Natalie Gulbis interview with Pam Warner on May 24, pre round in the LPGA Corning Classic 2006.

Question to Natalie Gulbis: [Pam Warner] Natalie, thanks for coming in and joining us back here at Corning.

Natalie Gulbis: Thank you for having me.

Q. You’ve played pretty well here in the past. You just got done with your pro am. Talk about being back at Corning and the course and everything.

Natalie Gulbis: The course is probably in the best shape that I’ve seen. It’s just perfect. The greens, the fairways. Everything is immaculate. They have done a phenomenal job getting it in good shape. And if we can keep this 70 degree weather for the next four days, the better.

Q. (No microphone.)

Natalie Gulbis: I thought I was playing pretty normal. It wasn’t really soft or fast. This course usually we’re used to playing in a lot of rain, a lot of weather, and it playing very soft. It’s just in really good shape.

Q. You’re pretty much a regular here in your young career. What is it about Corning that brings you back?

Natalie Gulbis: I really like the golf course. But I think what’s amazing about this event is, not only the history of the event, but just how many people really come out to support us. This whole city of Corning really embraces the LPGA and they have for many years and it’s hard not to want to come back to an area that just loves the LPGA. It’s a lot of fun for us?

Q. Looking ahead to the tournament just in your own mind, who do you see as a favorite?

Natalie Gulbis: I’m not sure exactly. Morgan Pressel, I saw her last night. I’m not sure of all the players that are in the field, but our Tour is getting more deep all the time. Whoever plays good for four days.

Q. This week there are a lot of big names that aren’t here, Annika Sorenstam, Karrie Webb, does that provide more of an opportunity, do you think?

Natalie Gulbis: They are very strong players, the top three or four players on our money list, but there are a lot of really good players out here. It just all depends how I play. It doesn’t matter who is in the field. I feel if I’m playing well, then I’m the best player; and if I’m struggling, then pretty much anybody can beat me.

Q. You’re having a pretty good year this year. What are you doing?

Natalie Gulbis: The last couple of years I just really tried to be more of a consistent player, just working on that and trying to tighten everything up. I’ll try that again this week, hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens, give myself a lot of chances for birdie.

Q. You’re still looking for that first win. What do you think needs to happen for you to get it?

Natalie Gulbis: Consistency. For me, I’ve played well in events and had really good rounds or really good maybe 70 holes out of 72, or whatever it is, but I haven’t been able to be strong for an entire event, putting that together for four rounds, three or three and a half or three and three quarters. You have to play well when somebody else is.

Q. What part of your game, putting, iron game, driving?

Natalie Gulbis: Just inconsistencies. At least in the last couple of weeks I’ve made a lot of birdies, but I’ve also made a lot of bogeys, too, so just consistent.

Q. What would it mean to win?

Natalie Gulbis: It would be great. I try every week to win an event. I’ve always loved this golf course. I’ve played well here in years past. I look forward to playing here.

Q. (No microphone.)

Natalie Gulbis: Not so much, I don’t think. It seems like every time I’ve been in the hunt I’ve played well in that position.

Q. (No microphone.)

Natalie Gulbis: I’ve been doing that for about two years. The company is out of Chicago, and they came up to me and asked me to try it and I putted well with it and I’ve still been using it.

Q. What kind of score do you think will win?

Natalie Gulbis: We were talking about that today. I think if the weather is like it is now, probably 15, somewhere in there. You can make a lot of birdies on this golf course, especially if you’re hitting your irons well and if you’re hitting fairways. But if the ball is straying a little bit, it’s tough. Because out of the trees you can’t score, out of the rough you can’t score; the rough is good.

Pam Warner: Thank you, Natalie Gulbis.

Natalie Gulbis interview on May 20, after the third round in the Sybase Classic 2006.

Question to Natalie Gulbis: Just in general, how would you assess your round?

Natalie Gulbis: Not so good. I started off okay and then just kind of made some mistakes and three putted. Just not a very clean round. I’m still working on tightening things up for tomorrow.

Q. How would you assess it in comparison to Thursday’s round, like to contrast what you thought you did well on Thursday that wasn’t working so well for you today?

Natalie Gulbis: I putted better on Thursday than I did today.

Q. Was there a reason for that perhaps? Teeing off later in the afternoon, were the greens bumpy?

Natalie Gulbis: No, these are tough greens and I putted really well on Thursday and didn’t putt quite as well. Just golf in general.

