U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 1, 1996

Jane Geddes

JANE GEDDES: Well, I had a little different day today. I hit the ball very well, better than I did yesterday, and just putted horrendously. I missed some putts that were very makeable, starting with the very first hole. It was a long day on the greens, but a good day from tee to green. I'm happy to just be where I am, actually.

JANE GEDDES: Okay. First hole -- first hole I missed a one-and-a-half foot putt for birdie, chipped it up close and missed it. Second hole I chose to putt from the front edge of the green and 3-putted from there. Wasn't actually on the green, but I putted it and 3-putted it. The 5th hole I 3-putted from about 25 feet. 7, I hit an 8-iron to about a foot or so, made that for birdie. And then 12 I hit a 9-iron to about 18 feet, made that for birdie. 14, I hit an 8-iron to about 12 feet, made that for birdie. And then that was it, pretty much. I hit it close on 17, missed the putt. And then 18, hit what I thought was a good shot, and the ball just flew out of the rough and onto the green and didn't get it up-and-down, I hit a lot of greens.

JANE GEDDES: It was about 15 feet.

JANE GEDDES: Play as good as I played today. I could have caught Annika today. I had a lot of opportunities. I putted once from the front on No. 2, but other than that, I'm not sure that I missed any greens except for 18, which on this golf course is unbelievable. And I've been driving the ball very well. I missed very few fairways. If I did, it was because I hit it through. I did everything I could do today to shoot a really good round, and I just came up empty. If I play the same as I did tomorrow and the golf Gods allow my ball to go in the hole, I'll be okay.

JANE GEDDES: No, I'm not chasing Annika. I'm going to go out tomorrow and I'll play my game. Annika proved today that she is not the iron woman. I mean, she made some errors, obviously, and came back to all of us, which is -- that's the way the Open is. I said yesterday, strange things happen at the Open. And your mind makes you go crazy sometimes. I don't care how good you are and how well you're playing, you still can make errors. I think it will still be a great tournament tomorrow. I don't think there's any doubt. I don't care that Annika has whatever, a three-shot lead or whatever, with Brandie. I still think there's a lot of golf to go tomorrow.

JANE GEDDES: It doesn't help. My stomach flipped inside out, honestly, when I missed it. You think that would have been a nice way to start. I chipped it up close, and I missed it, and I totally missed the hole. And then I three-putted the next hole. I'm not the calmest person in the entire world, and I just had to have a chat with myself on the third tee and just hang in there. But I've been calm this week. For some odd reason I've been patient. Maybe it's because I played in enough Opens that I know anything can happen. So I've been hanging in there.

JANE GEDDES: That I better hang on, because it's a long way to go. And I'm a better player now. I've been putting well this week. I didn't want to react to the one putt or the first or second hole and have it ruin my day or ruin a great week. I've been playing too well this week to let this happen. I've been doing this long enough that I think I've learned that now, anyway.

JANE GEDDES: Yeah, that was a pretty horrible one.

JANE GEDDES: I knew -- I watch everything that's going on, so I pretty much know where I am all the time.

JANE GEDDES: Well, I think Annika is a more mature golfer than I was when I won, which that's why she had such a great year last year, in addition to winning the Open. But I think to come back and defend the Open and win it again -- when you're winning, and she was doing her thing last year, it's sort of like a fairy tale; you're going through it, and you think, oh, my gosh, I'm going to win the Open. And now, all of a sudden, she comes here this week and she thinks I can win the Open, because I've already won it before. Whereas if you haven't ever won it you always wonder if you can. I suffered from that every year after I've played the Open. I think this is the first time I've really been in contention since I won. Maybe it's like a ten-year thing, I don't know. I'm going to lose my exemption, I'm panicking or something. I think it's more difficult the second time around, and that's why I think a lot of people don't successfully defend and don't win the Open a lot of times.

JANE GEDDES: I've been playing well all year. I have been striking the ball very well. I've not been putting very well. I put together some great tournaments. I haven't missed a cut for a very, very long time. I play well on difficult golf courses, my game suits that. I'm not the kind of player that shoots 20 under par. Maybe if I get it going, I will. I enjoy playing courses where pars are good scores, difficult holes where I can hit a long iron in, get away with a par or even make a birdie and pick a shot or two up on the field. I enjoy playing that kind of golf, and I enjoy playing Open golf courses.

JANE GEDDES: I don't know. I don't know what the conditions will be tomorrow. I think around 3-under will win. I think something right around there, who knows. Who knows if somebody will get on a roll. There are some good scores out there today. But when it comes down to it and you're looking at the board and it comes down to the race down to the last 9 holes, anything can happen. It's very hard to predict.