U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 10, 1997

Lisolette Neumann

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: Well, just starting out I think I was just a little nervous this morning. I think my game has not been quite on top this last couple of weeks. And just sort of been a little struggle, even though I've been working hard trying to prepare myself for this week. And just didn't come up to a great start. Struggled on No. 3, 4 and 6 with my tee shots, but then made an incredible save on No. 3. I got it up from about 70 yards, up-and-down from 70 yards. And I think that sort of made me a little more comfortable out there. Just made a great putt there, and I think that relaxed me a little bit. And I started hitting the ball pretty good. And overall I think my putting has been great today. I played a little bit conservative, I think, coming in the last couple of holes, 15, 16, 17. At that point that was at 4-under, I just didn't want to take any risks. But with my putting working so well, I tried to put the ball on the green and take my two putts to sort of go on. I had a good chance on 18 that I barely missed. Overall I'm extremely happy with the score and just feel quite comfortable out there.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: I was actually trying to play it safe off the tee, using a 3-wood and pushed it out on the right side, actually missed the bunkers on the right side and -- I guess I could have sort of gone for the green there, but decided I didn't have a great lie and decided to just chip it out and put myself in position to put it on the green. I chipped it up and had about 7 yards and hit a sand wedge for about 12 feet and made that putt.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: I had a birdie on No. 3. I hit an 9-iron in there to about 12 feet. Birdie on 9. That was an 8-iron, and also about 12 feet. Birdied 10. I hit a 9-wood to about 40, 45 feet, and made that putt. Then I had a birdie on 14. I was actually -- I had my tee shot in the left rough on that hole and I just -- I hit a really great shot in there. I had like 167 yards down there and the water is sort of covering the left side and the front of the green, and I took a 5-iron and sort of gripped it as hard as I could and rolled it up to about 15 feet and made that putt for birdie. I think that was about it.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: It was sitting down a little bit. Even if the ball is sitting up, I think the rough is like thick enough that you just have to be really careful. It seems to sort of grab the club and closes the face, and I think that's why I was trying to grip it really hard and open up the face a little bit and sort of punch it down there and let it run down there. So that was a little bit of a risk. And it turned out great for me on that hole. If I was going to miss it somewhere, I would have missed it right in the bunker and try to get up-and-down. But it turned out to be a great shot.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: To be honest, I had no clue what she shot today and I still don't know what she shot.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: 77? I think it's just -- she's been so consistent and she's been playing so well that I think, yeah, I'd say I'm quite surprised. But it's a lot of pressure for her, too, coming in here. She won the tournament two years in a row. But. For Annika I don't think anything is impossible, even though she's at whatever, six over par. We have a couple more days out there. I'm sure she can turn it around and bring it back.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: I think it was about a 7-, 8-footer.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: There should have been the putt on 18, if anything. Other than that, I think I'm quite pleased with a 4-under. I don't feel like I really left too much out there. I made some great putts, and I think 4-under, that was about as good as it could have got today.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: No, not really. I'm sort of just trying to play my game, and it's fun to be from the same country as Annika. And you look at all the success she's had, and she's probably the best player in the world today. In a way, yes, it is inspiring, kind of growing up in the same country, in the same climate and all of that. But overall I think I'm just sort of trying to play my game and letting her play her game.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: Yeah, the few times. I don't think I've beat her once this year so far.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: I haven't been able to put it all together. I feel the couple of weeks I've been striking the ball good. My short game has not quite been there, putting hasn't been as well and chipping. I don't know. This is my 6th week in a row and I sort of tried to prepare for this week, from Minneapolis, and we played in Lansing and Toledo and Rochester. I've been working hard. I think I've been hitting more golf balls than I have my whole life and spending a lot of time chipping and putting, and it's sort of fun when it's paying off. It's been a little bit of a struggle and you're sort of waiting for that moment, you're just waiting for it to pay off. I feel really good about it right now, just really happy.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: I'm trying to look back at the holes. Maybe a couple of tricky pins. I don't think the pins were that bad today, though. In the practice round, you know, you always take a look at the greens and see where they could be. And I sort of prepared myself for a lot of the pin placements today, so I don't think there was really anything extremely, extremely difficult. Maybe 17 was sort of sitting a little bit on the slope. But 16 is a good pin, just being back, right there. That makes the hole play pretty long. But it's not extremely difficult, I don't think.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: 16, yes.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: No, it didn't really bother me too much. I think it was, in a way it sort of helped a little bit that it's been raining the last couple of days. The greens are holding up pretty good. And I think this golf course would play much harder if the greens were harder and rolling out. Now with the golf course being a little wet, you can be more aggressive. Wherever you hit the ball, that's where it's going to stay. So it didn't bother me at all with that little rain we had out there.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: Well, I think you can't approach them with being too aggressive out there. I think you've got to be pretty patient. And I think always when you come into the major tournaments when the golf courses are tougher, you sort of have to take one shot at a time, just work a lot around the greens, and just make sure where you put your approach shots into the greens. There's a couple of places, you can leave yourself some putts that are going to be pretty much impossible out there. If you're not in a great position off the tee, you've got to know where you can put the second shot. And you've got to have a pretty good game plan, I think.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: Yeah, I think so. If you come in a regular event and you're 4-under par, that's usually not going to put you in the lead. It's usually going to take a good 7- or 8-under. But this week you sort of want to stay in the red numbers. With the pin being sort of back right there on 16, it was a pin that I wasn't really going to go for. I was going to put it in the middle of the green, and if it caught the slope and rolled down there, that would be great. And the same on 17. I wasn't really going to go for that. It was sitting on the slope, and I've been putting so well today that basically just put anything on the greens here was going to give me a good birdie chance.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: I think the same on the third, which is crucial today, and especially when I look back at the last couple of weeks I've had. It was sort of a momentum for the rest of the round. And I guess that's what has not been happening the last couple of weeks. And then when I missed the putt, I would carry that on to the next hole. But today the putts were falling and I was sort of hanging in there. Also missed my tee shot on No. 4. It was on the left side under the trees and had to punch something out there and basically just put my third shot up on the green and left myself a good, long putt. But I was trying not to let that affect me. I knew there was plenty of golf left. And I have been striking the ball well. It was sort of just a matter of time for it to start working on the golf course.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: I think it took us five hours. We had a wait on No. 12. It was like three groups on the tee there.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: Pardon?

