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LPGA CORNING CLASSIC

May 29, 2004

Michelle Estill

CORNING, NEW YORK

PAUL ROVNAK: Michelle, thanks for talking with us. 18 holes to go, you're up by one out of 143 players. Give us your thoughts, and we'll take questions after that.

MICHELLE ESTILL: Wow, it's just exciting to be here, to be honest with you. I have kind of just enjoyed the whole experience today, a roller coaster a little bit, but to be honest, it was great to be here and I had a great time.

PAUL ROVNAK: Questions?

Q. Going into the final round, classic David versus Golliath, face to face versus the heavy underdog, do you think you're going to thrive in that role of underdog, and being the one not everyone really expects, maybe they think Annika has it?

MICHELLE ESTILL: I think I'm okay in that role, I don't mind it. Annika is such a great player, and she's not going to ease up on you. Today was a gift. I don't think I have seen her hit it like that for a while, so I have to be prepared tomorrow to go out there and hit again. I hit it good today despite some up and downs, but I enjoyed playing with Annika, I enjoyed the day.

Q. Exact same position as you were starting today. Tell us your thoughts.

MICHELLE ESTILL: I should know what to expect since we're in the same position. Try to do the same thing, get off to a good start, and hopefully keep it rolling and putt better tomorrow. I hit the ball great, and felt I could get the bogey back when I did make one, so keep up the same thing tomorrow.

Q. How important was it to stay where you were today, considering what's happened in the last year?

MICHELLE ESTILL: Well, you know, I guess I should say that's the greatest thing, but to be honest, I'm happy to be here. If I wasn't on the top right now, I'd be just as excited. It's good to play good golf again and hit it where I want and make birdies and feel like I have a chance to win, so it helps to pick up that confidence tomorrow to do that today.

Q. First time you've ever led a tournament after three rounds?

MICHELLE ESTILL: First time ever.

Q. Except when you won?

MICHELLE ESTILL: I didn't lead then either.

Q. You did at the end.

MICHELLE ESTILL: I did at the end.

Q. Do you look back at number 9, the triple bogey, and say, "Wow, I could be leading by even the lead could be a lot bigger if it wasn't for what happened on number 9?" Let's talk about that.

MICHELLE ESTILL: No. To be honest, never thought that. Obviously, I'm disappointed with the shot on 9, but I never once thought of it that way. All I thought about was I'm hitting it great. If I can get it back on the backside, or at least get some of it back, I hit it close on 11, 3 putted; 12, didn't quite get it going, but mentally I really felt good out there, and even after that, because it could have easily gone the other way, but I felt good, and triple is better than a quad.

Q. Did it do a lot for your confidence to be able to survive that and jump into the lead at the end?

MICHELLE ESTILL: I think so. I felt good. Right after I did that, I really felt good. 10 through 14, I felt great, and I struggled a little bit on 15, 16, 17. I struggled a little, made par, but I felt really good right after that happened, because I was positive I could get some back; I was positive a putt was going to roll in sooner or later.

Q. You and Annika have basically been on top of the leaderboard here for almost two full rounds. Are you surprised nobody has jumped out at you?

MICHELLE ESTILL: If you had asked me that before I was on the course today, I would have said yes, but the pins were a little tricky with the wind. Number 6, I've never seen it where it was today. I looked in my book, five years of pin placement, and it's never been there, so tricky with the wind.

Right now I'd have to say that I'm not surprised that there weren't any 65s and 64s today.

Q. We've asked several golfers about seeing Annika's name high on the leaderboard. If someone was to make a run at you early tomorrow, would that affect how you would approach your round? When you're on top of the leaderboard, do you spend time looking at other people's scores as the day goes on?

MICHELLE ESTILL: To be honest, I like to look at the boards because I have fun. I don't necessarily look at the board because, oh, no, they are passing me up. I totally expect Annika to go out and shoot a good round, or anybody that's right below us to shoot a good round.

I figure you got to go out and play good tomorrow like I have. If somebody gets off to a great start, that's what they are going do. All I can do is hit it solid, make more putts. I feel like I can shoot a good score if I continue to hit it the way I am.

Q. While things were going back and forth were you and Annika staying away from each other on purpose? Do you talk to each other?

MICHELLE ESTILL: No, she's so young, she's so fast, I can't keep up with her. I tried. A couple officers said, "You got to keep up with her," she's outwalking me, we got to the tee, I'm like, "Slow up, Man."

Today there was only a two some, and it goes pretty quick, so not as much chatting as a three some. You're moving through the crowds, there is not a lot of chance to talk, but we talked when there was some breaks in the action.

Our pace of play is a lot faster than my walk, so we would not part of it, I'm sure, is we're just not

Q. Is there a perfect weather condition that you're going to be more come accountable with? Is this a good day, minus the wind? If it was raining

MICHELLE ESTILL: Bite your tongue.

Q. If it rains, could that help you?

MICHELLE ESTILL: It's not going to rain, come on. I don't think i don't think it matters. I mean, I don't think it's going to rain. If it does, you prepare for the conditions. Everybody plays in it, so.

Q. I don't know how closely you keep tabs on the PGA Tour, but a local guy, one from this area, got his first win since 1990l. Can you maybe take inspiration from that?

MICHELLE ESTILL: Yeah, a little bit. Tim and I talked on the phone when he won, because him being from the area, he knows Joey and everybody, so we talked about that and how great that was. He's such a great guy, I can't think of anything better.

It would be fun. It's almost like they root for you. If you do win, they are amazed; and if you don't, they didn't expect it anyway.

Q. Do you think part of the crowd is going to be pulling for you because you are the underdog?

MICHELLE ESTILL: The crowds have always been friendly to me. Whether you shoot 64 or 74, they love you. I don't feel pressure. If they root for Annika, they should root for Annika. They are very fair. Walking up 18 gave me goose bumps. They were overwhelming. I hit a good shot and they were thrilled about it.

Q. We talked about yesterday how this course was feast or famine. With the exception of number 9, I guess, the feast continues.

MICHELLE ESTILL: I hope so, I hope that was the famine for the week. Yeah.

Q. I know you're professional, and you have to be able to tune things out, but do you have stuff that you say after, like, 9?

MICHELLE ESTILL: No, I think I tim was a great help keeping my let's move on, let's get them, let's get that back, you're hitting it great, let's get it back. That's the end of it. We don't talk about it anymore, so it was easy to get it out of my mind, not to mention, I felt good about my swing. I have to admit, the birdie on 10 helped push it out.

End of FastScripts.

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