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HSBC WOMEN'S CHAMPIONS

March 3, 2009

Paula Creamer

TANAH MERAH, SINGAPORE

DANA GROSS-RHODE: Thank you everyone for joining us, Paula, thank you for coming in. I know you were a little disappointed after last week, but you said you took away a lot of positives.
PAULA CREAMER: I'm just ready for the event. It's always been one of our favorites. They do a wonderful job here, and the golf course, it's a little wet right now, but other than that, it's in pretty good shape.
But yes, of course, I was a little disappointed after last week, however, that's done. I can't do anything about that, so I'll just have to move on and hopefully take that energy and put it into this week.

Q. After your last event, is a win on your mind this week?
PAULA CREAMER: Definitely, for sure. I played really well last week. I can't take that away. It's just Sunday was not my day. Things didn't pan out the way I hoped, and I never really gave myself a chance. That's something to learn from, and to take into this week.

Q. Could last week be a negative factor on this week?
PAULA CREAMER: No, I don't think so. I've come off of losses before, and I've come back and won the following week. I can take that into this week, but like I said, I feel very confident. I played well last week. It's just Sunday, I had a bad day.

Q. The last Champions' tournament last year, there were a lot of young, upcoming Asian golfers, like Yani Tseng, who have won majors; do you think that this year's tournament will be much harder or much tougher than last year?
PAULA CREAMER: Well, the Tour is getting stronger and stronger each week. I think I've worked really hard this past off-season with my coach, David Whelan, and I can't control what other players do. I can only control my game. These last couple of tournaments have been good scores, and we all know that women's golf is elevated and you just have to kind of move along with it and go.

Q. What kind of work or changes did you do in the off-season?
PAULA CREAMER: More swing changes. This off-season, I changed my putting stroke up a bit and really worked on my golf swing. I'm trying to be more, I guess you could say, more consistent throughout the year with my swing.
My coach, David Whelan and I, like I said, we've worked really, really hard on it. It's a work-in-progress. It not going to be perfect, but I have more of my backswing.

Q. So this year, are you targeting to win more tournaments or will you focus on the majors?
PAULA CREAMER: You know, the more tournaments that I win, I'm very pleased with that; I don't complain.
Majors are a part of the season obviously. You can't take that away from anything. Of course, I would like to win those and be in contention for that. But I just try to go out every week and win the event and play as well as I can, and hopefully, that my time will come with a major. But I don't put any extra pressure on myself.

Q. And just to follow up on that, for this tournament, especially, the field is very strong; so do you feel that if you win this tournament, it will give you even more confidence heading into a major?
PAULA CREAMER: Well, definitely. Of course you want to win an event with a strong field. These past two weeks are strong fields, and that is important, playing against the best players, and winning. It just shows where you are at with your game.
Like I said, I can't control other players. I play this golf course very well. I feel very confident on this golf course, and we'll see what happens on Sunday.

Q. As the top American, do you feel more pressure to step up and challenge Lorena?
PAULA CREAMER: Well, I have my own goals. I'm playing the golf course; I'm playing the field. You know, she is one player, but at the same time, there are a lot of players that have worked very hard who are trying to get to that spot, as well. You can't just focus on one person, especially now with the depth of the Tour.
I feel more that I have - in my mind, more of a role model for young Americans, and that's something that's a bigger role than I have ever imagined, and I'm glad to hopefully take that spot for them.

Q. I've read about American players not having won the LPGA Player of the Year for many years. So are the American golfers huddling up together to make this year the year?
PAULA CREAMER: I guess so. I mean, a lot of Americans the past weeks, Angela winning, they are starting to play a lot better, which is nice to see, red, white and blue and things like that.
But at the same time, it's a matter of how hard people work and how hard they want it. I can tell you that I've worked really, really hard, and I want to take that spot and - I guess it's been 15 years since an American has done that, so that's too long. That's too long in my mind, so I would like to be that person to do it.

Q. How is the course playing?
PAULA CREAMER: I played nine holes yesterday and nine holes today. It's pretty much the same setup as last year. The greens are much slower than last year, because of all of the rain, they can't cut it.
But it is playing long. The fairways are wet. You have to hit a lot of good golf shots, just like last year. The fairways are very wide open, so it's more how close you can get to the flag. But it's in good shape. It's just playing longer and the greens are slower.

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