U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 7, 2002

Raquel Carriedo

Q. You shot the low round so far. Could we have your reaction, your thoughts on that?

RAQUEL CARRIEDO: Well, I've been playing very well the whole week. I've been playing very steady, and today has been the best round of my life, especially the putting has been amazing. I think -- i don't know how many putts I did on the front 9, but maybe one in each hole, so that's the key of doing 30 strokes.

Q. In order to have that kind of round here Open, does it make it that more special?

RAQUEL CARRIEDO: Yes, it is. It's great to do it in the Open, and especially on the last round to finish in the top ten, probably, so it's going to be unforgettable.

Q. What happened to get you going on this round?

RAQUEL CARRIEDO: What happened? I mean, I felt from the very beginning of the week that I could shoot a good score on this course. It's never easy to shoot a low score, but I was playing great, and, I don't know, maybe I was a bit nervous at the beginning; but today, I don't know, I wasn't nervous at all. It all went easily from the beginning. I started with three birdies, and that gave me a lot of confidence to carry on fighting, especially on the back 9, which I think is much tougher.

Q. What was the previous low score you've shot in competition?

RAQUEL CARRIEDO: 66.

Q. Where was that?

RAQUEL CARRIEDO: I can't remember. In -- somewhere in Europe. I think in Laura Davis Invitational, maybe, but I can't remember the name of the course.

Q. European Tour, then?

RAQUEL CARRIEDO: Yes.

Q. Do you ever have thoughts of winning? You still had nine to go (inaudible)?

RAQUEL CARRIEDO: I don't mind playing with the wind very much. I think I can manage quite well in the wind. I don't know. I didn't --

Q. (Inaudible)

RAQUEL CARRIEDO: No, not really. I needed another 30 on the back 9, and I don't think that's possible on this course; and anyway, I never -- normally, I don't look at the board very often, maybe just in the last couple of holes but --

Q. You played five or six rounds now on this course. Did the knowledge of the course contribute today?

RAQUEL CARRIEDO: Yeah.

Q. Can you talk about some instances where it might have helped?

RAQUEL CARRIEDO: Of course, especially the knowledge of the greens. I think you need to know very well these greens, you need to know the undulations of the greens so you can study where to put the ball on the green. It's very important to put the ball on the correct place on the green, otherwise it's very easy to 3-putt, and after six rounds, I think my caddy and I, we know quite well the course.

Q. Does this more than make up for the disappointment at Nabisco?

RAQUEL CARRIEDO: Yeah, I was -- i felt so sad at Nabisco. Don't remind me.

Q. (Inaudible)

RAQUEL CARRIEDO: No, not at all. I was disqualified in the Nabisco after making the cut. I was top 15 or something like that.

Q. What happened?

RAQUEL CARRIEDO: I signed wrong the card. So today I asked my caddy come with me to sign the card, help me.

Q. (Inaudible)

RAQUEL CARRIEDO: It was tough but, I mean -- well, then I went back to Europe and I won the first tournament I play after that, so I handled it a bit better.

Q. What tournament was that?

RAQUEL CARRIEDO: A tournament from the ladies European Tour, actually. It was in Spain, my country.

Q. Are you going to play in the Solheim Cup?

RAQUEL CARRIEDO: Sure.

Q. Is it a course to be reckoned with? Is it a tough course and tough competition?

RAQUEL CARRIEDO: Yeah. I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be my second Solheim Cup, and I think I know by now -- I know more of the American players and, I don't know, I think it's going to be very tough year in America to play against them but I'm really looking forward to it.

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