	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

MCDONALD'S LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY COCA-COLA

June 12, 2009

Katherine Hull-Kirk

HAVRE DE GRACE, MARYLAND

KATHERINE HULL: First hole hit a gap wedge to about seven feet.
Bogey on 6. I 3-putted from the fringe.
Birdie on 14. I think hit a 9-iron to about four feet.
Birdie on 16. Hit a gap wedge to about five feet.
18, I rolled in a monster from the front right off the green. I don't know how long it was; it was long.
JASON TAYLOR: Not a bad round for you today. You finished 6-under par after two days of the second major of the year. Right now that puts you about one stroke back from the lead; so good position to be in after two rounds, wouldn't you say?
KATHERINE HULL: Yes, I'm very happy with the way it's gone. I kind of made one mistake out here which I'm a bit disappointed in, but I think that comes from being a perfectionist. Overall I'm pretty happy with the way it's going. I think 6-under par in any major is a good score going into the weekend.

Q. Since you brought it up, tell us about the perfectionism and how it led to the mistake.
KATHERINE HULL: Oh, actually I had -- it's just my expectations, I want to hit perfect golf shots and that's not how golf is.
The mistake on 6, we were actually on the clock, and I had to obviously speed up my routine a little, and I didn't have as good a feel on the first putt and I left it maybe four feet, five feet short, and then misread the par putt.
It's the way golf goes. I would like to say, we all want a bogey-free round, but that's golf.

Q. How did the course play today compared to yesterday, and how much of a difference was there today without lift, clean and place?
KATHERINE HULL: Golf course has dried out a little, not a whole lot. It's still not getting roll off the tee. The greens are still pretty receptive which is nice. As far as mud on the ball, there's a little bit. Nothing to really affect the ball flight.

Q. After the way you finished last year so well, and you won this year in Australia to kick off your year, have you been happy with what has happened since then? Your finishes weren't -- you haven't had very good results coming into this. Have you been happy with the year?
KATHERINE HULL: I think the win in Australia, that was the perfect start to my year, and that gave me a lot of confidence. But what happens is I then expected to win early on over here, and as a result I probably put a little too much pressure on myself and started trying to force it, and in golf, that's the worst thing you can do. You can't make it happen; you have to let it happen. It took me awhile to learn that lesson. It wasn't until the Michelob/Sybase/Corning stretch that I realized that.
My caddie and I have been trying to work on it and stick to the process, and that's all you can do. I think that's why I haven't started as well as I wanted because my expectations are too high.

Q. Speaking of expectations, I heard you talking on the GOLF CHANNEL about the perspective of some people wanting some of the younger players on Tour to sort of win right away and how you sort of felt like it takes a while to get that maturity and gain that perspective and be able to sort of win. I guess my question is: Can you tell us more about that, why so many people kind of want these young guns they might have heard of to win right away, and how hard that is to be a young age and go out and have the maturity to put together a round, and now do you have more of that maturity and visibility on your own?
KATHERINE HULL: I think the thing is we've got more players out here that can win every week, and so that's making it harder for obviously the young ones to win. But I mean, they have got more talent than ever before.
I think just because we have heard of like Michelle Wie and Morgan Pressel and Paula Creamer for so long, I think Michelle has been playing out here since she was 14. They just I guess expected that they have been out here that long that they should be in a position to win.
So everyone matures at a different rate. I said on the GOLF CHANNEL that Betsy King, it took her seven years to win on Tour, and she became a Hall of Fame player. I think everyone's kind of process to get out here is different.
I like the way Tiger did it: He dominated in junior golf, dominated in amateur golf, college golf, played two years and then he turned pro and I think there is a progression there that helps you get comfortable with your game and get comfortable with winning. It's not for everyone, but I think that's one of the best ways to do it.

Q. Is there a lot of motivation for young Aussies to challenge Karrie Webb or to be the next Karrie Webb or be the best Australian?
KATHERINE HULL: Women's golf in Australia is not overly popular. We don't get a lot of publicity.
So for a country that does so well in other sports, I think it's actually a little disappointing that we don't have more top female golfers. Obviously Karrie has done a lot for the sport back home, and Jan Stephenson even, but I think we certainly kind of need a few other players to step up now and raise the profile of golf back home. Because even participation rates at the amateur level have dropped the last ten years. I don't know the real reason for that, but it would certainly help if we could get golf more into schools like you guys do here in the U.S.

Q. On the GOLF CHANNEL, you said you grew up playing ten sports, how did this one become the sport?
KATHERINE HULL: When I was 12, I caddied for my dad in a tournament and on the way home, he asked me if I it wanted to try it. I think I probably played six or seven sports competitively up until that point. When I went out with him the first day, I just got hooked instantly. He used to take me out every afternoon after school and we would practice and play together. Got involved into a junior clinic in the club that he was a member at. Yeah, it was just kind of -- yeah, I got hooked into it.

Q. What's your dad's name?
KATHERINE HULL: Frank.

Q. What were some of the sports you played competitively before golf?
KATHERINE HULL: Started with gymnastics, swimming, track and field, tennis, water polo, netball which is kind of like our girly vision of basketball, touch football, cricket.

Q. Soccer?
KATHERINE HULL: No, I didn't play soccer.
On the road, actually I like to play tennis and basketball with a few of the girls out here, but it's kind of hard to juggle that sometimes.
JASON TAYLOR: Thank you, Katherine.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297