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U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 27, 2006

Morgan Pressel

NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND

RHONDA GLENN: Ladies and gentlemen, the runner up in the 2005 United States Women's Open Championship, Morgan Pressel.

Welcome, Morgan. It's a whole new world for you, compared to your last year. You were an amateur, now you're a pro. I haven't seen you for a year; what's changed?

MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, I turned pro, and just playing the LPGA full time now, and it's great. I'm having a blast, and it's always what I wanted to do. I graduated from high school and turned 18, so a lot has happened in a year. But it's been fine.

RHONDA GLENN: How is it different playing on the professional Tour as compared to playing junior events and amateur events?

MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, it's not that much different. You're still trying to get a golf ball into the hole. We're still playing the same game, it's just sometimes in front of a little bit bigger galleries on good golf courses, especially Open golf courses, and it's a lot of fun. I don't know, I've just enjoyed it. I'm so blessed to have the opportunity.

Q. How long did you reflect on that last day? Obviously Birdie makes the shot of the lifetime and you're standing there watching it. How much time after that were you waking up every day thinking about that?

MORGAN PRESSEL: Not too much after that. Obviously immediately I was definitely disappointed and it was a letdown, because I felt like I was ready. But you realize that that happens in sport. In match play you always expect your opponent to make every shot. And even though it wasn't match play, it's still the same idea. I take it as a confidence builder that I put myself in a great position and move on.

Q. How many practice rounds have you played on this course? I understand you were up here a while ago for at least a day?

MORGAN PRESSEL: I've played six practice rounds and five extra holes. I've been here a while.

Q. Did they give you a membership yet?

MORGAN PRESSEL: I heard that there's a 15 year waiting list for legacy members so it's not looking good.

Q. What's Conan O'Brien really like?

MORGAN PRESSEL: It was fun. I had a good time. I didn't meet him until I walked on stage, and that was the last I talked to him. Those five minutes was the only contact that I had, but it was fun. It was a different experience.

Q. Was he easier on you than us?

MORGAN PRESSEL: The same questions, the same five questions every time.

Q. What clubs do you have in your golf bag?

MORGAN PRESSEL: I have Callaway golf clubs, FT 3 Fusion driver. I'm not sure exactly whether I'm going to have I have X 18 Pro Series irons, and I'm not sure if I'm going to put a 4 iron in the bag or a 11 wood. And then I have Callaway X Tour wedges, 50 degree, 56 degree and 60. And the new XG insert Two Ball Putter.

RHONDA GLENN: Morgan, what will you try to do, if anything, differently this year than you did last year at the Women's Open?

MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, I did pretty well last year, so I don't know how much I want to change. It's always the same mentality when you have events like this. Fairways and greens, par is a good score. I think this course is going to set up the same as most Opens do. And last year certainly par was a great score on any hole. The wind can blow out here. The course is certainly going to take some prisoners.

Q. You talked about how it's not really any different playing as a pro than an amateur on the course; you're still trying to do the same things. Now that you've got high school behind you, where you don't have to take homework on the road with you, what's the biggest change in your day to day life now being a pro?

MORGAN PRESSEL: You know, you'd think that graduating from high school and having that off my back, homework, although I travel a little bit lighter, I still bring a lot with me, but I feel busier; I feel like it's more hectic. I'm out here early and I leave late. And media requests and sponsor relations and everything, it's a busy day. And then I'm tired and I go out to eat and I go to bed early because I have to wake up early the next day. I feel even busier, which is weird.

Q. You mentioned how many practice rounds you played here. Is that sort of just your nature, are you a practice aholic? When you go to events are you super prepared, especially for an event like this?

MORGAN PRESSEL: I like to be super prepared, yes. I like to feel like I really know a golf course, especially that's one of the things on the Tour; a lot of the stops are year after year, and a lot of the players know the courses a lot better than I do. So I have to play Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and really try and take in as much as I can in a short period of time. We got lucky here because I was able to come here in the off week and get in a few good days of practice. So I feel prepared. Hopefully with one more day I should know the golf course just as well as anybody.

RHONDA GLENN: You're 18 years old, and talking about your schedule, it's like having a job, it really is; it's your profession. Is golf still fun for you?

MORGAN PRESSEL: Oh, it is still fun. Thursday through Sunday when you're competing for the Championship, that's what I've always wanted to do, and that's a blast. And everything else that goes into it, the preparation and the media, it's all part of it. So you've got to enjoy it all, fan relations and everything.

Q. Did you feel at all as a part of the group that was promoted so strongly late last year, the young American teenager, close to being teenaged, you were pretty much a part of that group, looking ahead to the future. Did that create any type of an extra burden to perform?

MORGAN PRESSEL: I don't think so. I think that's just something that the media created to promote the Tour, which is never a bad thing, and promote women's golf in general. And I was still going to work just as hard on my game to try to improve and be the best that I can be. And so far this year I don't think that I've quite seen that, but maybe this week will be a first.

