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MCDONALD'S LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY COCA-COLA

June 5, 2008

Emily Bastel

HAVRE DE GRACE, MARYLAND

DANA GROSS-RHODE: Let's go over your scorecard first.
EMILY BASTEL: It was like 150 and hit a 6-iron to a foot.
6, 145, 7-iron to 18 feet.
8, was a gap wedge from 92 yards to eight feet.
13, 7-wood to 12 feet.
16, gap wedge from 98 to six feet.
18 was a 24-degree hybrid to probably 12 feet from 178 out.
DANA GRASSRHODE: As we get started, last year you were at the top of the Duramed FUTURES Tour and that gave you your exempt status and now in your first major of the year you've just shot a 66. Can you talk about what's going through your mind and thoughts for tomorrow?
EMILY BASTEL: I'm very excited and I'm actually a little bit under the weather if you can tell by my voice. I think that helped me to just kind of stay patient out there. I was trying to just get through the round as much as anything. But it's very exciting and just try to make the most of it this week.

Q. What's the course playing like out there today?
EMILY BASTEL: It's very, very wet, and in the same sense, the rough is long. I was fortunate, I think I hit every fairway today, maybe just missed one.
So if you can keep it in the fairway with us playing lift, clean and place, you can still find good lies out there, and be hitting a clean ball into the greens. And with it being so moist, the greens are receptive. So I had some good yardages today and was able to kind of throw it at the stick a couple of times.

Q. Did you find it hard to keep your composure as the round went on? Were you getting excited or were you able to kind of stay focused?
EMILY BASTEL: I was actually surprisingly calm. I can't say that it will be like that all week. But today I felt pretty calm. Like I said, I feel so lousy that it was like I was more worried about that than anything else.
You know, sometimes I guess that can be a blessing in disguise.

Q. What's your ailment?
EMILY BASTEL: I guess it's a cold. It's been kind of in my chest and my throat. A couple of times today I was embarrassed. I couldn't stop coughing. I had like these coughing fits.
DANA GROSS-RHODE: What do you feel is the strongest part of your game right now, and is this year different knowing you have exempt status?
EMILY BASTEL: Well, I've actually been lucky that every year I've been out here, I've had exempt status, and the years I haven't, I haven't had any status, which has made it easy to decide where I was going to play.
But you know, it's exciting to have this happen, and you know, early in the week, just try to enjoy it and keep it going.

Q. You said it's pretty wet out there. I guess if it doesn't drop any rain, the greens will get harder and it might get a little tougher out there. How big was it go out and post a low number to get started?
EMILY BASTEL: Yeah, it's always good to get off to a good start, and, you know, if for no other reason than just to have a little confidence for the rest of the week. And I'm sure it will keep drying out. I have a hard time believing that it's going to be firm by the end of the week; however, you know, I'm not familiar with this course or how it handles water.

Q. By the stats that I was looking at, it seems that you are not very long off the tee relatively speaking. The softness of the fairways, does this work against you not having as much carry?
EMILY BASTEL: I think it probably does work against me, but it works against everybody. You know, I mean, if I'm hitting it ten shorter because of the wetness, so is everybody else most likely.
So you know, the golf course does play long for me overall, but like I said, I felt confident with my longer clubs, my hybrids, and I've been working on those to kind of turn those into scoring clubs for me, because I kind myself at longer distances into greens sometimes.

Q. Just being able to go out there and post before a lot of the other contenders are able to do anything, does that help at all to be out there real early?
EMILY BASTEL: You know, I'm not sure. I think one great thing about when it's this wet or going early, is especially on the front, we had really nice greens. They weren't tracked up at all. They were real smooth.
But you know, with having a morning or afternoon time each day, it all kind of evens itself out. But it's nice to have today over with and be able to relax a little before tomorrow. Hopefully I'll probably take a nap this afternoon and be able to sleep in tomorrow and kind of help me get over this cold so I have some energy left by the end of the week.

Q. Do you think that 6-under will hold up as the leader for today?
EMILY BASTEL: It's really hard to say. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't just because the greens are so receptive. And there are some pins out there that are green-light pins as far as scoring goes, so it's tough to say.
DANA GRASSRHODE: Thank you very much, Emily, for coming in.

End of FastScripts

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