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RICOH WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN

July 30, 2008

Melissa Reid

ASCOT, ENGLAND

COLIN CALLANDER: Ladies and gentlemen, we have Mel Reid here, as you all well know, finished as leading amateur last year at St. Andrews and subsequently turn professional and had a fantastic first year on Tour. How do you feel 12 months in.
MELISSA REID: Yeah, I feel like I've progressed a lot in the past year. I've worked really hard, and I can see the improvements already. Turning pro is quite a big thing. I just thought it was my time to go and I feel like I've really fitted in on Tour and just changing myself every week and it's nice. I'm really enjoying it.
COLIN CALLANDER: What sort of memories do you have finishing leading amateur at the Ricoh last year?
MELISSA REID: It was an unbelievable week. I had to pre-qualify and the whole thing. It was great to have my dad on the bag and pretty special week for all the family. I just love St. Andrews, and it's the home of golf and a fantastic atmosphere to be around, and honestly one of best weeks of my life. And I learned so much about my game and I got to play with some great players in practise, Annika and Jeong Jang and Cristie Kerr, and I loved the whole week.
COLIN CALLANDER: Look forward to this week.
MELISSA REID: Yeah, I played it a few times and this is one of my favourite courses, and it really does suit my eye. It in the best condition I've ever seen it in and it's just looking absolutely superb. I just can't wait to play and tee it up tomorrow.

Q. How do you think you measure improvement? Does it come down to pure results or do you kind of listen to yourself at the same time?
MELISSA REID: Obviously you've got to go on some results. I just feel that this year I'm shooting lower scores more consistently on lower courses with tougher competitors and finishing higher than I did as an amateur really.
So that's really how I see my improvements, and Clive, that's how he sees my improvements, and my caddie, Brian, he sees the improvements throughout each tournament and I feel like I'm progressing each tournament I play in, which is a fantastic feeling to have.

Q. There's been a lot of stuff written about your link with Sir Clive Woodward and the expertise he's provided to you. What has he brought to your game?
MELISSA REID: I'm very lucky to have met him and for him to have introduced me to such great people that are on my team and we're a very strong team. I think what I've learned from everybody is what hard work is and there's no shortcut to success. As an amateur, even last year I was doing very amateur things and whereas now I'm a professional and I feel each week and each day I'm becoming more professional in the way that I am and the way that I train is getting better.
So I think that's the main thing that I've learned is what hard work and dedication and obsession actually.

Q. Obsession, meaning attention to various details?
MELISSA REID: Yeah, the thing is that everyone is a great player. They would not be here if they were not talented. But to become a fantastic player and a major winner is a little different and to make a big difference in the future, and they are the small details that I feel do make may huge difference, and they are the small details that I am trying to find all the time.

Q. Given so many Koreans seem to have been playing since they were so young and playing for such a long time, how do you rate their threat in this tournament?
MELISSA REID: The Koreans are very good players, very strong. Yeah, they are tough, but it's great to be competing against them. I want to be competing against the best players and it's great and I want to see where I am compared to them and where I can improve. The better the field, the better it is for me.

Q. What's the biggest difference turning from amateur to professional?
MELISSA REID: I think that I've just matured a lot. As an amateur, you're in team environments quite a lot, and the problem with that is that you can only be as good as the worst player that way. You can't really push yourself to your limits.
As a pro, I'm pushing myself as high as I can go. It's a glass ceiling; it's as high as want to go and I think that's what it is. I think since I've turned pro, I've just had myself to compare and how good I want to be in X amount of years and that's what's really driven me since turning professional.

Q. In your quest to play against the best, when will you go to the LPGA Tour?
MELISSA REID: I'm going at the end of the year. The European Tour has been fantastic to me this year. It is a very, very good tour and it's getting stronger and stronger and I've really enjoyed my year here. I will always be part of the European Tour no matter what, but I want to be the best player in the world and to do that I have to compete against the best players, which is on the LPGA Tour.

Q. Are we in England doing as much as they are doing in Korea to get their youngsters good?
MELISSA REID: I don't know, I don't really know what the Koreans are doing. All I know is the Koreans work very hard. I just feel that, you know, not necessarily English, but British players and British sports people in general, especially youngsters don't understand what hard work is. I mean, I wouldn't have done if I hadn't had met Clive and the team that I've been around. I've been very, very lucky to meet some great people, but I didn't know what hard work was two years ago.

Q. What was hard work to you two years ago?
MELISSA REID: Hard work was going to the gym three times a week for an hour-and-a-half session, and practise-wise, I was doing probably two, three hours a day. Whereas now, I can do up to ten hours of practise or 12 hours of practise, and two-hour gym sessions. It's a full-on day for me now.
It's everything. I look very much into my nutrition. I look very much into the way I stretch and my whole day is completely dedicated to this game.

