Women’s World Cup of Golf
Gary Player Country Club
Sun City, South Africa
Jan. 19, 2008
Second-round interviews
Ji-Yai Shin and Eun-Hee Ji, Team South Korea 61-72=133 (-11)
Birdied holes: 5, 8, 11 and 15.
Bogey: 6
Triple bogey: 17
(Through an interpreter)
Moderator: Team Korea, still tied for the lead. It could have been a little bit better but four birdies on the card today. Perhaps you could tell us about the birdies on five, eight, 11 and 15.
Ji-Yai Shin: First of all, at the fifth hole, we made a good tee shot and it was very good on the fairway. The second shot was bad. It was in the bunker so Eun-Hee Ji made a bunker shot and it was very good. It was one metre from the hole. I made a birdie putt. On the eighth hole, I hit my driver very well and the second shot was 110 yards from the pin. The second shot was very good and it was four metres from the hole. I made that birdie putt. Number 11, the par five, Eun-Hee Ji made a good driver but the ball was in the first cut and I made a good second shot. It was 30 yards from the green. Eun-Hee Ji made the second shot and it was very close, just one metre from the hole. I made the birdie putt.
On 15, a par four, Jin hit the drive and the second shot was 14 yards from the green. It was four metres from the hole and I made the birdie putt on that hole.
Q. At one point you were at 14 under with a three shot lead. Tell us what happened on 17.
Eun-Hee Ji: I was really confused about how to hit the first shot. Shin Ji-Yai told me to hit the ball in confidence and so I hit the ball in confidence but the ball was on the left of the water hazard.
Ji-Yai Shin: I thought the lie was not so bad so I just shot but it was not so good. The ball did not move too far. So Eun-Hee Ji went back to the water hazard and had one penalty shot. She shot to the green but it was just on the edge. I putted but it was too long. Then Eun-Hee Ji tried to hole the next but it failed so we three putted.
Q. So a triple bogey seven took you back to 11 under par. Can you give us your thoughts on what the target is going to be for a winning score tomorrow?
Ji-Yai Shin: Tomorrow’s game is just kike yesterday’s game. We were not satisfied with today’s game but we were satisfied with the shots and the putting. We don’t think about today’s score. We feel we can win if we shoot eight or ten under par tomorrow.
Q. Did you find that it was set up not so difficult today? Do you think that tomorrow the course could be more difficult?
Ji-Yai Shin: If the conditions are very bad tomorrow it is not only for the Korean team. It is for all the teams. We will play in confidence again and try to make a good score.
Q. Can you talk about the strategy tomorrow? Do you play your own ball as usual or is there one player playing defensively allowing the other one to attack?
Ji-Yai Shin: Our style of play is very aggressive so we will try to take the chances we have. It’s going to be good tomorrow.
Dorothy Delasin and Jennifer Rosales, Team Philippines 65-68=133 (-11)
Birdies: 8, 14, 16, 17, 18.
Bogey: 13
Moderator: Team Philippines; Dorothy and Jennifer: welcome. You had a 68 today and the best round of the day so far. Yesterday you spoke about some of you hitting it in the rough so you must have hit it pretty straight today.
Dorothy Delasin: Yeah, actually we only went in the rough once today.
Jennifer Rosales: We talk too much on the fairways so right now (laughter)
Dorothy Delasin: I was all ready today. I was hitting it well off the tees. The majority of the time Jennifer was hitting the approach shots and I was making sure that I was getting it in the fairway for her and so that’s what I did. It was really good today; we were having a good time. Actually our goal today was to shoot even par. We just clicked all day today and it was like a really smooth round.
Jennifer Rosales: We didn’t really have a tough time. I mean we had a really tough time on the par five. It was the fifth hole. That was a good par save for us. Other than that it was pretty smooth sailing.
Q. Can you just take us through the card and where you made your birdies?
Dorothy Delasin: Sure. We birdied hole eight. I hit it in the fairway and Jennifer knocked it to six feet and I made the putt. We bogeyed 13, a par three. We three putted. Then 14 we birdied. I hit the fairway; Jennifer hit it close and I made the putt. 16 is a par three. I hit the approach shot and Jennifer made the putt. And then Jennifer hit the fairway on 17, I hit the next shot and Jennifer made the putt. 18: I hit the fairway, I hit the approach shot and then Jennifer made the putt. Those were the only times I hit the approach shots. We should have switched it! (Laughter). It was pretty much a really good day. We had so much fun. There were some tough shots but we got through it and just ham and egging it again.
Q. At the moment with Korea with one hole to play they are three shots ahead. Perhaps you can give an indication of what you think the numbers will be tomorrow?
Jennifer Rosales: I think you can go low.
Dorothy Delasin: It might be, like, 25.
Jennifer Rosales: What is it today? It might be 21 or 22.
Dorothy Delasin: Low 20s.
Jennifer Rosales: It depends on what the course looks like tomorrow. There are going to be tougher pin placements probably.
Dorothy Delasin: A lot of the pin placements were right in the middle of the green which made it a little easier.
