Beatriz Recari (Spain)
Q. Beatriz, well played. A round of 64. You said after a 65 yesterday and finishing with a bogey that you would get that course record and you did. You’re as good as your word.
Yes. I had that little knife in my heart yesterday so when I was on nine today and I had a birdie putt for seven-under I told my caddie, ‘We’re going for it, 13-under.’ I stroked in the end putt and I’m really glad.
Q. You’re putting well this week. I understand you have changed putters a few times recently. Is this one you are going to be sticking with?
Yes. I’m not going to mention the brands but I was using the same one for two years and then I changed and it was really bad. So in Wales I went to Gene Fulton on the tour van and I said ‘I need to change the putter,’ after the first round. I took this one and it’s going great.
Q. You had a wrist injury but by the looks of things it’s not causing any problems now.
I had a really good treatment and I took three weeks off. I also changed shafts in my irons to be a bit lighter because I thought that might be part of the reason it kept coming back all the time. Now I have no pain so I’m really enjoying it.
Q. You’re bound to be a bit nervous going into the final round as leader.
Not really. I think today at the start I was a little bit nervous because it was two rounds and anything could happen. I remembered what the brother of Seve Ballesteros said, that you have to win the tournament on the Saturday, so I said, “Okay, let’s do this. Remember what you did yesterday and just repeat it.”
Q. You must be full of confidence.
I’m feeling great because I feel I’ve overcome some barriers in myself. I feel really confident.
Q. Last year and this year over five rounds you have played 67, 72, 67, 66 and 64, which is 20-under-par so the average is four-under-par.
I love this course. I won’t stop saying it. I love this course.
Q. How much is a five stroke lead on Tinning. What are your thoughts for tomorrow?
I think I had a really bad experience last year in the second round when I dropped and I let my leadership go. Overcoming that today, it was very important for me and it has given me a lot of confidence for tomorrow. I’m not going to think about how many shots I have in front. I’m just going to go out there and play. Whoever is better will win.
Q. Would it be a breakthrough in your career?
My first win will be.
Q. You have won some big competitions as an amateur, so it is not a new experience?
It’s not of course, but it is totally different. This is a professional tournament and so much higher competition. I have to remember what it is to win again.
Q. From Spain you have a lot of good players, but not too many winners. It was a five year gap between the last two Spanish wins.
It’s true. Tania won this year and last year Paula was close many times. I suppose we haven’t won that many times but we are here to change it.
Q. When was the last time you won a golf tournament?
I won the French Open in 2005, the last year before I turned professional.
Q. For two days you have got the ball close to the pins. Do you think you can keep the touch?
As I said, it was very important for me today to overcome that experience from last year when I messed it up on the second round. I not only played great but improved on my score of six under which is very good and hard to beat. It’s really a mental thing; it’s how you face the round. If you go out there and can’t face the shots then you are going to lose the touch because you’re not really focused on the ball and the picture. You are so tense.
Q. Iben has her mental coach with her. Do you have a mental coach?
I can call him. No, I worked with a mental coach for many years as an amateur and currently I don’t have any. I had a mental coach since I was 11. I had a very good relationship and yesterday he called me to congratulate me. I might give him a call tonight, we’ll see, but I’m feeling great.
Q. How about the bogey you made. Why?
I just want to keep the eight-under picture for tomorrow. Yesterday was seven-under and a bogey so six-under. Today was eight-under and a bogey so seven under. Tomorrow nine under and a bogey: nine-under.
Q. As a pro, is this going to be the first time you are playing in the final group?
Yes. I played in the second to last group but this is my first time in the last group and leading.
Q. Yesterday you told us the stats. What were they today?
16 greens and 26 putts.
Q. How many fairways?
11.
Q. Iben mentioned that this course suits you because you are so straight.
I told you I love this course.
Q. The eagle, 30 metres from the pin, what was the club?
58 degree wedge. The pin was short.
Iben Tinning (Denmark)
Q. 66, 68. Was this your two best rounds this year?
I think so, the whole year.
Q. Have you had any top tens this year?
I’ve had five.
Q. 52 altogether. Are you disappointed not to have played The Solheim?
I did my best to get on the team and that’s enough for me. You can’t really expect to get an invite. Invites are quite personal for the captain. I actually commentated for the TV in Denmark and it was fun. I really enjoyed it and it was nice to see the girls playing.
Q. How pleased with your game?
I’m very pleased with my game. I’ve been working hard all year. I’m working hard on the mental part of the game and it feels like it’s getting much better. That’s pretty much what I’ve been waiting for all year, to get it all together: the swing and the mental part. I’m quite pleased so far.
Q. You probably noticed someone in front of you. Does it surprise you that scoring has been this good?
Not really. There is no wind and even though it’s a tricky golf course, it also has some short holes and a lot of birdie chances. Its Recari leading and it’s a perfect golf course for her. She hits it straight and she holes some putts so I’m not surprised she is leading.
Q. How much is five shots to make up in a round?
It’s a lot but Recari is not used to it so you never know. I’m just going to try my best; that’s the only thing I can do. She’s got a five shot lead, that’s very good. If I win tomorrow that’s fantastic. If not, I will survive.