Q. How many years do you think you will do that?
MELISSA REID: As many as I can keep it going. I don't want to say it's going to be to years, three years. I want to still be winning British Opens when I'm 45 years old.

Q. Of all the experts you've been exposed to via Clive Woodward, who has made the biggest impact or difference?
MELISSA REID: Yeah, each of them have played their own part. See, they all work together. For example Dave Reddin, my fitness guy, I would not be able to do what he does to me if my body wasn't right, which is from Marco, my physio, and we couldn't do that which I didn't eat the right foods which is Adam Carey, and I couldn't do any of this right, which Charlotte Cowie helps, my doctor.
I think if I'm completely honest, would I say I have four priorities, and I would say them four have made the biggest difference.

Q. Is there a boyfriend --
MELISSA REID: There was. We unfortunately split up about a month ago. So that will be that. (Laughing).

Q. Having almost scientifically worked out what you should be doing to be a better player, is the game still fun?
MELISSA REID: Yeah, you see, this is what I've got to be careful in what I say, because it's really not mechanical what I'm doing. It's very much feel. The nutrition stuff, for example, I just bring into my life, it's part of my life, and stretching.
Golf is a game of feel. That's what's fun about it is that it's completely a feel game and you use your imagination. I wouldn't practise if I didn't have fun. I get bored very, very easily. You know, the day I beat him is the day I think I'm a pretty good player, which I haven't beat him yet, so I've still got a lot to learn, but you've got to keep it fun. I'm out there for a lot of hours and, you know, 90 per cent of my time is practise and training and stuff. So you've got to keep it fun.

Q. Does the fact that you split up with the fellow a month or so ago because you work so hard and he couldn't quite cope with that?
MELISSA REID: No, he was a fantastic guy, I won't go into too much detail. He's a normal 24-year-old lad, very, very nice, but I'm not normal, and we basically just grew apart and that's what it was. He wants to have career and I want to have mine, and it just wasn't going to work.

Q. What do you make of the decision by Michelle Wie to not come here and try to make the cut in the men's event in America?
MELISSA REID: That's her decision and it's completely fine. It's not something I personally would do. I personally would be on this tour until I win tournaments and until I win majors and see what Annika did to push herself even harder because she's achieved everything in the women's game.
Yeah, you know, if I manage to become anything like Annika was, then yeah, maybe I would, but right now I'm just focusing on improving myself on the women's tour.

Q. Do you think someone like Michelle Wie could benefit from the sort of information you've been given by Clive Woodward and his team?
MELISSA REID: I'm not too sure. I think that anyone would benefit from the expertise that I'm receiving. I just feel very, very lucky that I've been given access to these people and it's just a great opportunity which I'm sure any player would be thankful of having.

Q. You mentioned about going on the LPGA Tour. Have you made any plans at the moment in terms of going out to the States and what your program would be out there?
MELISSA REID: Yeah, we're working on my scheduling with my schedule guy, who is actually my fitness guy, Dave Reddin, and we are going to work out when we are going to get there and what tournaments we are going to play beforehand. And yeah, he'll look into more detail throughout the week, and it will be different conditions. It's 95 degrees out there and I have to prepare myself so I'm fresh, and that includes jet-lag and everything like that. So, yeah, that's what we are working towards as soon as we can.
COLIN CALLANDER: You finished tight 16th last year, and you said in the last few minutes that you have improved in the last 12 months; does that mean that you can genuinely challenge the best players in the world?
MELISSA REID: Yeah, I'm not here to make up the numbers I'm here to win. And I do understand this is my first year on Tour and this is my first proper British Open as a professional. I'm not going to expect too much of myself or be too hard on myself, but really do think I have a chance to win, and I wouldn't be here if I didn't and I wouldn't put in the hours I do if I didn't believe that I can do this.
I'm just looking forward to this week and it's going to be a great challenge for me and I really, really want to play well here.

Q. Karen Stupples won here in 2004. Have you spoken to her about her victory around here?
MELISSA REID: I think I'm playing with her tomorrow which will be good. I'm looking forward to playing with her. She seems really, really nice, so should be a really enjoyable game. I haven't seen Karen that much, but I will talk to her and she what it entailed and felt like and stuff. She's Major Champion. He's a great player.

Q. Is Clive coming down to watch you?
MELISSA REID: He's not. He's in Beijing at the moment so I don't think he's going to fly over and pop along, I'm afraid.
COLIN CALLANDER: Melissa, thank you very much.

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