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OMEGA DUBAI LADIES MASTERSDecember 11, 2010Lee-Anne PaceDUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Q. How would you summarise the year? LEE-ANNE PACE: Really good year, five wins is much more than I expected from me. I really wanted to start off winning in the year, and then to get close to the Money List in the middle of the year just spurred me on a little bit more. To have a different goal in mind and then to do it is an amazing feeling. Q. How far would you say you've exceeded your goals this season? LEE-ANNE PACE: How far? Well, completely. It's been a long season. Obviously today to finish not so well, it wasn't very good for me. But I'm glad the year is done and I'm relaxed and can go home and go on a holiday. Q. What will be your plans now? LEE-ANNE PACE: I think I'm going to go away for a week and just do nothing, not touch a golf club or phone or anything. I'll go back to South Africa, see my parents for new year's and stuff and go away. Q. Somewhere hot? LEE-ANNE PACE: Maybe Mauritius I was looking at because it's close. Q. That will be a bit of a present to yourself, would it? LEE-ANNE PACE: I think so. The whole year is a present. To finish the way I have this year is an amazing feeling. Q. Next season, have you already set any goals or what will you hope to look to achieve next year? LEE-ANNE PACE: I'm thinking of a little bit bigger, not a lot, I want to go and really work hard for a Major. Next year I think I'm very capable of doing it. If I win five tournaments, I think it's possible to do that. Gaining a little bit of length off the tee just some things I have to sort out, but when I'm not exhausted that will be good. Just getting up in the World Ranking. Q. What would be the highlight of the year? LEE-ANNE PACE: Today possibly? I don't know. Just every win I think. A definite highlight was China, coming back from China and winning twice back-to-back. That was very important. Nice to be able to do it when I had to. Q. Talk about yourself for people who don't know you. You have a degree in psychology? LEE-ANNE PACE: A degree in psychology. I went to the University of Tulsa for four years, finished my degree there and played half a season on the FUTURES Tour in America and did okay but still had to finish my degree. So did both and came straight to Europe, played two events on the LPGA and decided to stick to Europe. And then I lost my card the first year -- actually I lost both cards, so went back to Q-School and slowly, slowly my year just got better. Q. What year did you lose both cards? LEE-ANNE PACE: 2007. Q. So this is technically your third year on the Tour? LEE-ANNE PACE: That was my rookie year and went back to Q-School. I got back in 2008. Q. So this year, what was your win totals up until this year? Was this a breakout season for you? LEE-ANNE PACE: Completely. I never finished to completely at the top -- or if I do, I don't want to jinx it yet. So I missed my card the first year. I think I finished 60-something the second year, 21st or 22nd last year. It's been a gradual move upwards for me, and I hope to keep that going. Q. Is it a fluke or is this something that we can expect bigger and greater things? LEE-ANNE PACE: I don't think it's a fluke if you look at the golf and how I've improved year by year. I have been close to winning so many times last year, also, so I don't think it's a fluke but hopefully expecting better. Q. What would you say was different this year about your game? What was the key that pushed you over and got you winning tournaments versus coming close? LEE-ANNE PACE: Last year I was in contention quite a lot, so I knew the feeling in my nerves and everything like that. I think when I pushed through this year, it was very important to get the first win under my belt and know that I can do it. And after that, it just sort of happened and just became easier because I've been there and done it and I've pushed it through. I guess I was the one who has already had the experience over the last six people that were playing mostly in the tournament and that gave me a lot of confidence. Yeah, confidence to hit any shots, swing changes that were good. I can shape the ball, and mentally I think I'm a lot stronger. Q. What is it about this course that you felt was so difficult? LEE-ANNE PACE: It's me that I found difficult this week. Last year I played okay. I think I finished top 20. I think my expectation of the week just ruined it for me a little bit. Especially working so hard beforehand and not being able to pull it off is a little bit disappointing. But also everything around it, the stress around it for the whole year. Q. Close friend of yours, Louis have put South African golf on the map. LEE-ANNE PACE: Yeah, Louis, he's a good guy. I think he's been playing well. Hasn't he won again now? So yeah I'll give him a call when I get back. Q. You played at the same golf club? LEE-ANNE PACE: Mossel Bay. Q. Must be pictures of you, and maybe a party coming up, are you planning something? LEE-ANNE PACE: Possibly towards the end of the year, maybe in the new year