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AVNET LPGA CLASSIC

May 1, 2011

Maria Hjorth

MOBILE, ALABAMA

MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome the 2011 Avnet LPGA Classic winner, Maria Hjorth into the interview room.
First off, congratulations on your win.
MARIA HJORTH: Thank you.
MODERATOR: Just talk a little bit about the round today and being a winner.
MARIA HJORTH: Yeah, yeah, no, obviously it's always great to be a winner. You work very hard for it. When it happens, especially with a field like this where we have the best players in the world playing, teeing it up on Thursday, it's even a better feeling to know you can be out there and play and play against the best.
But, you know, I knew it was going to be a pretty tough day again today. The course is playing hard. Even though the rough is not very thick, the greens are very firm and there are some tough pin positions.
So I knew just had to be patient. Obviously my goal for the weekend was trying to get double digits, which is pretty hard to do. I waited, and I didn't think it was going to be enough for a win, but obviously it was. So I'm very excited about that.
I played good. I've been driving the ball really well all week. Made a few little mistakes with some chipping and little 3-putts, but it's easy to do on these greens. I think a lot of people have done that.
MODERATOR: You went through a stretch early in the round where you had four birdies in five holes and then kind of a little up and down, but you were able to hold it together and keep it there. What was the key for you to being able to do that?
MARIA HJORTH: Well, I played well. It was just a little, you know, easy three-putt on 11. I just putted my first putt too hard.
But I knew I was playing well, so my caddie told me, Just make sure you hang in there. You've done nothing really wrong, so make sure you keep in a positive mind and keep going.
I made another birdie a little bit later and obviously made a really bad bogey on 16, but overall, I just made sure I kept playing for myself and not for anyone else and see where that leads me.
MODERATOR: You had your husband on the bag this week. A little bit of a break for him from caddying on the PGA Tour. How special was that to have him on the bag? Now do you have keep him around?
MARIA HJORTH: He's not going to stay, no. No, it was great. It was really good to be able to have a win together. Obviously he caddied for me full time two years ago before we had our daughter. We lost in the playoff at McDonald's LPGA Championship, so it was great to be able to have a win together. To have just an off week like this and to be able to pull it off is really good.
MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Just talk about the bad start. Did you feel like that was going to be important at the beginning of the round today?
MARIA HJORTH: Oh, definitely, because I knew that there were a lot of good players in front of me, and even teeing up in the same group. So I knew I had to get off to a fast start and hopefully put pressure on the other players.
Obviously when you're behind, it's great to be able to come up with a good start and just put a little bit of extra pressure on.

Q. You mentioned the patience out here, which a lot of players have talked about. How important was that, especially when you had the bogey and just maintained what you were doing?
MARIA HJORTH: Yeah, I mean, you have to be very, very patient out here this week, because greens are, like I said earlier, playing very difficult and firm and there are tough pin placements.
A lot of times you might not be able to go at the pin, but you have to accept the 20- or 25-foot putt just to make sure you're on the green and give yourself a chance.
There are some tough holes out there, so you have to be patient. Also know there are birdie chances. If you make a bogey that you know everybody is going to do, you have birdie chances to catch up with.

Q. So at what point did you celebrate this win? You knew you probably had it barring a miracle after you finished?
MARIA HJORTH: Well, obviously my par putt on the last was pretty important, because two shots coming up the last, you know, miracles happen. She could have holed out her shot.
Having one shot, it's still possible that she can make a birdie, so it wasn't really until she hit her second shot that I knew I was going to win the tournament.

Q. You obviously like the Trent Jones courses. Is there something about the design? Do they just suit your game, do you feel?
MARIA HJORTH: I think so. I see myself as a good driver the ball. Obviously on those courses you can take advantage and cut corners and maybe not have things in play that maybe a player that hits a little bit shorter does. I think that's really what I like.
And also, coming into the greens, they're pretty tricky. Coming in with a little bit shorter irons help because you can get a little bit more spin on the ball, so I think that's why I think they kind of suit my game.

Q. After having a baby and getting back and winning again, how important is that to what you want to accomplish as well?
MARIA HJORTH: Oh, it's very, very important. I had one win end of last year, and I knew coming into this year I had great momentum and I felt really good about my game.
I've been working very hard on my fitness this off-season to make sure that I get strong and fit again, and that's obviously paid off. You know, when you work hard towards something and you get something back, it's just a great feeling.
You know, it's fun to really be able to be out there and win again, even though, you know, I could have just as well been a mum to Alexis Thompson. I mean, they're so young coming out here now and you're a bit older.
But I think sometimes experience can help as well, and that's what you have to look at, too.

Q. You did bring Lexi up, so... I guess any golfer that's good enough to be in contentions or have a lead on a final day has probably been through some rough times. Do you feel for her the way things finished up?
MARIA HJORTH: Well, I don't know if you feel for her. I just hope that she learns things from it. That's the important thing. She has to take all the positive that she's achieved this week. Obviously she's done a great job and she was up there and had a chance to win the tournament.
She has to look at all the positive she can take with her for the future. She's going to be a great player and have a lot of wins and success. Just really have to forget about the bad stuff, look at all the good stuff, and learn from that.
MODERATOR: All right. Thank you very much.
MARIA HJORTH: Thank you.
MODERATOR: Congratulations.
MARIA HJORTH: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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