U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 26, 2008

Mariajo Uribe

FULL AUDIO INTERVIEW

RAND JERRIS: We're now joined by Marie Uribe with a round of 4- under par 69 this morning in the first round. Maybe you can just start us off with some general comments about your round this morning.

MARIA JOSE URIBE: I don't know, I was just trying to have fun today. And I was trying not to play aggressive, but some shots came out aggressive. So take advantage of the opportunities that the course gave me and make a couple of putts and that's my round definitely. Hit really good my iron shots today.

RAND JERRIS: You're a defending USGA Champion, having won the Women's Amateur last year. Is there something you learned in your victory last year that brought your game to a new level?

MARIA JOSE URIBE: I would say confidence definitely. I knew that I could play under pressure after the U.S. Amateur. And just a couple of stuff. Maybe that gave me the opportunity to play in the other two Majors this year and those Majors gave me the ability to practice, know what to practice for these Majors and prepare myself for the U.S. Open.

RAND JERRIS: Take a moment and walk us through the birdie and bogeys on your scorecard.

MARIA JOSE URIBE: Oh, let me see if I remember. Well, my birdie on No. 9, I remember that one. Just good driver and then hit -- I was trying to hit it to the right, but it came out to the flag. And then hit it really close and make it.

And then birdie number 10. Went to the green in two and then 2- putts.

11, don't remember how I did that. I'm really bad, sorry. I never remember. Like I don't know if how much I am under par or I don't know where did I birdie or where did I didn't or something.

Maybe it's good for the game, but not good for the media.

(Laughter.)

RAND JERRIS: Were you watching the scoreboard? Did you know your name was up there on the scoreboard throughout the round?

MARIA JOSE URIBE: Yeah, but I just, I don't really pay attention to it. So just I saw that my name was there. I knew that I was playing good, but I didn't knew how much under I was.

Q. Hearing you talk it just sounds like this was just another Saturday round. But you're playing alongside Cristie Kerr, Lorena, cameras start coming out, the crowd starts getting into it. How much of that are you aware of and how much are you just enjoying yourself?

MARIA JOSE URIBE: Definitely I am aware of it, but I'm not really worried about it. I love the crowd. I love to have people giving me energy and stuff. Even if it's not for me, but the people are still there and I don't know, I was just having fun. And I love to play with Lorena. And it was a great experience for me.

So just trying to see what, why she is that good, you know? And it's just simple. Simple golf. Nothing different than a Saturday round with your folks at home.

Q. What is your relationship with Lorena? Have you played with her before and we talked in the Flash area about you guys walking down the fairways, talking. Would you let us in on what you guys were talking about?

MARIA JOSE URIBE: I'm -- this is the first time I've played with her. Not that close to her, but I know -- she's like super nice, so she will say hi to me in every tournament and she will say how am I doing and stuff.

And we were talking about like college golf, about my English, my accent. I don't know. Just random stuff. And she was talking to me, like how my career was and stuff because she knows who I am, but she didn't really follow me through all my career, so just talking about random stuff.

Q. Does she someone you feel you can emulate, look to, to maybe someday be like her? Is that how you view her?

MARIA JOSE URIBE: Definitely. Yeah. There are two people that I admire like in golf, like my idols that is Lorena and Tiger. So definitely Lorena, it's more something that I can look for to because she's Latin and she's like one of the couple of Latin people out there. So definitely I look forward to being like her, but I'm trying to.

Q. You have a wonderful fist pump, where did that come from?

MARIA JOSE URIBE: I don't really think about that. They just come from my body. I don't know, it's maybe the Latin fire that they say or I don't know what it is. It's just you don't really think I'm doing those stuff. They just come around. But, yeah.

Q. You had mentioned that you weren't trying to be aggressive but you were aggressive. Was that nerves or adrenaline or why did it end up being that way?

MARIA JOSE URIBE: I don't know. It's just one of those days that the -- like number 15, I was playing to the right and then I pulled it and hit it close and I'm like, what, like what? I was just laughing out there. It's like Tiger's round in the U.S. Open on Saturday, like he makes it. Those days that everything goes right. And I just took advantage of it. So that's good.

