Post-Round Quotes - Day 4
May 24, 2002 | Women's Golf
May 24, 2002
Kelli Kamimura
Washington
On concluding her collegiate career: "Playing how I've been playing, it just
doesn't make me very sad right now. There are a lot of good sides that I'll
definitely miss, but I'll be assistant coaching next year, so I'll still be
around. I just can't believe how fast it's gone by. That's the really
amazing part. You work your whole junior career wondering about college
golf, and then you get here, and it goes by so fast that you don't even know
what happened to it. It's been so much fun, but at the same time, I'm ready
to do something else. In some ways, even though team golf is a lot of fun,
I'm kind of ready to get back to the individual part of it. Golf isn't
really a team sport."
On why she has struggled: "To be honest with you, I have no clue. I had swung pretty well up until we had a tournament in Oregon and my swing got off a little bit. I think I may have been over-practicing. I haven't really taken a day off since the Oregon tournament. You don't have a lot of time in between tournaments. It's not any different for any other college golfer. I just got a swing flaw at an unfortunate time and didn't really have time to fix it. I've been talking to a lot of people about it. One of my teammates asked me, OeHave you ever had to fight for anything?' I really haven't, and I think that makes it harder. Last time I went through a slump, I wasn't really practicing. I think it's harder on you when you're practicing really hard and putting in the time. I've hit some shots that I've never seen myself hit before, even when I was 12."
On her disappointment: "This tournament was probably the biggest disappointment of my life so far, because you prepare for it and you picture yourself on the last day in the last group, vying for not only the team championship, but the individual championship. To watch your game deteriorate right before is really hard."
Paige Mackenzie
Washington
On the tournament: "It was a lot longer than I expected ? it's tiring. By
the last day, I was just struggling to make it through, just trying to make
pars, just (trying to make) greens and fairways."
On finishing with the top score for the Huskies: "I think everyone's kind of disappointed with how they played and that's a disappointing feeling for me, too. (The fact that) my score is going to lead (the team), is just because everyone else has not played as well as they wanted to."
On if there was added pressure of playing host at Washington National: "Not necessarily, because we weren't the favorites going in, but I think that there's pressure because we do have an advantage. We should have done better than our seed."
On trying to play aggressive for her final round: "Today, actually, I was less aggressive, (because) I was kind of tired. It's been a long week, and I was pretty much trying to just hit fairways and greens and hit my par and move on. I had 16 pars and that's okay with me. Today, I was happy with how I played."
Mary Lou Mulflur
Washington Head Coach
On her team's play today: "We were playing pretty good and then we lost it coming in. Louise (Friberg) was five over the last five holes. Michelle (Grafos) took a double on 16 and Lindsey (Morgan) bogeyed three of her last five, so once again we kind of had it going and it got away from us. We had a chance to shoot 290 or 291 and didn't quite finish it off."
About Kelli Kamimura: "Certainly the postseason was a tough time for her. She's a good kid and handled a lot of adversity as well as she could have. If it weren't for Kelli, we wouldn't be standing here. She's done so much for this program during her career. There's just no way to put a value on what she's meant to this team. You get Kelli to stay (in state) and then you get Lindsay (Morgan) and Paige (Mackenzie). I'm sure if you ask them, certainly part of the reason they stayed was because Kelli came (to Washington) and did so well."
About Kelli Kamimura's future: "She wants to try and play at the next level, and she's certainly capable. Obviously, now she doesn't fell like she is (capable), but she's had plenty of great rounds and done well and won a lot of college and junior national tournaments. I think she probably needs to regroup a little, but I think she wants to at least give it a whirl."
On if she would have done anything differently for the NCAAs: "I don't think we would have done anything differently. They all played well at times, and it was just a matter of all playing well at the same time ? that's what you have to do. This week, you not only have to be good, you have to be a little bit lucky. We couldn't get in sync. We felt like we were there and ready to go and they worked hard to get to this point. It's frustrating, but I don't know what we would have or should have done differently."
Bess Bowers
Michigan
About her one-under par round today: "We had great conditions today, so it
was good (for) scoring. The wind didn't really pick up until the back nine,
so I was really excited. I just kept my momentum on the front nine from
yesterday and made a bunch of putts. I think I had 10 putts on that side. I
bogeyed my first hole, because I didn't hit it very well off the tee and
just got in trouble. Then I knocked it close on the next hole and then the
third hole, number 12, I made a 20-footer, and I was kind of laughing,
because I didn't think I had any chance to go at it and I made it. The same
thing happened on my fourth hole, number 13. I made another 20-footer and
figured that this was just luck. I just kept hitting it close to the pin and
made a five-footer for birdie on 16, but then missed one on 17. It was just
one of those days where sometimes you make everything. On the back nine, I
didn't make anything, although I hit every green, and just kind of ho-hummed
my way around."
