Women’s World Cup of Golf
Gary Player Country Club
Sun City, South Africa
Jan. 20, 2008
Final-round interview with the winning team.
Dorothy Delasin & Jennifer Rosales, Philippines 65-68-65=198 (-18)
Birdies: 1, 3, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18
Bogey: 5
MODERATOR: Team Philippines, very well played. Tell us about this round—what a fantastic round of golf, under pressure and coming from behind on the back nine.
JENNIFER ROSALES: We were kind of shaky on the front nine. I think we were trying too hard.
DOROTHY DELASIN: Yeah, but we got our groove on the back side. Jennifer birdied the first hole and third hole. I had an ‘X’ on number five. Then we had awesome pars on six, seven and nine. They were, I think, crucial pars. We could’ve bogeyed them just as easily, but we saved par. Those are big. The back side, we were like, ‘Shake it off, shake it off.’ Jen birdied 11 and 12, then we’re like, ‘Let’s get fairways and greens,’ and I went and birdied 15, 16, 17, 18. We were having fun, but I think on the front, we were pushing it and on the back, we’re like ‘Heck, win or lose, we’re going to have fun.’
Q. Jen, the first day and today, it seemed, when you guys needed crucial putts, you made them. How important is that in keeping the momentum going?
JENNIFER ROSALES: I don’t know. It seems like, this week, the hole’s gotten bigger. For some reason I love the fact that I have to make it. We both did. When we had to make putts, we both made them. It was a total team effort and I’m glad I came to play here with my partner.
Q. How important is this to kick-start the year? What are you plans from here and how much confidence are you taking out of this?
JENNIFER ROSALES: We’re just enjoying this moment.
DOROTHY DELASIN: It’s a great way to start the year. Our first event is in two and a half weeks. So, right now, we’re just taking our time.
JENNIFER ROSALES: So, hopefully it’s a great year.
DOROTHY DELASIN: No, not hopefully, it IS a great year.
JENNIFER ROSALES: Hopefully we can imitate it all year round. I don’t think it’s sinking in, yet. Maybe later.
Q. What were you thinking with a two-shot lead on 18, when you both laid up and you see that ball hit the rock and come back on the green?
DOROTHY DELASIN: Actually, I didn’t see it.
JENNIFER ROSALES: When we were walking to the 18th hole, we were trying to figure out, ‘What do we do? 3-wood? Do we just hit the fairway?’ and then my caddy handed me the driver. ‘Ok, I guess this is the plan.’ I saw (Korea’s) shot hit the rock and it came back on. That’s just golf. That’s just the way it is; you have to take it. And we told each other to hit the green and give us a chance to make birdies.
Q. How important is this going to be for golf in the Philippines and promoting the game?
DOROTHY DELASIN: It’s going to be good because we’ve never won the World Cup, even on the men’s side.
JENNIFER ROSALES: It’s a very big day for the Philippino.
DOROTHY DELASIN: For all the Philippinos around the world.
Q. Can you talk about your shot out of the rough at 18. It was a pretty accurate shot … (laughter)
DOROTHY DELASIN: I had an angel with me (laughter). I went at it with no fear. It was sitting down and it was covered. I was like, ‘Jen, you got a shot?’ and she was like ‘Yeah,’ ‘All right,’ and I went and hit. I crossed my fingers and it went through.
It was not expected—nobody expected us to win. Between Jennifer and I, we have six wins and we know how to win.
JENNIFER ROSALES: We weren’t going to go down without a fight. Korea played really well.
Q. How eventful was five?
JENNIFER ROSALES: I was like, ‘Let’s just make bogey.’
DOROTHY DELASIN: I was all over the place, I was like a beginner. (laughter) I found it. I had to take an unplayable, then I chunked it into that waste area and I looked my ball and it was in a heel print and I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’
Q. When you got into trouble, did you start to get tense about it?
DOROTHY DELASIN: I was just trying to hit solid shots and I couldn’t.
JENNIFER ROSALES: It was in my mind, but my body wouldn’t follow it.
DOROTHY DELASIN: It’s just golf. That’s why I love this game.
JENNIFER ROSALES: It’s a love-hate relationship.
Q. How did you feel about your opposition?
DOROTHY DELASIN: We just wanted to go out and play our own game. Sometimes we’d look at the board and see some countries moving up, but I couldn’t worry about them because I was worrying about how I was going to make par on six. I really didn’t pay any attention. I would look at the scoreboards a few times, but I didn’t really pay attention. I was more focused on our team playing well.
JENNIFER ROSALES: We had too much going on on the front nine, we didn’t have time to worry about the others.
Q. Were you aware, with three holes to play, barring anything dramatic that it was between you and Korea?
JENNIFER ROSALES: The last holes are tough holes because on any of them, you it’s easy to make bogeys. We hung in there. It was a team effort.
Q. That closing stretch of four birdies, was anything different, or any mental adjustments you made?
DOROTHY DELASIN: No, the timing of it, I guess. Jennifer had trouble and I stepped in. Had to man-up, I guess … or woman-up.
Q. Can you talk about 15 and starting that stretch of birdies?
I finally hit a fairway and was all excited and had a wedge shot to 15 feet; it broke a lot. I saw the line, but wanted to confirm with Jennifer. I hit it fine, it went in the hole and was like, ‘All right.’ It was a good start for a stretch of birdies.