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LONGS DRUGS CHALLENGE

October 3, 2007

Karrie Webb

DANVILLE, CALIFORNIA

ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Karrie, thanks for joining us. You're back on the Tour. You won the 2006 Long Drugs Challenge. How does it feel to come back here and defend your title this year?
KARRIE WEBB: It feels great. I obviously have great memories from playing here last year. I think the course is in as good if not better shape than it was last year. So I think it'll shape up for another exciting finish.
ASHLEY CUSHMAN: There's a strong field here this year, too: 19 of the top 20 on the season Money List. What kind of competitive edge does that bring to a season-ending tournament, the last one before you guys head overseas for a few weeks?
KARRIE WEBB: Well, I think it's great for any tournament to be able to say they have such a strong field. And the fact that it's toward the end of the year makes it a little bit more exciting I guess, and a great finish to the regular season.
ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Questions for Karrie.

Q. Why do you think the field is so good here?
KARRIE WEBB: I'm not sure. I think, you know, there's not a lot of tournaments left to play for the year. I think, from what I know, a lot of people enjoyed playing out here last year. It's a great time to be out here. The weather is beautiful.
I think a few players are going town to Palm Springs next week, so it makes a good schedule to be out in the west for a couple weeks.

Q. You were nice enough to let me interview you a couple years ago in had '05 at the Ridge in Auburn at this tournament. At that time you were playing well but you knew you weren't playing up to your potential. We talked a little bit about that. Then of course in '06 we know what happened: You were right on top of your game and on top of the world of golf and women's golf. What happened in that period of time? Was it a mental change for you or was there a swing change for you? What transition got you to where you got to in 2006?
KARRIE WEBB: I think it was mainly mental. I did a lot of mental work at the start of last year. Worked on my routines and stuff. It was also a combination of my swing. I had been making a few changes over the past few years, but it was a combination of feeling good about that and then making some putts.
That's where the difference is this year for me I think. I haven't putted nearly as well as I did last year, and then you lose a little bit of confidence and get in that rut of not doing the good mental work again. I thought I did a good job mentally last week, which was good after a three-week break.
You know, got the good feel and made some of my putts. So it was a good warm up I think for this week. Obviously I have good feelings for this tournament, and to have had such a positive week last week I hope I can really carry that into this week.

Q. Again, going back to the interview, when we talked we talked about the Ridge in Auburn being a different venue golf course-wise than the courses you see the rest of the year on tour. Do you feel that same way about the venue here at Black Hawk for the Longs Drugs Challenge?
KARRIE WEBB: Yeah. I think it's kind of similar in many ways as far as the elevation changes. At the Ridge we had quite a few elevation changes, and so for Black Hawk. I think last year probably played more similar to the Ridge. It wasn't as green as it is this year so we were having to allow for a lot of release off our drives and stuff like that.
This year I think the course is a little bit greener and a little bit softer so it's not going to -- it's not going to be where you're worried about different runouts and stuff this year. I think you'll be able to control the ball off the tee a little bit easier.

Q. You said you had a lot of the great memories from last year. Any specific memories? I'm thinking particularly the final round. Not just anybody is trying to chase you down, but Annika with all her history. What do you remember sort of about that contention at all?
KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, well, it wasn't quite the cruisy finish that I would have liked. But I remember when I really started it worry about Annika -- I think she holed a long-ish putt on No. 9. I thought it was for eagle at the time, but I think it was for birdie. Might have been for eagle. I knew that she was getting the flow with her putter and she wasn't going to let up on the back 9.
I just remember, you know, either seeing her make the putts or hearing the cheers and knowing that it was her that made the putts, and that I really had to step up and start making a few birdies myself.

Q. Not to diminish the field, but there's no chance of Annika chasing you down this week.
KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, I think we've got as tough a competitor in Lorena. She's playing similar. Consistently very good golf as Annika has done in the past. So, you know, I wouldn't be surprised to see Lorena's name up on the leaderboard this week.

