U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 2, 1998

Brenda Corrie-Kuehn

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: It is such a thrill. Such an honor, first of all, to play in and then to play well today and, you know, just being up there even close to the leaders and just play with the pros. It is a thrill.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: It is what they call a Chili-Dip. I hit a good shot onto the green went over. Just about two feet off the green and I completely -- I barely got it on the green - I might have even still be on the fringe. Bogeyed that. The other bogey came on 4 and that came about -- I hit a fair drive and ended up with a very difficult -- hit it to the right. There was a downhill, sidehill lie of the rough on an elevated green so missed that green and just, you know, lipped the putt out, but it was long putt.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Bogeyed 10 and 12. 10, it was a series of bad shots on 10. I hit -- all started with a bad tee shot on the rough. Tee shots.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Right rough. And then hit an okay shot, but it is a long hole, was playing to the wind. And went about a foot in the rough on the left. So I hit another wood out there and still couldn't get it there. I was still about 10 yards short of the green, hit a good chip, but it is a very severe green and was left with about 15-footer. Just missed the putt. And then on --

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: New wood that I am trying out. About a 7-wood. It is a 21 degree 7-wood. It is similar to my 5-wood. I noticed I could get it up a little bit higher than my 5-wood. So I traded them in.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: No, all I have is a driver, 3-wood and 7-wood.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Up to 3-iron.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Missed the putt on 10. 11, I missed the fairway; kept hitting it right and that pin on 11 was behind those mounds, very tough pin and not much room to land it. So, you know, you kind of sometimes you start getting: I am 3 over par, you want to get it close, have a chance for birdie. My dad kept me very calm. He says: Honey, just go for the middle of the green, worry about the 2-putt later, we will get some -- we will catch up later on. I did. I hit middle of the green and I ended up pin-high to the left, about 25 feet, but it is all downhill. All I was trying to do was lag the darn thing and, you know, it hit the hole and went in. So -- but I feel it was payback for some of the other good shots that I had hit that didn't turn out that well. 12, I completely missed the drive again to the right. I was between the trees over there. I felt I hit it really good, 5-iron from there, hoping that it was going to run up. It hit soft and never made it to the green and I tried putting it. Because the lies in the fairway, I find a little thin for me to chip out of.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Exactly. Now out of the fairway which is thinner. I said: Let us go with a Texas wedge and putt it. Another difficult pin position because if you miss a little bit right, it was going to go left. If you miss a little bit right, it was going to go right. I hit pretty good direction, but I left it short, about twelve feet, and lipped out the putt - just missed the putt on that. I think that was the best putt I hit of the day and didn't make it.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: The fun part, yeah, this is the good part. On 13, which is the par 3, I was on little bit right-hand side; again my dad said: Honey, go for the middle of the green. And, I did. I was aiming a little left of the pin and right at the time of my swing, I felt so good, I felt good over the ball and I hit it right at the pin. I had a 5-footer there for birdie. Made that.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: 8-iron. Because that pin was -- if you were anywhere long of the pin, you were dead, because there is a hump over there, so short, even short of the green would have been fine. And, then 14, okay, now 14, you have got to figure that I missed the tee shot to the right on 10, tee shot to the right on 11, tee shot to the right on 12. And I knew I could not miss the tee shot to the right on --

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Yes, I was hitting 3-wood on that tee. I because I had the 3-wood. I aimed a little further left. Didn't hit it solid, but I hit it straight. I only had -- I think I was about 110, 112 to the pin, I remember that. I hit pitching wedge and I didn't quite -- pin was kind of down in the swell to the left; didn't quite roll all the way down. But, I didn't have that long of a putt. I had about a 15-, 18-footer. Again, I was just trying to lag it up there. I hit it and it just happened to go in the hole.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: 15, I really concentrated hard on my driver because the driver was what was hurting me. I was hitting driver on that hole and I hit it low, but I hit it; rolled really good and straight and I had about 150 to the pin into the wind and I hit a 6-iron and I think had I hit it really solid, it might have been a little long. And, I trapped it a little bit. It didn't go quite as far, but it ended up about three feet from the hole. I hit it straight and it just, you know, I just happened to -- I was lucky enough that it ended up pin-high, and actually that was a hard that -- 3-footer was hard because it broke left, then right, and I couldn't --