Q. How about the fact that you were coming into today’s round, you know, a great course, a tough course, a tough field and you’re in the lead. What was your mental makeup?

Natalie Gulbis: To try to get to 6 or 7 under today. I knew the conditions would be tough. I did really well on the range and just didn’t really get anything going. Every time I made a birdie, I made a bogey. And then I would make another birdie and then I made double. It was just kind of up and down.

Q. The fact that you were in the lead and looking for a nice win here and everything, did you feel any extra pressure being in the lead or not?

Natalie Gulbis: No. In between shots, yes, I was definitely pretty relaxed. I have to be able to turn on the concentration and turn it off. We’re out here for a long time.

Q. I think it was your 8th hole, which was the 17th hole. When you went under the tree to the back of the green. That third shot, what kind of lie was it and what iron did you use?

Natalie Gulbis: That chip?

Q. Yes. You saved par with a great chip.

Natalie Gulbis: Just a 7 iron bump and run. I hit a drive there, but I underestimated the wind. I should have played it out a lot more right.

Q. The wind drew it underneath the tree?

Natalie Gulbis: No, I hit it straight, but it was more into the wind.

Q. What’s the mindset tomorrow?

Natalie Gulbis: Go out and play aggressive. I’ll see my instructor on the range and have him clean up a few things and go out and have fun.

Q. What happened on 6?

Natalie Gulbis: On 6, I pushed it right into the back edge of the bunker and didn’t have a really easy bunker shot to a tight pin and then I left it in the rough. Then I hit my chip up and it went down on the other tier and I 2 putted.

Natalie Gulbis interview on May 18, after the first round in the Sybase Classic 2006.

Question to Natalie Gulbis: Can you talk about the conditions of the course, was it a factor, not a factor on your overall game?

Natalie Gulbis: Definitely got windy today. It was not crazy but it was tough. The rough is up. Some pin placements are kind of on ridges.

Q. You were 5 under on the last 11 holes. Can you talk about that run that you had there?

Natalie Gulbis: I got off to kind of a I mean, didn’t really do anything. 3 putted, missed a green, then I actually holed out on No. 8 with a wedge, and that changed my momentum and I played well on the back nine.

Q. Are you getting more and more comfortable with yourself, putting yourself in contention?

Natalie Gulbis: I think just every week you get a little bit more comfortable out here and just the experience.

Q. Does it course find of fit your eye?

Natalie Gulbis: I like this course because it plays like a major. I always like playing in majors, and it’s stuff. Players are not going to be able to shoot 62, 63 out here. I know the weather is supposed to get tough the next couple of days, so I like that.

Q. You say it plays like a major, judging by the field, it’s almost like a major field. With all of the talk about the new wave, old wave, in the middle, do you feel that a win here would validate you and basically strike a blow for the young people against the veterans or is it immaterial?

Natalie Gulbis: Immaterial. Immaterial, sorry. (Laughing).

Q. Do you think this whole thing is overblown?

Natalie Gulbis: I think it’s just so cool right now because there are exciting young players, and there’s great veteran players and we still have the No. 1 player in the world being Annika Sorenstam who is here this week.

There’s just so many cool stories happening right now with the LPGA Tour. Any week, you can have a Hall of Famer going up against a rookie because our tour is so deep now.

Q. Inaudible?

Natalie Gulbis: She’s a good friend of mine and we were in the rookie race the first year. You know how golf is. She’s a good player and I don’t think there was any question she would be back.

Q. When things were tough for her, were you 10 offer encouraging words?

Natalie Gulbis: Yeah, we’re really close and she calls me after every rounds and we look forward to seeing each other. We were pretty close our first year on Tour.

Q. The last few years, the quality of play was dramatically risen, do you attribute that to more people taking up the game and excelling at it or what do you think is the primary reason why there are more younger players coming up now and making a name for themselves as a young age?

Natalie Gulbis: Golf has been so popular the last couple of years and gotten more national exposure. It’s cool to play golf now and be a female. There’s so many more opportunities; in high school, young girls are starting to play more and more now.

Q. Can you talk us through the last four holes?

Natalie Gulbis: I hit a 20 foot eagle putt on 16 that I missed.

Then on 16, I actually fanned a 5 iron to the right and chipped in.

17, I pushed a driver right and was able to make bogey.

Q. In the rough on 16?

Natalie Gulbis: Rough.