U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 4, 1999

Becky Iverson

BECKY IVERSON: That was a lot of fun. Yesterday I felt like I should have shot about 5-, or 6-under. Didn't make any putts. Burned the edge all day, and today they all went in. I had birdies on 2. I made about a 20-footer. I hit -- I just had maybe about 20 yards to the front of the green on No. 2. Just hit a little pitch up there, not very well, and made that putt. No. 4, I hit a 7-iron about 20 feet away and made that. No. 6, I hit a wedge about six feet. Made that putt. No. 8, I hit a 7-iron about eight feet and made that putt. And then on 12, I hit a 7-iron about 15 feet. On 13, I hit a 7-iron about six feet. And 17, I hit a 5-iron about five, six feet. And 18, I made about a 30-foot downhill putt.

BECKY IVERSON: Thank you.

BECKY IVERSON: Well, the greens are just absolutely perfect, for one thing. If you're rolling the ball well, you're going to make a lot of birdies. And secondly, I think the greens are still soft from the rain that we've had. You know, if you can fire a 7-iron in there, it's still going to sit for you. Where typically in an Open, you're going to have to try to bounce something up. If you do hit it at the pin, you're going to have a 40-footer coming back.

BECKY IVERSON: The front side reminds me a lot of Australia. The back side had water on it at every hole; it seemed like more of a typical Florida golf course.

BECKY IVERSON: Not really. I was just trying to get the right pace down on that putt.

BECKY IVERSON: I'm actually not hitting -- hitting my driver really bad. So the wider fairways, I have been enjoying that, because my driver has not been where I want it to be. But I putted well all year. And I've had more rounds in the 60s already this year than I have in any year. And just to continue to make putts as I have been this year is a lot of fun for someone who has always struggled with putting.

BECKY IVERSON: I knew I made a lot of par putts.

BECKY IVERSON: I had a lot of par putts today.

BECKY IVERSON: It is. It's 31.

BECKY IVERSON: 5'9".

BECKY IVERSON: I don't know. It's fun to make birdies. I think people like to see birdies being made. As far as for the spectators, it's great, and for the players, it's great. I don't think that they'd like to see the low scores in an Open, but it is a lot of fun to play here.

BECKY IVERSON: No. I think the best I've ever done in the Open is -- someone told me the best round I ever shot was 71. And I think the best I ever did was tied for 25th, I think.

BECKY IVERSON: I don't -- I didn't play there last year. I have no idea, but it didn't look -- it looked like a tough golf course.

BECKY IVERSON: I really didn't think in Daytona when I had the lead that I really cared one way whether I won another tournament or not. But after losing the way I did, with a four-shot lead, I think that's piqued my interest a little bit to at least be in that position a few more times. And I really felt like I choked at Daytona, and I think if I had another chance at it, I would do a lot better.

BECKY IVERSON: You know, I think that for people who play on the LPGA, this is more like just every week you have a tournament. It seems more like just a normal tournament, anyway; where I think when you get some of the Amateurs that qualify and some of the Futures players and stuff that come over here, it's probably a bigger deal to them.

BECKY IVERSON: They are scoring better on the back side? I think the front is easier. I think the back side is tighter, and there's water -- it seems like every hole, though I know it's not. I think that with 15 being reachable, that's one reason the scores are probably a little bit lower on that side.

BECKY IVERSON: I definitely think it was too hard last year. Just from looking at the scores, I wasn't there, but 6-over is -- that's probably a little high. I think they picked a really good golf course here. I know the rain came in and the rain probably made the greens not as quick as they would like and the rough not as high as they would like. I've had two lies in the rough I had to chip out of; so I think the rough is definitely getting where they want it to be. And the greens were a little further today than they were say yesterday. If the rain stays away by Sunday, I think you're going to see a lot of low scores. Today, I was actually about up to here (indicating knee-high) in water, but the rough was too thick to hit out; so I was going to hit a shot on the green and decided to chip out. No. 10. I was in the water. The ball was out of the water.

BECKY IVERSON: Yeah.