BMO FINANCIAL GROUP CANADIAN WOMEN'S OPEN

July 9, 2003

Lorie Kane

MODERATOR: Thanks for joining us. I imagine this is a special week for you, playing in Canada, teeing it up in an LPGA event. If you could tell us how it feels to play in your home country, and then we'll take some questions.

LORIE KANE: Okay. How does it feel to play in my home country? Awesome.

Being from the East Coast, I'm very comfortable being on the West Coast. I think it has a lot to with the water. I know we don't have mountains on Prince Edward Island, but I'm comfortable here. I think I'm becoming more comfortable with each Canadian -- well now the Bank of Montreal Canadian Open that comes around. It's just nice to be back in Vancouver.

There's a lot of memories here on Marine Drive for me. Way back when in 1983 I played a Canadian Junior here; and getting a better look at the course today than I did yesterday, it's funny how the mind can work. I remembered every hole and I think I remembered every shot I hit way back then.

So, it's really exciting to be back and I hope that all of the Canadians are hoping for a good week.

Q. Usually if you go to an event with Annika and Se Ri and players like that, you can slip in under the radar but you can't do that here, the galleries will probably be just as big for you. Do you prefer that?

LORIE KANE: Well, we all love to play in front of big crowds. It's exciting when they are cheering for you. I know that the country supports all of us, and, you know it's just exciting to play in front of big crowds. And it's great for the tournament that we have such a strong field here.

Q. I'd like to ask you a little bit about the golf course and what you sort of think the keys are playing it. It seems to me, the fairways are not really narrow but the trees hang over the edges; do you have to shape your shots a little bit?

LORIE KANE: You do. I think as the golf course -- I've played some holes late yesterday and I played this morning. I think the golf course, I think they might have put some water on the fairways. They are not quite as firm as they were yesterday afternoon. The greens are a little softer.

Driving it in the fairway on any golf course is a premium. Driving it in the fairway here is important. And you have to be on the right side of the fairway, because otherwise you shape around some of those short doglegs, you can be left with no shot.

So it's definitely placement off the tee, and the greens are huge. So, that's something I didn't remember, that the greens were this big. You want to be on the right spot of the green. Everything kind of -- very subtle breaks here.

Q. Can you talk about the state of your game, knocking on the door again here, a couple of seconds, are you ready to barge through again?

LORIE KANE: I am. Things are good. You know, my game is pretty sound. I've been driving the ball well. I've been putting good. My wedge play, I've been working really hard on. I need to work a little bit harder with this -- how many inches is that between here to here? I have been a little impatient with myself, and that's been the part we've tried to work a little bit harder on.

If I can think about somebody who I would really like to be like, is Mike Weir right now. Because the way he's handling himself and the way he handled himself at Masters is the way I need to be. And if I can be a little bit better than I am, then I think I'll get through that door.

Q. Can you talk about the field that's here, it seems like 17 of the Top 20 women have made an effort to get here. It seems like people want to be here. Could you talk about that, because that didn't always seem to be the case when the PGA was here.

LORIE KANE: Well, it is the case. The prior sponsors, this was a major championship. The Bank of Montreal has stepped up to the plate and has made everybody feel welcome. It does definitely help that we were in Portland and at the U.S. Open and coming here. You know, the RCGA, with the help of Jocelyne Bourassa, found the best courses to play in Canada, again with the support of the Canada. The purse continues to increase in an economy that is difficult, so the players recognize that.

You know, we have a couple fewer events this year on our schedule. Players who haven't played in Canada are coming back to play in Canada. You know, I just think that the LPGA has been supporting all of its events, and you know it's very important to the sponsor that the top players come.

Q. What are you doing to try and improve your patience, and are you doing anything outside of just letting it happen?

LORIE KANE: Well, I'm trying very hard to let it happen, and when I don't, I get a little bit annoyed with myself. I can either give myself a little slap in the rear end or bang a club, and then it's gone. I'm really trying to hit one shot and to hit that shot as best I can, and then no matter where it is, concentrate on hitting the next shot, because once it's in the air, it's in God's hands, pretty.

