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U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 11, 2000

Marcy Newton

PORTLAND, OREGON

RHONDA GLENN: Another finalist for 36 holes tomorrow starting at 7:15. Marcy Newton. You haven't been quite this far ever before. It's the National Championship. You were playing the tournament hotshot really. How did you feel about beating her, getting this far?

MARCY NEWTON: Well, I knew she was a great player, you know. Coming in, I just tried to play my game and not worry about her. Obviously I got up early on her. I think I might have gotten complacent on the backside or he wasn't aggressive. You know, it was a tough, close match. It was a good one. I'm glad I came out on top.

RHONDA GLENN: You lost 11 and 12, then you lost 14.
Q. Can we talk about those chips?

MARCY NEWTON: Yes, we can talk about them. The one on 11, that green scares me. I mean, it's really fast. I didn't want to hit it up and hit it too hard. I wanted to keep it below the hole so I could at least have a putt up at it. Obviously didn't hit a very good chip. Then on 12 I thought it was going to run a little bit more than it did. It just kind of stopped on me.

Q. Did you hit 5-wood or 7-wood in there?

MARCY NEWTON: I hit 5-wood.

RHONDA GLENN: Tell them about the conversation with your mother. You just talked to her on the phone.

MARCY NEWTON: I did. My mom, she's an assistant principal at a high school. I guess she was watching it at school. She had to leave. I mean, obviously it's three hours ahead, so they're out of school. She had to leave while I was on 16. When she got home and turned it onto ESPN, it was already off. She called my brother. She was like, "So what happened?" He was like, "She lost." My mom is like, "Don't kid me. Really, did she lose?" He was like, "Yeah. The girl chipped in on the last hole. She lost." Finally I guess he told her. I'm sure it gave her a heart attack.

Q. What is your mom's name?

MARCY NEWTON: Well, Penny. Everybody calls her Penny.

RHONDA GLENN: P-e-n-n-y?

MARCY NEWTON: Uh-huh.

Q. When you say you got complacent on the backside or a little less aggressive, at what point does that happen? Did you say, "I'm three up. I have this thing in the bag"?

MARCY NEWTON: No.

Q. Little bit trying to be too conservative?

MARCY NEWTON: I just stopped. You know, the way I played on the Front 9 -- I don't really know. I still was hitting good shots. The shot I hit on 11 was a little right. I hit a great shot on 12. I guess it hit hard and went over. So I don't know. I don't know what the proper word would be. I just didn't play them as well as I had.

Q. Did you get nervous?

MARCY NEWTON: I'm always nervous before a tee off. I was pretty good all day until about 14, 15. I wasn't like a nervous wreck, but I was a little bit nervous.

Q. How key was that up-and-down at 15?

MARCY NEWTON: It was key. Well, and then for her to miss hers.

Q. Did that kind of surprise you?

MARCY NEWTON: Yeah, it did. Good shot there, too, on 15. I had a hook lie. I knew it was going to hook. It just kind of rolled off into the bunker. I knew she had a tough 2-putt.

Q. Especially after she made a first good putt really.

MARCY NEWTON: Right, yeah.

Q. To about two and a half feet or so.

MARCY NEWTON: Yeah, it was nice. I had thought about giving it to her. Neither one of us had like any of those putts all day. They were usually a little closer, then we could give them. I just thought coming down the stretch that I would just see that one.

Q. Not as friendly with her as you were with Beth?

MARCY NEWTON: Plus I didn't have to go to the bathroom (laughter).

Q. The shot you hit on 17, what club was that? What was your distance?

MARCY NEWTON: I hit 7-wood from the rough.

Q. How far did you have to the hole?

MARCY NEWTON: I think I was about 180.

Q. Could you tell where that landed? No one else seemed to be able to.

MARCY NEWTON: I did. I knew where it was. I don't think my dad saw it either. I was like, "It looks like it's about six feet, a little short." I didn't know.

Q. What about your tee shot on 16?

MARCY NEWTON: It was a good one. Well, when I try to let up, I knew I didn't have to hit it full. Sometimes when I let up, I do have a tendency to pull the pants off of it. That's what I did. It was bad. I almost made that putt. I kind of walked on it too soon.

Q. What club did you hit on 16?

MARCY NEWTON: 5-wood. I think I probably should have hit 7-wood.

Q. Are you pleased with the way that you handled it mentally out there today? What were you telling yourself?

MARCY NEWTON: I wasn't really telling myself, you know, anything. I just tried to play my own game and not worry about -- I don't mind losing the birdies, but I feel like I kind of gave her -- on 11 and 12, I feel like I gave her one hole on both of those. I just try not to get unnerved and put too much pressure on myself to hit great shots. I mean, I know I'm swinging at it well, hitting it well.

Q. Was being up the whole time, or at least even, really key for you? Did you see a big difference in your game never having to come from behind? Do you still just go out and do the same thing?

MARCY NEWTON: Yeah, I just try to do the same thing, because it's worked. Might as well keep doing it, you know.

Q. You and your dad talk a lot about club selection and how far you want to hit it, that kind of thing? Is that what you're talking about to him out there?

MARCY NEWTON: Uh-huh, yeah.

Q. And on the putts, how much break? You guys are verbally talking over everything?

MARCY NEWTON: Yeah, right.

Q. Do you like having him on your bag? How long has he caddied for you? How often do you get him to caddie for you?

MARCY NEWTON: Just about any time he can caddie, he does.

Q. What kind of handicap does he have?

MARCY NEWTON: At home, at our course, he's about a scratch. He's pretty good. Of late, he's been playing terrible, just terrible (laughter).

Q. What is your dad's name?

MARCY NEWTON: Ernie.

RHONDA GLENN: You may have already talked about this, but I was very impressed with the little shot you hit on 18 into the green. Have you discussed that yet?

MARCY NEWTON: No.

RHONDA GLENN: What were you thinking standing over that? It wasn't easy. The hole was tucked a little behind the bunker.

MARCY NEWTON: Right. I was like 68 yards. I knew I wanted to keep it below the pin. Actually, I hit my 60 degree, my lob wedge. I hadn't hit it out of the fairway all week. It was the right yardage, so I just swung it.

RHONDA GLENN: Landed it short, which you had to do there.

MARCY NEWTON: Right, right. Then when she gave hers a great effort, you know, she knew she had to make it to at least go extra holes. After she knocked it by, I was just trying to 2-putt. I just kind of lagged it up there.

Q. When you were on the green and she was over her putt, were you thinking, "She's probably going to make this"?

MARCY NEWTON: Yeah. When she putts, I think it every time. She hits a lot of great putts.

Q. Would you consider yourself or do you consider yourself mentally tough?

MARCY NEWTON: Pretty tough. Yeah, because like sometimes when I just make stupid mistakes, I get mad at myself, then I just get over it. I feel like I come back. Like after I have a letdown, I feel like I come right back. Maybe I'm not, but I feel like I am. I'm probably not mentally tough like Tiger Woods, but pretty good.

RHONDA GLENN: What would it mean to win?

MARCY NEWTON: It would be amazing. You know, since I won the Junior and played in my first AM, I always thought that trophy is beautiful, just a great honor. I mean, the people have that won this tournament, they're all great players. It would just be awesome. If not, I still feel like I've had a good tournament.

RHONDA GLENN: I'd say so.

End of FastScripts....

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