Hello Wie Nation:
Ooops…so excited, I forgot to log out…
TeeShot… thanks for the kudo
Weisyfan…you’re welcome
Michelle’s post tournament interview…
Near the last, michelle describes her birdie putts…coolA lot of information about Michelle's golf game...
MICHELLE WIE, Rolex Rankings No. 40THE MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, Michelle Wie shot a 6 under par 66 today which is by three strokes her lowest round ever in the U.S. Women's Open. I counted she had 13 1‑putt greens. That must have been one of the best putting rounds you ever had.
MICHELLE WIE: I think so. I felt pretty good today. It was a really good confidence boost for the weekend. I'm just going to build on it
THE MODERATOR: And Michelle, you started out you birdied the very first hole that you played, and then you had seven birdies on the day. So you were hitting some shots pretty close to the hole, or was it mostly the putting?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I think that was the main difference from yesterday. Yesterday I had a lot of 40‑foot putts, 50‑foot putts. Today on the back 9 I had a lot of putts within 15 feet. That really helps on the golf course. It's the difference between lagging them and trying to make them. So I was putting them in good positions today.
TH
E MODERATOR: I know this is only the second round, but you must be pretty excited about shooting 66, your lowest round ever in the women's open.
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah, I'm pretty stoked to be back in contention and honestly not have to worry about the cut line. It feels pretty good. I'm looking forward to a good weekend it feels pretty good.
Q. What have you been working on that you feel like you're being rewarded for?
MICHELLE WIE: Just everything. Nothing really has changed since the beginning of this year. I just kind of kept with the same stuff and I felt like it was coming for the last couple of weeks. It's really nice to see that I kind of put it together today. Nothing really too drastic
Q. Michelle, I know you struggled with your putting earlier this season. Then you changed putters and have been working with Meg Mallon. Can you talk about the evolution over the course of the season to where it go today?
MICHELLE WIE: I went to the belly putter, the regular putter. I haven't really changed putters since earlier this year. And just been working on my confidence, really. Just ‑‑ I know my stroke is good when I look at it on the cameras or any time I put a number on it. It's perfect. So I have to trust it. And know that I'm a good putter. That's what I talked to Meg with a lot, is that I think once everyone was like what is happening with her putting, it kind of got to my head a little bit. I have to trust myself. I know I'm a good putter. I've been a good putter, and I can be.
Q. There's so much talk before this tournament about how tough this course was 14 years ago and some players have said maybe they've changed their ‑‑ had to change their philosophy because it's proven to not be as tough. Do you think that's maybe the case, that maybe people can be more aggressive than they thought they could be?
MICHELLE WIE: You know, it's a tricky thing. I think going into this week hearing that it was the highest score to win the U.S. Open, you get scared. But this is a good golf course. I think it's a golf course where you get rewarded if you hit good shots. If you don't, you get kind of screwed.
It's a U.S. Open golf course. It's not a course where you can be overly aggressive. You just have to play smart, and when you get opportunities you kind of have to take it. And par is always a good score on this golf course.
THE MODERATOR: At what point in this round did you think this may be something special? I know par is a good score, but when did you think this could be a very special round?
MICHELLE WIE: I didn't really think about it that way. I thought about it shot by shot. I didn't think about the future or the past. I try not to look at the scoreboard so much. I just had fun out there today. Just focused on every shot and tried to hit every shot the best I could.
Q. You just said you didn't look at the scoreboard much. Was there a point where you looked and saw your name on top? And what went through your mind? Because it's been a little bit of time.
MICHELLE WIE: I have to say it felt pretty good to see my name on that leaderboard. I kind of like that spot up there. So it felt really good. It felt really good to see my name up there. I'm really looking forward to starting out tomorrow with my name up there as well.
THE MODERATOR: She asked when did you see your name on the leaderboard?
MICHELLE WIE: I think pretty early on, I think.
THE MODERATOR: Your front 9?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah.
Q. Michelle, I was interested to hear you say that you worked on your confidence. It's different than working on other things physically. How do you work on that? Who helped you work on your confidence?
MICHELLE WIE: I worked quite a bit with Pia and Lynn of Vision54. We worked on a lot of different drills and stuff. And just believing in yourself. Even when you're kind of not playing well. Kind of try to look at the positives and at least bring out one positive, one good thing that you did and keep working on it.
Q. I was just going to ask, was Len (Indiscernible) here during the week at all?
MICHELLE WIE: No, unfortunately. His son James is playing a really important tournament as well, and Andy is coming from China. It was a really busy week, so we couldn't work it out.
