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ASAHI RYOKUKEN INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP


May 19, 2002


Janice Moodie


NORTH AUGUSTA, SOUTH CAROLINA

LAURA NEAL: Janice, let's get a couple of comments on how you're feeling. A pretty big win with a few strokes between you and the rest of the field.

JANICE MOODIE: I had a great week. And I put it in the right places on the green, to allow myself get some birdies, and stayed very focused out there today. Annika and Laura are such great players and they could have come back very very easily.

Q. Did it surprise you a little bit (inaudible)?

JANICE MOODIE: No. To be honest with you, I'm one of these type of players if you get me going down the stretch. And I'm in that situation, I prefer to be in that situation, than to be, you know, nowhere in the field. It's almost like I get more focused off of that kind of situation.

Q. Janice, how much more important was it playing well to finish up the third round, you had a couple of birdies coming in, to stretch that lead out a little bit? Did that give you momentum heading into this final grouping?

JANICE MOODIE: Yes. It was a great birdie on 16 I had. I didn't have a good chip but I had a great putt, and then the finish on 18 was good too. I played really solid. Last night I went to bed, and I knew that I had to get up -- I mean I was up at 5:00 this morning to get ready for an 8:00 start and just kind of prepared myself well.

Q. You did start the final round fast. You had a birdie on 1, a birdie on 3, and you were the one kind of pulling away from these two mega stars, really, out there. How much extra confidence did that give you that this probably was going to be your day?

JANICE MOODIE: Believe me, I liked the cushion. Once I got there I kind of knew I had to keep holding on. If I was making pars, they had to make birdies to get me. I even kind of had a thought, okay, keep going, if they make mistakes, they do, they're not going to, but just keep plugging away and making pars.

Q. Would you say there was a pivot hole, I know you bogeyed 7 and came back and birdied 8. How big was that?

JANICE MOODIE: Bogey on 8. I had a really good putt. And then obviously with Annika birdieing that hole, I think it was important that I birdied 8. I think actually I would say 100, you know, the par on 10, it was a good par because I left myself quite a long put, and then a par on 11, they both bogeyed it, was more of a pistol point for me. They probably thought those two were just playing against one another, but for me to hole that putt on 11 was big.

Q. How long was that putt?

JANICE MOODIE: About four feet, but it doesn't matter.

Q. Janice, had you fairly big margin all day. When did you think, Okay, I've got this one?

JANICE MOODIE: Coming down 18.

Q. Not 15 or 16?

JANICE MOODIE: Not really, I just kept -- we came onto 16 and I'm thinking these two can make eagle. And I get up there and my second shot was in the desert, and it's covered in sand. And all I could do was hack it out. So anything could have happened from there. And luckily I got it up and pin high.

Q. Watching television, watching you on the practice tee it, it looked like you were having fun all week. Was it as much as fun as it looked like you were having?

JANICE MOODIE: It was. Playing with Laura the last couple of days was great. She's a lot of fun and that's how she plays golf. She goes out there and she's very good competitor, but obviously being from the same country, there's a couple of things going on. We discussed the Solheim Cup. This that and the other. We just had a lot of fun out there.

Q. You mentioned in the awards ceremony she made a few wise cracks to loosen you up. Do you remember what they were?

JANICE MOODIE: If I did, I couldn't tell you. We were just joking and laughing. She has a quick sense of humor. And Johnny has a great sense of humor, too. There were a couple of times out there yesterday that he got me laughing so hard he had to leave the putting green. If I looked at him I would have lost it. That's the way I like to play golf and I think it's good because he keeps me loose and he's just a really good guy.

Q. You played every tournament this year and you're signed up for next week's tournament. When are you going to take a break?

JANICE MOODIE: I don't know. Right now I'm going to play in Corning. I actually signed up for it on Tuesday. My main goal before winning the tournament was to get into the Evian tournament that they have over in France. With that, I need to get Solheim Cup points because I need to play in enough tournaments, so I guess now I will definitely be in the Evian. But with me signing up on Tuesday, I'm not go to pull out.

Q. Janice, with having such a big cushion on the back nine, it might have been a little anticlimactic from the fan standpoint. Do you prefer it that way, and would it have been a lot more difficult on you with them behind you if it had tightened up?

JANICE MOODIE: What do you think? I like the cushion. Sorry fans.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about what happened to Annika on 16?

JANICE MOODIE: Laura's question was she didn't know if it was going to be two bunkers or not, because you can have two separate bunkers, and she was like, she definitely hit the stand, and I didn't even see it. I genuinely didn't. It was unfortunate. I think Annika, in thinking about it now, is probably disappointed herself because she knows the rules too.

Q. You talked about out there at the awards ceremony about winning a second one kind of proves that you can do it. Did you have any doubts these past couple of years that you would get the second one and how much -- how different does this one feel than the first victory?

JANICE MOODIE: I never had any doubt. I mean I've come so close so many times. The British Open last year, second at Nabisco the year before. I've just been knocking on the door. It's all timing. Being patient is -- there are so many good players out here now. If you look at all these first-time winners, it shows you out good our field is.

Q. When Laura was in here, she said that she figured she would have to shoot a 65 to catch you and then she said that would have won given the circumstances. But she said even if I had shot a 65, Janice would have done what she needed to do to keep me off. What does that tell you as far as the respect the rest of them have for you?

JANICE MOODIE: I have known Laura for many years, and even when I was an amateur, growing up, she said this girl is going to be good. I have had a lot of comments. Annika and I played in the Solheim Cup together and she asked to play with me, so that was a great compliment to my game to want to partner up with me.

Q. You said something had been missing the last couple of months with your putting, and you got it this week. And you credited Annika for some tips, from watching her. What did you see that picked up?

JANICE MOODIE: She's so focused. She looks through the putts, lines up where she wants to hit it and just hits it and makes a solid stroke. If you watch her putting, she's very very solid and her head is always down.

Q. Do you think there was a time maybe in your younger career that you would have been intimidated playing with those players today and do you think a lot of other players might be sometimes on this tour?

JANICE MOODIE: Obviously you're going to be intimidated playing with the best women golfers in the world, and Laura is a great player and a very long ball hitter too.

Q. Do you always talk a lot during your round or does it depend on your playing players? Do you talk with your caddie a lot?

JANICE MOODIE: I like to talk. It calms me down. And I do talk a lot.

Q. What's going to happen to the (inaudible)?

JANICE MOODIE: It's a permanent fixture.

Q. You mentioned something about the first place check is going toward the wedding fund. When is that?

JANICE MOODIE: I'm getting married October 19th. (Inaudible) he used to work with IMG. That's where we met. I am with IMG, and (inaudible). It's only taken five years.

LAURA NEAL: Let's do your card real quick. Birdie on 1.

JANICE MOODIE: Did I birdie the first? It was so long ago. Yes. Driver, and then I hit an 8-iron. I had a 5-iron into the wind a little bit, and it really spun to about 12 feet.

LAURA NEAL: And 6, the Par 5.

JANICE MOODIE: Driver, 7-wood, 2 putt.

LAURA NEAL: And a bogey on 7.

JANICE MOODIE: Two putt.

8, 3-wood and then a 5-iron, believe it or not, up into that wind, into four feet maybe.

LAURA NEAL: And then all pars until the Par 3, 16.

JANICE MOODIE: I hit a 5-iron.

LAURA NEAL: Then the double on 17.

JANICE MOODIE: Driver into the trees, hack out, 7-iron short, pitch and putt.

End of FastScripts....

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