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LPGA CORNING CLASSIC

May 19, 2009

Michelle Wie West

CORNING, NEW YORK

MIKE SCANLAN: Michelle, thank you so much for coming in. Your first time here at the LPGA Corning Classic. You had a real nice finish last week at the Sybase Classic.
If you would, just talk about coming here to Corning, what you think of the course and the community, and just some general thoughts on the event.
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, it's my first time here obviously; sad that going to be my last. You know, the players are talking about, you know, the weather last year, so I was preparing. I wore about four or five layers this morning. The weather is nice out there today, and it's supposed to be nice for the rest of the week.
I'm really excited to be here. The golf course is really beautiful. It's a lot of fun. It's an interesting golf course. It's like an old traditional golf course you can play many different ways. I think it's going to be a lot of fun this week.
MIKE SCANLAN: Questions?

Q. Talk a little bit more about your hopes coming off the good finish last week and coming into this week? Do you feel like there's some momentum in your game right now?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I think I had a good week last week. You know, obviously there are a couple things that I wanted to work on, so just working on those things this week. Hopefully, you know, gonna to try hardest out there. Hopefully it will be good.

Q. Anything in particular that you're working on in your game?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, just the usual stuff.

Q. Could you talk a little bit more about the decision coming to Corning? The fact that this is the last Corning Classic, was that part of it?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, you know, I think it was a good stretch of tournaments. You know, the players have always talked highly about the tournament. It was good motivation for me to come. I've only heard good things about it, and I've always wanted to come.

Q. What are your thoughts on the course?
MICHELLE WIE: It's an interesting golf course. There's a lot of ways you can play it. It's pretty short, but it's pretty tricky.

Q. You're known is as long-hitter. There are a lot of trees. Are there holes, like 2 and 5, short par-5s, talk about those and having to score on those, and then some of the doing legs and the trickier shots.
MICHELLE WIE: Well, it's a placement golf course. You know, you have to place it in the right areas. These greens look pretty tricky, but the par-5s on the front are pretty short. I definitely have to score well on those.
There's some good birdie opportunities, but at the same time the greens are pretty tricky. You have to put it in the right places.

Q. How has your putting been?
MICHELLE WIE: It's a work in progress. I've been working on it.

Q. Obviously technically you're a rookie, but you have so much experience in the spotlight over the last several years. Do you really feel like a rookie out there when you compete at this level?
MICHELLE WIE: Well, you know, I guess in some ways I do; in some ways I don't. You know, it's just another year out here. You know, just trying to play may hardest out here. It's a lot fun being able to play every week.
I guess I feel like a rookie in a way like that. So it's a lot of fun.

Q. On that note, this is your third week in a row. Just talk about the advantages of being able to play three in a row, what you feel that does for your game.
MICHELLE WIE: I feel like you learn a lot more playing in tournaments than you would do in practice. You know, you can hit a lot of golf balls on the range and you can putt a lot on the putting green, but you really learn the most when you play in a tournament.
So I feel like playing three tournaments back-to-back-to back, I feel like I learned a lot about my game and what I have to improve. And it's fun playing, you know. It's just fun being out there and competing.

Q. And to follow up to that: Do you learnt most when you get yourself in contention on the final round? You experienced that twice this year. What have you learned from those two Sundays this year?
MICHELLE WIE: Um, well, you learn different things at different times. It's not really something you can pinpoint out and say in a sentence. It's just a feeling that you get.
It's just something you can put under your belt, another experience you can put under your belt, so when you get in that situation again you can use those experiences as experience, you know.

Q. You mentioned that this is kind of a sad day, sad tournament here, this being the last one. People have also been terming it as celebration of sort. Is that the atmosphere has kind of been working, and that people are here to celebrate the Corning classic, as well?
MICHELLE WIE: I think so. I mean, you go in the locker and room, you go on the putting green, and hear the older players - or any kind of players that have played here the last couple years - and they all say good stuff about it.
I've heard about some people who have played here for 20 years or played here for 30 years. They really appreciate the tournament and appreciate what everyone at the tournament has done for them.
Just hearing about that made me wish there was a couple more years left. But, you know, it's been really fun.

Q. Last year's champion, it was her first tournament victory here. How much would it mean to you to get the last one here and your first victory, as well?
MICHELLE WIE: I think it would mean a lot. I think it would mean a whole a lot to me, I guess. I don't know how to explain it. But, you know, it's gonna all work out.
I just have to, you know, play my hardest and try my hardest, and hopefully it'll be a good week.

Q. You are the most experienced rookie out there. What kind of expectations did you put on yourself coming into this year?
MICHELLE WIE: Well, I just overall wanted to have fun. You know, I just couldn't wait to play, you know, in a lot more tournaments, play almost every week.
And just to be out here, to be able to play that much golf, it's just, you know, a lot of fun for me. And obviously playing some good golf and win some tournaments, that's definitely my goal.
I guess my goal is just to go out there and try my hardest and play my hardest. That's really all I can do.

Q. And for somebody as young as you, how do you keep in touch with your friends?
MICHELLE WIE: Well, technology is great these days, you know. Just makes the world smaller and smaller. I talk to them a lot. You know, I talk to them -- they don't really know what tournaments I play in or where I'm at, but we still talk a lot.
But, you know, it's sad because sometimes I miss my friends. At the same time, I'm having a lot of fun out here, too.
MIKE SCANLAN: Michelle, thanks so much. Good luck this week.
MICHELLE WIE: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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