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U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 11, 2009

Candie Kung

BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA

Q. Candie, good round, -3. How did you get there?
CANDIE KUNG: I've been pretty consistent with my ball striking all week, the last three days. And they just had the course set up a little easier today. Some pins that I was able to get to with the wedges. Instead of hitting it away from the flag, I was able to attack the flags today, and I gave myself a few chances for birdie, and I happened to make a few of them.

Q. The birdie at 5 or 6 today, it's your first one of the week, isn't it?
CANDIE KUNG: Oh, yeah. The one on the par-5. That's the first one of the week. We were talking about we were wondering if that could make -- if that could be part of the history of the longest tournament without a birdie, and I don't know. It was a good putt there. It was just right dead center in the middle.

Q. How long was it?
CANDIE KUNG: It was about 18 feet.

Q. What did you do with the ball? Frame it? Give it away?
CANDIE KUNG: I don't even know where it's at.

Q. Have you ever had a stretch like that?
CANDIE KUNG: Yeah. Yeah. But I never pay attention to it, how many holes I can go without a birdie, but I guess this is the USGA event, and I went 22 holes without anything except pars for my first two rounds, and I guess that kind of kept us from thinking about it.

Q. So you don't honk at people in traffic or you don't get mad at Starbucks when it's a big line?
CANDIE KUNG: I do sometimes. I do sometimes, but it's the Open, and I just gotta be patient out there.

Q. How was the course easier today, setup wise?
CANDIE KUNG: They set up the course a little shorter today. They moved the tees up, and the pins are not -- on the front nine, they're easier to get to. They're right in the middle of the green, and it got a little harder towards the Back 9.
They tucked the pins a little bit on the Back 9, which is more like the U.S. Open.
Yeah, I think the course is playing a little shorter today.

Q. Did you putt well enough in either of the first two rounds to make some birdies or were you just not doing well?
CANDIE KUNG: I was playing away from the pins the first two rounds. There were just pins out there that it doesn't make sense for me to go at the flag. I'll just play for the middle of the green, take my two-putts. If it goes in, it goes in. If not, I take my par and walk away with the par. This is the U.S. Open; everybody knows.

Q. Did you change your mentality, then, today? Did you think differently today?
CANDIE KUNG: No. No. I don't have the pin sheet with me, and I don't know how they're going to set up the golf course. I saw the flag that's right in the middle of the green off my second shot on some holes, and I was like, I can get to this flag, and that's when I tell myself I can get to this flag.
I don't get ahead of myself, and that's what I was trying to tell myself to do. Don't get ahead of yourself. One shot at a time, whatever happens, happens.

Q. 18, you made a great shot at 18.
CANDIE KUNG: I hit a hybrid from about 186 yards to the front, and all I was doing was just get that thing up in the air, and hopefully get to the front and bounce up there. And if it goes toward the middle of the green, I get two-putt and I'm out of there with a par. It's a tough 18.

Q. How far was that?
CANDIE KUNG: About 6 feet. I just misread that one.

Q. There's that birdie. You could have had that one.
CANDIE KUNG: Yeah. I left a couple of them out there. I don't remember the holes right now. But I know I left a few out there.

Q. The other players were talking about the wind and how tough it was. How were you able to navigate through those conditions?
CANDIE KUNG: It was a little easier for us. The wind didn't start blowing until, I believe, the Back 9, and I think that was a little bit lucky there. It's hard out there, especially on the Back 9. It got me on 17.

Q. At Opens in the past, is there any particular experience from those previous years that you draw upon when you show up for this week?
CANDIE KUNG: It's the same thing, par could win the tournament. That's all I was thinking about. Hit it in the fairway, hit it in the middle of the green, two-putt, out of there. If I have a chance for birdie, I have a chance for birdie.

Q. So being this low in these conditions for the afternoon crowd, that's gotta make you feel pumped for tomorrow, huh?
CANDIE KUNG: Yeah. Yeah. I won't be paying too much attention to the scoreboard, but I'm just going to go out there, practice a little bit and then go home, get my rest, come back out here and do the same thing again tomorrow.

Q. What did you think of the tee being moved up at No. 10? Make it a lot more enticing for players?
CANDIE KUNG: 10. It'll be great for the galleries to watch, because there are some players that are going to go for it, but for me I'm not as long a hitter, so I'll play it as a two-shot hole. It's a great hole to put it up there. Some players can definitely go for it. I see that happening.

Q. Did you come in here this week in a good frame of mind for this tournament?
CANDIE KUNG: Yeah. Yeah. I've been swinging pretty good, and I think that's what the U.S. Open is. You have to hit the ball in the fairway, hit the ball in the green, hit it at your target, and I've been doing it pretty good the last few weeks, and I was pretty ready for this tournament.

Q. Yesterday you played, not only didn't make a birdie... (Inaudible).
CANDIE KUNG: Yeah. Yeah. I don't know what happened. I didn't think I played that bad at all, but the score ended up pretty -- it didn't look that good when I turned the scorecard, but I didn't feel like I played all that bad.
I hit the shot I wanted to hit. I had a couple three-putts because I was playing away from the pin. You got all those mounds on these greens. It was just one of those days.

Q. Thank you.
CANDIE KUNG: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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