Q. There have been a few winners with a little child. You have at one kid.
He is 3 ½ years old. He has not been travelling with me all year because I think it’s too hard for a little child to be out here. We don’t have that sort of day care. It costs money to bring him and there are too many “no’s”. He can’t go there and he has to be quiet. It’s too much and he’s a nice kid so I don’t want to ruin that. I keep him at home with his dad and we have a nice nanny.
Q. Was there a special moment?
It’s hard for me to remember because I’m trying to take one shot at a time. I had some good moments. On the par five up the hill I made a bogey but I just hit a tree. I think I’ve really recovered pretty well from there. I had some good birdie chances, some I made, some I didn’t. It was a good round for me mentally.
Q. I heard your sports psychologist is here with you.
Yes. Bjarne Lellek is here. He has been out a few times with me this year. It’s hard work but if it pays off it’s not a problem. We talk before the round and after. We analyse the golf course and what suits my game and what holes I could do better on. It’s nice to have him here.
Q. He seemed to be quite nervous.
He might be. I’m going to go to the LPGA Qualifying at the end of September and that’s our goal. That’s why he’s here. We want to practise how to work over there.
Q. You’ve been here several times before?
I’ve tried to stay away because I haven’t played well here. I played two times and if you don’t play well you don’t want to go back but this time Bjarne said “Let’s go back.”
Q. Is this the first time you will go to qualify for the LPGA Tour?
No. I’ve played many times. I played all year in 2004 and didn’t like it. I came back here but now I’m ready to face the ghosts so I’m going back to have another try for a year or something.
Johanna Westerberg (Sweden)
Q. Well played today. What was the key?
I got off to a bad start today; I bogeyed the first hole and I just felt a little bit out of it; not really comfortable, a little bit tired, almost dizzy for a while. I was just not awake so I had to fight a little bit in the beginning. I holed a really good putt on 12 to save par so that got me going a bit and then I bogeyed 13. I thought, ‘I’m back in the game again.’ Then I eagled 17 and that really turned it around. I hit a really good drive and a good second shot to two or three metres and holed a nice downhill putt. That was a really, really good hole for me. The back nine I played a lot more solid. I made a couple of putts and everything started going well again.
Q. What are your chances of winning a second LET title?
You never know. I was five shots behind in Portugal going into the last day and I managed to win that one but you never know in golf. It can change so quickly. She has been playing so well this week and if she continues like that it will be hard to catch up. It’s not over until it’s over.
Q. What made the Finnish journalists laugh so loudly?
They were asking about me and Pimpim and the baby and stuff. I can’t remember what the joke was.
Q. Can you remember the last pregnant player to win a tournament?
I think it might have been Iben Tinning. She said she played really well that year when she was pregnant. She played really well in 2005 and she must have been pregnant, at least the last part of ‘05, so she would have been pregnant when she won at least one of the tournaments.
Marianne Skarpnord (Norway)
Q. How pleased were you with the score?
I was pleased because I started off on the 10th and on 14 I made a double bogey so I was two over for the round. I was almost two over before I started. I gave myself a goal to turn it around. I made a birdie on the 17th; that was okay. Then I started to make some putts and I fixed my driver because everything was going left. That was the thing that got me into trouble. I started to get better from 17.
Q. Did that give you confidence?
Yes. I tried and tried and tried but everything was going left. I just had to hit a big fade and then it went straight.
Q. What happened on the 14th?
I snap hooked it left. I was lying just on the edge of the bunker so I had to stand in the bunker and the lie was bad. I hit a bad shot. The next one went into the short bunker and I had 15 metres to the pin from the bunker so not the easiest shot. I hit an alright shot and a putt just past the hole.
Q. What are you expecting from tomorrow?
I’m just going out there to do the same thing: have confidence, don’t rush it, be calm and wait for the putts to roll in.
Q. Last week did you practise with your coach Darren Webster-Clarke?
Yes. I had to withdraw from Wales because I was sick. Then I went home and stayed in bed for two weeks and I was so bored. Last week we did a lot of work on the swing all week. It’s not that I’m not caring about this tournament but I’m doing a lot of practise for the LPGA qualifying. I’m just trying to get the wing on track and get confidence.
Q. Do you have good memories from Finland?
I played Telia Tour here a few years ago and I really like this place. I love the course – everything besides hole 13.
Q. You won in Turku on the Telia Tour…
Yes I did. About two hours from here.
Q. How many times have you been in Finland?
This tournament three times and the Telia Tour once and I think we played the Nordic Championships here in 2000 or something when I was an amateur. I was here at the Finnish Amateur championship so I have played here a few times.
Q. Are you the only Norwegian playing now on the LET?
Yes. We had one more girl, Lill, but she quit three weeks ago. She said it to the media just before she went on vacation.
Virginie Lagoutte-Clement (France)
Q. What is it that you like about this golf course?
I love this course. I’m playing very well here. I haven’t played well all season, but I feel very good here. I try to do my best. I’m very happy with today. My putting was very good.
Q. What has been holding you back this season?
I put a lot of pressure on myself and I was very stressed. I wasn’t relaxed enough to hit good shots. I was too worried about qualifying for the Evian Masters. I wanted to win a tournament, but just making a bogey on the first hole, it was finished for me.
Q. Do you feel you can win here?
I don’t know. I will try to do my best and we will see.
