U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 27, 2008

Angela Park

FULL AUDIO INTERVIEW

RAND JERRIS: It's a pleasure to welcome Angela Park to the interview area. With a round of 6-under par, 67 today. 6- under par for the championship.

Angela, you had a fine round yesterday, even par, 73. But obviously a much better day today. What was the difference for you out there today?

ANGELA PARK: Definitely putting. Every stroke out there I hit, every putt I hit out there was flawless strokes. The speeds were really well. And I read the greens really well. So I think that was the key.

RAND JERRIS: You were talking about the excitement of this particular championship and the energy and spirit of the crowd that's out there. How does that factor into your particular play? What does that do for you?

ANGELA PARK: Definitely representing Brazil is a different aspect, because that gives me great pride representing our country. And coming out here knowing that it's the most prestigious event in women's golf gives me a lot of confidence and makes me want to focus a little more than regular events and I think that's what makes me play well.

RAND JERRIS: Take a moment and walk us through the birdies and eagle on your card.

ANGELA PARK: I started on the back 9 today. Birdie on 12. I hit it to about three feet, 6-iron.

And then 13, I hit it from 66 yards to about ten feet. That was like downhill, slider, and then barely lipped it in, and I was like, "Yes!"

And then 15, another birdie to about a foot, 7-iron from 140.

An eagle on 2. 5-wood from 220 to about 30 feet.

No. 4, I had about a 30-footer. I hit a 6-iron and made that.

No. 5, I hit 7-iron from 150 yards to about 20 feet and made that.

Q. Angela, you were in a similar position last year. What do you take from last year as you move forward into the weekend?

ANGELA PARK: I keep reminding myself that there are a lot more holes to be played and anything can happen in one hole.

From last year I think I would take a lot of more patience and a lot of more knowing where not to miss the greens or where to hit my ball and to just be patient and just be focused out there.

Q. I don't know if you got to see any of the broadcast replay from last year, but Johnny Miller was raving about your golf swing, which he almost never does. I was wondering if you had heard about that and how that made you feel?

ANGELA PARK: Definitely I heard after the tournament. And everyone was coming up to me, and they were like, "You've got the best swing on the LPGA Tour."

He was being very kind. I really appreciated his comment about my swing and hopefully I'll keep it up this year.

Q. It hasn't been the most consistent of years for you. What do you think has been the difference and what's turning around?

ANGELA PARK: Like I said, just coming into this tournament, it was a tournament where I really want to do well, and especially having a good finish last year gives me that reminder that I can do well.

It doesn't matter how bad my season was or how inconsistent I've been throughout the year, because I know what I'm capable of and I played well out here.

Q. What kind of score do you think it would take this week?

ANGELA PARK: Well, playing the practice rounds I saw that if the greens were a little soft, that it was going to be a lot of low scores out there. And if the wind kept down obviously a lot of low scores.

But I was really surprised yesterday, a couple of 6-unders. But you never know, the greens might get firm. I hear that it's not supposed to rain anymore and the wind is picking up, I'm pretty sure the greens are going to get a little firmer and the course is going to play a lot tougher tomorrow.

Q. It's becoming a cliche when you look at the leaderboard, you're not seeing very many Americans. What do you think that says about international play and the strength of the American game?

ANGELA PARK: I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you.

Q. When you look at the leaderboard you're not seeing too many Americans on there, and it's becoming sort of a cliche the last couple of years. What do you think that says about the international game versus the Americans?

ANGELA PARK: Both of them are really strong, obviously, but we have so many international players, so you can't say that internationals are stronger than the Americans, because there are so many internationals. So both of them are very strong, both have really strong players out there.

I don't know what it is, but they come to a foreign country and they practice really hard, I guess.

Q. What did you learn about yourself last year, your rookie year on the LPGA Tour and obviously Rookie-of-the-Year for the LPGA. What do you bring into your second season with all the experiences you had, including the Open?

ANGELA PARK: I had really high expectations coming into this year and I think that was a negative kind of aspect of thinking, coming into a year. I think I just had to take it one tournament at a time. Like my coach says, one shot at a time, one birdie at a time, one hole at a time, and one day at a time. The power of one. And I kept telling myself that and said, let's not get ahead of myself like I've been doing this season.

I think not playing well coming into this tournament has actually been a positive thing to me. I want to take it as a positive effect. And I think it will be.

Q. Who is your coach?

ANGELA PARK: Don Brown.

Q. Is he down in Orlando?

ANGELA PARK: He's down in Los Angeles.

Q. Last year you were, what, 19 years old at the Open? You're pretty young. And yet you had such great results. Why do you think you stepped it up last year so soon?

ANGELA PARK: You know, I can't tell you exactly why. I think it comes down to how much you want it. Tiger says, you know, he doesn't want to get beat by anyone. And I think I want to take more of that kind of approach to the game. I know I'm still a long ways from it, but I'll get there sooner or later.

Q. I know that you're a very determined player. Do you feel like you play -- maybe I should ask you -- is your level of determination your secret weapon?

ANGELA PARK: Maybe. I think every good player has determination. I don't think there is a secret weapon out there. I don't think there's a shortcut. I think as much as you practice that's what you're going to get as results. So I prepared myself really well for this event, so we'll see how it goes.

RAND JERRIS: Thanks very much for your time and we wish you all the best tomorrow.