DU MAURIER CLASSIC

July 29, 1999

Patti Rizzo

PATTI RIZZO: I thought about not coming here at all.

PATTI RIZZO: Yeah, I came to do the Smuckers Pro-Am on Monday because they have been so wonderful to the children. I really -- it has just been too hard and too inconsistent of a year. I just don't like dragging my family around to play bad golf.

PATTI RIZZO: Today. I will let you know Sunday. Today I am glad I came. Everything was not in my favor for coming. I mean, the flights were messed up, the trunk won't close. My little girl got a sty in her eye. It was like a balloon the day I left. I left her at home. I was thinking: Everything is telling me not to go. But I guess that is -- maybe that is the secret. I started on the back -- I am trying to remember the holes, because I only played it once. First hole, I drove it too far in the rough, so I hit a wedge. But it rolled over the back edge. I chipped up about three feet; 1-putted for par. That is No. 10. Then what is 11 -- the par 3. Oh, yeah. I totally mis-clubbed myself on 11. I hit 6-iron. I should have hit maybe 8-iron. I flew it over the back of the green. I didn't get up-and-down; so made bogey there. Then 12 was the par 5 --

PATTI RIZZO: 13, I had a 4-iron in there. I hit it in the right bunker. I didn't get up-and-down. I missed about an 8-footer for birdie there. That was 12. I birdied 13. 13, I hit a wedge in there about eight feet and made that putt for birdie. 15, I hit a wedge in there, and I made about a 25-footer for birdie there. Bogeyed 16. I don't remember this hole at all. I think I hit it out of the rough. I missed the green. Let's just forget 16.

PATTI RIZZO: I think I have here 6-iron. If that was today's or practice --

PATTI RIZZO: Yeah, I 3-putted that green. I hit it on the front, the pin was back there, right, in the back? Yeah, I 3-putted that green.

PATTI RIZZO: 17 -- oh wait. 16 I hit it over the back edge about this much ( indicating about three inches), but it sunk down. Then I hit it about six feet, and I missed the putt, the chip. Then 17, I hit about -- hit it about twelve feet with a wedge, a little wedge; made that putt. Then 18, I hit it over the green-side bunker, but in the fringe on the left side. I could have reached it in two, but it bounced over that bunker. And then I hit a chip up about eight feet; made that for birdie: Birdie on 1, I hit a wedge out of the left rough about 15 feet and 1-putted for birdie there. 2, I hit 8-iron just off the back fringe. It was only about ten feet away. I 2-putted for par. Then 3, that is the par 5?

PATTI RIZZO: Yeah. That is the short par 5. I hit 5-iron in there, and I was just sort of pin-high in that left fringe. I managed to go just through the first fringe and into the second a lot of times today. I chipped that about seven feet; made that for birdie. Then 4, I hit a 6-iron out of the rough, just short of those bunkers, about a foot and a half, and just tapped that in for birdie. 7, I parred. I parred in.

PATTI RIZZO: I am hitting the ball very long. I normally this year have been hitting it around 255, 260, but I guess with the high altitude I am hitting it about 270. On a couple of those holes downwind, downhill, you know, the ball is just going forever on both. Those par 5s were downwind, and one on the back side was straight downhill. You just want to play it like ten yards short of the green and let it bounce up.

PATTI RIZZO: I got married in '94. My husband is French. We lived in Monte Carlo, and I was contemplating, since we had to live there for his work, to play the European Tour. I was planning to do that, and then I got pregnant, so only played like four tournaments in Europe. Then, while pregnant, I didn't play any golf. And then my son was born and we were still living there. And then I was -- after about -- he was about two, I started thinking: Well, maybe I will go back and play a little bit of golf. I practiced a little bit for about three months that summer, and I was going to try the Q-School that year. And then the week before the Q-School, I found out I was pregnant again. The second time wasn't really planned. Then I thought: Well, now I am just destined to be a mother. So I just kind of hung the clubs up again and went through that pregnancy. Then when she was about four months old, I thought: Yeah, you know, the Q-School is coming up again. Maybe I should just give it a try; see what happens. I made it through the Q-School exempt. And so I said: Well, I guess that is my destiny. I came out to play golf all last year, and it was a real adjustment, because after being away for four years, the balls were new, the equipment was new, a lot of courses were new, and I was trying to learn to travel with two babies basically. I knew it was really hard last year and a couple of the mothers on Tour were saying, you know, it is really, really hard, but stick with it, hang in there. It will get better. As they get older, it will get easier. To this point, it hasn't gotten much easier. I just -- it is very exhausting. I am -- maybe the only way I won't retire is if I won this week. Otherwise 99 percent sure that I am going to stop playing after this week.