But there's times where I feel I've been too hard on myself. You can't play a perfect round of golf. You know, at the U.S. Open last week, I'm 10 over par on two holes. Other than that, I played really great golf, and those two holes just got me and I lost patience.

So, you know, what am I doing? I'm trying to talk very positively to myself. Danny, I'm leaning on big time to be there, like he always is, and he's not afraid to kick me in the pants if I need it and to tell me that I'm being ridiculous. Sometimes it's just a little bit -- you know, it's easier for me to be hard on myself than it is to give myself -- say, "Well, okay, it's all right."

Q. You've had some Top-10 finishes in the last few Canadians, could it be a breakthrough here for you, do you feel you're just about on the edge for that?

LORIE KANE: Well, again, it's going to be one shot at a time. There's no tournament that any of us as Canadians would like to win more.

But, you know, I have to start tomorrow morning at 9:00 when I tee it up and just play it out and see what happens, and not put any more pressure on myself than I need to. You know, like I said, I think I have all of the vibes working in the right -- I'm in a good place. Being here in Vancouver, I'm in a very good place. I've got some really positive memories here at Point Grey from Shaunnessy to Marine Drive. This is where my golf career -- this is where I decided I was going to be a golf professional. So, I'm excited to be back and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens.

Q. You mentioned Mike and how he's handled himself. I think he said at Olympia Fields that it was difficult for him to deal with all of the attention that followed winning the Masters. I know when he used to come here to play the Tour events in Surrey, it was always a challenge for him to deal with the spotlight. Is it a challenge for you? Is it harder for you to come and play in Canada than it is to play in Florida or somewhere else?

LORIE KANE: Well, I think it's not that it's harder. There's just more demands on my time. My schedule is not quite as wide open as it would be at a tour stop in, let's say, Corning, New York or wherever. But that's part of being a Canadian and that's part of being a professional golfer. I mean, it's going to happen.

I suppose if we go to Sweden, Annika is going to have even more attention than she has if she comes here this week. That's just part of the deal.

What I'm trying to do, though, and thanks to the people who represent me, we're just trying to plan it. And if you're planned, then it's easy. I mean, it's helping you guys do your job. I can't tell my story unless you ask the questions. It's just trying to find a nice time to be able to sit down and do it where I can know that I have done my work on the golf course, and now I'm here to speak with you and I'll head back after.

It's not having a plan that makes it difficult.

Q. I know you said you hoped to get together with Marilyn McLaughlin, have you had a chance to see her since you've been in town?

LORIE KANE: I have. She was out yesterday to watch the Shootout with the Canucks and I planned -- she's actually volunteering. She's on No. 2 right now. So I will spend some time with her over the weekend. Eddie, her youngest son comes home on Sunday from Hawaii, so we are probably going to plan to have dinner Sunday night.

I know where Marilyn is, and she's going to be my mom for the week.

Q. Do you do any recruiting to make sure that there's a top field -- I know the fields are consistently better, but do you do any active recruiting?

LORIE KANE: I talk to a lot of the players, as many as I can, and encourage them to come. Obviously, they talk to me about what the golf course is, have I been to where we're going.

This year, Vancouver, being here in the city: "Guys, you can't miss this city, it's awesome. There's lots to do. The golf course is great. Getting around is easy." Just those type of logistics questions are asked. But if a player has not come in a while to Canada, I try to encourage them to.

Q. Do they seek you out, some of the players that have qualified through the BMO, the Canadian women's tour, and how important is that? I know you played on the du Maurier, how important is that for Canadians to have that avenue to get to an event like this?

LORIE KANE: The BMO Canadian Tour is very important. It's vital to continuing the growth of amateur golf and professional golf.

You know, the Bank of Montreal is involved right from the bottom with the Future Links Program, into the amateur golf, and now with the professionals. You know, it's tough in this economy not to have a place to play, if you are an aspiring young pro who cannot quite afford the money to go to the States to play the Futures Tour. The opportunities from playing in your own country, learning right off the bat to play a Pro-Am format, what's expected of you in Pro-Ams, how to handle yourself, how to feet and greet people, those are things that you don't learn in any other place other than the BMO tour.

