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HSBC WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSFebruary 27, 2011Karrie WebbTANAH MERAH, SINGAPORE MIKE SCANLAN: We would like to welcome 2011 HSBC Women's Champions winner, Karrie Webb, now a 37-time winner of the LPGA Tour, and member of the LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame. How does it feel to be champion of Champions? KARRIE WEBB: It feels great. I have to say I'm a little -- I didn't know if I would be sitting here today, put it that way. I feel great to be sitting here and I'm very glad that I holed out that one shot to win. MIKE SCANLAN: You had six birdies in eight holes but also two bogeys in that eight holes. How were you playing there? KARRIE WEBB: It was a very up-and-down day. I started off a little slowly and managed my game pretty well and then obviously Yani made a great run on the front nine, but then bogeyed 10. So was getting a little frustrated, I had gotten three shots behind. But you know, there was still a lot of golf left and I think my patience paid off, because I put a great swing on a 4-iron on the next and Chie bogeyed. And so I was back to one shot behind. So just like that, I felt really back in the tournament and rolled off another three birdies. So you know, I still knew that losing 14, it wasn't over and that I had a lot of golf left. Q. Had you been frustrated with your putting -- KARRIE WEBB: This week, no, I haven't been frustrated this week with my putting. Q. What are you doing differently? KARRIE WEBB: They are going in (laughter). I don't know, you don't question it when you see them going in. I've worked really hard on my putting and it feels really great to get over them. I mean, I think as get older, those putts are not easier than they were when I was 21. But I get over them and I am pretty sure I'm going to put a good stroke on them. So that feels good. I'll take that feeling for as long as it stays with me. Q. What have you done here, when you look at the past champions of this event -- KARRIE WEBB: It's definitely a world-class event and you have the best players in the world here. And great players have won this event. For me, personally, to win this event, to win this early in the year, I really hope it sets things up for a great run. You know, I think I handled my emotions very well this week, and you know, even through the lean ball-striking period that I had, probably every day I had a couple of holes where I didn't hit it very well but I managed to stay calm, got up-and-down more often than not which is good and then I made my birdies when I could. Q. (Inaudible.) KARRIE WEBB: Well, I'm glad my name is on the trophy, as well. I'm the oldest player, I don't know but how many years, but I'll take it. Q. (Your thoughts on Chie's performance today). KARRIE WEBB: Chie has won in Japan. I think it was a very big day for her. You know, I think no matter how many times she's won in Japan, it was probably a different feeling for her. It probably had a lot of meaning and bearing on her career. So I think that probably put a lot of pressure on her. But I think she handled herself very well. You know, I think she played well. It wasn't easy out there. I think any score under par today under that pressure was a good score and she was there with a chance right until the end. I don't think she should hang her head at all. I think she should be very proud of how she played. Q. Do you think she actually played like someone that knows how to win? KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, I expected that. I think no matter what tour you win on in the world, if you've won before, you know how to do. And if you've won from behind and you've won from leading, you know how to do it. I didn't expect to see her go away at all today. I knew she would tough it out and play well. Q. What about Yani, you've been on those great runs. KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, it is, it's really -- watching her, especially the front nine today, it's really amazing watching players with a lot of confidence. Obviously I didn't get to watch myself when I had that sort of confidence that she has, but watching players with that sort of confidence, they don't feel like they can do any wrong; that they are going to make those birdies. And Yani did. And I think probably especially Chie leading, she wasn't playing poorly. But her lead was getting smaller and smaller as Yani made birdie after birdie. So I think that pressure alone; and there was a lot of Yani fans out there, too. So it's hard when you're not the favourite in the crowd and you're trying to keep your emotions in check, too. I think Chie did a good job, and Yani, I mean, Yani played great. I think she made a bogey there on 10, which really stopped her momentum this afternoon. Q. At what point did you feel you were going to win, was there a point during the round? KARRIE WEBB: I didn't feel like I was going to win until that last six-inch putt went in. But I think the turning point came, I birdied 9 and I played 10 very poorly today. I was very frustrated. I didn't put a good swing on my drive, and that really set it up for a bad hole. Chie birdied that hole; so I went three shots behind and I knew I wasn't out of it but I knew I needed to play better golf than that to even have a chance. Put a great swing on a 4-iron on 11 and made about a 12-footer for birdie there, and Chie bogeyed, so all of a sudden, one shot behind and you know, right back in it. That was what calmed me down. I played four it great holes after that, and walked off 14 with a two-shot lead. Q. How did you manage to stay calm? KARRIE WEBB: I don't know, I really had to keep my emotions in check today. I think it was easy for me not to it get ahead of myself, because I knew I wasn't swinging it as good as I could. So I really had to just think about one shot at a time. I really couldn't get ahead of myself, because, you know, I knew I had to buckle down over every shot. So it was probably a positive in a way that made me just take one step at a time. Q. I'm trying really hard not to use the word old in my question -- KARRIE WEBB: That's all right. I'll feel old tomorrow morning after I wake up after this red-eye tonight. Q. You mention players playing with confidence; in your career, do you take a lot of confidence from it? KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, I definitely take a lot of confidence from it. I think the biggest things I take confidence from -- well, there's a couple of things. I putted really the last couple -- well, I've putted well pretty much the whole four weeks that I've played. And then just how I kept my emotions in check. You know, I didn't -- even as experienced as I am; I still struggle with controlling my emotions and not getting too down on myself and beating myself up where I can't get myself out of that hole. So I think that's the biggest thing I'll take confidence from this week. Q. Looking at leaderboards earlier in the round, there were only eight other players under par in the tournament; why do you think the scoring was so high? KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, it's very tough. I don't think this course has ever played that tough. Mainly I think because of the wind. I don't think we have ever seen the wind blow that hard for four straight days. And I think it really made the longer par 4s long, really long. And then with the way the greens are, if you are not in the right section, it's really tough to 2-putt or to get up-and-down if you miss it short-side. So you know, it's definitely a challenging golf course. I don't think we had a lot of rain on the greens, either, so they didn't get any softer as the week went on. So I think just each day became more of a challenge to give yourself decent birdie chances. Q. (Inaudible. KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, it's definitely been a great week for me. I don't want to complain, but I could have had a better-ball striking week. I've had better-ball striking weeks. But like I said, I have not had a complete week where I didn't let bad shots get me down and I got up-and-down fairly often. I shrugged off the bogeys fairly quickly as well. The job I did mentally is probably the best job I've done for a long time. Q. Another world-class performance by Yani; were you prepared for the run she made? KARRIE WEBB: Yes, I was ready for it. And actually, I wasn't surprised that Yani started the way she did. I think I expected that, as well. And so I was just ready to not really get too caught up in what the other two players in my group were doing and try to remember that there was 18 holes and that this course was playing tough. So I didn't start off great, and Chie maybe started off really well; that there was still time to catch her. So you know, I didn't really get involved with that. I was just, like I said, trying to hit one shot at a time and you know, make as many birdies as I could. Q. How were the crowds out there? KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, the crowds were great. I think they were happy to see me make a birdie. Cheered loudly when they could. MIKE SCANLAN: Karrie, thanks so much and congrats. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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