U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 3, 1998

Lisolette Neumann

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: Birdie on No. 2, where I hit pitching wedge to one foot. A bogey on No. 7, missed my second shot in the bunker. I hit the bunker shot to about ten feet, missed that putt. Then it was a birdie on 13, where I hit a 9-iron to about, I'd say, 24 feet. And made that putt.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: I think I had a couple of those. (laughs)

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: Longest one was definitely on 12. (see her comment below).

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: I will say must have been 100 feet. The pin was on the front and I was almost off the back. I was, like, a foot from the back fringe and managed to 2-putt on that one.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: I will say good putt on -- excuse me, the putt that I was talking about was actually on No. 11, the long one. Then I had a really long putt on 10, also on the back there, must have been close to 90 feet; had a good up-and-down on 18, left my second shot just short of the green, chipped it up there to about ten feet, made that putt.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: Yeah, putter is hot.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: No, it feels -- I mean it feels good. I am extremely happy just being in contention and obviously going out tomorrow just being in the last group, it is -- I think that is when you tee it up in a tournament, that is obviously where you want to be for the weekend and just being very patient out there and just really looking forward to tomorrow.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: No, I haven't. I haven't actually watched her. I know she won the McDonald's and basically I just got to watch her play the last hole there on TV. But, everybody said she is a long hitter and obviously she is putting very good this week. So looking forward to that.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: I think just coming, you know, the way the season had gone so far this year, just been a lot steadier, just, you know, finished up last year playing a lot better than I have. And obviously this is the best season I have ever had. Just more consistent, just driving the ball a lot better than I have the last couple of years and I think for me that is very important. You stand on the tee and you feel like you are in control. You know where the ball is going, and if you can put a good drive out there, it definitely makes it a lot easier. Also overall, I think I have a lot more confidence this year than I had last year.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: It is hard to say. I think I am probably about the same, actually.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: I think for Se Ri, obviously she just won the McDonald's, she obviously just won one of the Majors out here and, you know, she is young. I don't think she is going to be too nervous. She has nothing really to lose. She is having a good year. And, for her, I think, you know, she has a long career in front of her. Obviously she is probably planning on being out here for a good, 10, maybe 20 years. So, you know, I think for some of the older players, they are kind of running out of time, and an Open victory is something you always want to have with you, so you know, obviously I might be under a little bit more pressure than what she is going to be under for the weekend.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: Not really, but I can point, and, I mean, obviously two very different golf courses that I won on out in Phoenix and then in Atlanta which, it is a much hillier golf course. I think -- I mean, two totally different golf courses. But, I mean, overall, I think the two weeks when I won, my ball-striking was good. It was very solid and just one of those weeks, I think, when you win, obviously that the putter is hot and I have been putting extremely good this year and really good this last two days too.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: It was hard out there today. I think, first of all, it was so slow anyway, you had three group waiting on the 5th tee, so it was sort of -- played good the first four holes; then we had to sit down and probably waited a good 20, 25 minutes there. And then we got to play 5 and 6 and then they called it again for almost an hour, like 55 minutes, so, you know, it is hard to sort of get anything going. It took over three hours for us, obviously, to play the front 9, so it was slow out there. It is hard to, you know, to keep your concentration, but you just are trying to be patient. I was trying to eat something and drink a lot of water and sort of just take one shot at a time and just trying to stay focused the whole time.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: I think some tougher pin placements. I think some of the pins were on the front of the greens today and a couple of them were sort of tucked a little bit. They were hard to get to. And I think -- I just think the greens are getting so hard, too, that it is really hard to, you know, you can't really go for any of the pins. And, I mean, I don't hit the ball very high, so obviously for me, I am sort of just playing front yardage and trying to play all the slopes to get the ball -- to get close to the hole. A few times it is hard. I mean, I could manage that and end up with some really long putts, anything from 60 feet to 90 feet. You are just sort of trying to be patient. Take the 2-putt and just go on to the next hole. I think obviously I think they are going to try to just keep the greens really hard for the next two days too, so I think it is going to be tough out there.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: Probably right in between. I was nervous today a couple of times. I think just teeing off this morning I was a little nervous. I think you always are when you are in contention just being here at the Open, I mean, you always have, you know, some little nerves there. Obviously when it is so slow out there, after sitting on the tee on No. 5, you sort of get nervous again because you are going to hit a drive and you know you are coming up to the toughest hole out there, and you haven't hit a ball in the last half hour. Then you have a rain delay and standing out there, too, so, obviously, you get nervous out there. I did today.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: Yeah, that has been my strategy. Just trying to hit fairways and greens, I have been putting so well that, you know, if I can just get it on the green, I am very comfortable. I feel like I can pretty much 2-putt from anywhere. And, you know, even though -- I mean, that's the strategy; I still ended up only hitting 11 greens today, so it is very hard out there. But obviously a couple of the greens that I missed was just on the fringe where it was easy chips; that I can just chip it very close and go on. But that is going to be my strategy for the next couple of days too. Just try to keep the ball in play and just be patient.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: That is correct.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: Yeah, about two years now, I think.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: I have been hitting a lot of 9-woods. I think the 9-wood has been coming in a lot of play for me.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: Obviously out here it is not landing that soft anyway. It has been great a couple of times I used it out of the rough on the par 5s which has been really good and on a normal golf course when the greens are holding a little bit better, definitely gets the ball up in the air a little bit better. I definitely can hold the greens better than a 4- or 3-iron.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: I think it has. Definitely it just gave me so much more confidence. I used to dread standing over a 4- or 3-iron, 180, 190 yards and now I have no problems with that yardage at all.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: I think it is one of my strengths, anyway. I am usually a pretty patient person and I think it is just -- it is just one of those courses, you know you are not going to make a lot of birdies out there, so I think you just have to grind it out. You know you are going to make mistakes and you make, maybe, a couple of bogeys here and there and then, you know, if you can just hit as many greens as possible, and, like I said, just keep your patience and hopefully you drop a few birdies out there.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: I think it feels pretty much the same. I am driving the ball a little bit better today than I was in the beginning of the year, I think. Actually changed drivers, so I have been -- I think I have been driving the ball a little bit straighter than I have before.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: From an 8 degree to a 9 degree, so, I hit the ball a little bit higher. A little higher and straighter.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: Just switched it a couple of weeks ago, so it probably takes a little time for that to show up. Hopefully it will show at the end of the year.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: I guess -- I don't think I really knew what was going on at that time. I think it was just one of those weeks when pretty much everything just went my way. Obviously I had a little experience from playing in the European Tour. I was there for three years before and I had won some tournaments so I knew what it was like to be in contention. But, I don't think I knew how important the U.S. Open was at that time. That the U.S. Open was that much bigger than all the other tournaments and that every player wanted to win just that tournament. So, at that time, I think that is the difference today, I know how important this event is and how it can change your future.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: I would think she is a little bit in that position, obviously. I am sure her life changed quite a bit after she won the McDonald's, the first major that she won out here. So I think she is sort of -- has, you know, a clue what this will mean to her.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: Yes, please. That would be nice. I think everybody would definitely be able to be a little bit more aggressive. And, I think it would definitely help the scores for sure.