U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 23, 2005

Brittany Lang

RHONDA GLENN: On the stat sheet it shows her with a three-putt on the 11th hole. That's incorrect; she chipped on and two-putted.

Birdie on No. 1. Tell us the club you hit and how long your putt was.

BRITTANY LANG: I hit a lob wedge. It was like a foot.

RHONDA GLENN: No. 6, birdie.

BRITTANY LANG: I hit a 7-iron, and I made a long putt, probably 30 feet. 30, 40 feet.

RHONDA GLENN: No. 7, birdie.

BRITTANY LANG: I hit it to about six feet. Made that putt with a gap-wedge.

RHONDA GLENN: No. 9, bogey.

BRITTANY LANG: I hit it in the right rough and punched out through -- I hit it like into the people, past the people, then hit a hate lob wedge on, and two-putted. No. 10, birdie gap-wedge, probably about five feet.

RHONDA GLENN: 12, bogey.

BRITTANY LANG: Three-putted. I hit really good 6 in there to about 20 feet, three-putted.

RHONDA GLENN: 14 was a birdie.

BRITTANY LANG: I hit 8-iron in there, made about a 12-footer for birdie.

RHONDA GLENN: 18, the bogey.

BRITTANY LANG: It was into the wind. I didn't hit a very good drive, then I hit a rescue. I hit a 3-wood up there and I tried to take a little bit off it, hit it way right, then tried to get it on the green, 2-putt.

I was actually happy with a bogey.

RHONDA GLENN: Did you get a drop there?

BRITTANY LANG: No.

RHONDA GLENN: Questions.

Q. What were your expectations coming in?

BRITTANY LANG: I played yesterday. I took a couple of days off before I came here because I was a little tired, and I played yesterday and hit it the best I have hit it in a long time. I was pretty confident coming in today. I knew I could shoot a low number.

Q. You touched on it in the flash area, could you kind of expand a little bit on what you were feeling inside and what you were thinking as you stood on the first tee? And what was it that sort of got you settled down relatively quickly?

BRITTANY LANG: Yeah, I was very nervous on the first tee, as I am most LPGA tournaments I play, as I am. Obviously the birdie on 1, I was still a little shaky, little nervous the first few holes. Probably it actually wasn't till probably the end of the front nine or the back nine that got me a little calm. But just rolling some putts in got me a little calm.

Q. What is the biggest pressure situation you have faced so far in your playing career and what do you anticipate the next three days being like?

BRITTANY LANG: I don't know the most pressured situation, either maybe at a national or the Curtis Cup. I can't give you a specific event, one of those. Obviously not as big as this.

I am just going to play golf like I have been playing. I am sure I will be nervous, but it will be a lot of fun just getting the crowds on my side. It's a lot of fun.

Q. I have never seen you play before, but you seem to play with a real quick pace; you don't take a lot of time between shots. Is that your normal game? Did that help you today in this situation being in your first Open and everything?

BRITTANY LANG: Yeah, I do. I play very fast. I don't know if that's natural or because I got penalized at the Kraft Nabisco for slow play. I am just trying not to get another one of those.

But yeah, I do. I am a quick player and I don't know if it helps me. I don't overanalyze anything, so I am sure that helps me on the a golf course like this.

Q. You mentioned the nerves on No. 1. Go through your thought process, the things you were thinking about before you step up and hit.

BRITTANY LANG: I am very excited as well. I like playing in front of a lot of people, it really energized me. So I mean, I am literally shaking. I am very nervous but 1 is a good hole.

You just bust driver. That's the best way to go on the first tee shot of the day with the crowds, but I don't know what else to tell you. I was just very nervous.

Q. Did you have trouble getting the tee in the ground?

BRITTANY LANG: No, I didn't. (Laughs).

Q. Did you say outside you were going to turn pro later this summer?

BRITTANY LANG: Yeah, at the end of the summer I am going to go to Q-School.

Q. Why not Monday? You have a bunch of events planned for the rest of the summer? Why the end of the summer? Is there something between now?

BRITTANY LANG: What was the "why not Monday"?

Q. You could have turned pro right after your college year ended.

BRITTANY LANG: Well, one of the reasons was because I have a sponsor's exemption to an LPGA. If I turn pro, they won't give it to me. I mean, I just need the experience this summer, then go from there.

Q. On the 18 you had quite a bit of wind gust up, I noticed that you backed off. Talk about the hole 18, hitting the grandstand?

BRITTANY LANG: Yeah (laughs). That wind picked up quite a bit, so I backed off hopefully, just hoping it died down a little bit because that's a long hole in itself. It didn't -- I just swung as hard as I could at the driver. I had 220 uphill into the wind, so I didn't think there was any way I can get 3-iron there. So I was just going to hit a high-cut 3-wood, take a little bit off it. I totally blocked it. If you make bogey there, it's not the end of the world.

Q. Did you allow yourself the pleasure of watching the leaderboards and where did you realize that you were reading the championship?

BRITTANY LANG: I saw it actually on the 2nd hole. I was 1-under, so I looked at that leaderboard, or the 3rd hole. I saw that I was on the top and I was the first -- the very top name. That was pretty exciting seeing that.

I usually watch the scoreboards. It doesn't really bother me.

Q. Curious what your take is on the 18th hole. Is it the type of hole difficult enough that you kind of were thinking about it the whole day or dreading it?

BRITTANY LANG: No, I don't think about all day. It's a great finishing hole. It can be the deciding factor on the winner, but I don't think about it 'til I step on the tee and I mean, it's a really good hole. Very long.

Q. Another amateur put up a number early today, Morgan Pressel. She was 5-under then she fell back. Is there a competition within the competition among the amateurs?

BRITTANY LANG: She was 5-under at one point? Wow. Is there competition with the amateurs?

Q. Yes.

BRITTANY LANG: I don't think so. We're all friends. We're just want to beat the pros just as much as we want to beat each other. I don't think so, no.

Q. Have you played at altitude before and how was your club selection as far as, did it give you any trouble?

BRITTANY LANG: I have not played at altitude before. This is my first experience. It hasn't given me any trouble, no. It doesn't play like -- the altitude doesn't come into effect on every shot, like some of my wedge shots, they don't come into it. You just kind of have to pick and choose, like mid-irons every shot, definitely it will play shorter. But I haven't had any trouble with it. It's about a club shorter.

End of FastScripts.