Q. What kind of progress report would you give yourself this year? What kind of grade, Ms. High School Graduate, would you give yourself through the first

MORGAN PRESSEL: I don't know about a grade. I just don't think I've played as well as I'm capable of. I know last year I played really well at the Amateur last year, when I was however many under, and I was firing at the pins. I haven't done that yet this year. But it comes and goes. You're not always perfect, and maybe this week I'll fire at every pin.

Q. Any reason why you haven't? Not to make it sound simplistic, but is there any part of your game that has been off that needs working on or is it a matter of coming together?

MORGAN PRESSEL: I think it's a matter of really coming together. I think there are times when I will hit the ball well and might not make the putts, and there are times when I am not hitting the ball well and my putting will save me. Or there's times when everything is just not good, and that's the worst.

I'm not going to say I played poorly. I've played decently this year, but I think I can certainly play better.

Q. Ai Miyazato is one of the younger players out there. Do you talk to her much?

MORGAN PRESSEL: I've played with her quite a few times this year. We've had a great time. She's so cute, and we've had a lot of fun. It's good to have other young players out here, too.

Q. What do you talk about?

MORGAN PRESSEL: We talk about everything; you don't want to know what we talk about. I can't divulge that.

It was her birthday, and it was Monday last week, and I texted her.

Q. What did you say?

MORGAN PRESSEL: I said happy birthday, I told her not to party too hard, because she turned 21.

Q. A two part question. What was your big graduation present? How much electronic communication equipment do you travel with?

MORGAN PRESSEL: My big graduation present, from who?

Q. Whoever?

MORGAN PRESSEL: My friend told me that he was going to get me a boat, and it was a little toy boat that you can put in the bathtub. I'm kidding. He said he was going to get it for me, but he never did.

I got a lot of nice jewelry and some very nice gifts, but I didn't get anything any car or anything like that.

Q. We know you're very technology savvy.

MORGAN PRESSEL: I am. I have my RAZR that I just got, that I traded in my old phone. I just traded in my Treo for an Audiovox, a PDA, and my computer. And I think that's about it.

Q. Got to have at least one i Pod, right?

MORGAN PRESSEL: But that's not communication. You have to phrase your question better (laughter).

Q. Touche?

MORGAN PRESSEL: My i Pod; I just bought a new camera; I have my old camera. I have other stuff. I don't even remember. I have my portable DVD player, which I've gotten through two seasons of 24, so far, on my long car trips this year. I have lots of stuff.

Q. Did you have when you were young, were you inspired much by your tennis playing uncle?

MORGAN PRESSEL: Of course, when I was young, I started playing tennis, until I was eight and it's cute to go here to the tennis Hall of Fame. I guess they have some they have my uncle he's not in the Hall of Fame, but they have a picture of when somebody was hitting a shot, he's on the other side of the net. That's what my grandma said, she said she saw him.

But he was a great player. He was an inspiration to me, he was such a great athlete and a great role model. I could always talk to him whenever I needed. He's been under pressure and he came out young. Even though we're in different sports, it's still similar, for sure.

Q. Has there been one piece of advice or general sort of advice that he gave you that meant the most to you or proved the most valuable?

MORGAN PRESSEL: There hasn't been really one anything. There's been a lot of times when he caddied for me when I first qualified for The Open, in the qualifier, not The Open. He's a great golfer himself. He's just handled the situations before and he's able to help me when I need it.

Q. When you mentioned texting Ai for her birthday, if you could have texted Birdie five minutes after The Open last year, what would you have said?

MORGAN PRESSEL: Congratulations. Great shot.

Q. Anything else?

MORGAN PRESSEL: No. What else would I say? What do you want me to say?

Q. Mulligan.

Have you been asked about that? I came a little bit late. Do you still have any nightmarish visions of standing in the 18th fairway and watching that?

MORGAN PRESSEL: It happens and you have to take it and you've got to move on. And luckily that wasn't my last Open.

Q. Did you actually see the ball go in the hole?

MORGAN PRESSEL: You know when you see crowds enough times, when you see them all, they're all like oh, my goodness, it's getting close, it's getting close, and everybody erupts. And that just went in. I didn't see it, but I just knew.

Q. You have a good grasp of these things happening in golf. Can you see any positives that came out of for you, of that happening. It's out of your hands, make you strong, better?

MORGAN PRESSEL: Confidence. I look at it as I played great. That course played so hard that Sunday, and that 74 felt like a 64. I mean I really played well. Unfortunately things didn't go as well as well, I don't know what I shot, if it was 74, 75, whatever it was. But things didn't go as well at the very end but I was tied for the lead in the middle of the fairway on the 18th hole. That's what you dream about. Maybe this year I can improve.

RHONDA GLENN: Morgan, thanks so much for coming in. Good luck this week.

End of FastScripts.

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