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EVIAN MASTERS PRESENTED BY SOCIETE GENERALE

July 21, 2011

Maria Hjorth

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE

MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome Maria Hjorth into the interview room. Congratulations on your 5-under round today.
MARIA HJORTH: Thank you.
MODERATOR: Can you just take me through the round a little bit. I know started off really hot, even while playing in the pouring rain.
MARIA HJORTH: Yeah. No, I've been playing really well today. Played very solid. Obviously it's hard with these greens, because they spin a lot, or I spin the ball a lot, so it's difficult, you know, a lot of times to get the ball close to the hole. I've been putting great today, and that's obviously what you need to do on this course.
You know, overall I played really solid. Obviously not the finish that I would have liked, but, you know, if you have three bogeys, you can have three bogeys anywhere. Obviously I finished off with them, which is frustrating.
But, you know, I'll take 5-under any day. If I shoot four rounds with 5-under, I played well.
MODERATOR: We know what the conditions were, but how is the course playing early on compared to years past?
MARIA HJORTH: I think it's obviously playing a little bit longer probably because the ball is obviously not going, you know, very far once it lands on the fairways.
So, yeah, I just think you got to make sure you hit the fairways. If you're in the rough, the rough is a little bit thick due to the rain obviously and the wetness of the course.
But the greens are playing superb. They're really, really fast, the fastest I think they've been ever. I've been here 15 years now. So they play really nice and are rolling great.
MODERATOR: Having played in this tournament for so long, yesterday we had the big announcement that Evian will be a major in 2013. What are your thoughts on that?
MARIA HJORTH: Yeah, I think it's great. It's obviously great to have another major. I think with the changes of the course it will be very exciting to see what the course is going to look like after the changes.
Obviously playing the first few years when it's only like a European Tour event, I hope it still gets the same feel for the tournament. I know it's going to be a major, going to be a little bit different feel, but still, you know, you kind of feel like a family kind of event coming here.
So I just hope that we kind of keep that feeling too it as well even though it's a major.
MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Talking a little bit more about that, Val Skinner and I were talking last night, and do you think it's possible for this event to keep that feeling? Can players learn perhaps sort of the French/European way of life at a major? It seems like always atmosphere changes at the major. More coaches, people, more pressure, more intensity. Do you think it's possible for players from every tour all over the world to sort of adapt to the French way of life? Do you think that's possible?
MARIA HJORTH: I don't know if it's possible really. It's probably pretty hard to do. But, I mean, hopefully you can and hopefully the players that come here kind of in a way respect that, too. That even if it is a major, you know, it has been a very in a way casual European event.
I just hope that players that come here respect that and not really kind of take over and think, This is a major, this is you know, great. And it is, but I think I it's important for the event to still keep that feeling. I hope that the players can respect that in a way, yeah.

Q. Talk about your game. How many putts did you have today? Have you looked at it?
MARIA HJORTH: I haven't, but, not too many I wouldn't think. Yeah, I did putt really good, so, I mean, I think on the front nine it was probably like two 2-putt maybe and the rest was one putt. Well, three two putts, and then obviously three 2-putts on 16, 17, 18.
So, well, must be close to like 26 or something like that I would say.

Q. Of your really long putts, what was the longest putt of the day?
MARIA HJORTH: I think the longest one was -- well, I did make a few longer putts. There was probably a few that were 20, 25 feet. Yeah, maybe one that was 30 feet. A little bit longer one.

Q. And also my question I'm asking everybody about next week, have you played Carnoustie?
MARIA HJORTH: No, I haven't. I've been to Dundee, but we never get to play Carnoustie unfortunately.

Q. You must be looking forward to it.
MARIA HJORTH: Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it. It's going to be a great. It's a links course and the set up really good for us. I hope it'll be tough but still fair.
MODERATOR: Okay. You good? Wonderful. Thank you.
MARIA HJORTH: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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