PATTI RIZZO: Oh, yeah. What Juli has done is fantastic. She was smart enough to have her kids at a little younger age. I think that helped. But she has got a good system that it took her time to work it out. I think if I was four, five years younger, I might make the extra energy to work it out. But my kids are only two and four, and I am 39. So it is tiring. And then to try to play golf on top of that, and just the travel this year has been horrendous. The airlines -- so many flights, cancels, delays. We are stuck in airports, stuck in hotels. And the easiest part is when I get to the course and I tee it up. That is like heaven. That is my only peace. We have been in -- I mean, we have been in so many doctors' offices this is year, with flus and viruses and infections, and I could tell you the pediatrics in almost every city I have been. And I just -- I am wiped out. I just figure this is not my destiny, I guess, you know. And I really love being a mother. My passion is more being a mother now than it is being a golfer. So I figure if that is my case, then my place is at home instead of on the golf course.

PATTI RIZZO: Probably when you get to the point where you just almost give up, I think. I went out this week with the attitude -- I mean, yesterday I didn't practice. I went to Banff and went horseback riding and went up in the gondola and saw Lake Louise and didn't even think about a golf club. And I played my practice rounds only because I had never seen the course before. And I had the last three weeks off, and I didn't touch a club once. And then you come out and play and you shoot 67, so, you know. I don't know what the secret to golf is. I know part of my problem is I always overtry. I have always overtried, because I have always been told I have great talent. But I never have reached my talent or achieved what a lot of people, my coaches, you know, family, friends, they all never think I have achieved what I could have achieved. And it is because my brain always gets in the way. I mean, I think when you come out with a nonchalant attitude, like: Hey, this is a beautiful place; I am going to enjoy my week; I am going to have a great time and enjoy life. You know, I went in a fondue restaurant last night. And like I said, I horseback rode, and just had a good time. Then you come out to play golf and: Okay, let's have fun today, which every psychologist in the world tries to tell you to do. But when that is all you have in your life, you can't help but put too much focus on it. When a lot of these girls out here -- they are young, and golf is their life. People try to tell them: Look happy, enjoy yourself, how lucky you are to be out there playing golf for a living. Look at the beautiful golf course scenery. These girls can't register that because they have one goal, and that is to win the golf tournament. They can't not put pressure or go ahead and be nonchalant. I can be that way today because, first of all, I had a decent career. I had thirteen years of good golf. I won four times here, the mixed team event, nine times in Japan. I have won a lot of golf events. I have great experiences. I have travelled the world. So I have nothing to regret or nothing to say I didn't get to do it. So I can come out with a much more relaxed attitude than, say, Kelly Kuehne right now or Se Ri Pak. They got things to prove and people to prove it to. I just hope I can go out in a big bang. That would be wonderful. If I could leave with a big bang, like Michael Jordan wins the World Championship and quits basketball, you know.

PATTI RIZZO: I think it is about my 18th event this year. It has been very frustrating, because I have known all year I am close to playing really good. I have missed maybe seven cuts by one shot this year. Our cuts are even, 1-under, 1-over -- it is not like I am playing bad golf. I missed, I think, seven cuts by one shot. That is not bad. But it is totally frustrating. I'd rather miss them by 10 and say, hey, I am playing lousy; let's go home. But the hard part for me to give up my career right now is the fact that I am not really playing lousy. I just not really -- I haven't really gotten all the breaks all year. I have a hard time to concentrate and my mind wanders to the kids, to the house, to other obligations, to our health, to the doctors. I find myself just throwing away two or three holes a round and playing 15, 16 holes great, but then I will just be -- like a triple will come. A triple maybe on this course, because of the rough and the greens, but normally a triple is unacceptable. I will be playing the easiest course in the world just out of the blue a triple or two doubles in a row and then I will get my focus back, so, I think I am not all there because I have other things that are priorities to me than golf right now.

PATTI RIZZO: Gabriela is two and Severiano is two. Gaby and Seve. I left Gaby home. She was just getting over a cold and she got the thing in her eye. Seve is here.

PATTI RIZZO: Western Florida.

PATTI RIZZO: We came back in 1997. My little girl was born here.

PATTI RIZZO: Do you want me to cry?

PATTI RIZZO: When I talk about my family I get very emotional more than my golf. But yes, I think everybody that is getting ready to give up a career, gets emotional. I am getting emotional. Thank you. (laughs).

PATTI RIZZO: Oh, my car was out on the road. I was borrowing my mom's car and her -- the hook in the back of her trunk, it is one of those where you just touch it a little and then it sucks the trunk down. The hook -- a screw got loose. It moved over so every time you close the trunk it would just bounce back up. We didn't know it so I tied the trunk to get to the airport and then at the airport it must have shifted taking baggage out or whatever. Then I went to close it, it closed. But it needs to be fixed obviously.

