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KRAFT NABISCO CHAMPIONSHIP

April 2, 2010

Karen Stupples

RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIFORNIA

THE MODERATOR: We welcome Karen Stupples to the interview room, second 69 of the tournament. Currently leading the golf tournament. Can you talk us through your round?
KAREN STUPPLES: I got off to a really good start, started birdie, birdie. That's always a good way to go, especially on that back side. You really want to try to get a few in the bank before you hit sort of 13, 14, 15, 16, so on and so on. So I was very happy with it.
My ball striking has been good for like the last two weeks, and feeling very comfortable out there, so it was just nice to see some good scores going down on the card.
THE MODERATOR: You've won one major championship, the Ricoh Women's British Open, so you're familiar with what it takes to win. What do you think you need to continue to do for the next two days?
KAREN STUPPLES: I mean really much of the same. The only thing I would say I would like to improve on would be my wedge game. I've had a lot of wedges into these greens, and I really haven't capitalized as much as I could have done. So maybe dialed down the distance a little better, and maybe make a few 15- to 20-foot putts as well. I haven't made an awful lot of those, and I've had a lot of opportunities from that distance. So I think when I finish here, I'm going to go work on some of those for sure.
THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. On the wedges, everybody's talked about how firm the greens are this year. In fact, Suzann said yesterday they might be the firmest she's ever seen them here. Is that the problem with the wedges or is it just you're not necessarily hitting them great?
KAREN STUPPLES: It's not that I'm not hitting them great. It might be that.
Certainly I'm getting spin when I'm not expecting spin, and I'm getting some release when I'm not expecting release.
I think that has a lot to do with maybe playing closer attention to some of the wind out there. More so yesterday it was pretty swirly in places.
But if you've got a wedge in your hand, you should at least get it somewhere within 15 foot of the hole, and a couple of times yesterday I was leaving myself 30 foot away, and that's really not acceptable.
So I'm just thinking that just a little bit of work on it, and just to really focus on that. I've also been training really hard this winter, and I think I've gained a bit of yardage, so when the adrenaline is flowing and you've got a little more there, sometimes it's easy to be a bit unsure how far the actual wedge will go.

Q. You've played here quite a few times. What do you think of the conditions this year as opposed to past years?
KAREN STUPPLES: Absolutely tremendous. It really is a joy to play. I can't tell you enough. It's just a pleasure.
I mean the grass is too grown in places. (Laughs) But it really is awesome. The greens are rolling tremendous, and it does play consistent. You really can't fault it.
THE MODERATOR: Do you have a new driver in the bag this week?
KAREN STUPPLES: I do. I actually put it into play last week.
I've been playing around with an FT-9 driver and was hitting it great, and for some reason the epoxy went on it and so I had to try and find a new one. And luckily the Callaway guy sent me one exactly the same, but it seems to for some reason go really well.
THE MODERATOR: Do you hit it further?
KAREN STUPPLES: I think I'm definitely hitting it further. I'm getting more carry on it. I think I'm carrying it maybe at least 10 to 15 yards further than my other one.
But that could also be due to some training as well. I mean I've been working out pretty hard.
I figured I couldn't say I've just had a baby any longer. (Laughs).

Q. What else is new in your game, if you compare to how you started this season to last season?
KAREN STUPPLES: In all fairness last season was a bit of a tough year for me. At this time last year I'd just had emergency surgery to remove my appendix. So that kind of put me on a bit of a backwards slide for the whole year.
But I'd also been having continuous laser treatments on my veins on my legs. So I suppose it was a whole year full of injury and setbacks really last year.
So I knew that with the time off that I had, I really needed -- I wanted to apply myself and show what I've got. And you know, I really believe that I've got plenty of game. I just have to go out and play and do it, and a lot of that is dedicating myself, training, working out and practicing. And I'm feeling pretty confident with it all right now.

Q. Your name's been up on the leaderboard here quite a few times in the last few years.
KAREN STUPPLES: Yep.

Q. Is this a course that sets up for you or is it something you specifically aim at?
KAREN STUPPLES: Honestly, I love it here. I can't say it any other way. I love Palm Springs and the area. I always get goose bumps when I come here.
There's something special about this tournament. I don't know whether it's the jump in the water or what it is. There's something very special about this as a major championship.
And I just -- you know, I want to win it, you know, and I've always wanted to win it. So I try, and sometimes I try too hard, you know, but at least I've gotta put myself in position.
And every year that I come here I always strive to do that. This year I just want to hit the ball in the fairway, hit the ball on the green and take it from there, and whatever the result is at the end is the result.

Q. You were just talking about sort of rededicating yourself to your game and your preparation. Do you feel, too, now that your son is a little bit older, you're learning to balance the playing and the mommying at the same time?
KAREN STUPPLES: Absolutely. This is the first year that my husband hasn't caddied for me out here on Tour.
Logan, my son, is fantastic. He's an absolute joy, and he's really fulfilled us, but he's not easy. We have had many sleepless nights.
And with my husband on the golf bag, too, it's been very difficult, both of us not getting any sleep and both of us having to try and work on the golf course together, and I mean that's hard.
And there were many times that I would try and chase him down for an argument on the fairway just because, you know, because we were both tired. And that's not a good look for anybody.
There were many times you could see in his face, he was as frustrated about it as I was. In the middle of the season last year, we actually tried to make a separation, but for some reason, you know, everybody has bags set. It was very difficult to find a caddie in the middle of our season. So we decided to try and get through the year as good as we could and then start out this year.
And I've got -- so I put Woody on the bag, Jerry "Woody." He's been out here for many years, and he's actually one of Bobby's best friends. So it works out really well. He feels like family anyway. I don't get the black looks anymore, although Bobby would say I was the one giving the black looks.
THE MODERATOR: Any other questions? Thank you, Karen.
KAREN STUPPLES: No problem. Thank you very much.

End of FastScripts

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