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SHOPRITE LPGA CLASSIC

June 3, 2011

Sandra Gal

GALLOWAY, NEW JERSEY

THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome Sandra Gal.
Nice round. 4-under par. One shot off the lead. You're no stranger to the leads this year. You won at the Kia Classic, first ever win this season. You've been playing quite well. What's going right for you?
SANDRA GAL: If I would know I would tell you. You know what, I'm just having a good time out there. And it's just fun playing with good other players and in front of a lot of crowds and just trying to entertain them, really.
THE MODERATOR: Not everyone here may have seen it, but on the 15th hole you were plugged -- almost plugged in the lip of the bunker, and you hit it out to tap-in range. Did that kind of help your round toward the end of the day with the wind?
SANDRA GAL: Yeah, it definitely did. That hole was playing really tough. The wind was left to right. I was trying to hole it into the wind, and I pulled it a little bit. When I came up there, it was like my goodness, it was like I had no stance, and I was trying to get it, it was plugged, just open my face and hit it as hard as I can over the lip, and just one of those shots that you hit once in a lifetime, I guess.
THE MODERATOR: Could you talk about the response you've had going back to Germany, from the media, from the fans, after you won the Kia Classic, went back a couple of weeks ago?
SANDRA GAL: I had such a good time in Germany. The first few days I barely had time to prepare for the tournament. It was just media, basically from 8:00 in the morning until 10:00 at night, a lot of interviews and a lot of TV.
They were curious, how is she going to play, what's she look like, what's she doing. It definitely wasn't the best preparation, but it was a lot of fun just getting to know German fans and all the people that came out. I think we had 32,000 spectators over the four days.
So I just felt very lucky to have that attention and appreciation.
THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. Sandra, we're just wondering, the people who teed off in the morning didn't fare as well score-wise and people in the afternoon played very well score-wise but the wind didn't seem like it changed much. What was your preparation going out there? Did you figure when you got here this morning, uh oh, the wind's really going to make it really tough on all of us?
SANDRA GAL: I always believe conditions are the same for everyone. So I just enjoy it no matter what. But the Pro-Am yesterday, we had the same strength of wind. So I kind of knew what we were going to get into this afternoon.
I didn't know that the morning times didn't play as well. I don't know what the reason is for that.

Q. It didn't bother you at all, didn't affect your focus at all?
SANDRA GAL: No, not at all. As I said, it's part of the golf course. Wind/no wind, you just have to take it as it is.

Q. Did you feed off of Jiyai and you both playing well in the same group?
SANDRA GAL: I think definitely. I love playing with her. I think she's a huge inspiration. Her tempo is so good, and her putting, she's just talking to the hole every time.
So it's always fun to play with her.

Q. Did you play together in Kia, too?
SANDRA GAL: Yeah, last two rounds.

Q. Just curious, this is sort of a watershed for German golf, the fact that Martin's done so well concurrent with you, do you think that has helped you or vice versa? Do you know him?
SANDRA GAL: Yeah, we come from the very same area in Germany. We played Junior Golf together, but then our paths just went different directions.
You know, I think it's amazing what he's achieved in such a short time, being No. 1 in the world. So you it's possible. That's definitely something that I aspire to as well.
So if you have someone do it in front of you, just like Bernhard did, he functions as a role model as well. So, yes.

Q. Can you talk about what the win at Kia has done for your confidence?
SANDRA GAL: I always believed I could win, but you've got to do it first. So I think it did a lot for my confidence knowing that you can play with the best and you can actually beat them. And I'm just trying to continue to play good golf and enjoy myself out there.

Q. Can you quickly give us the length on the birdie putts?
SANDRA GAL: Length, right. What was the first one? No. 2, right? It was about 13 feet. What was the next one? I don't have them marked --

Q. 3?
SANDRA GAL: Ten feet.

Q. 10?
SANDRA GAL: No. 10, that was a tap-in, yes.

Q. 12?
SANDRA GAL: Six feet.

Q. 18?
SANDRA GAL: Seven feet.

Q. Bogey?
SANDRA GAL: There was a bogey there?

Q. 13.
SANDRA GAL: I forget them. Oh, yeah, actually it was such a tough putt going over the ridge. I hit a really good putt and then Jiyai missed her short putt. It was the same one I had. I missed it right after. It's kind of strange. I didn't think I had such a bad putt, but it just didn't break at all. I don't know. One of those things.

Q. Did you get angry?
SANDRA GAL: Yes.

Q. Sort of to piggyback off that question. At 15, playing alongside the leader, you hit a great shot. Then at 18, after a putt, it seemed to break the opposite way you thought it would break, you come back and kind of backdoor that one, too, give yourself a chance. Does having been in this situation and sort of been under the spotlight, does that help you in those situations now? Did it help you move forward at all?
SANDRA GAL: Yes, I think so, definitely. When you know you can do it under pressure when there's a lot of people, definitely it helps you in the future.
I think a great learning experience was my time in Germany as well. It was just every fairway was packed with people and all the media there.
So it couldn't get really much worse, you know, in quotations, than it was there. So definitely, definitely it helps, yeah.

Q. How did you do there?
SANDRA GAL: I finished seventh.
THE MODERATOR: All right. Sandra, thank you very much.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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