I've talked to several of the girls. I keep an eye on what's going on. Jocelyne keeps me informed as best we can. It was a very important part of my starting and I hope it continues.

Q. Just to build on something you mentioned, you mentioned how much you liked Vancouver. While there's no guarantees the LPGA will come back here, do you get a sense seeing the reaction, this is a city they would want to come back if that was available to them?

LORIE KANE: Oh, I think so, for sure. There's a lot of great golf courses in the city, and I think this is a good market for us to be in, or at least I hope it is and I hope that the fans come out. I've talked about how proud I am to come to Vancouver and know that people know their golf. I'm hoping that those people come out to watch us play in hordes. That will be a big determining factor, I guess, as to whether or not we can come back in the future.

I've been lobbying to get us east of Montreal, which is going to happen and I'm so excited about that. But I hope we can come back. I mean, it's taken a little bit of time to get us here, but we are back and hopefully we can come back in the future.

Q. Those players, do any of them seek you out here, and from what you're hearing when you talk to Jocelyn, what is the state of golf for Canadian amateur women and women coming up through the ranks?

LORIE KANE: Well, that's a really good question. I think it's good, but I also think it can be better. You know, with Annika playing the Colonial, Michelle Wie with the attention she's given us, I hope into brings more girls into golf.

Women come into the game very fast, at a fast rate, but they leave the game at a fast rate, as well. So, you know, it's important that we have someplace in our own country that we can develop our players, and I believe that BMO tour is where it happens. Whether it can continue -- I'm sure it will, and I hope it expands. And I would love to see it expand so that players outside the country could come in.

You know the Canadian men's tour started in Canada and then expanded and I think that the potential for the BMO Canadian women's tour has that same potential. You know, open it up, see what happens.

The only thing that will happen is our players will get better. Because when somebody raises the bar like Annika, I'm hanging on for dear life, but I'm getting better because she's pushing us to get better.

Q. I know you were delighted to see that this event is going to move east, but I also know you were disappointed it was not going to Charlottetown. Do you think that will ever happen, and are you going continue to try to push to make it happen?

LORIE KANE: I guess I pushed as hard as I could, and the powers that be, I understand the economics of the whole situation, and Halifax will do a wonderful job of hosting it. I'm just so close to home.

You know, everybody will still come and watch us. I just think that Prince Edward Island has a lot to offer in the golf business, and with Cavendish (ph), Brewden Aldundry (ph) and a full complex of resorts there, I was thinking from the players perspective, as well as if I were the Bank of Montreal, I would want to entertain my clients somewhere that I could get them and get all of their attention and they wouldn't have to leave. There's no greater hospitality than maritime hospitality and they will see that in Halifax, and maybe some day they can come to prince Edward islands.

I know for myself, personally that we can down the road do the Lorie Kane Island Challenge again. So, you know, I'll be working on those types of things.

Q. Do you still have the blue jacket --

LORIE KANE: I do.

Q. Where did that come from?

LORIE KANE: Doug McClain (ph) is the president, general manager and coach -- he likes to wear a lot of hats -- and he is a very good friend of our family's. My dad coached him at the University of Prince Edward Island when he played hockey. We have a young kid by the name of David Lane who plays on the team and he's a good family friend.

I won when Columbus entered the league. I think it might have been my second or third tournament, but I won that year. They sent me the head cover and it's a cute head cover. Trevor Lynn mentioned if he could get something from the Canucks that looked as good, he would get it for me, but I have yet to receive that.

Q. Inaudible?

LORIE KANE: I am.

Q. Regularly --

LORIE KANE: Regularly. I am a Canadian hockey team fan. I cheer for the Canadian hockey team that lasts the longest, but I am a Leafs fan. I must admit, I'm a Leafs fan. I grew up an Havs' fan.

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