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: I think just sort of a little bit of a confidence thing. Overall I've always been putting well, and all of a sudden you start striking the ball a little bit better and you just figure now I'm going to score better. But sometimes it doesn't work out that way. And you just start missing putts and a lot my confidence a little bit on the greens.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: Yeah, now actually in starting Toledo last week I'm trying to line up the ball on my line, have it riding on the ball. I have my name on the ball, and I try to line that up exactly on the line. It's sort of something new I'm trying. Worked a lot on that the last couple of days on the putting green, and I think that's giving me a little more confidence, just trusting what I'm seeing. I sort of have the tendency to set up to the ball and then playing too much break on the putts. So by lining up like this, I can trust it more and just start stroking the ball a little bit better.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: That sounds good. I like that.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: I think overall -- I'm a much better player today than what I was then. I have more experience, just played a lot more golf, and put a lot of time into it. So I think '88 it was the sort of week where everything went my way, which I think if you're going to win the Open, you sort of need that. You need everything to go your way, and you need a good putting week. I think it always seems to come down to the putting.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: Yeah, I'm hitting the ball definitely further. I think I'm hitting the ball further this year than I did last year, even. And just a combination of golf balls, equipment, different shafts in the clubs and all that. Maybe a little stronger than what I was then, too.

LISELOTTE NEUMANN: You know, I haven't really thought about it yet. I think I'm just going to try to just stick to the game plan I did today, just hitting fairways and greens, just give myself a lot of birdie opportunities out there. If I can keep up the putting the way I did today, then the more greens I can hit the more chances I'm going to have. So I'm not going to do anything crazy tomorrow and just go out and take one shot at a time and see how far that can go.