On if she felt pressure to do well in her last round: "This is my last competitive round of golf, so there's no pressure on me at all, or at least I don't feel it. I just wanted to go out there and have fun and enjoy my last round of golf. I wanted to just make it good for our team, because we wanted to finish higher than what we were expected (to)."
On if she would return to Washington National: "I would love to, this course is great. This is obviously one of the best tournaments I've played in with this field. The course is in awesome condition and the greens were perfect for making birdie putts. It's a great course, and I would definitely come back if I were in the area. This is the best weather we've had in a tournament all spring, so I'd take this any day."
Meredith Duncan
LSU
On her last collegiate event: "It was fun. It's been the best four years of
my life. I didn't play as well as I should have today, but you can't play
good every day, huh?"
On what went wrong: "I just missed putts, period."
On her collegiate career being over: "It's sad because these are some of the best friends that I've ever met, but it's fun. Hopefully I'll see a lot of them out on the Tour making money."
Stacy Prammanasudh
Tulsa
On why she played so well on the final day: "I guess I had nothing to lose
and everything to prove. I can't say I played like crap the last three days,
but not as good as I should play. Basically, I just wanted to prove it to
myself. If you looked at the scoreboard it was like, OeOh my god, where's
Stacy?'"
On ending her collegiate career: "Caroline (Laurens of Purdue), who I played with, she's another senior as well. She was like, OeSeventeen holes and three more shots.' It was just fun. We had a really fun day. I think Dani (Mallon) did as well, because Maiko (Senda) saw her on a putt and (said), OeDani is really bubbly today.' So I think we were just excited."
Susan Watkins, Texas Head Coach
On her team's effort:
"Obviously hindsight is 20/20. There's no question in
my mind that if we had the start, even like we had today, instead of the
start that we had, I don't think there would have been any question that we
could've taken the title home. But it didn't happen and the great thing
about what did happen is that we had two outstanding days. We broke some
records. We did exactly what we needed to do to put ourselves in the
driver's seat. As I told somebody out there today, you know what, I've
really done my work, I trust them, and now it's just going to be up to how
everything falls. I think the critical thing for me was I did have to do a
little extra work coming down the stretch there. That worked out nicely
because if we had not gotten a couple of birdies coming down the stretch,
three birdies, four birdies coming down the stretch then that could have
been a different scenario for us. That would've really left a bad taste in
your mouth. You don't fight that hard and work that hard and end up in a
position that you feel crummy about."
On Kristin Dufour:
"She did a great job. We talked about it on (hole) 16,
and she was talking about how she was a little bit nervous. I said, OeWhat
are you nervous about, this is what you've been waiting for! We've had a lot
of practice rounds; we've had a lot of qualifying rounds. You deserve this.'
She really deserves it and I'm so glad (she) broke that barrier today. She
did it with such grace. It was sitting on 69 for quite some time, and she
just let it ride. I was so proud of her. Like I said I wish I could've seen
more of it."
Kristin Dufour, Texas
On her 5-under final round:
"That was my only round in the 60's in college
golf. I've gotten close a couple times. It felt good to end on that. It
didn't even feel like I was out there. Actually it did, I was really
nervous, I was shaking. I just kind of trusted everything that I had. It
just happened."
Candy Hannemann, Duke
On how the team found the focus to win the championship:
"We all knew we had
to finish strong and knew we could do it. We worked hard. We had a lot of
ups and downs. It's a great feeling to finally get our goal.
On the championship:
"Every victory's different. The fact that this is my
last tournament as an amateur makes it all a bit sweeter."
On whether she was nervous going into her last round:
"I wasn't nervous at
all, starting the day. Coach (Brooks) always makes fun of me because all of
a sudden I had this calm feeling. That's what I felt today. I really enjoyed
it out there and that's the reason I played well. I love playing (in)
pressure situations. That's why we all play golf."
Virada "Oui" Nirapathpongporn, Duke
On what was on her mind during the last round:
"I was actually thinking of
the team title because there was no way I could have known how everyone else
was doing besides Lorena (Ochoa) and Janice (Olivencia). I was not looking
at the scoreboard. I just kept telling myself, "The rest of the holes,
you're going to have to keep playing hard because it might come down to a
shot or two. Keep playing because the team title is what we ultimately
want.' We worked hard all year and I was happy to finish this off."
