August 9, 2003
2003 U.S. Women’s Amateur
Gladwyne, Pennsylvania
An Interview with:
JANE PARK
RHONDA GLENN: Ladies and gentlemen, Jane Park is our other finalist tomorrow at 7:30 . She won her match today two and one.
Jane, you have never been in this position before, I know that for a fact.
JANE PARK : No.
RHONDA GLENN : The National Championship, you are in the finals, what does it feel like?
JANE PARK : It feels just like The Open .
RHONDA GLENN : Does it?
JANE PARK : Yes.
RHONDA GLENN : You nervous?
JANE PARK : No.
RHONDA GLENN : Excited?
JANE PARK : Yes, I am excited, not nervous though. Nothing to lose, just like yesterday.
RHONDA GLENN : You are not nervous, a little bit excited?
JANE PARK : Excited. Pumped up, ready to get out there.
RHONDA GLENN : How hard was it to win this match today? You went back and forth a little bit.
JANE PARK : Yes. She got an early start this morning, but there was a lot of golf to be played. So I just kept going, didn't think negatively, made a couple of birdies and now I'm here.
RHONDA GLENN : You were rolling those putts real well today and yesterday, you have been putting very well wouldn't you say?
JANE PARK : Yes. I have been putting very well. I guess that was the strength of my game for the past week. If I can get it rolling tomorrow then something good will happen.
Q. How about some of the shots, can you go over your birdies, 3, what did you hit in there, how far did you have?
JANE PARK : No. 3?
Q. No, 6, 7 and 8.
JANE PARK : No. 6 that was a par-5. I kind of pushed my second shot but I was pin-high to the green so I chipped up to about four feet and I rolled it in.
No. 7 --
Q. What did you hit from the fairway up there, a 3-wood?
JANE PARK : Yes, a 3-wood. No. 7 I hit a 6-iron. I pushed it but I got a member's bounce to the left.
I got a member's bounce to the left. And it rolled and she conceded it.
RHONDA GLENN : How close were you on that?
JANE PARK : I was like 5 feet.
Q. Closer than that?
JANE PARK : No, it was around 5 feet, yes.
And No. 8, what did I hit there? A 9-iron from 130 yards. 127.
I landed it close to the left of the pin and it didn't check as much as I would have liked it to and it went by like eight feet, ten feet, something like that, and I rolled that in for a birdie.
Q. 12 and 13 you birdied?
JANE PARK : 12, yes, she knocked it close. I was trying to get it close, too, but I thinned it and it went to the right. I had this severely uphill right to left putt and I knew it was makeable so I just trusted my line, trusted my stroke and just hit it right smack in the center.
Q. How far?
JANE PARK : 12, 13 feet. That pin was like on the hardest spot on the green I think, very severe, severely sloped.
Q. 13 you knocked it pretty close, what did you hit there from the fairway?
JANE PARK : I hit a 9-iron from 130 yards. And I caught the slope in the back, got some back spin. It was about three feet.
Q. 16?
JANE PARK : 16, she knocked it close for a very tough lie. And I had this downhill side hiller and the ball was above my feet, but at the same time it was a sloper, so I just hit a pitching wedge and it went to about two and a half feet and that's it.
Q. Is this as good a putting performance that you ever had in your golfing career?
JANE PARK : Yes, definitely I'm getting better every day I think with all of the experience.
Q. Is there anything that's clicked this week, these greens are so tough to putt?
JANE PARK : Yes, they are tricky, the trickiest greens I ever played in my life.
Q. You don't seem to have a problem with the hole?
JANE PARK : Tricky though.
Q. How did you learn how to read them, 11 putts of ten feet or less and you made 10 of them?
JANE PARK : Really?
Q. The only one you missed was on 15.
JANE PARK : No way. I guess I have been on these greens for about a week now, almost a week. I think I just learned to trust my line and if I go to the other side and I see something different then I just forget everything that I saw, stand over the ball, and just see and feel the putt and I just stroke in. It's been good to me.
RHONDA GLENN : Do you and your dad collaborate on the reading of the greens, or do you do most of it?
JANE PARK : My dad or my caddy?
RHONDA GLENN : Isn't your dad caddying for you?
JANE PARK : No, my caddy right there.
RHONDA GLENN : And you are her father?
JANE PARK : Yes.
RHONDA GLENN : Do you and your caddy collaborate?
