Katherine Hull (winner)

Q. Congratulations. You must be pleased with the way you played all week.
Yes. It has been an extremely fun week. If anyone would have said to me that I would shoot four rounds in the 60s I would have been absolutely ecstatic. Hard work pays off so I’m very happy with the way that I did it.

Q. You sort of declared yourself a winner at the beginning of the week didn’t you?
Good thing I backed it up, huh? Last year I was playing pretty well. It was getting close and fortunately it all happened this week. I put four good rounds together and I knew that was what it would take. I’ve always been able to put three good rounds together and good to be able to put four rounds together. To finally do it is cool.

Q. What will this do for your confidence this year now?
This will be a huge confidence boost. In the past I haven’t always started very well so it’s nice to finish well and hopefully it can continue next week and then back to the US.

Q. You looked so calm out there. Were there any nerves that you weren’t showing?
The heart rate was a little high on the first and second hole. Obviously there is a little bit of adrenaline out there but I think that the end of last season really helped me feel comfortable with being in contention. When you are playing well you forget about what is on your mind and expectations and all of that sort of thing. You go out there and play well. Jane Crafter said to me the other day “The golf ball doesn’t remember whatever you did the day before,” so it helped keep things in perspective I guess.

Q. How much did the first birdie help to settle you down?
I was really happy with that start. Any day you’ve got a three shot lead…
To give myself that birdie on the first and a four shot cushion was a relief. Tamie got off to a good start too so I think that helped.

Q. When you play with someone like Tamie who hits the ball well does that change your mind set?
You just focus on your own game. I played a semester of college golf with Tamie and I know she hits it long. I can’t compete with her and half the other girls out here can’t either length wise but it doesn’t phase me because I know that other parts of my game are strong enough.

Q. Do you welcome the expectations as the number two Australian player?
Yes. I don’t feel it from the outside. I think I’m kind of my own biggest critic. I have to work to keep my own expectations and self pressure in check but at the same time I welcome the challenge of stepping up and seeing just how far it can take me.
There’s been a lot of work put in; it doesn’t just happen overnight when you win golf tournaments. It takes a lot of hard work. I believe I’ve got the game to do it and a great team of people around me so I think it’s possible.

Q. You’re going to get some recognition now, aren’t you?
Yes, but at the same time it is just one week of golf. It’s a long season so I’m obviously stoked that I’ve won this but there are going to be girls that are playing their lights out next week; that’s just the way it goes. It just keeps on going and the tour keeps on rolling. You try and enjoy the victories when you get them and just strive for more really.

Q. What about the Australian Open?
Yes. For me tomorrow is another day and a new tournament so I can’t just sit back and just think about it. I’m going to get my mind focused on the new tournament and get back to it. It’s going to take some hard work and I’ll hope to be in contention come the weekend.

Q. Karrie is the only one that has won the Open in the same year as the Masters. That gives you a big challenge doesn’t it?
Yes. To follow in Karrie’s footsteps would be awesome because she’s done so much and at such a young age. She has raised the bar for us Aussies. To be held in the same sentence as her is an honour. I’d love to go out there and win next week and get into the same category.

Q. Last year you were the hottest thing since the good lord invented chilli peppers. Do you want to talk about what it means to prove that you’re at that level again?
In a way I was unsure if I would be able to come out and continue my form from last year. I’d had a break from tournament golf but fortunately the confidence was still high from the past season. I did some good preparation leading up to this event so I’m really pleased with the way it’s gone. It was a great start to the year and I hope to keep building on it. I can’t take it easy from here. I need to work harder to stay where I’m at and to stay competitive.

Q. Looking ahead to Singapore. Are you ready for it?
Yes. It’s a great start to the season. The HSBC in Singapore is on a great golf course and I’m looking forward to going back there. It’s one of the strongest fields in golf and it’s going to be a hard week to win but I’m looking forward to going there.

Q. What does it mean to you, winning this Masters tournament?
Well, like I said on the 18th green, I dreamt about this as a kid. It hasn’t quite sunk in yet. There are so many great names on the trophy and you walk past the framed pictures of the winners and you wish you had your picture up there. Now I’m going to be up there so I’m just stoked. I couldn’t have written the Q. story any better for this week. I’m just going to try and enjoy it and cherish the moment, I guess.

Q. What are you looking forward to about next week?
I’m looking forward to Metro. I haven’t played it before but obviously I’ve heard great things about it and we have another great field next week. I’m just hoping we’ll have some cooler weather and we’ll have a fun week of golf.