On dealing with the hype over Lorena Ochoa: "She's had an amazing year and unfortunately she didn't do exactly what she wanted. I played really good golf myself and I'm proud of myself for that."
On Lorena Ochoa's emotions on the golf course: "She wasn't extremely showing off her frustrations. She does that occasionally anyways. She was missing a lot of putts. They were good putts, but they just weren't falling."
On Lorena Ochoa: "Candy was telling me last night. She was like, OeOui, she's just human. She might have had a good year, but she's human. She can make mistakes. Just go out there and don't think that she's better than you, just think that she's just a playing partner and play your game.'"
Dan Brooks, Duke Head Coach
On the closeness of the victory:
"It was always close and it felt like most
of the time it was close but we were down. It felt that way all the way
until just two or three holes were left on the backside. That's why it was
such a neat win because we felt like we were down so much and that we were
having to come up with something or somebody was going to have to mess up on
the other team. All of a sudden we take a little drive into 18 green and
when we pull in there everybody's saying we're two up. Some things had
happened in just a very short period of time that turned it around."
On the turning point:
"We saw Candy (Hannemann) birdie 17, we saw Myerscough
go in the water on 17, and then we rolled in from there wondering what that
meant. We didn't know for sure. Also we were curious whether Oui made a putt
on 16 and she didn't even make that put, so we didn't have that to make us
feel a whole lot better either We had five birdies on the last three holes
and three birdies on the last two holes."
"The last thing we say on 17 was Ochoa's ball sitting down there where it can be knocked on in two. Who would ever think that she might knock it in the water, she's hit crucial shots so much in this great career that she's had."
On Virada Nirapathpongporn's effort:
"We're all hoping that we can take on
challenging things and do it the way she does it. She's got a lot of poise.
She appreciates everything that's going on and I think that allows her to
keep things in perspective. She's a real team player, always pulling for the
team. She just has a way about her and you can't ever tell, if she's had a
rough day you could never tell it, that's the way she carries herself."
On the play of Candy Hannemann:
"There is no way that Candy wasn't going to
show up in full form sometime during this tournament. She's done it too many
times when it has mattered a lot I think she just picked a wonderful time
to show up with her game. It would have been neat to have another nine
holes, because I think it would have kept on rolling."
Danielle Downey, Auburn
On her play in the fourth round:
"I started out really good. The first hole
I missed a two footer for birdie, but then I made a bird on (holes) two and
four and left out on three. So I started off pretty hot. I misclubbed myself
off the tee on number seven. I kind of got on a little bogey string there
for a little bit. I made three bogeys out of six holes or something, and
then birdied 12 to get back to even. I think I stayed there the rest of the
day. It was blah out there; it was nothing really (special.) The beginning
was exciting but from there it was pretty much pars, and that's pretty much
it."
On being paired with SEC rivals Florida and Georgia: "It's kind of weird that we have to go all the way across the country to play the teams from our same conference, but that just shows you the strength of our conference. I know we have other people up here, but we had three teams in the top six when we started (the day's play) and I think that says a lot about the Southeastern Conference."
On the team's effort:
"We came in strong today. I knew Courtney (Swaim)
would lead us today. She came back with a 1-under 71 (for her) final
collegiate round. I'm proud of her. That's a great accomplishment. I know
she was disappointed the last few days, but I knew she'd come back and she
led us. I'm proud of her. Right now I wish we were there on the first two
days because I know we would have won I know we would have won, even if we
could take one day back we would have won.
Kim Evans, Auburn Head Coach
On her team's effort on the fourth day:
"I think when we came out yesterday
we knew we had to not just post one good score but two. We came out today
with the same thought as yesterday, just take care of ourselves. We knew we
had to make a move and we did. We started out strong and we lost something
towards the middle of the round, (but) towards the end they brought it back
and brought it under par I know we're going to look back at those first two
rounds, but I'm very pleased with our last two rounds."
On the pairing with Florida and Georgia:
"It was fun. It was very
comfortable. It's funny, they've all known each other for so long and our
coaches, we all know each other, but we really didn't say a lot. It's such a
form of business, but it was relaxing and it actually was comforting. We
were all pulling for each other."
On Danielle Downey:
"She had it great. She had a great run at it. Her ball
striking was as good as anyone I've coached, for the full week. She had a
chance on every hole for birdie, just about. She's a real fighter. She knew
how we stood as a team. She knew how she stood. She wanted to know. She
fights to win. Her effort was big-time."
