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SHOPRITE LPGA CLASSIC

June 3, 2005

Juli Inkster

ABSECON, NEW JERSEY

PAUL ROVNAK: Great score, 6 under in very difficult conditions. Can you take us over your score card the birdies and bogeys?

JULI INKSTER: No. 3 I made a long putt probably about a 25 footer for birdie. I hit sand wedge. I was just in front and chipped up and I didn't hit a very good chip.

No. 8, I was just short and I chipped in. I had sand wedge and hit a great chip from ten feet, 12 feet.

No. 9, I hit just a three quarter 8 iron about three feet and made that for birdie.

No. 10 was playing very long and wet. I hit driver, 7 wood to the front and made about another 25 footer for birdie.

Then No. 11, I hit a pretty good iron in there. I hit 4 iron but I was just kind of on the left in the fringe and thought I shouldn't putt it, so I chipped it and hit it about four feet past and missed that, so I made bogey there.

No. 15, I hit a little 9 iron in there about 12 feet and made that for birdie.

16, I was just short in two, and I hit my 60 degree wedge and it went in the hole. So I chipped in twice today. It was probably a 15 yard chip.

Then No. 17, I drove it just to the left and hit a good shot short of the green and missed a 4 footer for par, so I made bogey there.

Then 18 was driver, 7 wood just short and chipped up and took about a 4 footer for birdie.

PAUL ROVNAK: Can you talk about the day in general, what it was like?

JULI INKSTER: It was extremely difficult. The wind was blowing. The rain just did not let up all day long until maybe we got to the 18th green and it's not raining as bad. It was just a driving rain all day. The course kept going, get under, get under and hopefully it would go under, but it just held up great. They had one squeegee on 17 green, but it was just a tough day.

I made a couple long putts and I chipped in twice, but I missed a couple short ones, too. I hit a lot of greens which was good to me out there. That's what you need to do on a day like this, and not leave yourself with a lot of 3 , 4 , 5 footers for par. It was very hard to keep dry, keep your grips dry. My hands feel like I've been in a tub all afternoon. They are just like prunes. So it was tough to get your hands dry and then hold on to the club.

I didn't feel like I was swinging I was taking a little extra club all day, like a half a club all day and just trying to get them on the green and get them somewhere close.

Q. Inaudible?

JULI INKSTER: Definitely, it's a lot easier. You can play a little more conservatively or more aggressively depending on the hole when you're under par. Really I was just trying to get the ball in the fairway and I was just trying to get the ball on the green. That was probably my strategy for the whole day. You know, 2 and 4 and 6 and 8, they were really tough holes. I mean, I was just trying to make par on those holes and get there out of and hopefully make birdies on some of the par 5s.

It was a tough day. That's probably one of the toughest, I mean, weather conditions that I've played in a long time all day long.

Q. Inaudible?

JULI INKSTER: Well, the greens were kind of, you could see them growing in front of your eyes. They were getting long towards the end of the day.

The course held up great. The fairways, you know, it was probably 15 holes until we saw our first puddle. So, you know, really, 17 was the only green I really saw water on. But yeah, it rained a lot out there for that course to hold up was pretty good.

Q. Obviously a day like this, it's tough to keep your concentration, how do you do that and what do you do?

JULI INKSTER: Well, I just had two weeks off, so that helped. You just know on a day like this in fact, when I took off 3 or 4 under was leading. So if you can just stay around 1 or 2 under, you're going to have a great day. So it's not like you show up to the golf course and 10 under is leading and you feel like you've got to make a lot of birdies.

It was just a day of patience and, you know, out here with the heather up so high, just get the ball in the fairway and just get it on the green and take your opportunities with putting. You know, I thought I putted great today. Even though I missed a couple of short ones, I thought I rolled the ball really well.

Q. Given the conditions, how good was your round? You said 1 or 2 under would have been a good score, and you're at 6 ( under).

JULI INKSTER: My round was phenomenal, for me, I just thought it was a great round. I thought the afternoon played extremely difficult. I tell you one thing, if you would have said, I'll give you 2 under and you don't have to go tee it up, I would still be in my jammies right now. So I thought it played tough.

Q. Was there a point in the round, obviously the weather stinks, but where you sort of, "Hey, I'm having a good round, we might as well stay out here and get this and finish this," or were you like, "I just want to get out of this weather?"

JULI INKSTER: No, believe me, I didn't want to be out there. But I figure if I have to be out there, I might as well make it good.

You know, I made a really good par on 2. I sunk about an 8 footer for par on 2, and then I made that long putt on 3 for birdie. Then I had a really good shot into 4, so that really kind of got me going, got me I felt confident. I started to feel more confident with my swing, more confident with my putting. And then I just kind of got on a little bit of a roll there. Even though I was just making pars, I feel like I was hitting good shots and the shots I wanted to hit. You know, then I chipped in on 8 and all of a sudden the tide turns and I get a couple under par make a great shot on 9, and then 10 was kind of a bonus.

I just felt like I was hanging in there and all of a sudden something good happened and then it kind of snowballed from there.

Q. We certainly weren't in the rain to see it, but can you describe

JULI INKSTER: Why weren't you? Were you in here having a hamburger or something?

Q. Staying warm. Can you describe your reactions to when you chipped in both times?

JULI INKSTER: Well, when I chipped in on 8. I was raining so hard, I just got my ball in the hole and went and stood and froze.

16 when I chipped in, there was like five people out there; they all clapped and whooped it up. Again, I got my umbrella real quick, get out of the rain. It wasn't really a lot of just kind of hit the shot and then you got underneath your umbrella. I think I went through like four gloves and five towels today. It was a tough day.

Q. You hit the flagstick on 16, the chip in?

JULI INKSTER: Yeah, I did. It hit the flagstick. It would probably be about four feet past. It was a good chip. Once I chipped it, I kind of got underneath the umbrella and watched it, well, that looked good, and, click, right in.

You know, the bottom of it, it hit the flagstick was in, it hit the bottom and went in.

Q. What about the one on 8?

JULI INKSTER: 8, that was in all the way. It was just like from me to you, and I saw it rolling and it was a good chip.

Q. You had the stick in there, too?

JULI INKSTER: Usually when I chip, I leave the stick in.

Q. Kind of a general question for you. I know this week, then a major, and then you have a couple more back to back, and even The Match Play could be considered a big time event. What is it like having to play back to back to back in events that mean so much?

JULI INKSTER: Well, I've done it for so long. I play next week, I'm going to take Rochester off and I'm going to play the Open and The Match Play.

It's not like I do anything different. I'd like to be playing well up to there, you know, for some momentum and stuff. You know, match play, that's a funny game. You can play great and still lose or you can play bad and still win. So, it's just mano a mano, who your opponent is that day.

I look forward to this time of year. I hope we get some better weather because I don't want to play four weeks like this, because that will definitely wear you out.

Thank you.

End of FastScripts.

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