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Yeah, this is not -- I am thinking, I couldn't firm it because it was downhill. So I made that putt. Then you come to the darn 16th hole. I didn't know what to do. I played it completely different all these days and I hit a good drive once again. I was concentrated on my driver. Hit a good drive. I was up there, I think, 260. And, I had not been there the practice rounds, my dad and I were: What do you do now? Do you hit it past the tree, hit it short of the tree? And, I said: Well, you know, I feel like I can get a 3-wood. Had a good lie, had a good angle because I was far enough left, and I hit a 3-wood; made sure I was right enough. I ended up in the rough to the right which was still okay, I was lucky enough that I was on flat - because there are some mounds there; I was between them. And I hit a pitching wedge up there, about ten to twelve feet, maybe. And hit a good putt. Hit -- it was right-to-left, downhill putt; hit a good putt and, you know, happened to go in.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I did not want to count. I knew there were some people in the gallery kept saying: "You are on a hot roll" -- I didn't want to hear. I did not want to know what I was doing, did not. I, actually, at that point - and I swear, this is the honest truth - I wasn't sure if I was even par or 1-under. I wasn't sure and I didn't want to go back and count. All I wanted to do was focus on the next shot and, you know, the next hole.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Actually, I had the best round that I ever had -- I had at our State Amateur this year. I had 64. I had ten birdies. I had ten birdies.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I think I had five in a row.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Country Club of Orangeburg in South Carolina.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Jack Corrie.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: No, he has always been an amateur. He has played in a lot of events, has a lot of experience. He played in the first world amateur team. He is probably going to kill me for saying this, over in St. Andrews, 1958.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Right, he played for Venezuela and the Dominican Republic which is where he lived. He has played a lot of the world. I think you call it the World Cup which is a -- two professionals. He has played in that as an amateur a lot. So he doesn't play as much now. He has Wednesday and Saturday rounds and keeps it -- that is enough for him. But, he has a lot of experience that he helps me out on the course with.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Oh, dad. He is turning 70 this year. He is really going to kill me now, Rhonda.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I thought he was not going to make it after the first hole when he had to walk up that hill. No, he has been terrific. He has been -- on those hills I just said: Dad, take it easy. Give me the club. I am going to walk up there. He has actually done really well, just requires a massage at the end of the day.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I think it is a Ping bag which is the lightest carrying bag they make. I carry 14 clubs, I think. I have six balls in there, some tees. That's it. I am not -- I am hoping for no rain because I don't think -- he says: Honey, no rain suit.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Actually I looked and it was not and I was very relieved that it was not, believe it or not, I got down to 18 and I was really nervous coming down 18 because I knew I had a good run going; you are so close to the end, you just want to, you know, you just want to get it over without having a huge mess-up on that hole which can happen. So, once again, it was a -- driver was the issue of for me. I hit -- I hit it so low my dad was -- I thought he was going to have a big heart attack there that I was even going to make it over the water. I said: Dad, that was way over. I ended up, I hit a perfect drive. I ended up -- I think I had 172 to the pin and it was kind of in that neck and so after that, it was like, okay, we are going to the right part of the green. And, I did. And then made a long 2-putt.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I hit a 4-iron. It was into the wind on that, it was between a 4 and a 5. My dad says: I think you need the 4. It was the best choice I made because 5 would have been a big mistake, I would have been way short.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Pretty much the Open is when -- he lives in the Dominican Republic, so it is a long way to come up. He caddies for me -- whenever I make the Open he comes up and before when I was out of college he would come up with me at some amateur tournaments and caddie for me at the amateur, but pretty much that is it - amateur and Open.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: It is terrific. He is such a positive person. I am a little more demanding on myself. And dad, sometimes, I will hit a shot that, you know, it is not what I consider great. Dad says: Honey, that is okay, let's go on or I have a big hole. And, he is very positive afterwards, so he is just terrific moral support out there.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Very.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Actually, I have found in the last few years, I am very emotional. I think it is the Latin in me. Definitely my mother in me because my dad is very low-keyed. My dad is Scottish background. Dad is very low-keyed. And I have found -- I gotten advice from Susan Strudwick, I think it is, which she is probably not going to remember this. I played with her in an Open qualifier about three years ago, played the front 9, and I was -- you know, I had chipped in the 9th hole to go 1-, 2-under par. I was so excited that it looked like I was going to make it to the Open. Yet I still had nine more holes to play. I remember as we are walking to the 10th hole she says: You have got to calm down; be a little more level-keyed, don't get too high or too low. Sure enough, because you have one bad hole everything that you think -- you are licking your chops thinking you have already got it made, you have one bad hole and it is over. So, the last few years I have really been trying to have a little more lack of emotion on the golf course, you know, not upset with the big holes and not upset -- it is hard. It is hard not to get emotional like today with four birdies. I mean, I had to work so hard to just, you know, get level-key. 17th I could tell my excitement was getting up there. I was thinking, got to back off, got to concentrate on the shot. So, it has helped me. I have noticed some of the other good players, amateur players that I have been playing with like, Beth Bauer I told -- I think I told my dad and husband that she is one of the most mature players that -- only 18 years old, but one of the most mature players that I have seen on the golf course. It was because that -- I have noticed she doesn't talk at all on the golf course. I mean, there is no chit-chat out there and just -- but she is so level-leaded, doesn't get too high and doesn't get too high. I am really trying to learn from that.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Eric.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Seven very long and painful years, like I tell him. Seven years.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: He is a doctor. He is a radiation oncologist, cancer doctor. And he is a good golfer. He doesn't think he is as good as he is, but he is about three or four handicap and usually we have -- first three or four years of our marriage, no problem, no competition, you know. I was always beating him by one or two, and last few years I think it is pretty even because I go back and play the back tees with him and so I will play -- sometimes I will be playing like the gold tees at our club so it evens out from back there, and so we have pretty competitive matches out there.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I tell you, it is such a thrill, you know, to be among just the best players in the world. You come out here and you are in awe. I think last year -- I think this is my 7th year, so the first five years I think only once I had come close to making the cut because you come over here and you are just completely out of your comfort zone. And, last year making the cut you just realize, you know, if you play your normal game - because that is kind of what I did last year, I was able to put the nerves aside and just play my normal game - you can do it. So I think that helped a lot.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I would never do that. (kiddingly)

