U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 27, 2008

Minea Blomqvist

FULLAUDIOINTERVIEW

RAND JERRIS: It's a pleasure to welcome Minea Blomqvist to the interview room with a round of 4-under par, 69 today, 5-under par for the championship.

You had a fine round yesterday, 1-under par yesterday. But a little better today. What was the difference from yesterday to today for you?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: You know, I just think I was very calm from the start. I started with the two birdies, so I think that kind of took the little nervous thing away.

RAND JERRIS: Through the first two rounds, is this a golf course that's very comfortable for you? Does it set up well to the strengths of your game?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: Yeah, you know, I really, really when I got here, like I said before, I played the Junior Solheim Cup here five years ago, and then we watched the big Solheim Cup after the Junior Solheim Cup, and I think it was so nice to come back and play the course yourself. It's always very exciting. I think the golf course is so great. You have to shape the ball from the tee. You really have to think a lot.

I think the course kind of keeps you very focused.

RAND JERRIS: Could you take a moment and walk us through the birdies and bogeys on your card?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: Yes. I started 10, 11 birdies.

Then No. 18 I made birdie.

RAND JERRIS: Could you give us yardages and clubs?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: Okay. Can I go meters?

RAND JERRIS: Sure.

MINEA BLOMQVIST: I can change. No. 10 I had maybe 250 to the pin and I just got it on the front of the green and then I made a couple of two good putts.

Then No. 11 I had let's say 110 yards. I kind of took a little accuracy on that hole. I hit a driver. So 110. I probably had like six meter putt to birdie.

On No. 18 I had maybe 220 yards to the pin and I just hit it front of the green and chipped maybe to like three meters short and putted in.

And then No. 11 I had probably 210 to the pin and I hit it pin-high on the right. I probably had like 10 meter birdie putt, eagle putt, and then I made two putts.

It's hard to remember. And then on the birdie on the final hole I had 145 to the pin and hit 8-iron to like three feet.

Q. Could you talk about the swing at 8? You missed the putt and then you come right back at 9 to make birdie?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: Yeah, it just made me mad on No. 8, kind of. It was kind of bad read. I pushed the putt a little bit. I had probably like three feet uphill putt. And I missed it. It went all the way around and kind of made me mad. But I thought, okay, just go, and of course I got very good drive on No. 9 and I had a good line on the pin.

Q. Are you able to put that behind you? Obviously you put it behind you very quickly and came back on 9. Does that show how you're getting mature, you're growing with the game?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: Yeah, I mean I think this week, like I said, you have to just stay focused all the time. You're excited off every hole, because every hole is kind of so cool. You can see it from the tee box already what you have to do. So it keeps you focused and of course when you're playing good, you're 3-under, you know you are kind of in the hunt, you don't give up or you don't lose your mind, that would be very stupid.

Q. What was the strongest part of your game today? Did you putt exceptionally well or were you hitting it on the fairway?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: I think I putted very well because I made couple of long par putts. I think other one was like 7 meter and other one was like five meter. So I saved a couple of good pars and then I made good birdies. I think putting was strong today.</ p>

And then driving. Yesterday I missed quite much fairways yesterday.

Q. Normally the putting, is that your strong part of your game?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: Yes, yes, usually it is.

Q. When the summer's only five months long in Finland how do you practice? What do you do? Or do you just play all night. Because I know the sun stays up for a while and you make up for it in the summertime?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: You take it up in summer. You play three rounds a day. But that's why actually I turned pro when I was 18 because I had one option to come to high school, to U.S., to be able to practice whole year-round or turn pro and start traveling around. So I made a choice to kind of go for it.

Q. What was your option in the U.S.? Go to one of the academies?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: No, that was too expensive for me. But we looked couple of those academies. One option was to come to high school one year and then go to college from there.

Q. What do your parents do?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: My parents -- my mom works in the school and actually now she took one year off the work and travel with me. But now I said you can stay home, I need a little break. So she's staying home with my sister and brother.

And my dad works in the road business company. Normal 8 to 4 works.

Q. How much time do you spend in Finland every year?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: This year, because I moved to Orlando this January, so this year probably not that much. But always in the summer if I have a week off I fly home. I would say altogether maybe two months.

Q. Would you be flying home if you had to pay for your ticket?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: Yeah, I appreciate this one a lot (indicating), because last year I went ten times back and forth.

