LPGA CORNING CLASSIC

May 27, 2001

Rosie Jones

ROSIE JONES: Started off a birdie on No. 1. Hit a 9-wood up there probably about 22 feet, and made the putt for birdie, which is always like a super start on that hole because it's kind of a hard hole. Started off with, on 2 -- I hit my driver in the rough, came out with a 3-wood on the front edge off the green probably about 4 yards. Chipped it in, which I haven't done in a while. So it was nice to do for an eagle. 3, I hit a 7-wood up for 15 foot, didn't think I made the putt, but it hung in to go in. I'm thinking: Gosh, I'm 4-under for three holes. That's a pretty good start. Exactly what I wanted. Try to put some pressure on Mhairi before she even started. Kind of fun to do that. No. 4 hit it 5 feet, missed a putt. No. 5, knocked it in, knocked it up on 2, two-putt for birdie. No. 6, I hit a 9-iron just short of the green, about a yard short of the green, and made the putt from off the green there for birdie. No. 7, I hit it about 10 feet. Missed that one for birdie. No. 8. Got it up above that green, kind of a fast putt down, and two-putt for par. 9, I hit a bad drive and had to chip out. Knocked on the green; two-putt. Took my medicine for that bogey. 10, I knocked it up there about 8 feet and missed it. 11, hit it up 7 feet and missed it. 12, had a little sand wedge in there, can't get it within, you know, 17 feet. And two-putt for par. Probably was getting a little frustrated missing those birdie putts when I was doing so well on the front side. So... But I was happy to make them when I need them for par. Saving par on 13 with about a 12-footer on 13. On 14, I had a little trouble. Bad chip. Made about a 7-footer for par there. On 15, I just had some bad, a series of bad swings coming in around that loop there on the clubhouse, saved anoother 6-footer for par on 15. Hit it past the green and over this little hump on 16, and got it up-and-down. 17, knocked up there about 8 feet. Missed that for birdie. Finally made that 20-something, 25-footer on 18. It was kind of an up-and-down day. I really felt like it could have been a lot better. I just you know, I'm pleased, tickled pink that I played well. I really didn't feel I was swinging that well this week. And to be right there in contention with a chance to make a big move today, then you know, I felt pretty good about that. I'm at least playing well. Maybe I'm not hitting well, but I'm playing well.

ROSIE JONES: Well, it does. I'm a little bit leery about my swing right now. It's a lot of shots that I usually really can take advantage of like on 15, 16 -- 14, 15, 16, all those shots, you know, I've got wedges or 9-iron in my hand. I'm not even hitting the green. At least even though I saved par, makes me a little tough. I think that's good going into next week. I'm playing well, still thinking well. It's just my swing isn't right exactly where I want it. Just I've had a couple weeks off, I'm just not myself right this week. I don't feel good with my swing, and it was kind of survival for me this week.

ROSIE JONES: I've got an idea of what's kind of going on. Fortunately, my teacher's going to meet me over there in Pinehurst tomorrow, and we're going to work on it for two days. You know, see what happens on the weekend. It's not awful. It's not you know, awful. But it's not -- it's not good enough to win a U.S. Open. And that's what I feel like I was swinging two weeks ago. So it's not very far off. It's just a matter of...

ROSIE JONES: Well, it's great. It makes it great competition. It's always fun when people are making a lot of birdies out there and the lead's changing a lot. People are, like myself, started off early, and there's no telling where I'm going to stop. I wish I hadn't stopped. I wish I would have just kept going, shot about a 9-, 10-under. That would have been fun; but didn't happen.

ROSIE JONES: No, I didn't. 10, 11 -- 12 I hit the right putt, but 10, 11, just coming out of my putts a little bit. A little bit anxious to see them go in. Wasn't really, you know, following through and hitting good putts. Finally I hit a good putt on 12. It kind of gave me an idea what I needed to do, and just in time, because on 13 I needed to make that putt for par. By then, you know, after that, I felt like I hit really good putts coming in. You know it's funny your game kind of comes and goes, and different parts of it in a day's time. It's just a matter of maintenance. I felt like I did that pretty well this week.

ROSIE JONES: Not much. I still hit really good shots on 10, 11. Coming in, I could have made that up really quick. More than anything, I think my putter kind of let me down in the middle of the round there. That would have kept my momentum going. You know, you're going to have a bogey out there. Most times you don't not have a bogey. You just have to be okay with that. You can still shoot 7, 8, 9. I've shot 8-under around here with one or two bogeys I think back in '84, or something like that.

ROSIE JONES: I think Jenna started off well like I did. She was a couple under after 4 holes. Kimmie was struggling at the beginning. When Kimmie gets her momentum going, she really starts to play well and hone in on those birdies, and that's what she was doing on that back nine .

ROSIE JONES: Jenna? Yeah, she's really played really well for being in third-to-last group. She was a little concerned with the group with the gallery, and I told her I said you have two choices: You can play bad and have no gallery or play good and have a gallery. That's your choice. So you have to get used to it. That's what takes experience. She'll get there. You have your different situations that you know, that are all learning grounds for rookies and young players, and she'll get used to that. She's a good player and I'm sure she'll get in the top in the leader group very often.

ROSIE JONES: Yeah, I've worked really hard in not letting distractions really affect my game in a negative way, and that takes a lot of time. It takes an attitude adjustment. There's days that you can't tolerate some things. But most days, you know, I've really worked hard in the last five, six years to overcome that stuff and not let those things happen or bother me. I'll let them bother somebody else. You know, I think if you can, if you battle that, overcome it, then, you know, you're going to have more success in those final groups when you have a lot of big crowds.

ROSIE JONES: Not even on the bottle, water bottle anymore. You're really slipping when you're not on the water bottle.

ROSIE JONES: You know, it's not -- I come into every event, hoping to win. There is always a lot of attention and stuff like that. This tournament there's always a little more attention because of the fan base. But the fans don't really get here till Thursday or Friday. My first few days are trying to get a practice round in, the Pro-Am in, and a little fishing in and tee it up. You know, having the focus on Betsy made it a little bit easier for me. But it's never that, you know, overwhelming that it bothers me.

ROSIE JONES: 18, 19 or something.

ROSIE JONES: It's the type of golf course you can really shoot some good scores on. Obviously, we had some really pretty good conditions. Friday was the toughest day, and if you just kind of hung in there with that day and got a couple under, you're doing good. We have had, other tournaments that had a lot worse, you know, weather here, and scores have still been good. It's just that type of golf course where it's not tremendously long or difficult. If you know the greens pretty well and you're putting, you're going to have some good scores.