JANE PARK : When I ask him, when I am unsure about something, or about a putt then I just ask him what do you think this is going to do? For the most part I just read my own putts. He always tells me good speed, good speed. That's the only thing he ever says to me.
RHONDA GLENN : A great putt you hit was that real long one on 17, I mean that was a great putt.
JANE PARK : Yes. How far was that thing?
Q. About 75 feet.
JANE PARK : It was like from a different zip code or something.
Q. How do you manage to keep the pace, you said yesterday your heart would be racing as the match went on, and today it was probably racing again, how do you manage to keep that tempo?
JANE PARK : For my whole game or just for that putt?
Q. Just for the whole game.
JANE PARK : Well, I have beaten her before and I know that it's possible. It wasn't going to be easy and it wasn't. But I just stuck my head in the game and stayed focused, made some putts and came out on top.
Q. You seem very calm out there, no emotion, whether you are winning, losing, making a putt, not making a putt, how do you maintain such an even keel in a pressure situation that you are in in the semifinals?
JANE PARK : I get it from my mom.
Q. Is she pretty calm?
JANE PARK : Yes, she is calm except when she is angry at me. But that's not very much because I'm a good girl.
Q. The 12th hole you were 1-up and she knocks it inside of you, she was looking at a par putt, you are standing over a 12, 13-footer, what are you thinking about?
JANE PARK : That putt. Well, obviously, she was going to make it because the only short putt she missed was on that par-3 when it circled out of the hole. So I just thought I knew I had to make this because she was going to make it on top of me and that's just the way Match Play goes.
You got to make it first and put the pressure on the other girl. But she has been in this position more than I have and I think that she knows how to handle the pressure better and knows how to handle the situations better. This is all very new to me. I have never been in this kind of position. I guess I'm doing pretty okay.
Q. You are pretty comfortable with the Match Play format?
JANE PARK : Oh, yes. Yes. Sometimes you can win if you get like a double or triple, so I like that.
Q. Did you feel anymore confidence from the fact you beat her last week head-to-head, you played with her in the final round and you came out on top of here?
JANE PARK : Any confidence?
Q. Anymore confidence playing with her today knowing that you had beaten her last week at Betsy Ross ?
JANE PARK : Last week was past. Anything that happened this week. She is a hot player. When she is on she is really on. And I didn't think about anything that I did last week or that I beat her. It was just present time. I didn't think about last week. I just thought that I have to again this week.
RHONDA GLENN : What do you know about Virada ?
JANE PARK : What do I know about her? Not very much. I just know that she is an awesome college golfer and she is obviously an awesome player overall. I say hi and bye to her. But I'm not, you know, like close, close with her. I'm closer with Paula than I am with Virada .
Q. Obviously you played with Paula a lot more than Virada ?
JANE PARK : I didn't play Junior Golf with Virada . I think she was gone before I was old enough to play Junior Golf .
Q. She was older than you, too?
JANE PARK : I know she won a lot of Junior Golf tournaments. Did she win any college tournaments?
Q. NCAA ?
JANE PARK : Oh my God.
Q. He was joking. (Laughter.) She beat Lorena in the NCAA to win it?
RHONDA GLENN : What will you do to prepare to win?
JANE PARK : Get some sleep which I really, really need. Just play like I have been playing the whole week. I have been playing very solid.
Does anybody know how many birdies I had this week?
Q. 6 today. They have it on the internet, you can look on the scorecards?
JANE PARK : Stay away from the bogeys the best I can, make the pars and when the birdies come just capitalize there.
Q. Obviously Virada does have a lot of experience, she is older and has been in this tournament a couple of times, does that put you at a disadvantage at all or do you not worry about that?
JANE PARK : She has more experience than I do. I guess that can be an advantage to her. But if I just stick to my game, don't think about that and just play like I have been playing this week I think I will be fine.
Q. What do you like to do besides play golf, do you have hobbies, interests?
JANE PARK : I don't have any other hobbies.
Q. You just play golf?
JANE PARK : I just play golf.
Q. 18 hours a day and sleep the rest of the time?
JANE PARK : I eat and sleep, too. I guess you can say if I am not playing golf I'm usually on the couch watching TV with some potato chips.
Q. Any particular brand?
JANE PARK : Korean snacks and I also like just regular potato chips.