On any pressure with being ranked number one:
"We've been ranked (number)
one most of the year, or two, and so we really didn't think about it. We
knew coming in here that it doesn't matter. When you get here it's anyone's
ballgame. There's 24 teams here and a handful of individuals that can take
it. I don't think it ever crossed our mind that we were ranked one coming
in."
On whether she thought her team was close:
" I felt like when we made the
turn that we had a chance. We have not played our first nine well at all
this tournament. I felt like we had a pretty good shot and then Duke just
really turned it on. I think at one time we were within two of them and then
they just kept charting it up, starting on their 15th hole. I felt like if
we could shoot three or four under today we had a chance to win, we shot one
under. I'm very proud of our team. We left it out there. Our streak, we knew
we wanted to win first, we've finished first or second in every event we've
played in this year. We're proud of that, but we wanted to win the first
place trophy. I'm proud of their effort. It was a big-time effort to come
back after our first two rounds."
Celeste Troche, Auburn
On her round:
"It feels good. I just wish I could have gone a bit lower so
that I could really help my team. I just wanted to play one shot at a time,
one hole at a time and shoot as many on as I can. I think I hit it pretty
well. I missed a couple of putts, but hit a couple, too. My irons were
working well."
On what she's learned from this experience: "Just the experience of knowing how tough it is, and how you have to be heads-up from the first day when you step on the first tee. There are a lot of great teams here. If you miss some shots, they'll catch up with you."
Summer Sirmons, Georgia
On her goals for the day:
"I knew that to have a chance for our team to win,
and for me individually to win, I'd have to take it low and the rest of my
teammates would have to take it low. I also wanted to come out here and do
the things that I've done for last couple of days < just="" enjoy="" myself="" and="" not="" put="" the="" pressure="" on.="" i="" do="" better="" when="" i="" just="" enjoy="" the="" round="" and="" enjoy="" the="" people="" that="" i'm="" playing="" with."="">
On whether she knew the other scores: "No. I saw the scoreboard on the 15th tee. I just kind of glanced at it. I figured, OeI don't know what it is right now, but I'm pretty sure I'm not close.'"
On her round:
"I was a little disappointed that I didn't play well today.
It's always hard to go out and shoot low on the last day, but I'm happy that
I didn't totally blow up. I'm very happy about the way I finished."
On her week as a whole:
"I've felt really great about the way I've played
this week. I feel that I'm finally playing up to my potential. Things just
haven't been going my way. It's hard to pinpoint what it is, but for some
reason, things changed and things started going well for me. I changed my
putter before Regionals, and that's made a tremendous difference. I feel
more confident and more comfortable."
Katherine Hull, Pepperdine
On her bunker shot on hole number nine:
"I thought I hit an okay drive, but
obviously I went too far left and then I didn't have a good stance. My feet
were in the bunker and my hands would have only been a foot above the ball
if I had tried to play a normal shot, so I just had to chip it out to my
yardage. That's all I could do with it."
On her round today:
"I didn't change anything. Today, I just hit the ball a
bit better and was a little bit more patient out there. Normally if I get
out to a good start, I can hold it, but if I get out to a bad start, then I
can bring it back. At Stanford, I was four over and then I ended up shooting
four under on the back nine to get back to even. No matter what stage of the
game, I just think - hit the fairway, hit the green and hopefully roll in a
couple of birdie putts."
On her season as a whole:
"I'm really happy with this season as a whole. I
would have liked to have done better at this tournament, but on the whole
I'm very happy."
On Lindsey Wright and the Pepperdine team:
"Lindsey's an awesome player and
she's played great this week. For the team, winning regionals was awesome
and coming into this tournament, we've done our best, so I'm really happy
with the team."
Lindsey Wright, Pepperdine
On her tournament:
"I knew I'd have to make a few more birdies. I was one
under going down the last (hole), and I thought if I make a birdie, maybe if
Virada (Nirapathpongporn) or Lorena (Ochoa) made a mistake, I'd have a
chance. I'm really happy with the way I played. To shoot such consistent
scores is good for me. I've been working so hard on my patience and today, I
had to be so patient. I hit a few unlucky shots ? I hit in a lot divots ?
and had a lot of six-foot par putts down hill left to right, so I had a lot
of pressure on me. I'm proud of myself, because I managed to hang in there
and putted great. The last hole was unfortunate, but that was my fourth,
three-putt this week."
On her consistency:
"I've been playing consistently all year. My greens
average is 15 a round. I'm hitting 12 to 15 fairways a round, and it's been
my putting. I've averaged 35 putts a round and shooting one or two over. It
was disappointing, but the last month I haven't been in school, so I've
spent a lot of time working on my pre-shot routine and in my putting. I've
put a lot of pressure on myself and it's really paid off."
