U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR PUBLIC LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP

June 25, 2006

Tiffany Joh

THE MODERATOR: I'd like to welcome the U.S. Women's Public Links Champion, Tiffany Joh. Just talk about what it feels like to be a USGA Champion.

TIFFANY JOH: Honestly, I can't even really believe it yet. I'm just kind of going to like sit here and let it like soak in. But honestly I couldn't tell you because in my mind, it doesn't even feel like I've won it yet.

THE MODERATOR: You played some great golf today. We had you 11-under with the usual concessions and the hole-out for eagle, but that was just the tip of the iceberg today, when you played some stellar golf; and yesterday, you said you had to play great golf to beater and you pretty much did.

TIFFANY JOH: Really, 11-under? I had no idea. I knew that Kim, Kim Kim, Kim-squared, was like a fantastic player and I knew that just like even par was not going to beat her. I didn't expect that I would like -- shoot lower than even par and I didn't expect to beat her at all. I mean, she would take it and run.

THE MODERATOR: Why do you say that you didn't expect to beat her? Your credentials, you're a first-time All-American at UCLA; you've performed well in other events; you shot a 63 in a professional event in Australia. Why did you think you were the underdog today versus her.

TIFFANY JOH: Well, I mean, you look at Kim's resume, too. She's like AGJA first All-American, she made it to the Open, she bombs it, she makes bomb putts, she makes bomb chips, and I really did feel like the underdog.

Q. After she chipped in twice on you, did you feel like, what in the world, she just won't go away, and then you hole-out yourself?

TIFFANY JOH: Well, honestly, I knew that she's going to have like probably like six or seven just fantastic shots today and that I was going to sit back and be like, wow, she's really good.

But then like on No. 11 when that went in, I was like, okay, that's pretty tight. Like she chipped in twice and I hit it once. Like I just really felt super, super blessed and actually just on the side of like No. 12 green, I like kneeled down and I seriously just made a little prayer and I was like, thank you, Lord, that was seriously a gift from heaven.

Q. You came out of the break just 2-up, and then you really kind of put the medal down. I think you birdied three holes in a row, one stretch of four holes in a row, one really good stretch to go 5-up at the time. What did you do between to get refocused and maybe make some putts, because you were kind of missing a couple of putts that were in the first 18.

TIFFANY JOH: Well, I ate a sandwich or like half of one. Honestly that was like the first thing I ate today. This morning I didn't eat breakfast because I was like, oh, my gosh, whatever I eat is going to come right back up, so don't even bother. That probably helped a little bit.

I just went over on the green and just, you know, threw down like three balls and I just started trying to sink in like 2- or 3-footers. Like, of course, when you start to really like miss those -- but just to hear the ball hit the rim of the cup, like I really needed that, especially after missing so many short and not really hearing that rattle for a while.

Q. What did you hit on the eagle, and I mean, did you after making that, could you kind of start to feel it at that point?

TIFFANY JOH: I like your Pac-10 hat, by the way. Honestly, when I made that, I was like -- well, actually, like right when I hit the shot it was like 116 yards, 106, 116, I don't know, I have dyslexia with numbers or something. But like when I first saw it disappear, I was like, no way that went in for sure, and I was like, don't make a big deal because, you know it's probably just like in a little swale so don't make a big deal.

Don't go start running around the golf course looking like a fool. When I went up -- but even then it was like Kim could come out and make six birdies in a row, you never know, especially with how hot her putter was today. So I didn't really think even then like I was having it in the bag. I was just like, you know, keep trying to hit fairways and greens and then I'd like slice one over to the right.

Q. What did you hit on that?

TIFFANY JOH: Sand wedge.

Q. What was the toughest match of the week for you? And was there a point where you felt like you kind of got away with something, like earlier in the week, to get to this point?

TIFFANY JOH: Well, I feel like I got away with something today, but I mean, yesterday's match with Sarah Brown, that was a pretty tough match, as well. But today's match is like far tougher. But today's match just seemed like I got a bunch of really great breaks and she got a bunch of really bad ones.

Q. You know some of these players had their psychologists as caddies or their family as caddies. You had four guys from the muni across this town as your caddie and they all interchanged. Did you enjoy that novelty, or was it something that you had to overcome?

TIFFANY JOH: It was pretty cool, actually. Honestly it was like WWE, like tag-team wrestling.

But like honestly, the caddie, I don't really think like you need to have someone that you just really, really know really well. I mean, I think as long as they show up, you know, carry your bag, wash your ball or whatever, the rest is really... like a lot of the Junior golfers I'm sure out here are used to carrying their own bag and used to playing without anyone there advising them.

But actually Mena (ph) was here with our sports school psychologist. I didn't get to talk to him that much. I guess it could be. It really depends on the person you are. Some people it might help a lot. Some people, it might just mess you up because God knows what's going on through my head during rounds.

Q. How do you think this championship will life, you look at past champions, some pretty impressive names, one being Michelle Wie, Danielle Ammaccapane, Tracy Hanson, played on the Tour, Candie Kung, how do you view down the line how important this will be for your career?

TIFFANY JOH: I just like... so important, honestly. Like coming into this tournament, I really didn't have too much confidence in my game. And like this definitely gave a little bit of a boost.

So, I mean, when you go from thinking that you might have a chance of like missing the cut or something to like winning the tournament, you're just like, whoa, hold on a second, rewind. It's just... it just kind of like blows me away, like everything that's happened this week.

Q. Keeping it in the fairway, I mean, it seemed like Kimberly sometimes got in trouble when she would hit it into the rough, and you didn't hit too many bad shots on drives; was that a key?

TIFFANY JOH: It definitely helps a lot. I mean, especially on No. 15, like 13, all of the ones that are reachable, more like beating your ball down there, it's important that you keep your ball in the fairway so that you have a clean lie that you can get a long iron on or something. So on those holes, I think it did wonders.

But, I mean, Kimberly reached No. 9. Like, what am I supposed to do there? Just kind of like, all right, well that might be nice to be able to hit it like 976 miles long.

Q. Could I just get your impressions on the Walking Stick course overall, how you thought it was?

TIFFANY JOH: Besides windy? (Laughing.) I think it's a great course. I mean, the greens are tough. They were hard. Some of the fairways are super narrow. But I mean it was also scoreable, all of the par 5s were reachable and especially with the players in this field, that was going to be a huge advantage for them.

THE MODERATOR: Tiffany, congratulations, enjoy that big trophy for a year, enjoy your exemptions, Women's Amateur for two years now, this year and next year, no qualifying for you, and good luck the rest of the summer.

End of FastScripts.