Q. We were talking about it before you came in here, trying to remember other Finnish players, I remember a player Minna Laitinen who played at Tulsa University. And then there's a young lady on the Duramed Futures Tour now, Jutta Degerman?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: She's one of my best friends. She's going to be my bridemaid.

Q. Are there other Finns heading this way and are there maybe more in college that we'll see down the road?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: I mean the Finnish golf is going forward a little bit. Mika who plays in the European Tour, he won two times last year. And in Ladies European Tour two years ago we had five people now we have two. And I think maybe like good girls are coming. They are probably 15 right now. So it might take five, four years to get some people here. And I think the guys are actually doing very good. We have a couple of very talented players, like my boyfriend, for example.

Q. Did you not want to come play college golf like a lot of these other players do in the States?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: You know, I started to date with my boyfriend when I was 15. It was just for me leaving Finland when I was 18, 17, I didn't want to do that. So that's why I kind of -- that was one reason to turn pro, as well. I didn't want to come so far so quick.

Q. How good is this Degerman young lady, this friend who is on the Duramed Futures Tour?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: She was my rival always in the Junior tournaments. She's a tough player. I think she's kind of -- when she was 20 she wasn't sure if she wants to play in the professional. So actually she has been in college four years now, so we haven't played that much together. But I was actually surprised that she turned pro. I didn't have a clue. She didn't tell me because -- she wanted to go to qualify without me knowing, she didn't want to get the pressure. So she didn't tell me. But anyway, she's tough. She's tough. So that's what we need.

Q. Do you root for the other Scandinavian players, since -- say Annika or Suzann, they're still from the same area, since there aren't any Finnish females for you to look up to and idolize when you were growing up?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: Of course mostly I hang out with the Swedes. They are more close to me, kind of. And knowing them from the European amateur events and stuff like that.

But, you know, you look up, of course, obviously Suzann and Annika and Lorena, because I think those are the players to beat, kind of. Of course there is a lot of Koreans, as well. But when you have kind of friend play you always want to beat kind of your friend. I don't know why is that.

Q. This is a crazy question, but I've always heard Swedes say that Finns talk funny. Do you think the Swedes talk funny?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: I always tell a story that -- why Swedes are so good in the golf, because in golf you need empty mind, and there's nothing going on in their heads, so that's why they play good. (Laughter)

RAND JERRIS: That's now in writing and going out through the Internet around the world.

MINEA BLOMQVIST: Yeah, probably. (Laughter).

Q. According to the stat sheet you're No. 1 in putting on the whole LPGA Tour. Has that always been the strength of your game? I know you were asked that earlier, but that obviously is a big differencemaker out here at times?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: Actually like three weeks ago when I heard that, I wasn't following at all stats and I heard I'm No. 1. I'm like, okay. Actually that has given me a little more confidence, actually, because I have always -- we're very interested just watching Tiger and how he can make important putts, just the world of putting, like that you see the putts and -- so that's actually what I have always practiced most, kind of, like being in the Junior and being at the golf course 10:00 in the evening and thinking that you're going to make this putt and this is the putt to win the British Open. But actually it has given me a lot of confidence when I saw that I'm on the top of the list.

Q. What's the latest you've ever stayed up playing, you said 10:00 at night, practicing your putting, have you ever gone all night?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: Yes. We have played golf -- actually I stayed -- my family lives by the golf course. So we always had parties at my house. So when I was 15, 14, we used to go play like at 2:00, middle of the night.

Q. Have to play all you can?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: Yeah.

Q. Is putting one of those things that you could do year-round? Could you putt inside somewhere when you had like a lot of snow falling down and you couldn't go hit balls?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: I kind of think when I go home in the winter, in December, for example, we have indoor places. Like you probably have here.

The longest one that we can hit is like 60 yards. So I think always two weeks is enough. You practice kind of technical part of your game and then you go outside again. But it's kind of fun.

On the inside you can watch video or whatever. We have a lot of different kind of putting places. I mean it's not that great, but you can do technical part.

Q. I see you live down where Leadbetter's headquarters are, do you work with a coach there?

MINEA BLOMQVIST: No, I have a Finnish coach.

RAND JERRIS: Congratulations on your fine play. Wish you all the best tomorrow.