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MICHELOB ULTRA OPEN AT KINGSMILL

May 6, 2009

Karrie Webb

WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA

JASON TAYLOR: Karrie, thanks for joining us here in the media center. You've had a pretty nice season so far, five events, three Top-10s with a win at the J Golf event in Phoenix. If you would, just talk a little bit about year and being here at Kingsmill.
KARRIE WEBB: Obviously I feel really good about my year. It had been a couple of years on the LPGA Tour since I had won a golf tournament, so you know, winning in Phoenix was great and putting everything together on one week was what I was looking for in my game.
I had a nice showing, also, the following week at the Kraft Nabisco Championship. I feel really good about my game, and coming back to this tournament, probably one of my favorite tournaments on Tour. It's probably my favorite golf course that we play year-in and year-out on Tour. It's great to be back here, and feel good about my game. Hopefully that will mean that I will have a good chance on Sunday.

Q. How does winning in 2006 help you when you come back here? You say this is one of your favorite courses?
KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, lots of great memories and I know that I'm capable of shooting the great scores that are required to win around here.
Obviously when I won in 2006, the course was not as wet as it's going to be this week. It's going to play really long I think this week. I'm sure the officials may move a tee or 2-up, but it's going to play long. But still be the same tough test that is normally. Is I think the biggest thing around here is ball-striking and if I'm driving it well and hitting my irons well, I think I'll have a good chance.

Q. If Anheuser-Busch doesn't sign another contract to this tournament, what would it mean for players to not come back here?
KARRIE WEBB: Certainly it would be very disappointing. If you polled the players, this would be their favorite regular events I think. We have a number of great events but this is definitely one of the top ones, from everything, from the course that we play to the way we are treated here; the community involvement, as well, is great. We get great crowds out here, and you really feel like the town is right behind the event, and I think that is important to us, as well.

Q. The way the current economic times are, do you see any impact on the Tour? Have you noticed it as a player?
KARRIE WEBB: Well, I think we have noticed it as it's tough for companies to sponsor events. We have definitely seen it that way. I haven't seen it too many other ways; the treatment that we get week-in and week-out at tournaments has not changed a whole lot.

Q. You've obviously had a good start to your season, and Lorena has showed signs of playing well; does that make your level of play rise, as well?
KARRIE WEBB: I think so. I think in the course of my career, I've seen a couple of players, or three players, dominate the Tour. And then I was lucky to be a fourth player in the 14 years that I've been out here that has had a run of a few years where you're winning tournaments and in contention a lot.
I think what it means is that if you're one of the players that are in contention against a player like Lorena, and she's on the leaderboard, as well, that you're going to have to play your very best golf to win.
You know, I think anyone would love that challenge, and then it's very satisfying if you do win; if Lorena is in the field and you're going head-to-head with her down the stretch and you win the tournament, it's always satisfying, very satisfying to win the tournament out here, but it's even more special if you do it against the best player in the world.

Q. Is her game suited for this course?
KARRIE WEBB: I don't know many courses that is not suited to Lorena's game, but definitely this course, and especially this week, like I said, the course is going to play very long, and she's one of the longest players out here. She's also a great iron player and hits the ball very high and hits the lots of greens.
So she gets her putting going, and I think like any other week, she's got a good chance to win.

Q. The six previous tournaments played here produced a very impressive list of winners, three Hall of Famers and each of the other three girls has won at least one major. What is it about this event? Is it the field? Is it the course? Why does it tend to produce such an elite winner every year?
KARRIE WEBB: I think it's a combination, but I think the No. 1 factor in that is that it's the golf course. A number of players feel that this is the best course that we play on a regular basis each year on Tour.
You know, I think it brings the best out in you. You can win if you have a good short game, but I think it's a very challenging course if you're not hitting the ball very well. And hence, if I think about the winners here, most of them are always up there very highly in greens hit in regulation.

Q. Who are the three players?
KARRIE WEBB: Annika, Lorena and Se Ri.
JASON TAYLOR: I know you're excited to begin a new initiative involving the fans of the LPGA at select LPGA tournaments beginning this week in Kingsmill. If you would just talk a little about what you're doing.
KARRIE WEBB: Well, it's called Karrie's Fantastic Freebies. It's an initiative that I came up with talking to a couple of friends of mine and how to give back to the fans, when I think most of us know, it's hard to find that extra money to come to sporting events and sometimes can be quite costly.
So it's something that I feel good about doing. It's a little bit of money out of my pocket, but I think it's well worth it to give back to fans in tournaments that I'm playing in my upcoming schedule.
I'm actually really happy to start it here at the Michelob Ultra Open, because it's obviously a tournament I've won and played well at. As I've mentioned before, I think the community involvement here is very special and to be able to give back to this community is great.
JASON TAYLOR: Thanks, Karrie.

End of FastScripts

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