Tamie Durdin (Joint runner-up)

Q. It was not quite what you wanted but you played well.
For me, it was a win. I did not crumble. I was disappointed to make bogey up the last. Katherine played flawless all day. She made quite a few putts there on the back nine which gave her more of a gap. Considering how she played, I could not really ask for much more. I did not make many putts and she did. She is a deserved winner.

Q. Did you have butterflies when you stood on the first tee?
Yes. From the second shot on the first it was quite evident that I was nervous. I got that up and down, got the ball rolling and away I went. I hit some solid shots. I felt quite comfortable out there. I was nervous for a lot of the day but I could cope with it. It was not that they went away but they were not as loud as last year.

Q. This must give you great confidence to tackle them.
Yes. I have just started working with a new coach and all those things are new and exciting. I’ll have that in Japan in about a week and a half. It is an exciting time. I did not hit it as I would have like to today but I did a lot of good things. They (the butterflies) are always going to be there. It is a matter of coping with them and hitting golf shots when you are absolutely s….ing yourself. That’s what its all about.

Q. You hit loose drives on nine and 10 and looked a little rattled. Did you feel at that stage that it would unravel?
No. It is one of those tees where you stand and rip the crap out of it. That is what I wanted to, get it right down there. I think the last couple days I’ve had six irons in there. I thought if I could get one down there on the fairway, I could put a bit of pressure on Katherine. I blocked it. On 10 I blocked it again. It was tough bunker shot from back there. But I felt quite calm through that stretch. I thought that I had enough confidence and game to get myself through that patch. Nine, I wanted to step on one and get one down there, make birdie, maybe even eagle, and put pressure on her because she was cruising. That was my mindset. It was probably too aggressive. That’s how I like to play.

Q. Question about loss of momentum.
It is definitely a hole where you need to make birdie. Last round, last group, trying to win. It is very short par five for me. I needed to make birdie there but went for too much off the tee and leaked it right. My intentions were to make birdie.

Karrie Webb

Q. No. 7 wasn’t to be this year but you are looking to defend your Australian Open title in Melbourne next week?
I’m really looking forward to it and playing Metropolitan. I have never played there before. I have played a few Sand Belt course.

Q. Inaudible question.
I am a little disappointed. I felt really good going to the first tee. I believed that I could shoot something that would give me a chance if the wind picked up.

Q. What happened at the first hole?
I hit it into the fairway bunker. I was in there in the practice round on Tuesday. Today the sand had completely dried up. It was like Broadbeach. I tried to pick it out of there and hit the lip. I don’t know how it got to where it did. I thought it was coming back over my head. It went right and ended up in the roots of a tree. I made a six-footer for double. That was not a good start. After that there was some good and some bad.

Q. What will you take out of this week?
Even though I did not look like I putted well, I had some good feel with my putting. It was probably the best I have felt for a long time. I am hitting my line. That is, when I am not flustered after hitting it all over the place. When I am calm and in a good rhythm on the course and hitting good shots, I am putting well. If I can stop the rubbish…I don’t like to make excuses but some of that is not having played and added the scores up for two and a half months.

Q. Will you pick the minds of some of the members about the Metropolitan course?
Mikey will have a look at it tomorrow. I’ll have a day off tomorrow. He tries to talk to people around the course, the greens staff and the people in the pro shop, to see what it is all about.

Q. Inaudible question.
I don’t think so. Sometimes seeing it for the first time, you don’t see as much trouble. Sometime it is better not to know.

Q. You had played Kingston Heath before.
I played it when I was about 16. I remembered some of the holes.

Q. How did you rate your victory there last year?
I think it is up there in the top five of my memories. It was a do or die story. On the 15th green I knew I had to get at least two coming in. I had a putt to win in on the 18th. To win in a play-off the way I did was very special. To win on a world class golf course is a special memory too…When I say top five moments, I mean how I finished tournaments. In both US Opens I walked up the last with a huge lead. Those are very special wins but as far as actually finishes and golfing moments, it is in the top five.

Q. Is Australian women’s golf in a healthy state at the moment?
I think so. It is really good to see the young players up there.

Q. Question about Katherine Hull.
I think that she will play well for a number of years. I see her with here with as much confidence as I’ve ever seen. She has improved her game physically. I’ve always thought she has the build to be a great golfer but did not use her body as well as she should. She has learned to do that and she is a much better ball striker than she was even a couple of years ago. With that and a lot of confidence, she will be around the top for a while.