U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

May 29, 2001

Brenda Corrie-Kuehn

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I like that. I didn't talk to Dawn about that, see what her trick was. Because that's pretty amazing to me right there.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I've been fortunate. It's been a pretty normal pregnancy. I haven't had any complications. I've gained about 25 pounds. And it takes a little bit of a toll on you, but I've tried to stay active the whole pregnancy. I'm active all the time. The only thing I begged the doctor was no bed rest, because I don't think I could deal with that. So just playing along, and trying to stay active.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Like I said, I will not be making a fashion statement this week. It is pretty interesting. You'll see a lot of men's shirt type golf shirts or -- it will be ugly, I have to admit.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: No, not at all. I am just -- I'm fortunate to be here. I'm so excited to be here. I went out and qualified I guess two or three weeks ago. I had no expectations of making it. Really just wanted to go out and have fun. And I knew the Open was close to home. Had it not been here at Pine Needles, I would not have tried it. He said go out and try it and see what happens. I was surprised to make it. I'm thrilled to be here for the week.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: No, what we discussed with my doctor was pretty much anything -- he didn't want me to start anything new. So bungy jumping and parachute jumping were out of the question. Golf was fine. And I've been lucky. Some women do retain a lot of liquid and have swelling in their feet and legs. I've been very lucky. With either one of my pregnancies, this is my second one, and it's been pretty normal. And he said just -- you can continue to play golf throughout, as long as you -- up until the day you deliver, if you want to. If you feel comfortable doing it, go ahead and do it. He has asked me to stay hydrated was the only thing he asked, drink a lot of liquids.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: One of them.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I think that's a tough question for you to ask me. The way I see it is I earned the spot. It was not given to me. I went out and I qualified on a course that was very hilly at 7-and-a-half months pregnant. I think I deserve to be here just on that merit. But I hope that doesn't sound too bad. But I'm excited to be here.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Yes, fortunately you gain the weight slowly. It's not like you wake up the next day and all of a sudden you have this big, old tummy. So my swing has changed slowly throughout -- probably starting at about four or five months. I started just -- natural adjustment. I haven't purposely made any changes. I pretty much have trouble in my follow through. And I think -- there's definitely differences in the ball flight. I'm not hitting it very far and not hitting it very high. It's almost like I'm hitting knock-down shots, everything is knock-down.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: We talked about it before going to qualify. He said what are you going to qualify for, you're not going to play if you make it. I said, we'll see. He was hemming and hawing before we went. And after I qualified he was supportive. He's been excited about it. I was worried in Atlanta when I actually -- I think I was going up to the 18th hole, and the thought actually crossed my mind that I had a chance to make this. And I said, oh, my gosh, this is not good. I'm going to make this tournament. I'm going to make my husband mad. I'm going to make my ObGyn mad, and this is not good. It was not a good thing to qualify at that particular moment. When I did call him, he was excited and he's been supportive of me. And so has my doctor, he's actually been a good support.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I was fortunate, I made it here in '96. I played here in '96. I wasn't playing my best golf then. Hopefully this will be a better this year. I remember playing -- remember it playing pretty long. I think it will be a challenge for me, because it plays long, from what I rather. I haven't played it this year yet, I haven't played a practice round.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: No, I don't think I should get a cart at all. I don't think I would ever think about asking for a cart. If you can play here, you're going to play with everybody else. And if you can't play, like you asked me earlier, you give the spot to somebody else. No, I don't believe -- I don't feel like I have a disability, even if it's temporary. I see it as part of normal, everyday life. The fact that you are pregnant, you're giving birth to a child and you have a baby in your tummy, it's part of life. And like I said, I've tried to live my life completely normal, without -- I haven't gone skiing again, or I haven't done anything risky. But my everyday life has not changed.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: All I know is this child is going to be an active one. We'll be sitting here, you'll be seeing a foot in a minute coming out and a little behind on the other side. It's been active. It's been an active baby. But nothing out of the ordinary. My first one was also very active. So hopefully it's a good message. You tell me it's going to be a good week, right?

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Actually, you know, I saw him last week. And my concern was when I went into labor with my first one, you don't know what to expect, you don't know what labor is when you have your first one. Actually, I didn't know either, because the signs of labor was my water broke, so I knew I was going into labor. I was there on Thursday and I said, Doctor, tell me, what do I look for because I have been -- I've had Braxton-Hicks contractions very early on. So I'll be talking to you here, and all of a sudden I feel pressure in my stomach and tightness. And he says, oh, you'll know. If you go into labor, you will know the difference. But he was not concerned at all about going into labor. I think he did say, he said statistically, and I think I'm going to quote him, I think statistically you have the same odds of going into labor on the golf course as you do sitting at home watching television. So it can happen. But that means it would happen anywhere. He was not concerned about it.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: No, I have asked where the bathrooms are, though. (Laughter.) I've tried to get a map in detail of where the bathrooms are. I'm hoping to not get a 2-stroke penalty for slow pay in that sense.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: No, I don't know what I'm having. I'm kind of old-fashioned when it comes to that. I really like the surprise. Like I say, I have a four-year-old son. And fortunately he's adapted very well. He changes his mind day-to-day what he wants. I think he will adapt well to what comes, versus wanting a specific brother or sister.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: We're still discussing it. I think we will get to the delivery room and have to decide on a name on the spot.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I've got to tell you, for the qualifier, that was definitely a factor. Somebody knows, I'm a little nervous most of the time. And it was, I had absolutely no expectations. Somehow here you guys got a hold of this, you changed that situation a little bit for me. But I really just want -- I have -- I just want to go out and play golf the best that I can. I don't know -- my expectations, I don't know. I think I have my own expectations. I'm really going to try to block everything out and just enjoy the week and see the best golf that I can play. It might be good, it might be bad, it might not have nothing to do with the fact that I'm pregnant, and just go from there.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Yes, I've had several. I've had I think three ultrasounds and a complete checkup last time I went, which was fun. They always like to make sure that everything is okay. So this tournament has caused me a few extra checkups that I was not planning on having.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Most pregnant women will use their husband's shirts. He's an XXL. That is not conducive to looking good. We live in Asheville, there's not many maternity stores in Asheville. So I've been -- trial and error. I have some men's mediums, some ladies large. I think I do have one maternity shirt, it's one of these frilly things.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: On Sunday (laughter.)

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: That's right.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: You know, not at all. Again, for me it's been normal. For me there's nothing unusual about this. But it is amazing. I have to say I have been overwhelmed by the attention that it has gotten. Again, I don't see it as big a deal as you guys have made it. Because I've been to other Opens, and I think in Mississippi, I think Carin Koch was pregnant. There have been other people that have played pregnant throughout. So I'm just thinking, why me? I know I'm probably a little further along than everybody else was. But we amateurs, we don't get a whole lot of attention. So it has been real hard for me as far as the attention that I've been getting.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: No, no pickles and ice cream. I think I picked up some cookies on the way from the locker room. It's been normal, I have not had any cravings with either one.

RHONDA GLENN: Thank you so much. Good luck this week. Wish you well.