Amanda Blumenherst

Are you happy with the way you handled yourself after yesterday’s great start?
Blumenherst: I am. Very proud of myself. I was nervous of course; I’ve never had a lead in a professional event before. It’s definitely a different experience, a different feeling. But, I handled it really well, played my game and stayed focused.

Did the rain make it tougher for you?
Blumenherst: It made it really tough. Actually the end of, like, coming around the turn is when it really started raining and wind kind of not really predictable either. So it was tough but stayed focused and tried to think of it as, it was part of my advantage, you know, everybody else in my group was having to face it too.

Was that the best score you could have posted in these conditions?
Blumenherst: I did, I made one mistake, I made a few mistakes, where I hit bogey but besides that I really feel I played the best as I could with this wind and the rain and the mushy fairways. I was pleased with how I played.

Amanda, your group was on the clock over the last few holes, you seemed rush the tee shot on eighth, do you think that lead to a bogey?
Blumenherst: I do, I really don’t like being put on the clock. And on the tenth…ar…the rules officials wasn’t coming and so we actually took a really long time on ten. Our whole ten. We went from being right on the tail of the group ahead of us to being two holes behind. So, we definitely had to pick it up, being on the clock is tough, because even though I don’t feel like I’m going overtime, your still consciously thinking that you could be penalised.

Being on the opposite side of the draw to the seeded groups, how do you feel you’ll go tomorrow when you’re right among the leaders?
Blumenherst: I think it’ll definitely be a different experience, having a leader board, or having one of the score bearers, having one of the and having more crowds and also playing with girls who are shooting, you know, in the lead. You know, it’s a little bit more pressure for me but I’ll lift my game for it.

So you’re feeling confident about your position?
Blumenherst: I am. I’m pleased with how I’m playing and also I’m putting well so I think I’ll keep it going for the next two days.

Amanda, would you like to see the rules officials get there quicker, so the penalty is not on you?
Blumenherst: I mean, it would have been great if they had been right there, but the way it is, especially because there are so many girls playing in this tournament. You know, it’s just the way that, that hole went for us.

Ji-Na Lim

Wonderful round, 9 under par and leading the tournament. Happy with that today?
Lim: Yes. Very happy.

What was the highlight of your game today? Putting, driving?
Lim: Some shots were bad, but I putted well and my short game was good.

Have you been here before?
Lim: Yes. This is my fourth time here.

What was your best result here previous?
Lim: It was two years ago I finished 30th and that was the best score I got.

How old are you?
Lim: 22

Have you been practising in Australia before this tournament?
Lim: I was practising in Melbourne, at Moonah Links. I have been coming here to Australia to practise every single year for four years; this is my fourth year [with a group of girls from Leadbetter Academy in Korea].

What is the difference in the last four years, why have you improved?
Lim: My short game has improved a lot from last year. That’s what I am confident about.

Why are you wearing Jack Nicklaus’ Logo?
Lim: I like Jack Nicklaus, I love him! And they pay me a lot of money!

Have you met Jack?
Lim: Yes, I met him in Korea two years ago.

Why was he in Korea?
Lim: I didn’t play with him. He was on a business trip, designing a course.

Do you want to get onto the USLPGA?
Lim: Yes, I’m planning to go to the US, probably next year.

Back to Jack Nicklaus, was she in love with him before she met him of after she met him?
Lim: I envied him for while, but after I met him I started to love him!

Does he know you’re a good player?
Lim: He wrote a letter to her when she won the tournament in Korea.

What did the letter say?
Lim: He would like to see me in the US in a short period.

Was that when she won in September last year that he wrote the letter?
Lim: Her first victory was in 2007, her second win was last year.

Are you a Seoul sister, Se Ri Pak etc?
Lim: I’m not yet a Seoul sister. [Not yet in] that society.

You say you’ve been here four times; is it four times to this tournament or just to practise?
Lim: Practise and for the tournament. It is the fourth time for both, and also the fourth time the Women’s Open. For both.

Eun-Hee Ji has played very well since she left Korea for the US on the LPGA tour, do you think you could do the same?
Lim: I’m trying really hard now, and I think I could do better than her sometime in the future.

Was the Jack Nicklaus logo part of the dress or did you have it put on?
Lim: They made it for me.

Do you realise what an honour it is to have Jack Nicklaus write her a letter, a privilege?
Lim: I have that letter in a frame in my bedroom in Korea. (inaudible). It’s in English, so I looked up a [Korean-English translator] dictionary to translate it.

What about tomorrow?
Lim: Actually my conditions were not good, I didn’t get much sleep yesterday, and I never expected this score. I just want to get sleep today and I want to play well tomorrow.

How did you find the conditions today compared to yesterday, did you notice an improvement of the course?
Lim: I had a lot of passes in my short game; my shots were not good on the first day. That’s how I found out my conditions were not good.

And the actual condition of the course itself? Dryer, not so wet?
Lim: The course is not good, and that forced me to focus more because of the bad conditions of the course.

Will you go and seek out Jack Nicklaus when you go to the states?
Lim: Definitely I will.

Have you ever been to America?
Lim: No, I’ve never been to the US before.

When you met Jack, did he give you any tips for your game or was it more of a social meeting?
Lim: I was a rookie when I met him first. He told me to play well. It was a short period when I met him, so I didn’t get much conversation with him.

Are you more nervous here than on the golf course?
Lim: Much more nervous here!

What is the main strength of your game? Are you a long-hitter?
Lim: Actually, it has changed. I was a long hitter. I was confident at my irons. But now it has changed that I am more confident about my short games. That is the major changed that happened. [As a result] I am confident about my play.

Are you married, or engaged?
Lim: No. I have a boyfriend, a couple.

What is your best tournament round? What is the best score you’ve had?
Lim: Eight under par, last year in Korea.

Was that when you won?
Lim: No. It was not.

What is it like to be level with Karrie Webb at this stage?
Lim: When I first started playing golf I saw Karrie on TV. I wanted to be like Karrie Webb. She is my role model, even now. When I first saw her, I was very excited. I’ve always wanted to play with her in the future.

Have you ever played with Karrie?
Lim: No, not yet. But I want to.

Tamie Durdin

What happened yesterday?
Durdin: Yesterday was such an interesting day of golf. I just, I have no idea what I was doing out there on the front nine, to be honest. I just kept hitting shots, hitting shots, the ball just kept going where I wanted it to go and all of a sudden I was seven under through nine. And then, three under through 18 thinking, I have no idea what just happened… It was just a contrast of two nines. So yeah, it was good to walk off bogey-free today. I guess, I’m at the same score as I was after nine holes yesterday.

Did yesterday’s round play on your mind at all?
Durdin: Obviously I thought a lot about it a bit last night and I spoke to my sports psychologist about it, but it was, the golf for today was about [hitting] the shot that was front of me, and just to find the kind of ball play that I wanted on the back nine yesterday.
So I got off to a good start, I was two under after three again. I’m rolling the ball pretty well on the greens; I’ve had quite a few good yardages as well so I’ve been able to score quite well. I’m happy to walk off with a bogey-free four under today to be honest.

Tamie: would you prefer to do it today’s way, bogey free to get the four under or have the highs and the lows of yesterday?
Durdin: Well trust me; shooting seven under through nine holes was cool. But, four over through the next nine was not so cool. Today’s round seemed that little bit easier, I think, it was a lot more consistent. It didn’t have the highs and the lows; it was a little more consistent round. You always want those rounds because they play easily; you get in and get out.