they will set something up before the season starts. But yeah, there are photos of us everywhere, so it's a little bit embarrassing walking in. Q. What will your schedule be like next year? What sort of schedule are you looking at? LEE-ANNE PACE: If I win this now I think I'll be in the HSBC. So I'll play Australia, the two events there, and then go to HSBC in Singapore. Hopefully I get an invite to the Thailand tournament; I'm looking for that. So do those four in a row, come back and then do Europe up until the U.S. Open. But I don't think I will be playing so many smaller events just because I'm tired after this year. Q. Will you branch more into the LPGA? LEE-ANNE PACE: Yeah, a little bit. I'm going to try for some invites and play both tours just to get ready for the Majors. I think it's better to maybe play over there and play longer courses. Q. So the Majors over there, like the British, they are all part of the LPGA. So do you have to be invited or how does that work for the Majors? LEE-ANNE PACE: I think Top-5 in Europe gets into the U.S. Open. I'm not sure about the Kraft Nabisco -- top three or something like that, I'll be ok, and I think I'm already exempt for the British if I win the Money List, and HSBC the winner of the Money List gets into that. So that basically opens up all the doors for you. Evian I'm already in because I won after. Q. You were thinking of doing the Q-School for the LPGA, will there be another shot next year -- LEE-ANNE PACE: I would have to win a tournament on the LPGA from an invite or go back to Qualifying School. At the end of the year, I've got that in my schedule that I want to go back to Qualifying School or go there and try to qualify that way. Q. When is the next Qualifying School? LEE-ANNE PACE: The first stage is October I think and final stage is now, December. It's a real pity it's on the same week. Q. Is that going to cause a major problem for you next year? LEE-ANNE PACE: I would have liked it to be maybe next week or the week before this week. I think it's a little unfair that they have done that; I don't know who is responsible, but I think it's -- I don't see the point when there's people obviously that are here. I went to the first stage in case I was far enough ahead to skip this event. Q. When you sort of go through Q-School, although mathematically at the moment, you're the No. 1 player in the moment. That kind of transition, I know Lee Westwood was talking about it, too, must have you at times looking at other players and techniques and trying to find inspiration to raise your game. So who in golf that you maybe look to? LEE-ANNE PACE: Ernie Els. I like his swing, it's smooth, and I like his attitude on the golf course and he's got a lot of power. Q. How well do you know him? LEE-ANNE PACE: I don't know him at all. I've never met him. Q. Did any of the guys call you either ahead of this tournament to say hey, good luck, hang in there? LEE-ANNE PACE: I just saw some of the guys down at the Gary Player Invitational down in George and they were all -- it's funny, when Retief Goosen walks up and he's like, well played and I'm like, hello, thanks. When you play well, you get into all of these little areas you don't normally get into, but they all say well done and good luck. It's a big thing in South Africa to do it and South African sport to do it. Q. Because women's golf has not really gotten much attention now compared to the men? LEE-ANNE PACE: No, there's been a bit of a drama around it unfortunately. The World Cup and stuff like that. We lost all our tournaments. Everyone just pulled out. But now, like I said, they are talking about some new tournaments. Q. So there were some women's tournaments there before? LEE-ANNE PACE: Yeah, there were four events, for a long time, I think five years and everything just collapsed but now it's on the rise again after this year. Q. Were you playing or was that before your time? LEE-ANNE PACE: No, I was playing at the time but I was playing mostly at Europe. It was nice to have tournaments in South Africa because it was in March. Q. When was this? LEE-ANNE PACE: Two years ago, three years ago. Q. Sponsors, they pulled out or whatever? LEE-ANNE PACE: Yeah, just a bit of drama going on and I think people just stuck their nose into it. Q. So now there's talk that The Ladies European Tour, they are talking of bringing one back or all of them back? LEE-ANNE PACE: They are looking at three or four events next year. Obviously they can't just have one. It wouldn't attract a lot of European players. In order to get a European event out there, the Europeans have to come for a small event first and see how it is. Q. Not to get into the details, but losing those tournaments must have been difficult, a bit of a setback for women's golf in South Africa? LEE-ANNE PACE: Yeah, it was nice to have that, especially for the pros in South Africa trying to succeed on the European Tour and getting sponsors and showing people how we played, I think that was major. But anyway, I think if they can get it back, no harm done. End of FastScripts |
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