Q. Do you feel like your game has gotten better? You haven't been in this situation before. You are in the third round of the Girl's Junior , quarter finals, made the cut, finals, The Open, and now this?
JANE PARK : Yes, I definitely think I have improved. The Open gave me a more positive look on the game of golf. I learned that things don't always go your way when I missed a couple of 3, 4 footers for birdie and I just learned how to stay calm. Yes, I think my game has come a long way.
Q. Was there any of the pros you played with in the practice rounds, did you pick up anything at The Open that you can put in your bag now?
JANE PARK : Practice rounds, no, not really.
Q. This is your first Women's Amateur ?
JANE PARK : Yes.
Q. Who is your instructor?
JANE PARK : My instructor, basically my dad. But I don't really have a regular professional. He is on and off. His name is Scott Wilson at the PGA of Southern California . I just took a couple of lessons from him, not a lot. I just get everything I have from my dad.
RHONDA GLENN : What kind of player were you, sir, a low handicap player?
MR. PARK : I used to play about 102.
JANE PARK : He had one hole-in-one but no one was there to see it. But I still believe him.
MR. PARK : God knows.
Q. Did you grow up in Korea ?
JANE PARK : He was born in Korea .
MR. PARK : But she is American.
JANE PARK : Everyone was definitely rooting for Paula out there today. I can feel the vibes. I can hear the shots. I'm the little oriental girl. Everyone is rooting for Paula .
RHONDA GLENN : You are the little American girl.
JANE PARK : Oriental/American.
Q. How does that make you feel?
JANE PARK : How does that make you feel? I guess I'm representing Korea and America at the same time. It makes me proud. I have come a long way.
MR. PARK : More American side.
JANE PARK : More American.
Q. You are probably more the underdog, can you identify with that?
JANE PARK : 2 Asian girls. I don't know if they will be rooting for anybody.
I don't know. It's just up in the air right now. Am I really the underdog do you think?
RHONDA GLENN : I don't know. She is a longer hitter than Virada .
Q. Accomplishments and experience.
RHONDA GLENN : But if you make the Curtis Cup Team , that's the American team.
JANE PARK : Do I have a chance?
RHONDA GLENN : You have a good chance.
JANE PARK : You are positive?
RHONDA GLENN : I'm positive you have a real good chance.
JANE PARK : Who are the other players?
RHONDA GLENN : You name them. There are only two or three that we can point to right now.
JANE PARK : Aree .
RHONDA GLENN : She is not American.
JANE PARK : Who else?
RHONDA GLENN : Michelle Wie .
JANE PARK : Paula ?
RHONDA GLENN : All of the semifinalists are getting a good look. You have advanced further than any American in this championship.
JANE PARK : Virada is from Thailand . I am representing America .
Q. Lisa Andrews has a good chance. How many players make the team?
RHONDA GLENN : 8.
JANE PARK : Who is the captain?
RHONDA GLENN : Martha Wilkinson Kirouac . She has won it in '70.
JANE PARK : So Virada doesn't have a chance either right.
Q. No. You have to be an American citizen on the U.S. team. Has your cousin caddied for you before?
JANE PARK : Yes, he has caddied for me at The Open and 3 other U.S. Girl's Championships .
Q. So he knows your game pretty well?
JANE PARK : Oh, yes. I think it has gotten better. I think he worries a little less.
Q. Do you feel no matter what happens tomorrow it puts a good end to a pretty good summer?
JANE PARK : Oh, definitely. I think this is probably, if I do get to play in the Curtis Cup that will probably be another higher point than this. Not really, but. Yes, this would be a good thing for my summer.
Also another thing that I'm looking forward to is the Ping Junior Solheim Cup in Sweden . I think that's more fun. I'm really looking forward to that.
Q. When is that?
JANE PARK : September. We are coming back on September 11th.
RHONDA GLENN : When do you start school?
JANE PARK : Who needs school?
MR. PARK : One week.
Q. Are you a pretty good student?
JANE PARK : I'm okay. I'm 3.0.
MR. PARK : She used to be straight A, now for golf.
JANE PARK : Now it's slacking off a little bit because I have something to fall back on.
RHONDA GLENN : Any other questions?
Q. The Solheim Cup, have you already been named to that team?
JANE PARK : I was part of the inaugural team in Minnesota . I was fourth in points.
RHONDA GLENN : Thank you very much, Jane . Good luck tomorrow.
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