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MCDONALD'S LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY COCA-COLA

June 10, 2005

Natalie Gulbis

HAVRE DE GRACE, MARYLAND

Q. We've got Natalie Gulbis here in the interview room, 1 under par, 71, 6 under par for the tournament. Go over your scorecard first.

(Scorecard done.)

Q. Just talk a little bit about your thoughts at the midway point, just two shots out of the lead right now.

NATALIE GULBIS: I'm definitely in a good spot and hit the ball well again today, so I'll try to carry that over the weekend.

Q. Questions.

It must have been a little frustrating where there was three failure makable putts in a row. Talk about that.

NATALIE GULBIS: It was nice to have those chances, those were definitely four putts I thought I could make birdies on.

Annika, that was kind of her spot where she made her birdies, and I didn't make it, and then I made a really good putt on 18 to save it. You lose some, you gain some. I'm in a good spots going into tomorrow.

Q. On 18, talk about the approach and how nice it is to end the day that way.

NATALIE GULBIS: I was in between clubs and probably didn't commit to the shot and skanked it off to the right and then made the putt. Sometimes golf is like that.

Q. Every day?

NATALIE GULBIS: Every day.

Q. Having played with Annika two days in a row now, what is it you see in her game that has separated her from the rest?

NATALIE GULBIS: She's very aggressive. She's obviously hits tons of fairways and greens, and every single hole she's firing at pins. It was fun.

Q. You must be encouraged that you did that in terms of the approach and ball striking.

NATALIE GULBIS: Yeah, that's definitely something that's very positive that I will take away from today. I was going over it with my caddie and we'll work on the same stuff.

Q. Had you been working on it all along or just playing with Annika and seeing her go at it?

NATALIE GULBIS: Pretty much working at it all along. I remember talking to Butch about it and he said, "If you're good enough to hit the shots, probably chances are if you do miss it, you'll get up and down, you try to miss it in the right spots, but don't be afraid to go out and play aggressive.

Q. Frankly, I haven't seen you play since Q school. How long have you had the split?

NATALIE GULBIS: Just since the beginning of the season I changed, that what it is, it's called a Hammy putter.

Q. Should I know what that is? I'm not real bright.

NATALIE GULBIS: No, not many people used it. It's a split grip. I've always been cross handed and it took the hands out of my putting stroke, and I put a good roll on it.

Q. There was a couple shots yesterday you seemed to choke up substantially.

NATALIE GULBIS: I do that a lot. When I'm in between distances, that's how I gauge the five yard gap, and also if I'm between a driver and 3 wood, there's probably a 25 yard gap between them, and I grip up.

Q. How close were those missed birdie putts on the back side of that stretch?

NATALIE GULBIS: 20 feet, and then inside 5 feet, about 5 feet again, and then I had about a 20 footer I left in the jar short.

Q. How long was the putt on 17?

NATALIE GULBIS: 20 feet, about.

Q. Natalie, do you enjoy the attention you get from the galleries, which tends to be mostly male?

NATALIE GULBIS: I love to be in front of big galleries. It's been great the last couple of days. Since it was a Major, we're supposed to have big galleries this weekend. It's great energy and fun to play in front of a lot of people.

Q. It seems like you feed off that pretty well, too.

NATALIE GULBIS: I really like it. I enjoy it. You look at it, in any sport you have fans out there that are cheering for you, and, you know, both ways.

Q. Are you surprised to see Laura's name up there?

NATALIE GULBIS: Laura Davies or Laura Diaz?

Q. Laura Davies.

NATALIE GULBIS: Gosh, no, she's a great player.

Q. Was her role as kind of a longer hitter when she first came on, the longest hitter, does that affect

NATALIE GULBIS: She still is.

Q. Was that a model for you at all or do you think that made a difference with some of the younger players?

NATALIE GULBIS: When she was winning quite a bit, it definitely put a premium on how far she hit the ball and distance. I think when you look at a lot of the top players on the money list, and compared to their driving stats, she definitely sets that example.

Q. Any more questions? All right. Thanks a lot.

End of FastScripts.

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