Q. Did you feel during your warmup Tuesday or Wednesday that something like this was coming? Were things clicking?
MICHELLE WIE: You know, like I said, the last couple of weeks it started to feel good. Things were coming. My scores weren't showing up as well. But it's a work in progress. Still a long way to go.
Q. Did you seek out Meg Mallon? And why? Did she come over to you and offer some friendly advice?
MICHELLE WIE: She's like my second mother. We live about 20 minutes from each other. So...
THE MODERATOR: In Florida?
MICHELLE WIE: In Florida, yeah.
THE MODERATOR: Jupiter?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah.
Q. You seemed like you were chatting a lot with Brittany out there today. Is that part of the Pia and Lynn strategy? I know they tell the players to focus on other things.
MICHELLE WIE: Brittany and I go a long way back. So I really like playing with her a lot. We're really good friends. It wasn't like I had to try ‑‑ it wasn't really a strategy. I like Brittany and Luke and I have a lot of fun playing with them.
THE MODERATOR: You were Curtis Cup teammates, right? Isn't that where you first got to know each other?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah.
THE MODERATOR: Isn't that where you first got to know each other?
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah.
Q. Michelle, a lot of people in this room have no idea what it's like to have so much attention like you did at an early age. Have you thought about that and how it's kind of made you who you are today?
MICHELLE WIE: I didn't really think about it too much. I'm really grateful for all the opportunities that I have had and all the accomplishments I did when I was younger. But I can't really live in the past. What I did is what I did, and I'm really looking forward to what I'm going to do tomorrow and Sunday and the future, really
Q. Michelle, you had a couple of chances to win this championship back in '05 and '06. I'm sure it probably seems a little bit ago. What do you remember from those weeks at Cherry Hills and Newport?
MICHELLE WIE: Just the fans. The whole U.S. Open feeling. The fact that you're in contention to have a chance to win the U.S. Open is a big deal. I'm so grateful I have that chance right now. I'm really looking forward to seeing the crowds tomorrow and experiencing it all again.
Q. Michelle, I heard you mention twice now that you don't have to worry about making the cut. Are you being serious? Or are you just joking? What is your goal coming in?
MICHELLE WIE: My goal coming in was to keep in contention. That was really just a nice side factor, that I don't have to worry about it.
Coming into this week, I didn't really think about, you know, what's it called, winning or anything, from the beginning. You just ‑‑ it's a long road to Sunday, and you can't really think about that from Thursday. You have to focus on every shot and hit every shot the best you can. And that's really what I'm really trying to work on, being in the present and not really worrying about the future or the past too much.
THE MODERATOR: All right. You birdied the first hole, No. 10. Can you tell us what club you hit into the greens and about how long the putt was?
MICHELLE WIE: Like a 60‑yarder, I think. I hit a little lobby. It bounced in front of the green about 15 feet.
THE MODERATOR: And then you birdied your second hole, No. 11.
MICHELLE WIE: Sand wedge to about 4 feet.
THE MODERATOR: The 14th hole, par‑4, you birdied.
MICHELLE WIE: 52 to ‑‑ 52 degree to about 9 feet, 10 feet.
THE MODERATOR: And No. 15, par‑4.
MICHELLE WIE: Pitching wedge to about 15 feet.
THE MODERATOR: Then going to the front 9, No. 1.
MICHELLE WIE: Pitching wedge to about 12.
THE MODERATOR: And then you bogeyed No. 2. It was your only bogey of the day. How did that happen?
MICHELLE WIE: I hit a great drive. I kind of leaked my 3‑hybrid to the right. It was kind of like longer rough. It looked like it wasn't going to go. So I kind of hit a big flop shot, went over the green and did a make‑up again.
THE MODERATOR: Then a birdie on No. 4.
MICHELLE WIE: Gab wedge to about 3 feet..
THE MODERATOR: And a birdie on No. 6.
MICHELLE WIE: 6‑iron to just off the green, about 35 feet.
THE MODERATOR: You hit a lot of wedges today.
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah
THE MODERATOR: Various 52 degree, 56 degree, gap wedge, pitching wedge, sand wedge. And I heard you say you hit one 6‑iron. How many holes demand more than a wedge from you?
MICHELLE WIE: It depends. With the way they're moving the tee boxes up‑and‑down, some holes can be really long or some holes they can make it really short. So today I felt like some of the tee boxes were up. And it's firming up. The golf course is definitely firming up.
THE MODERATOR: So your tee shots are bounding a long way as well as carrying a long way.
MICHELLE WIE: Yeah.
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