On not playing with the leader group:
"I think it helped a little bit, but I
think it would have helped me (more to be in the leader group). I like
having a crowd around me, and I was thinking, because I saw Lorena (Ochoa)
and Virada (Nirapathpongporn) and Janice (Olivencia) on the par three, and I
was wishing I was in that group, because then I would know where I stood. I
tend to do well in match play situations, so it would have been nice to play
with them or around them, but it was good for me, because I had to put
pressure on myself. I was making sure I was patient hitting the greens and
giving myself opportunities to birdie. Unfortunately, I just didn't have the
score today."
On her patience:
"Everything I've worked on the last two and a half months,
has definitely paid off. I've had to be patient and it had been really hard,
because there's people out there shooting 68s and I've just shot the usual
72 or 73, so this week was really encouraging with the top field and playing
with the best players in the country. To finish where I did and with the
double bogey and a few silly mistakes I shouldn't have made, if I hadn't
made those mistakes, I probably be in the lead."
Jimin Kang, Arizona State
On her tournament:
"It was a solid round, just too many putts. I was really
disappointed with my second day, but I got a little attacked mentally. It
wasn't tiring, it was shocking to me."
On the pressure of playing in her home state:
"There's always pressure, but
(there) was a little more pressure, because everyone was like, OeOh my god,
Jimin, isn't this your home course?' I was like, OeUh no. This (course) was
built two years ago, and I wasn't here to play then.'"
On her year and future plans:
"It was a good year ? a lot better than (my)
freshman year, but I can do a lot better next year. This summer, I'm taking
summer school and going to kind of work on my game I'm only going to play a
couple of tournaments."
Therese Hession, Ohio State Head Coach
On her team's overall performance:
"I was really happy. I wanted them to get
off to a good start and they did. They played the back nine pretty well,
although we let a few shots get away on the front nine, because I think we
were really making a nice move. I'm not sure exactly how we finished, but
all and all it was still a good week and they all had better than their
averages for the year. I was really proud. They worked really hard, they're
tough kids and it was fun."
On if the team met its goals:
"One of our goals was to win the national
championship and that's all we talked about all year. So from that
viewpoint, I'm sure they're a little disappointed, but to say from the start
of the year, that we finished in the top eight, I think they'd be pretty
pleased with that. We're keeping our chins up, heading back to Columbus and
using this experience for maybe next year for bigger and better things."
Marcia Wallis, Stanford
On her overall tournament:
"I'm very happy. I had a great four days of
one-under par, so I'm happy. I just wish the team would have done better."
On her positive points this week:
"I was striking the ball really well ?
getting everything on the greens, so I just had to worry about my putting."
On her plans for the summer:
"My dad has me signed up for quite a few
tournaments, and I'm going to try to get in as many as I can. Then (it's)
just (a matter of) juggling that and soccer."
Lorena Ochoa, Arizona
On her round:
"I can't explain what happened. I just didn't make any putts,
and I was trying really hard to keep the balls in the fairway and get it
close to the pin. I just didn't make putts."
On Virada Nirapathpongporn:
"Virada is a great player. She just played very
consistent today and never gave me a chance to catch up with her. She really
took advantage of her lead."
On the tournament:
"I played good, but it wasn't the best week for me. I
didn't play very good golf. I Oem proud, because I hung in there and never
gave up. I was trying to come back and it was very tiring. (I'm) leaving
very happy."
On her putting today:
"I think I misread a couple of greens, and I was a
little insecure. I kept making my stroke too fast, hit some balls past the
hole and other ones, just didn't make it there. It was just a horrible day
for my putting. I can't explain what happened (with her putting). It never
happened before."
Greg Allen, Arizona Head Coach
On the team's season:
"We've gone through a lot this year. When we left
Mission Inn last year in Florida, finishing in eighth, we were really
disappointed. This had been our goal all year long ? to peak at the right
time. We were excited about coming in with the line-up we hard and the girls
were playing great."
On senior Christina Baena:
"Christina Baena is going to leave with three
Pac-10 championships, a national championships and a second place. She
certainly had a wonderful career at the University of Arizona, and I
couldn't be happier for her. I know she's disappointed today."
On his team's effort today:
"We gave it everything we had. When I looked at
the leader board, it was a one shot difference, and I just don't think we
played (number) 17 very well. Duke had birdies when we had bogeys. I felt it
was a tie game with three holes left."