Q. Your confidence just seemed to just appear that you were getting more and more confident, especially 9, 10, 11. At that point where you go birdie, birdie, birdie, what are you thinking at that point?

MARIA JOSE URIBE: Yeah, on number 8 I made a really good par putt. I think that was like the starting point. And I looked at the leaderboard and my coach that is my caddie told me like, oh my God, there is like really low scores for a USGA event. So tomorrow the greens and pins are going to be like really hard. And I was like, okay, I better make a couple birdies and take advantage of these pins then if the course is going to be that hard tomorrow.

Q. You say your coach is your caddie?

MARIA JOSE URIBE: Yeah.

Q. What's his name?

MARIA JOSE URIBE: Pedro Russi. R U S S I.

Q. How long was that par putt you made? How long was that?

MARIA JOSE URIBE: Like 10 feet probably. 12 feet.

Q. When did you start to play and why were you interested in playing golf?

MARIA JOSE URIBE: I started when I was nine. My sister was playing competitive golf already so I went to the tournaments and watched them play and then started to be friends with the people that were my age that were playing those tournaments. So I liked the traveling part and just liked having fun. I was really bad when I started. Like really bad. So it was just for fun.

Q. We have spoken before and I know you like to go out and have a good time, go dancing, be with friends. How much of that is going to happen this week and how much or how seriously are you taking this and how are you going to balance enjoying yourself when you're off the course?

MARIA JOSE URIBE: I don't know. Like I like to have fun, but when I'm playing a golf tournament I'm playing a golf tournament. And I will have fun after this for sure, but right now it's just like staying focused and practice and rest.

It's a long week and I'm really serious about the tournament, don't get me wrong, that I'm just having fun and stuff. But, yeah.

Q. Could you tell us some more about your family and I know, I don't know if you like other sports and soccer maybe, no. I don't know.

MARIA JOSE URIBE: I'm a soccer fan. Definitely. I really bad at soccer, but I'm a soccer fan. And my family, I don't know, we're just like a really united family. They're not big golfers or anything, we were like the first generation to start on golf so it's not like a big -- they just wanted me to be like whatever I want to be, they're not like crazy parents like making me practice or anything. And I don't know, I love to dance. I used to be a ballet dancer when I was younger, before I started playing golf.

And in high school I played volleyball, basketball, so I'm an athlete definitely. I just love to compete.

Q. So how are you going to prepare tonight and what are you going to do tomorrow morning? Anything different?

MARIA JOSE URIBE: I'm just going to eat something and then practice a little bit putting and then probably go and watch a movie or something like that. My parents will go shopping for me, I heard there's a really good mall, but I don't want to walk, so. I'm just going to rest and wake up late tomorrow because if not I'm going to be crazy in the morning like, oh, I want to play now. So I usually wake up like at 10 when I have a late tee time.

Q. Just to follow-up on that other question, you started playing when you were nine. Can you take us through the progression of when you started to get, when you became good, when you got to be scratch, how long did it take?

MARIA JOSE URIBE: Okay, when I was like nine, 10, 11, I was shooting in the 100s. So that was how bad I was.

Then when I was 13 I won my first national championship in Columbia. That was like the starting point when it was like, okay, I can play competitive golf.

So I shoot like 75, 73 at that point. And then when I was 14, I played my first U.S. Girls. And 15 I was qualifying in the U.S. Amateur, so that was like the starting point in the American golf for me. And then just played junior golf here and now college.

Q. You went to one of the academies?

MARIA JOSE URIBE: I went to the academy when I was 15.

Q. Which one?

MARIA JOSE URIBE: IJGA. International Junior Golf Academy in Hilton Head.

Q. Just the name of your home golf course where you learned to play?

MARIA JOSE URIBE: Ruitoque. R U I T O Q U E. Golf Country Club.

Q. In Bogota?

MARIA JOSE URIBE: In Bucaramanga. B U C A R A M A N G A.

Q. Thank you.

MARIA JOSE URIBE: You're welcome.

RAND JERRIS: Well, thanks very much for your time, congratulations on your fine play.

MARIA JOSE URIBE: You're welcome.