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LPGA CORNING CLASSIC

May 22, 2008

Erica Blasberg

CORNING, NEW YORK

THE MODERATOR: Erica, thanks for coming in and joining us today. Great round out there. Bogey-free despite the conditions, which is very impressive. You've got a one-stroke lead in the clubhouse right now. Can you just talk about your season best round?
ERICA BLASBERG: Yeah, you know, I was a little worried this morning when it was about 38 in the morning with wind and rain. But it was so nice having the practice rounds in the same conditions, because I practiced with a lot more rain gear on than I had on today. So I was a little cold out there.
But it was good to start off with a good round like that and the course is playing really good. And the greens are in amazing shape. So it's kind of easy to make some putts here and there. So just playing consistent and making a couple putts really helps.
THE MODERATOR: I think this is the second strong start of the season for you. Weren't you in the same position in Hawaii at the season opening event?
ERICA BLASBERG: Yeah, kind of a long time ago. I kind of forget. But, definitely, I started out good there and kept it going.
THE MODERATOR: Let's go over your scorecard. Details on birdies, then we'll start with questions. Birdie on 4.
ERICA BLASBERG: Yeah, just a tap-in.
THE MODERATOR: What was your approach shot? What club did you use?
ERICA BLASBERG: I believe I had a 9-iron to tap in.
THE MODERATOR: Birdie on 5.
ERICA BLASBERG: Birdie on 5 was a good putt. Probably about 10-foot putt.
THE MODERATOR: The approach shot?
ERICA BLASBERG: I was in the trees off the drive. So I punched out and probably had like a pitching wedge -- oh, no, like a wedge, some type of wedge. I forget.
THE MODERATOR: Birdie on 6.
ERICA BLASBERG: I think I hit 8-iron. I hit -- again, I played it long so it would roll back and it was like maybe three feet.
THE MODERATOR: And the birdie on 9.
ERICA BLASBERG: Oh, good putt. I was maybe 20 feet. And I approached, 8-iron.
THE MODERATOR: Birdie on 12.
ERICA BLASBERG: That's a par 5? I hit it right next to the pin and it was probably about a 8-footer downhill.
THE MODERATOR: What was the approach shot?
ERICA BLASBERG: 8-iron.
THE MODERATOR: Cold weather makes it seem that much longer ago, I'm sure. Birdie on 13.
ERICA BLASBERG: I hit a hybrid in. And I had about a 30-footer.
THE MODERATOR: Your longest putt of the day?
ERICA BLASBERG: Longest putt.
THE MODERATOR: Birdie on 17.
ERICA BLASBERG: I hit a 9-iron in and then maybe just a 6-footer.
THE MODERATOR: Very nice round. Questions for Erica.

Q. Erica, you played here before, right? This is your second time?
ERICA BLASBERG: This is my fourth year here.

Q. Talk about how the course plays on a day like today as compared to a bright, sunny day.
ERICA BLASBERG: Well, the winds are -- I think whatever direction they're going, definitely makes some holes tough. Some of the long holes are actually into the wind. Definitely no roll out there. My drivers are just plugging so that's why I had a lot of long irons.

Q. Sounds like it makes getting from tee to green a little harder. But maybe once you're on the green, I know in years past, players complained how fast the greens are. Probably not as much an issue on a day like this.
ERICA BLASBERG: Definitely. I think the rain made the greens perfect speed today. Once you were on the green it was like a nice breather.

Q. How have you played here in the past?
ERICA BLASBERG: I think I played decent, maybe missed the cut my first year and had some good rounds out here.

Q. Considering the conditions, what are your thoughts on being in this position? When you woke up and saw what it was like out there, could you imagine shooting 7-under or shooting so well?
ERICA BLASBERG: No, I was worried about all the restrictions, clothes and stuff like that, swinging and stuff. I was just trying to go out there and have a decent day. I wasn't trying to do anything special. Obviously, if you're hitting the ball well and making a couple putts, it makes it easy. So it's very nice to have this round under my belt this early and during these conditions.

Q. Can you talk about how you've been playing up until now?
ERICA BLASBERG: I've actually been playing very well the last few weeks. I missed the cut over in, I think, in Kingsmill, but I played really, really well. And last week I played very well. None of my putts would fall. And our cuts and our higher finishes are actually still pretty low scores out there the last few weeks.
So my game's there. It's just a matter of the putts dropping. So I think I'm hitting the ball good. As long as the putts keep falling like they did today, actually it will be good.