Q. When we were sitting here last week, Lorena and you and three or four people having really good years. Annika was still comfortably ahead in the rankings. To stand here 12 months later and Lorena has won 12 times and Annika hasn't won at all. Now Lorena's lot got this huge lead. As good as you knew she was, could you have imagine this quickly her asserting herself as much as she has?
KARRIE WEBB: I think you could probably see more of Lorena continuing to play as well as she had more so than Annika dealing with an injury and not playing as well as she's capable of. I think that's probably the most surprising part.
You know, although being a player myself, you know, Annika was bound to have a year that wasn't up to her standards. If she didn't, then she's the only nonhuman out here.
So yeah, it's definitely changed. The change of the guard was -- once Lorena took over No. 1, I think that was her hardest -- that was obviously one of her big goals, and she did that and ran with it and played really, really well.

Q. What do you see in her that's made a difference from being a great player to somebody that's almost unstoppable in some ways?
KARRIE WEBB: Well, like anything, confidence, every week you play good and your confidence just continues to grow. When you're playing that well you don't notice the bad breaks you get. And if you do get a bad break generally it doesn't seem like it cost you anything. Like you get it up and down and if you do make a bogey you end up birdieing the next couple holes.
I think just overall confidence. You know, she's won now in many different situations. She's won coming from behind and won in the lead and now a major. You know, I think she's very comfortable up on the leaderboard now a lot more she was maybe a couple years ago. I think she knows what it takes to get there.
She's playing so well that you never feel the need to press at any time because you just know that -- when you're playing that well you just know that you're going to make the birdies. And it's a great place to be. She's definitely making the most of it.

Q. You talked about maybe the putting being not what it was last year. In your mind, is that the difference between this year and last year?
KARRIE WEBB: Yeah. I attribute the way I've played to my putting. I think it was getting to the point before the three-week break that it was really, really not in a good frame of mind on the golf course. The three-week break probably came at a very good time. I had a pretty good week last week.
Hopefully with the few tournaments I have left I can carry some of that good play I had last week into the last three and hopefully give myself a couple of chances to win.

Q. What vow tried to do. Change putters? Break putters?
KARRIE WEBB: I haven't broken any putters, but I have been through a number of putters. I've gone back and forth, always going back to the putter I used last year. I've been using that for the last four or five tournaments.
But it's more just I knew I was getting bogged down on the mental side of it. Once you lose your confidence you -- instead of going into a putt feeling like you're going to make it, you go in technically saying, Well, I missed that last putt left so don't miss it left.
So I had to get -- when I did get back to practicing in that three weeks I went back to my good mental routines and getting in there and knowing what my -- where I was going to hit the putt and what line it was before I got over the ball and trying to execute that.
Hoping that you have the right line and the right speed and what have you to make the putt, but not trying to make the putt. I think that's where I was getting into a bit of a hole.

Q. Last year when I left, three hours after the end of the tournament, you were sharing beers with passersby and stuff. How did you celebrate last year?
KARRIE WEBB: Well, I had quite a few friends out here watching the event, and we sat on the practice putting green for a couple hours I think having a few beers. I actually had an outing to do at Half Moon Bay the next day, so we went across there.
I had actually bought a bottle of port up at one of the wineries earlier in the week. Then we had like French fries and burgers and port, which doesn't mix real well, but I woke up okay the next day.

Q. Tell me a little about the playoff system this year. Do you like it, or is it something that you see as being beneficial to the Tour?
KARRIE WEBB: Yeah. I think that the format of the season-ending tournament is the most exciting part about the whole playoff system. Just the fact that we -- the men get to have the opportunity to win $1 million check just about every week they play, and we don't.
And to come from when I first started on Tour that a $1 million event, I think they were maybe two or three on our schedule, to the point where one player can win 4! Million in one week, really, in 18 holes of golf really, it makes it really exciting.
It's a different format. It's not a format that any of us would like to play every single week, but it does make it different and something new for the spectators and the fans watching on TV.

Q. You touched on the interview today on the mental side of the game. Have you ever had any type of sports psychologist or coaching on the mental side, or is there maybe a book that you've read to help you get back on track?
KARRIE WEBB: Just the last two or three years I've worked with a sports psychologist in Australia. Up until that apparently I did all that naturally. When things don't go as well as you like you sort of get bogged down and I never really did -- because I had done it naturally I never knew the skills that I had, and now I guess I have an understanding of them.
ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Anymore questions for Karrie? Thank you for your time, and good luck this week.

End of FastScripts

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