Q. What are your views of putting in foursomes? You can go for long stretches where you don’t putt.
Jennifer Rosales: It’s a bit weird because of the rhythm. You hit it then stop; hit it then stop. Pretty much she was hitting the tee shot most of the time. I only hit my driver once today.
Q. Jennifer, you are in good form. You are not feeling the effects of the wrist injury?
Jennifer Rosales: Oh no, not at all. I’m quite happy with the way my wrist is right now.
Q. Stayed out of the rough?
Dorothy Delasin: Oh yes. We made sure of that.
Q. I guess you are not going to change your tactics and take it seriously tomorrow? (Laughter). Jennifer Rosales: Tomorrow will be different. We are going to go for it.
Dorothy Delasin: We are going to go for it tomorrow. It’s not like we’re not doing it now.
Q. You were the loudest group out there: you and Canada. We could hear you laughs from about three fairways away.
Jennifer Rosales: Oh really? I think it must be the water here. We are not usually like this.
Dorothy Delasin: And the food.
Jennifer Rosales: I’ve been eating a lot of pasta.
Dorothy Delasin: I’ve been eating a lot of pasta. And ketchup. We’ve been eating a lot of ketchup. What did you put in the ketchup? (Laughter)
Q. Can we get a full transcript of this interview? Any more from the floor? No? Thank you.
Amy Hung & Yun-Jye Wei, Taiwan; 66-69=135 (-9)
Birdies: 1, 3, 11, 17
Bogey: 14
MODERATOR: Welcome team Taiwan, well played today. The best score in the foursomes so far. Perhaps, Amy, you can go through the scorecard and talk about the round?
AMY HUNG: We played very steady today and tried to hit the middle of the fairways because we knew the rough is very tough and we knew there was no way we could score if we were in the rough. We had four birdies today and one bogey. We started the first hole, one birdie. It was an eight-foot birdie. Yun-Jye had a very good wedge, so it was a nice beginning. Number three, we had a 20-footer for birdie. It was a par-3, so we started at 2-under already. The back nine, number 11, Yun-Jye had a very nice approach shot and we had a tap-in for birdie. Number 14, we had a little bit of trouble—the only rough we were in, probably the thickest rough we had been in. That was a par-4 and we got on the green in four shots and we had a three-foot putt for bogey. On 17, I hit a rescue for the second shot and it was a tap-in birdie.
On 18, we had to come in before we finished the round. Number 18, we par.
Q. Whether it’s foursomes or best-ball, the key to this golf course is hitting the fairway. Was 14 the only one you missed?
AMY HUNG: Yes.
Q. You positioned yourselves well, 9-under-par. We’re still waiting to see what Korea will do, but what are the goals for tomorrow?
AMY HUNG: Tomorrow is better-ball, which we did yesterday. We think we will do very well. Me and Yun-Jye have been partners a long time, we practice together and we know each other very well, so I’m sure we can do very well tomorrow.
Q. We didn’t get to speak to you yesterday. Was you were disappointed in anything yesterday that you could have done better?
AMY HUNG: We missed a couple birdie chances that were near the hole, but didn’t go in. But it happens; there’s no perfect golf.
Q. Amy, on the third, you spoke of the birdie. Who putted it?
AMY HUNG: Yun-Jye … no, me?
YUN-JYE WEI: I hit a rescue straight at the pin and it was just over the pin, so it was a downhill putt and she made it. We read the line together and she got the speed.
AMY HUNG: I teed off the even numbers, she teed off the odds.
Q. How many women professional golfers are there in Taiwan?
AMY HUNG: 50. But we have a lot of younger players coming up. This year we will have five players in the United States (LPGA) and we have four in Japan (JLPGA) who have been playing in Japan for six years already.
YUN-JYE WEI: I finished eighth in 2006.
AMY HUNG: She is a very good player in Japan. She has won four tournaments in Japan and has been always been recognized in the top-30 for a long time. She has been the best (Taiwanese) player in Japan for a long time. She has tried to come to the States …
YUN-JYE WEI: I did try in 2000, but I was conditional (non-exempt), so I just played a couple tournaments.
AMY HUNG: The flights are long and she feels more comfortable on the Japanese tour.
Q. If Korea is four strokes ahead going into tomorrow, what do you need to shoot in the better-ball to take the lead?
AMY HUNG: Probably 8-under.
YUN-JYE WEI: I think if we play our best and make more birdies. This course is like, if you miss a shot, it’s kind of tough to get out of the rough. I think we have a chance tomorrow.
AMY HUNG: I have played with the Korea players in the Lexus Cup. I know they are very steady and they play very well, very consistent, so all the best for them as well. We are good friends, we are cheering for everybody, for each other.
Quick Quotes
Juli Inkster, United States; 65-76=141 (-3)
Q. It was a tough round out there today.
JULI INKSTER: We weren’t ham ‘n eggin’ it very well out there. We didn’t play very well. I didn’t drive the ball very well. We just never really got it into a rhythm and this is the type of format where you need to get into a rhythm. It’s kind of frustrating.
Q. Tomorrow is best-ball, again, where you’re strong players. Do you feel you can make up some ground?
JULI INKSTER: Yeah, we need to come out strong with birdies tomorrow and couple of good holes.