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SYBASE CLASSIC PRESENTED BY SHOPRITEMay 19, 2007Lorena OchoaCLIFTON, NEW JERSEY PAM WARNER: Lorena, thanks for joining us today, you had a hot start. I think you were 5-under through six holes. Just talk about that start you had today. LORENA OCHOA: Yes, thank you. Hello. Yes, I did have a great start. It was just fun to be out there. At the start, she was hitting closer to me and she made birdie, and then I hit it closer and I made birdie. It was fun to be in that last group. On the back nine, I think -- I'm happy with my round. I think today it was playing a little bit harder. It was cold out there and I'm not too good for that. I kind of missed some tee shots on the back nine, and that took me on the ropes many times, but I just managed myself and even par for the back nine. So I'm really happy to be in a good position for tomorrow. I think tomorrow should be an exciting day for both of us. PAM WARNER: Can we go over your scorecard? LORENA OCHOA: I make birdie on the second hole. I hit my wedge 110 yards about 12 feet and I made it. Made birdie on the third hole. I hit a 5-iron 175 yards, ten feet and I made it. My eagle, I hit the green in two with a 6-iron, 170 yards, and I was close, maybe eight feet and I made it. Then on the sixth hole, I hit with a hybrid wood, 195 yards and it was a little bit closer, maybe six, seven feet. And I make bogey on the seventh hole. I hit my driver to the right in the rough and had a really bad lie and couldn't get it on the fairway. Missed my second shot. Then lay up on three and hit the ball on the green in four, maybe 15 feet and I miss that for par. Make birdie No. 9. I hit the green in two with 7-iron 145 yards just a little bit short, maybe 12, 13 feet and I made it. Made birdie on the 13th. I hit the green in two with a 9-iron, 125 yards, ten feet and I made it. I made bogey on the 15th, par 3. I hit 5-iron 170 yards just long on the bunker on the right side. I hit it out a little long maybe 12 feet and I missed that for par and that's it. Q. Sarah was talking about how relaxed she was out there because she was playing with you; she just talked about your positive attitude and whatnot. Did you guys converse at all? Did you talk at all during the round, and did you -- you know, what was your impression of her and how she played? LORENA OCHOA: Yes, I think it was a good day. She was very nice. Actually the first time I played with her. She doesn't say much, but you can tell that she keeps a positive attitude. She's happy and smiling and says, you know, thank you or good shot to every ball. It's a lot easier to play with someone like her. We had a good time. I think tomorrow, I understand that we are playing maybe twosomes, I don't know, that's what I heard, but I think we should be having fun. I'm excited to play with her tomorrow again. Q. If it is twosomes, do you expect another sort of back-and-forth, birdie-birdie-fest again tomorrow? LORENA OCHOA: I think so, that we're going to play. I think the course, if we have good weather tomorrow, we should be able to be more aggressive because the greens are holding very good and make a lot of birdies. I know that it's going to take a low round to win the tournament, because she's a great player. And you know, the players that are behind, anybody can just come and shoot 10-under tomorrow. What I'm going to do is play my own game, don't look too much at the scoreboard and really focus on making my birdies, especially take advantage of the par 5s and I think we should be in good shape. Q. What was that front nine like for you, though, going back and forth? Did you ever think, you know, what's it going to take for me to shake her, stuff like that? LORENA OCHOA: No, no, it's the third round. So it's all about being in a good position for Sunday. But it was fun because when you have something like that, kind of like raise your level of game, and you know, when she makes a birdie, you want to make another birdie. I like that. I think it's good for us and for the fans. It was a good day to watch. Q. Sarah was talking about how this week she has gotten out and relaxed in the neighborhoods in the Korean communities. Do you do things like that or do you more stay in your room with you're in different locations? LORENA OCHOA: No, no, I usually have friends or relatives coming to watch me play and we like to go out to dinner in different places. Yesterday we had different -- we have some friends, we go to the movies, we like to go to the movies. Yeah, we do things outside just to relax. Q. Do you go to different restaurants, Mexican restaurants? LORENA OCHOA: I wait for the Mexican food when I go home and my mom cooks. Q. Sarah has never won on Tour. Can you go back in your mind and think about when you were trying to win for the first time; how difficult is that? LORENA OCHOA: Well, I think it's -- you know how much experience you have, and she looks really just a steady player, very relaxed. She managed very well things when she was up-and-down. And, you know, I think whether it's tomorrow or later in the future, she's ready for that first win, you know, and I'm just going to try to play my own game tomorrow. I've been through that before and sometimes it's easy and sometimes it's really hard. You never know how it's going to come, that first win. But I wish her the best. I think she's a solid player. Q. It's hard to defend a championship at a different golf course, can you just talk about how quickly you've adapted to this course? You obviously seem very comfortable on it. LORENA OCHOA: I do like the golf course a lot. Again I think it's just, you know, like traditional golf courses, it's tight fairways, a lot of rough around the greens. I just feel comfortable and also in the area. There's a lot of friends and it's like they are very warm, a lot of Hispanics that come and say hi and cheer for me. And hopefully tomorrow this is a good time to invite them to be here tomorrow and support me, and I would love to defend my title. Q. I know you probably respected Sarah's game from playing with her before with her low scores and everything, but you were you surprised by her poise and how steady she was? You're the No. 1 player. That could be daunting for people in that position to be in the first time in the final group with the No. 1 player in the world. LORENA OCHOA: No, I was not surprised because she's been playing good lately. You see her out there on the leaderboards, and tournament-to-tournament, she's been consistent. Again, it's not something that it happened this week. Last week she was close. She played three solid rounds. No, you can never be surprised. There are a lot of good players out here and that's why they are playing on the LPGA. Again, I am just going to try to play my own game tomorrow and be aggressive and hopefully I can do it. Q. You talked earlier in the week about maintaining the No. 1 as long as you can. It's only been about a month or so. What would a first win as a No. 1 player in the world mean to you in terms of not that you need to prove anything, but just to keep that vibe going? LORENA OCHOA: Well, I don't think about it that much, but it would be good to get a win tomorrow so that I'm done with the first win after being named No. 1. And then just get it going from there. Of course, it's going to be a special week that I will remember. Q. I know you said you are going to try to play your own game tomorrow, but since the two of you have basically separated yourself from the field, do you think it can get to the point where it's like a match-play mentality between the two of you tomorrow? LORENA OCHOA: No, no. Like I said I'm going to try to play my own game and, you know, have my plan, just really take advantage of the par 5s, making sure I hit good drivers and put myself in a good position. And I'm going to try to be aggressive. Either way, you know, if I have the lead on the back nine or if I don't have the lead, I think it's always all the time trying to be aggressive and shoot as many birdies as I can. Q. Were you surprised in these weather conditions that you and Sarah were both able to go so low? LORENA OCHOA: No, I just believe in myself and just concentrate tomorrow and hopefully we have a sunny day tomorrow, for us and for the gallery, so we have more people coming to watch us play. PAM WARNER: Thanks, Lorena. End of FastScripts |
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