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LPGA CORNING CLASSIC

May 27, 2004

Natalie Gulbis

CORNING, NEW YORK

PAUL ROVNAK: Thanks for coming in joining us. At 66 is at the top of the leaderboard right now. Just go ahead and give us an opening comment and we'll take questions from there.

NATALIE GULBIS: I had a really good group. Laura got off to a really fast start, I think she started off for the first seven or eight holes it seemed like all she had were threes on the card it seems. After six or seven holes all of our group was 6-under, 5-under, 4-under, and that really helped and kind of carried that on through the rest of the round.

Q. Is this your third year here?

NATALIE GULBIS: Correct.

Q. Do you feel more and more confident with this course at this point?

NATALIE GULBIS: Third year is great. Every year I think that you get to play the golf course you learn a couple of little bounces, and where you want to be and you've seen the greens one with more time and you remember what you had a year ago and which greens held and everything.

Q. Everyone's talked about the course so far being real nice, do you agree with that?

NATALIE GULBIS: It's in fantastic shape, even with a little bit of rain they had yesterday, couldn't be in much better shape. The greens are rolling really good. I think you're going to see a lot of good scores, especially with the weather predicting to be good this weekend.

Q. Talk about your year so far, the last three tournaments, how you've been swinging?

NATALIE GULBIS: Last month I had a pretty good month. I had a top 10, and a couple of top-20s. Coming into the event I'm hitting the ball pretty well.

Q. Natalie, you're compared today with a former champion here and another veteran player, does that provide you with any inspiration? As far as the mental game goes, did that have any effect?

NATALIE GULBIS: Kelli is one of my best friends on the Tour, it's nice playing with your friends. We had a great time. All the players struck the ball well, it seemed like there were a lot of birdies out there. When the other two girls are firing at the pins, the momentum goes to all three players in the group.

Q. When you're going into the second round near the top of the leaderboard, I assume you will be by the end the day, does that change the way you approach the round as opposed if you were farther back in the pack?

NATALIE GULBIS: No, because you have to look at this event and this event 20-under plus as has got to be winning it, you've got to make a lot of birdies the next four days to have a chance here.

Q. What will your approach?

NATALIE GULBIS: Just be aggressive, hit a lot of fairways. Hitting fairways is most important on this golf course. Once you're in the fairway you're hitting shorter clubs into the green. I'll focus on hitting fairways tomorrow.

Q. Does the style of this course, or design of this course, does that fit well with your style of play?

NATALIE GULBIS: Say that again?

Q. Does the design, the way this course is set up, it's not real long, but it's narrow, probably more premium on accuracy than on distance, does that play into your type of play?

NATALIE GULBIS: Yes, right now. I got a new driver about three or four weeks ago, and I've been hitting it fairly straight and it made the golf course easier for me. I have a Taylor Made 510.

PAUL ROVNAK: Go over your score card. Starting with birdie on 2.

NATALIE GULBIS: Birdie on 2, had about a 15-footer for eagle, 2-putted.

No. 5, same thing, had a birdie putt inside 10 feet and 2-putted. Had about a three or four footer on 6.

PAUL ROVNAK: What did you hit into 6?

NATALIE GULBIS: Sand wedge.

On 10 I had about a seven or eight footer with a pitching wedge -- actually 9-iron, sorry.

No. 12 I hit driver, 3-wood and actually made a pretty good putt, probably had to be 40 feet.

On 17 made a 20-footer for birdie.

PAUL ROVNAK: What happened on 18?

NATALIE GULBIS: Just hit it on the right side of the fairway and hit an overhanging tree. And I punched it into -- I had to squeeze it on the left side of the green, and it caught the bunker and I had a downhill lie, maybe like a 20-footer. I was kind of in trouble the whole hole.

End of FastScripts.

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