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I will tell you, I have been struggling with my driver, with my tee shots for the last five years. I mean it, my dad -- it is definitely my problem. I think I am a pretty good iron player, so if I can get the ball in the fairway, I am okay. I have been having -- I have been cutting them -- mainly I have been working on my swing because when I get tight, that is what happens, I rush it and you just don't release your hands. There is a lot of little things that I do and it is that cut-shot, so I have been working at that. Actually, the last year or so, my driving has gotten better and I feel like my game has gotten better pretty much because I have improved my driving.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: 10.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I have taken -- I knew what I was doing. I knew the feel of what was happening, but I didn't know how to correct it. And I have taken -- the last two years I have been taking some lessons with a video camera because I am very, very hard-headed and you can tell I am doing this, but I am just not -- I am very hard-headed.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Scottish part.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I don't know. I don't know. And, so I have been taking some lessons with videos, and that has helped me a lot because I can see -- I can see what I am doing and then my brain is more receptive to making some changes.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I was. Right out of college I turned pro. Played for two years. And then went to graduate school; got my amateur status back; didn't play for two years after that. That was very hard.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: As a pro?

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I tell you, I thought a lot about that. It was an experience that I am glad I did it then and kind of got it over with and got it out of my system. I would never want to do it again. It is definitely not the life for me. But I had fun. You have stages in life that was -- it was fun. It was a lot of travelling, hard life. I find it a very hard life. But I was, you know, out of college. I was -- my husband now was in medical school, so, you know, we were dating, but I had time to do other things. And I knew it was one of those things. Actually, when I turned pro, my goal was to try to see how far I could get. I always knew, though, that it was not the life for me. So I always thought I was going to try for maybe five years and see how it was and it turned out that I did two, and that was enough.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I graduated in 86. I think it was 87 and 88.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I was born in the Dominican Republic.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Do you want to get me out of here?

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I am a dual citizen. My father is American, so I am American by birth.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Dominican.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Carmen.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: My grandfather - his father, actually, was from Indiana, and had come down to work in the Dominican Republic and married my grandmother down there and then my dad -- my dad is pretty much, I would say 80% American. He has some of the Latin values and Latin, just, you know, way of life, about 20% of that. But he was born and raised here and he was educated here and then after I think -- after he was done with his Masters went back to Venezuela and then to the Dominican Republic.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: He played for Venezuela. He was living in Venezuela and I think their team were the ones who hit the -- opened the first world amateur team and Venezuela, by luck of the draw, hit the first drive and it wasn't him, it was one of his teammates.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: He is all the bad stuff, cigarettes and beer is what my family is, but it is more of a family business. My mother comes from a very large family. So it is on that part of the family that -- we have a joint venture with Phillip Morris so we do the Marlboro cigarettes and cigars and beer.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Oh, yes.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: I will tell you what, it was extremely exciting. It was -- I don't know what the right word for it is. It was at a level of golf that I have never experienced. The competition, the intensity of it, it was just completely -- I don't know if overbearing is the word, it is just exhilarating. It was incredible. I found the Irish people so nice. I found them terrific. Are you Irish? With exceptions, of course. In general, the majority -- they really were. The people were terrific. Except for some. (laughter) But the competition was so intense. It was thrilling. It was exciting. I tell you I think the rivalry is something that was so -- I underestimated the rivalry. I thought -- everybody told me it is a friendly competition, you are coming over here to make friends and, it is a very friendly competition. It is so intense, you know, because it is going on for years and years and years I find the rivalry almost more intense more than the players, because the players are new every year. Among the LGU and USGA is where the rivalry is. Isn't that amazing? You know, so -- but it was good. It was terrific. It was just exciting and I am glad I am having as -- you know I lost all my there matches, right? To Alison Rose.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Oh, well. So, I definitely see it in a different light this time. We have revenge on our mind.

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: (laughs)

BRENDA CORRIE KUEHN: Thanks.