Q. Mentally, do you approach the rest of the tournament any different going in as a leader or depending how the other players do today, you'll still be near the top of the leaderboard, does that change your thinking as you go into the second, third, fourth round?
ERICA BLASBERG: I don't think this early. I think maybe if it was Saturday I might have a different story. But right now, no, it's just nice to have the round under my belt again, like I said, and just go out and play good golf like I did today and like I have been.

Q. Any particular part of your game you want to work on a little bit, anything give you trouble at all today?
ERICA BLASBERG: No, I might work a couple, go over the range and hit a couple drives and a couple irons. I missed a couple drives on -- I didn't birdie No. 2, which is a easy par 5 out here. Pull hooked the drive. I don't usually miss shots like that. Maybe go work on things like that just to make sure I score in the places that I should in the next few days.

Q. How many layers did you wear?
ERICA BLASBERG: I think I started out with seven today. And then I had to take one off because it wasn't happening. But I got rain pants on. I've got pants. I've got long socks up to my knees on. My hand warmers are still working. So we're good.

Q. Any earmuffs?
ERICA BLASBERG: No, I need to get some. Actually it's warming up, so maybe I don't.

Q. I was watching you on 14 where it looked like you were getting into a little trouble there. Your approach, came up short. You were able to chip in for par. Were there other points where you kind of had to save par and kind of battled; it's nice to get the birdie putt, but no bogeys?
ERICA BLASBERG: There was one other hole, 14, yeah, I just hit about an approach in, and then 7, I kind of hooked my shot into that green and had a tough chip and actually made a very good putt, downhill slider. So that was a nice save. But those were the only two that were hiccups in the round.

Q. What was on 7?
ERICA BLASBERG: Probably a good 10 feet.

Q. Would this be your first victory if you win here?
ERICA BLASBERG: Yes.

Q. Just the thought on that, over the years have you been kind of wondering, gee, can I ever get a win on this course, especially when you've got Sorenstams and Ochoas dominating every week?
ERICA BLASBERG: Yeah, they're obviously a contender every week. But I don't really put pressure on myself like I have to get a win. I know I'm playing good golf and I know the more I work on my game and the more I work on just making putts when I need to and things like that, I know eventually it will come, because I am playing good golf. And I do compare myself a little bit to some of the top 20 players where I feel like I should be soon enough.
And, yeah, I mean I hit the ball well. And the only thing that holds me back from time to time is just not making those birdies that can save a round. But I'm playing really good. So it's definitely in my mind. I'm not going to dwell on it. Just let my golf game take me to where it's supposed to go.

Q. (Off microphone)
THE MODERATOR: 64. I think it was before. It was before you had your TOUR card. So that would bump it up. It would make your 65.
ERICA BLASBERG: Yeah.

Q. What do you think you've improved over the years, you had to improve on your game over the past few years in order to get to where you are?
ERICA BLASBERG: Actually, I think it's more of a mental thing out here. I think I've hit the ball as good as I ever have. And I think I've always hit the ball good out here. And I've probably become a little bit better putter learning how to putt under different types of pressure, not the normal we've got to make a putt to win or make a putt to get a good score, whatever, just the types of pressures that come out here. So learning those type of things, those are the things that I think I've improved on the most.

Q. As a TOUR stop, a lot of the veteran players enjoy coming to Corning. As one of the younger players, what are your thoughts about Corning?
ERICA BLASBERG: I love Corning. Corning is a very, one of the areas that I like to come to, because it's just a nice, peaceful environment and you can just go on drives and end up at some beautiful lake in the middle of nowhere.
And it's just, I'm talking beyond the golf course, obviously. But as far as on the golf course, I mean this is one of our better conditioned courses. They always keep it in great condition, especially with the weather they have and just coming out of winter not too long ago and how good they keep it.
And then the support of the community is amazing up here. So it's kind of -- it's kind of a neat thing. It's not like we're not in some big city this week. And it's okay. It's kind of nice to be in the quaint small town, kind of where I feel more comfortable. I'm from kind of a big area, but I kind of like the country, I guess you would call it.

Q. You mentioned the season opener, you had a good first round. You finished eighth there. Do you draw from that experience and does that give you confidence moving forward here?
ERICA BLASBERG: I think, definitely, whenever you're in a situation like that, where you're playing well and you continue to play well through the tournament and get in some new situations, definitely things do give you confidence through moments like this.
THE MODERATOR: Erica, congratulations.

End of FastScripts

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