	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NAVISTAR LPGA CLASSIC

September 28, 2007

Maria Hjorth

PRATTVILLE, ALABAMA

ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Maria, thanks for joining us after your round out there. Quite a busy round, but it really bumped you up the leaderboard. Talk about how you felt carrying that round into the weekend play?
MARIA HJORTH: Yeah, it felt really good; yesterday was good as well. I played really solid yesterday too. Only missed a green and maybe only one green today. So it's been very solid.
Yesterday I didn't really take advantage of my birdie putts, but today I did a little bit better. So very happy with the way I'm playing.
ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Go over the birdies and bogeys, starting with the first birdie on 11.
MARIA HJORTH: Yeah. I have to think of the holes here. 11, yeah, I hit a good drive and then I hit a gap wedge to about 15 feet.
14, yeah, I hit a pretty good drive but it kind of just hung out close to the bunkers. Had a pretty tricky second shot and lipped it out a little bit right. Didn't go in the bunker, but it was in the grass by the bunker. Didn't really hit the best chip but it was about a maybe six, seven feet putt and missed the putt.
ASHLEY CUSHMAN: 16, the birdie.
MARIA HJORTH: 16 I hit a grip wedge to four feet.
ASHLEY CUSHMAN: 17.
MARIA HJORTH: 17 I hit a very good drive and I hit a 6-iron onto the green. Eagle putt was 30 feet, so I hit it about a foot.
And on 18, again, a good drive. I hit a 56- degree wedge to about ten feet.
ASHLEY CUSHMAN: After the turn, first birdie on 3.
MARIA HJORTH: 3, let's see here. I hit a good drive and then I hit an 8-iron to about ten feet.
On 5 I hit a bad tee shot left into the higher grass. So I took an unplayable and played it out. I hit a good third and fourth shot to about eight feet and just missed the par putt.
On 6 I hit my drive a little bit left into the rough. It was sitting okay, and then I hit a 9-iron to about 15 feet.
On 8, good drive. Kind of came up just short of the bunker. It was in a little rough just before the bunker in the fairway, and then hit a 9-iron to about eight feet and 2-putted.
ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Questions?

Q. No. 17 seems to be one the most difficult holes on this course, but you seemed to negotiate it pretty well today. Any particular strategy as far as getting the birdie there?
MARIA HJORTH: Well, I been hitting my driver really well, so that really helps on that hole because you can take the water on a little bit more. The fairway kicks down to the left so you can get it closer and be able to reach it.
I had a good drive yesterday as well but didn't -- unfortunately just missed the green and got in the green side bunker. So just pretty much an advantage to hit it further on that hole because you can take more on and it makes it a lot shorter for the second shot.

Q. Looks like a lot of golfers are at subpar on this course. How do you find it as far the degree of difficulty overall?
MARIA HJORTH: I think, yeah, it's one of the courses you can make a lot of birdies. It's fun to play those courses. But I love a course where even though I'm a long hitter I'm able to hit driver on pretty much every hole.
That's very unusual for me anyway when we play our courses. So I think it's a very good course. You can take a lot of doglegs on and cut the corners, but it's fun doing that and it's fun to be able to hit drivers.

Q. Talk about the conditions. Looked like the wind picked up today. Also talk about how Stacy played.
MARIA HJORTH: Well, Stacy ran away a little bit yesterday, you know, with a 9-under round, which is, I mean, it's a great score. Hopefully she's not running away too much now.
But there are still two days to go, so you never know what can happen. Like you see, there's a lot of low scores available out there.
But yeah, the wind picked up a little bit. It was, again, same yesterday when we tee'd off in the afternoon because you had the clouds coming and a little bit of rain. All of sudden the wind picked up a lot, so that made it a little bit harder because you have quite a few crosswinds out there.
And the way the greens are as well you have a lot tiers in the green and undulation, so that makes it hard. If you get a little bit of top pin spin on the ball it's easy to get on the wrong plateau of the green and that makes it difficult. But the wind, in that regard it's hard to get it in the right part of the green.
But, again, since the course is, you know, not playing easy but you can make a lot of birdies, I think it's good with a little bit of wind to make it a little bit trickier.

Q. (No microphone.)
MARIA HJORTH: You have to see a little bit of what she does, but I think it's important too to keep on playing your game and try to shoot a low score. Hopefully she doesn't make too many more low rounds, which she's capable of doing. You just have to see what happens.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297