WEETABIX WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

August 7, 2002

Mhairi McKay

LAURA NEAL: Tell us what you think of the course.

MHAIRI McKAY: I'm biased. I think it's one of my favorites. It's probably my No. 1 favorite course. But having grown up here, getting to play it day-in, day-out, I feel very privileged and spoiled. It's fabulous. I think it's a very feared course. I'm looking forward to hearing everybody else's reaction to it.

Q. (Inaudible.)

MHAIRI McKAY: It's pretty lush out there, but you still have to -- you still have to play a lot of typical links shots. It's not as if you can just fire at pins like you can in America. The ball is maybe not running as much as it would normally, but you still have to play a lot of shots in links golf.

It's nice to be back home and trying to refresh my memory of all the shots I played around here growing up.

Q. (Inaudible.)

MHAIRI McKAY: Well, obviously, this is a major and to win a major is the ultimate goal, but to do it around your home course would be the icing on the cake. It would be a dream come true if that were to happen. But can't really -- I'm not going to think about it. Just going to approach it like I've approached all of the other events this year and just try and play my best and stay in the present and not get distracted by lots of other things that are going on because it is my home course and I know a lot of people around here.

I lived in Glasgow and my mom actually became a member here in 1979, and my mom and dad bought a house in Bergen in 1982. Since then we have been coming down for summer holidays. I grew up -- I started to play around the course and then the family all became members here at Turnberry and ever since then.

Q. (Inaudible.)

MHAIRI McKAY: Members at a course called Bash Girvin Castle (ph), started playing at Girvin, and then a couple years later we became members here.

Q. (Inaudible.)

MHAIRI McKAY: Depending on what the wind does, it could change everything. It's going to be really tricky. You just have to be patient.

Q. (Inaudible.)

MHAIRI McKAY: Not especially. Don't think so.

Q. (Inaudible.)

MHAIRI McKAY: No, no, some of the holes are further back. Typically when I'm here, I play the middle tees as they are set up on the course. Some of them are a little back from what I'm used to playing, but I think that you have to remember yardage-wise, playing over here -- like last week I was playing in 100% humidity, but the ball was just playing forever. You come back here and the air is so thick and heavy, it's a lot colder and your 8-iron doesn't go as far in Scotland as it does in Columbus, Ohio. So that's something to get used to all over again.

Last week, the ball was running forever and the ground was very dry and we had a lot of shorter irons into greens. This week, with the wind, you can't even compare the types of golf.

Q. (Inaudible.)

MHAIRI McKAY: Not really. As an amateur I was always traveling. To be honest, I haven't played the course that much in the past five years because I've been playing on TOUR, even the four years I went to Stanford. I spent most of my time in the U.S., and then in the summers I've been traveling playing amateur golf.

Q. (Inaudible)?

MHAIRI McKAY: Well, I brought my golf coach over with me to help me with my game. So I think having him here just kind of puts it -- I'm here to play golf, in this tournament, and do the best I can. So I'm hoping that he will keep me focused and on the right track.

Q. (Inaudible.)

MHAIRI McKAY: I think it's great to have this event in Scotland, and to have a women's tournament -- I think this is the first time there's ever been a major women's event, other than the Solheim Cup, and to have a regular LPGA-sanctioned event, it's fantastic. Hopefully it will encourage young girls to come out and watch the tournament and maybe attract more youngsters, boys and girls, to pick up the game.

Q. Who is your golf coach?

MHAIRI McKAY: Chris Welkey.

Q. (Inaudible.)

MHAIRI McKAY: We were replaying a childhood story of when we were playing Turnberry before they opened up the Greg Norman one in 1988, and the fairways were tighter than this week and the rough was even thicker. And my mom and I and my brother were out just having one last game on the course before they closed it before the Open. Obviously, we hit some balls in the rough and it took us forever to find them.

We were coming up to the second hole, became aware of a man behind us, obviously a good golfer, playing by himself. So we approached and my mom said, "There's Nick Faldo, ask him for his autograph."

So I ran out with my scorecard and pencil and asked him for his autograph, and he said, "Isn't this course too hard for you?" And I said, "Not really." I don't know if I should have said that now. (Laughter.) I guess that's sort of my favorite memory.

Q. (Inaudible)?

MHAIRI McKAY: I was a ball spotter that year. I remember sitting down the first, and the wind is howling off the see, the right-hand side, and obviously nothing came down the right-hand side; and sat down for four hours, and when you're 10 or 11 years old, that's the most miserable four hours I spent on the golf course in my life.

Q. (Inaudible)?

MHAIRI McKAY: Not too much recently.

Q. (Inaudible.)

MHAIRI McKAY: I do. Greg was actually my first teacher here when I was eight years old, and I've got an older brother and sister, so when they were taking up the game and having lessons, he was decent enough to let me come along and give me a few pointers along the way. When he left to go over to America and Bob took over and gave me lessons, and prior to going to university out there. I've been working with Greg also since I've come out on TOUR and it's kind of gone full circle. So the Jamison family has been very encouraging to me throughout my golf career.

Q. (Inaudible.)

MHAIRI McKAY: Glasgow. Not as much as I'd like. Spent a lot of time in Palm Springs. R.

I think I still have my Curtis Cup shirt at home.

Q. (Inaudible.)

MHAIRI McKAY: I have no clue. I'm sure I could probably find it somewhere. I remember him one day telling me I could -- studying, just lashing down the green and he said yesterday, in all that rain I was practicing in, just in case it's like that when I go to St. Andrews -- inaudible -- played St. Andrews I think as an amateur, maybe the year Nick Faldo won, would that be about right? So I was thinking about different styles of golf.

Q. (Inaudible)?

MHAIRI McKAY: A lot of people have been asking me advice on where to stay or where to eat or local caddies, what's the weather going to be like, those kind of questions.

Q. What did you say?

MHAIRI McKAY: It's going to be cold and wet and windy.

Q. (Inaudible)?

MHAIRI McKAY: My mom and dad have a holiday house in Girvin, yes.

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