PATTI RIZZO: This time was my fault for the first time all summer I had 3 flights cancelled on me this summer. And that was the weather or the mechanical problem, but this was really my -- I had changed my flights like three times because originally I had a flight where I was coming in here on Tuesday; then when I realized I needed to play in the Smuckers Pro-Am, I changed it to come in Monday. I went back and forth to Ft. Lauderdale airport like three times to change my tickets. Never once did I look to see that they booked my new reservation from Miami airport, so when I got to Fort Lauderdale airport at 7 in the morning, they informed me that my flight was out of Miami airport at 7:30. So there was no way to catch the flight. Then they said rush to Miami, there is two sets left, we can get you and your son on. We got there at 8 and we had to wait 'til 11:30 there to fly; then we connected in Chicago; then we flew here; then when my clubs didn't make it. So I played the Smucker Pro-Am with a demo set of clubs. My clubs made it to the hotel Tuesday morning.

PATTI RIZZO: Calgary Golf Club or California Country Club. That was beautiful.

PATTI RIZZO: That is the day care.

PATTI RIZZO: Oh, yeah, I think Juli is on a major roll right now. She is probably the one to beat this week too. I am sure she is just full of confidence and when she gets her putter going, I mean, she is deadly. She is really -- and she loves greens like this, fast, and rolley, and I mean, this is -- Juli is hitting it long right now too. She is on a high. I think she is going to be the one to beat this week. I think for her it will be great if she won. That would be what, three of the four majors? That would be fantastic. She beat me in the U.S. Amateur two years in a row. I should wish against her, but (laughs), yeah, we were young then.

PATTI RIZZO: No, Japan was probably one of the best things -- that is why I can retire now and not have to worry about money. Thank God I did go there or I would be forced to keep playing golf right now. No, Japan, I love Japan, the people always treated me great over there. I had great experiences. Of course it was because I was a golfer. I think the average person goes over there, they are not so welcomed, but being a golfer I was very welcomed and, boy, that was a great experience in my life.

PATTI RIZZO: That wasn't because of Japan. When I decided to go to play in Japan for a year our Tour had a rule that you could resign the Tour and be reinstated for whatever reason, one year later. Some people wanted to resign to get pregnant or whatever. I basically -- it was kind of a loophole for me to be able to go play Japan for a year; then come back and be reinstated; play the LPGA again without losing any status. So I more or less took advantage of that and played the Japan a year. Then came back 1993, I was fully, you know, exempt on the LPGA. Well, a lot of players and staff didn't like that, I was kind of able to do that, so they changed the rule that you could no longer resign and be reinstated on the LPGA Tour. So I played 93 and that is the year I met and fell in love and my husband was French from southern France and he was a developer on the French Riviera. He needed to go back to work. He spent the whole year travelling America with me and had a nice little vacation but now it was time to get back to reality and so we decided to move and live in -- we went to Monte Carlo, but he worked the Riviera and that is where we planned to spend our entire future. So I requested from the Tour to be able to be an international player now that I was married and residing in a foreign country and married to a foreigner. They told me, no, once you are born with an U.S. Passport you can never be an international player. So my only option to be able to play in Europe was to resign the LPGA again. But if I resigned this time, I could no longer be reinstated. Only way to come back on the Tour was to go through the Qualifying School. So that is the shortness of a long story.

PATTI RIZZO: Jacques.

PATTI RIZZO: No.

PATTI RIZZO: No, I didn't play the last three weeks since about a month ago. I went home and I was supposed to just take a week off. Then I called and said, no, I want two weeks off. Then I called again and said, no, I am not playing this week either. And then I was like, do I have to go to du Maurier and then I was like, well, I promised I'd play in that Smuckers Pro-Am. They had been so great to us with the support of our children that I was going to come here no matter what. And I thought it was one of two things, to be honest, I thought I am either not meant to go at all, or the good Lord is telling me, you are going to get there no matter what and you are going to play so maybe it was the second. I don't know. It was a great day. I would love to do it again. I don't have the confidence I need. I mean, I wish I did. I wish I could -- if I could just do what I did today for four days, that would be great. But I don't have confidence. I admit it. I just I am going to try to have it. But we will see. I think I should keep enjoying myself is the big thing. If I wind up in the winner's circle, great. The older you get, the harder it is to play this game. No question about it. You get too knowledgeable. You have seen too many disasters. You have seen too many failures and, unfortunately, in golf, there is a lot more failure than success for everybody, except Juli this year. That is the hard thing with the game is to keep your confidence going and as you get older, you start to think overthink. You think too much. I remember Sandra Palmer when I was on Tour 20, 21 years old, I am playing with Sandra Palmer who was at that time maybe 37, 38. I get up on a par 5, who cares if there is a creek an OB left and right, pull out my 3-wood, I am going to hit the green in two, I don't care, you pull it out, you don't think you hit a good shot. You are not thinking of the disasters. She walks up to me, she says, wait 'til you are 38, it is only because you are 21 that you hit that shot. If you were 38 you would have hit a 7-iron and laid up short of the creek; tried to hit your wedge close. She is like you youngsters, you wait and see. It is harder as you get older. Well, I didn't believe her then, but I can tell you I believe her now. I believe her now.