KRAFT NABISCO CHAMPIONSHIP

March 29, 2002

Rosie Jones

LAURA NEAL: Why don't we start with some general comments your round and how you feel about the conditions.

ROSIE JONES: I feel great right now. What a beautiful day to play golf. Braved the last two holes to kind of get myself back in the game.

Not that I felt like I was out of the game, but yesterday, I was 2-under coming into 18 and doubled the hole and kind of felt like I lost all my Easter eggs that I spent all day trying to get in that wind and had to give them back.

Then today, I was -- I played the front nine in 3-under and felt like I was really making a move, but on the back nine it's really hard to get some birdies; and started to make a couple of mistakes and backed up to 1. But then birdied the last two, 17 and 18, to put myself in really good shape.

Q. Were you putting from the fringe on 17?

ROSIE JONES: Yeah, I did. I was about a yard off the front of the green on 17 and went ahead and putt. You know, just most of the fringe are in really good shape and it's easy to just putt right through them.

Q. Did it take you long to get over that 7 to end the round? I mean, 72 in that weather yesterday was still a pretty good score. Did you figure that out at some point during the night?

ROSIE JONES: I was disappointed. Both my caddy and I made a mistake coming in and really underestimated the wind. It got really cold and I was -- I was cold and not as strong as I wanted to be coming in to that third shot on 18.

And then we made another mistake on the pitch onto the green, and it took me a little while to get over that. But, you know, within half an hour or 45 minutes, back at my house and talking to my family, I pretty much got over it and felt good at even par. There was a lot of high scores yesterday; it was really a tough round out there. I really felt like I played the back nine as good as I have in the 20 years I've played here.

Q. Everybody has a double, but was that a pretty good double yesterday? It seemed like your pitch on your pitch shot was pretty long.

ROSIE JONES: Yeah, I pitched it all the way to the top of the green and had to make a pretty good 2-putt to get it down to 7. Left myself with about a 4-footer coming back, and I'm just glad that one went in. I think I would have been disappointed had I come in over par. That might have changed the whole mood today.

Q. Annika and Liselotte felt like they left a lot out there; that the course was ripe more maybe lower scoring, but maybe the pins were setup a little tougher today?

ROSIE JONES: Yeah, they are. There's not one easy pin out there. But it's fun because this golf course is in such good shape and the greens are rolling so nice, the weather is so perfect today that you're not used to really having the opportunity to go at pins here and it's hard to get it close. When you do and you don't make a putt, you feel like you left it out there.

It's just because the course is set up -- or that the weather is so perfect that you feel like you could probably, you know, really make a few more birdies. But because of the pins and where they are, it's just really hard to get close.

Q. Did you feel that the greens were grabbing at all today?

ROSIE JONES: Were they what.

Q. Grabbing, holding the ball?

ROSIE JONES: Yeah. You know, not as good as they have, actually. I think it rained a little last night and these greens seem to be a little bit softer than they have been in the past years. They usually get rock hard and I expect they probably will on this weekend a little bit more. But that little rain that we had this morning probably helped us out.

Q. When you look ahead to the weekend, is it hard to take the same approach, it's a major championship, or do you want to take the same approach as far as being in contention and not getting too keyed up? I'm just curious about your mindset going in.

ROSIE JONES: Well, I've got a lot of experience going into big tournaments on final round and weekends, and I try not to change my mindset as far as what I'm going to try to accomplish. There are certain shots that you can go for and certain shots you can't, and having the discipline and the timing to know when to be more disciplined is really what I'm good at. If I don't make any mistakes, I'm going to be in good shape.

I'm really just going to go out there and play tomorrow just like I did today and just like I tried to do yesterday. Hopefully I'll play just as well, and even better.

LAURA NEAL: Let's go through your scorecard real quick.

ROSIE JONES: Okay. I opened up with two pars on 1 and 2 and birdied No. 3. I hit a 7-wood and I was 180 yards out from the pin and hit 7-wood to about 13 feet and made that putt for birdie.

Parred all the way around to No. 8, where I hit a baby 9-wood in there for about eight feet and made the putt for birdie.

Then on 9, I knocked a sand wedge up about five feet and made that for birdie.

Bogey par on No. 10. Had a nice up-and-down there.

Bogey on 11. I hit probably -- my only bad shot of the day and it was an errant 7-wood, just trying to lay it up into the fairway and hit behind a tree and had to pitch out and hit my sand wedge up there and 2-putt for bogey.

