA SCHULTZ: Yeah. That's true. They will be practicing now a little bit harder.
PETE KOWALSKI: Let's go to the match, if you don't mind.
ANNA SCHULTZ: Let me get back to my sons. What I do want to say that has been helpful is they're all great golfers and competing against them really elevated my game. Because they are such great players that I always played against the best.
And when they're not around, like Kevin is in school right now at Texas, then I would play against the course and always try to make par. But they always showed me certain shots that they learned from different pros or whatever, and they teach me. So they have really helped my game go to another level.
PETE KOWALSKI: To the match. 3-up after three holes. You birdie the 3rd and then bogey the 4th. And on the 5th, you're in good position in the fairway, you hit kind of a loose shot, get your self in a bad spot, chunk it and then chip in. What's happening in your brain at that point?
ANNA SCHULTZ: I really thought I was going to lose the hole to be honest with you. I had too much adrenaline going and I over clubbed, thank God I didn't hit that pure, because no telling where that would have been. I did the best that I could getting out of that hay.
And then the next shot really kind of fit my eye. I knew what it was going to do and it was just a matter if I hit it on the right spot. It miraculously, somebody was looking out after me, and let it go in. And I knew that it would stun her at that point. I really thought she would make the putt because she's great putter. But yeah, that was a huge turn around there.
PETE KOWALSKI: You win 9 to go 4-up. And then there's a point where they start to halve holes and then Robyn finally calms down and she starts the back nine and she's making birdies on you. What's your thoughts at that point?
ANNA SCHULTZ: I played the back nine well all week. I've been even or 1-over at the turn and I really owned that back nine. I played it well. So I knew that if I kept doing what I needed to, shoot par or throw a birdie or two in, that I would be okay.
But then I couldn't believe she covered me up on 12. Those were two great birdie putts.
And then 13, I hit a, I went for the pin, which was dumb. I should have just bailed right. And then she got on a roll which I knew she would. I knew that I watched her play yesterday, she's a great putter. She has a great short game. So I knew she was going to relax and start coming alive and sure enough she did.
PETE KOWALSKI: Now let's walk us through you have a 4-up lead when you're playing the 13th hole. You're on the 13th tee. You lose 13, you halve 14, you lose 15, you lose 16, and you lose 17.
We said earlier that you thought 17 was the key or was that, did you think that, is there really another key in the match that you can think of?
ANNA SCHULTZ: I got down on myself at 17. Because I knew I could birdie that hole, but my goal was to make par. And I just hit another loose shot off to the right and was dead in the bunker. And tried a little too much out of that bunker and hit the lip. So that was a gift. If I would have made par, we wouldn't have been going to extra holes.
But I think that -- I had to kind of really regroup because I got down on myself, she had been making birdies and I had been okay, but then I got down on myself on 17 that I gave her one.
So when we got to 18 tee I said, you know what, we're all even again, let's go, let's start playing again. And luckily I hit some good shots from then on in.
PETE KOWALSKI: Did you feel like that you had to do a little talking to yourself to refocus?
ANNA SCHULTZ: Oh, definitely. Because when you're 4-up and going, I'm 4-up with six or seven left, you're trying to, you're trying not to get ahead of yourself, but you do. And you try to stay in the moment.
Then when she started making birdies then you almost feel like, oh my God, I'm 4-up and I'm going to lose, I'm just giving it away. But I really wasn't giving it away, she was playing like I did on the front.
So I just kept saying, don't -- just play like you've been, make her make birdies and don't give her anything. Which I did on 17.
PETE KOWALSKI: Then walk us through the 20th hole where you did end up winning. What your thoughts were as things were unfolding?
ANNA SCHULTZ: Well she had been hitting her driver beautifully all day. I'm not sure she really even missed a fairway until that hole. And she punched out and I thought, okay, just go ahead and I hit a 5-wood up there, I just played it safe.
And then she hit her third shot in the hazard, which really shocked me because she hadn't done that the whole day. So I just bailed, I didn't go at the pin, I bailed right. And she hit a beautiful shot up there.
And so I thought okay, if she's going to make bogey you just have to hit a really good first putt. And luckily I did to end the match.
PETE KOWALSKI: And as the putt goes in, what's the first thought in your head?
ANNA SCHULTZ: When she gave it to me, it didn't go in but she gave it to me, and it was, oh my God, over, I just was overwhelmed. I mean, I'm, I really wanted to cry, but I was, it's just such a feeling that I think I was so nervous because when you got a big lead and you get nervous and then when you're trying to win the thing, after she goes in the water then you don't want to do anything too stupid, you want to make sure you hit good quality shots.
But it's just so overwhelming it's really hard to explain, because it's just, it's a dream come true. You never -- there's a lot of people that played for years and like never had holes-in-ones and never got to have a USGA championship or even get to experience that. And I've been very, very blessed that I've been in three finals now and I finally won one, which is huge.
PETE KOWALSKI: Anna, congratulations. The 2007 USGA Senior Women's Amateur Champion.

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