U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 1, 1999

Jenny Chuasiriporn

JENNY CHUASIRIPORN: Well, it doesn't really -- I don't know. It doesn't really feel any different to me right now. But it is nice for me to look back and see that I had a strong amateur career to lead me into the professional rankings, kind of. But I am excited. I am. I feel like I am ready for the next level of competition.

JENNY CHUASIRIPORN: Well, the golf course is a great layout. I am excited to play. I think it is going to just demand some really good drives off the tee and just some good irons. It certainly is not as stressing as last year. Not stressing, but difficult. Then the pairing, I am excited to play with Nancy. I have never played with her yet. It should be fun. I am just looking forward to it.

JENNY CHUASIRIPORN: Of course I want to play well and just kind of prove just to everyone that I am -- that I am ready to -- ready to play at this level. But it just says so much for the college golf and the junior golf that I have been raised on, just how great of a level of competition it has given me as I have grown up. It is just neat to be able to represent that group of people coming up and taking it to the next level.

JENNY CHUASIRIPORN: I think while I was in school I just -- I was kind of distracted a little bit, just with the golf side and the school side. But I feel good -- I took a little break in the winter, and it always takes me a couple months to get back into it. But I feel like I have been swinging better than last year. It is just a little tweaking here and there. I really got a lot out of this past week because I have been able to be with my pro and just really getting the little stuff corrected. I feel 100% better, even better than last year. I am swinging so much better at the ball, and then now I will just have to wait for the putts to drop.

JENNY CHUASIRIPORN: Ted Sheftic. He is actually out here with me this week.

JENNY CHUASIRIPORN: Just on that day? I just felt really -- I think the difference, or just last year I felt really confident with my game. I was striking the ball well and I was just making a lot of putts. So I think the zone is kind of what -- what I'd call it. It was a good feeling. I just -- everything really clicked together that week.

JENNY CHUASIRIPORN: I am playing a lot better. Like I said before, I am swinging it better than ever. It was just a matter of just making a couple setup adjustments, because it -- nothing was wrong with my swing. It was just kind of my posture and a little bit of grip. That is just the minor things.

JENNY CHUASIRIPORN: Yeah, I mean -- Blackwolf run was definitely one of the hardest courses I have ever played. But this course -- the fairways are little bit wider, and there is a little bit more leeway. But it is still challenging. The grass is different and the scores are definitely going to be lower this year.

JENNY CHUASIRIPORN: I think the world of Nancy. She is a great role model. I always say I really look towards her for just the balance she has in her life, just with her family and her golf. That is one of the things I am going to look towards into the future as I am a professional, because I just -- I just think that is so important. I really -- I have never played with her before, and I have talked to her off the course quite a bit. She helped me a bit just with making the adjustments. I have talked to a lot of pros about that. But I saw Se Ri actually at the Dinah Shore for the first time. She actually -- she had actually did a press conference. She said she didn't recognize me at first. But it was neat. I just saw her there briefly, then I really -- we really don't talk a lot. But I mean we say hi -- we are friendly.

JENNY CHUASIRIPORN: Well, she was -- I guess she helped me out a little bit with just management companies. That was the first thing. I am sure down the line she will give me some more advice.

JENNY CHUASIRIPORN: My older brother Joey is going to be caddying for me this tournament. I am playing in three more LPGA events in July. Depending on his schedule, he will probably be caddying probably two out of three of those. I haven't really considered anyone else yet.

JENNY CHUASIRIPORN: I just got three sponsor's exemptions from -- just from the tournaments. They are allowed two of them. So they -- I just took the ones that came to me early on.

JENNY CHUASIRIPORN: Jamie Farr Kroger Classic in Toledo. Then the Michelob Light Classic in St. Louis and Japan Airlines Big Apple Classic in New York. Then I am trying to -- I am working on trying to play in the British Open, but I am not sure yet.

JENNY CHUASIRIPORN: I realize there is a lot of expectations. I ran into a -- into kind of that a little bit of that problem probably towards the end of my college career because I did have a lot of expectations for me and my team leading into Nationals. But I learned so much from that. You can't really play golf with all those expectations. All I really care about is I want to hit the ball well. You can't really control anything else that happens. That is all that I care about. I am not really worried about finishing a certain way again or -- I just want to hit the ball well.

JENNY CHUASIRIPORN: I guess my track record for Opens is pretty good, so I feel confident. I feel confident coming into a course like this because I feel that my ball-striking is good and that will get me -- that will go a long way. I don't know. I think it is still going to be just as challenging though. I think they are saying it is going to be pretty scoreable this course.

JENNY CHUASIRIPORN: It was really quite a whirlwind towards the end of the summer. I was pretty exhausted by August. I think it is great. I am really glad to be a part of just the new way of kind of the young players coming -- of the young players coming out. But it did -- we did get a lot of recognition for college, our college program at Duke. Just all around more recognition for women's golf. I am glad to be a part of that.

JENNY CHUASIRIPORN: I definitely did. It was -- I mean, it was actually nice also to have two really strong freshmen come in, because it did take a little bit of a load off my back. I spent as much time as I could with my friends and just studying my last year. It did kind of get me a little towards the end because I was a little bit more involved in preparing for after college, rather than -- I just didn't have enough time to spend with my friends towards the end of the year. I did my best. I am actually pretty happy with the way it turned out.

JENNY CHUASIRIPORN: Not even close. Definitely the diploma. No, I am just kidding. (laughs).

JENNY CHUASIRIPORN: I think about it a lot. There is that sense of disappointment, but I am just a big believer in things happening for a reason. I could kind of go back and imagine had I won, and it would have just been really hectic. So it turned out to be a really great combination for my golf game and my kind of my life, my student life. So I got the recognition that I always wanted, but then I was still able to go back to school. It would have been -- I didn't want to go -- I didn't want to turn pro at all. It would have probably been a little bit harder to go back. There was nothing in me that wanted to turn pro at that time.

JENNY CHUASIRIPORN: That is nice to be credited for that. The college programs have gotten better on their own, I'd say. There is a lot of foreign competition and in the nation competition. I could see kind of sometimes people would compare themselves. I don't know. I just -- I don't know how to answer that.

JENNY CHUASIRIPORN: Yeah, I could see that a little bit. It is good for them, because the way I look back on it, I just -- I am just a typical college player, and I have the same game as them. And it really just takes that one good week and one good -- one good putting week or one good just ball-striking week to make that kind of difference on Tour. It is just so close. I think it was good for people just because they started to believe in themselves.

JENNY CHUASIRIPORN: I don't know why I picked psychology, but I really enjoy -- I like studying it. I don't really want to do anything with it immediately. I don't really know how it has helped. I won't say the classes have helped with golf. But I think it has helped in other parts of my life. But I read up a lot on just sports psychology books, and maybe it is that type of mind, I don't know. I can't really explain it right now.

JENNY CHUASIRIPORN: No, I haven't. But my pro works with a lot of mediums, so he just kind of relayed that to me. I think I get more out of talking to my pro and my coach. I think just talking to someone helps just as well.

End of FastScripts….