Played good around the back corner until No. 15. Then I hit a pretty good shot up into the tucked pin and I was in the back fringe just a little bit. And it was kind of one of those shots that you're afraid, you know, if you hit it a little too hard, and I kind of flubbed it and left myself with about a 20-foot putt off the fringe. So I bogeyed 15.

Hit a good shot into 16 and then birdied 17 and 18.

LAURA NEAL: How far was the birdie putt on 18?

ROSIE JONES: On 18 was probably about a 15-footer.

Q. You're a big fan of the game?

ROSIE JONES: Pretty big fan. I kind of like it a little bit.

Q. I would think so. You don't seem to catch as much talk about "best to never win a major" as Phil does.

ROSIE JONES: I know, nobody has really caught on and is picking on me in that way. I do get it later on in the season, I get a little bit more of that and when we get into the heat of the season. But I'm reminded most majors that I have not won one. (Laughs).

It's okay. I don't mind talking about it. I feel like I have a great career and I have played really good in a lost majors. I've played well enough to win majors. Just haven't. I'm looking forward to winning a couple in the next couple of years.

Q. You had a chance at the LPGA a couple years ago, you had a pretty good shot, early on maybe -- I'm making it up --

ROSIE JONES: In '91, I had like a five-shot lead or something and took a 7. (Laughs). You're right. But that was on Saturday.

Q. You seem to handle it well. I don't get the sense that you come into these things saying, "Oh my God, it's one of four," not a deer-in-the-headlights type of thing?

ROSIE JONES: No, I don't. Like I said, I've played really well in majors, and it's not like I haven't had my chances. I blow some and I've been beat in a lot of them, in all of them. But, you know, I can't tell you why I haven't won one. It's just -- it's just a thing I haven't done yet.

Q. In women's golf and the way it is perceived, what's more -- for the men, you always look at Nicklaus's 18 majors. Do you think that in women's golf, they look more at Kathy's 88 wins or whatever the record is for the women?

ROSIE JONES: I get your drift.

Q. Thank you.

ROSIE JONES: I'm not sure that -- I think people still look at women's golf and look at the majors won. Our point system for the Hall of Fame is based on wins and majors getting double points, I think, or something like that, I'm not really sure. I haven't really looked at it because I haven't really felt like that's a reachable goal for me.

But definitely, if I win like six majors from here until the time I retire, I'll be in good shape. (Laughs).

Q. Considering that the British Open has been added to the four, I know that the du Maurier is a good tournament, but do you think that down the road that's going to elevate the major sequence in women's golf?

ROSIE JONES: Well, I've played in the British Open quite a few years, and I've always thought that it was like a fifth major before it's been our fourth. I love to play against the Europeans and I love to play different championships. That being our fourth, I think that was the best pick. I think it was a natural pick and it's definitely, you know, a list of tournaments that most players want to go over there and win.

Q. In a more simple form, what do you think is a greater benchmark in women's golf: Number of victories or number of majors?

ROSIE JONES: I think when you look at -- you've got to ask who is asking the question and what's the answer.

Because when it's me, I've had a great career. If you look at how many majors I've won, you're going to see zero. How many wins I've had, you're going to see 12. But if you see how many Top-10s I've had, how many cuts I've missed, how many tournaments I've played in, over the longevity of my career, you might say, "She's a great player." That's how I base my history of my career, and that's how I go to bed at night thinking about if I'm -- if I've done any job or not, if I'm happy; if I'm a successful competitive person, player out here.

Q. If you look at someone else's career -- and I'll leave names out of it -- but say somebody with 20 wins and five majors, or 32 wins and one major, which strikes you as more impressive?

ROSIE JONES: Probably winning more majors, definitely. But I can't really -- I haven't been able to put myself in that category yet. Something that's been missing from my portfolio and hopefully when I get done with this dang game, I'll have had it on my resume.

Q. Andy North keeps getting asked the opposite question because I think what's he got, two or three major --

ROSIE JONES: Majors and no wins. I would rather have like 12 wins and one major than one major and no wins, that's for sure. I'm very, very proud of my career. I think if you looked at it, if you looked at stats, my stats and really, you know, dug into some of those things, you would -- I think most people would look at me differently than one of those long-lost LPGA players who has never won a major.

Q. How do you think you are perceived?

ROSIE JONES: Old. (Laughter.)

Q. All right.

ROSIE JONES: Short. Old. Feisty. I think that I have a lot of respect from my fellow players out here.

Q. Do you think the public looks at you as having a great career, or do you get a sense that they look at the void?

ROSIE JONES: The void?

Q. No majors.

ROSIE JONES: I think they look at me and see a person that's had a great career. Because that's what I want them to see. Positive thinking.

LAURA NEAL: Thank you very much.

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