Evian Masters Evian Masters Golf Club Evian-les-Bains, France July 28, 2006 Third-round leader interviews: Karrie Webb | Michelle Wie | Laura Davies Third-round notes>> Webb with a final-round lead. Karrie Webb has a one-shot lead heading into the final round of the Evian Masters. This is the 30 th time that Webb has entered the final round with at least a share of the lead. She has won 19 of those events, finished second seven times, third once and seventh three times. Webb has had a final-round lead once this year, as she was ahead by five strokes with 18 holes to go at the Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill. She went on to win by seven shots. Before this year, the last time Webb had a final-round lead was at the 2004 Kellogg-Keebler Classic, a 54-hole event, which she won by five. Webb getting out of the gates early. Karrie Webb is in contention for her third win of the year thanks to her brilliant play on the front nine at the Evian Masters Golf Club. Webb shot 31 (-5) on the front nine in both the first and second rounds and then carded a 32 (-4) in the third round. She has played the outward nine holes at 14-under-par for the week carding 13 birdies, one eagle and one bogey on those 27 holes. Webb has birdied the fifth hole every day and has gone birdie, eagle, birdie on the ninth hole as well. She has been impressive on the tenth hole as well, making birdie during the second and third round. For holes one through 10—which is 30 total holes—Webb is 16-under-par after three rounds. Wie in the hunt again. This year marks the third appearance by Michelle Wie in the Evian Masters. Last year, she tied with Lorena Ochoa for second place and in 2004 she tied for 33 rd. Wie enters the final round only shot behind Karrie Webb and will play in the final group with Webb and Laura Davies. Wie has one eagle during the week, 13 birdies, 36 pars and only four bogeys. Her four bogeys tie Mi Hyun Kim for the second fewest in the field, as only Se Ri Pak with three bogeys has fewer. However, both Kim and Pak each have one double bogey this week. This is Wie's 31 st appearance in an LPGA event and she has been compiling an impressive record. Wie has eight top-five finishes in her last 10 LPGA events, which includes five majors. The two events she did not finish top 10 were the 2005 U.S. Women's Open conducted by the USGA and the 2005 Samsung World Championship. Wie was the 54-hole leader of the U.S. Women's Open before finishing tied for 23 rd. She was disqualified from the Samsung World Championship for taking an illegal drop during the third round. Pak only two back, eyeing second win of 2006. Se Ri Pak's putt on 18 hung on the lip of the cup for about two seconds before falling in for a birdie and positioning the McDonald's LPGA Championship winner nicely for her second win of the year. Pak has taken advantage on holes nine and 18 this week, as she has birdied them every day. She is 6-under-par on those two holes and 10-under-par for the event. Davies looking for first win since 2001. A 15-foot eagle at the last lifted Laura Davies into contention at the Evian Masters and has her looking for her first LPGA win since the 2001 Wegmans LPGA. Davies, who has 20 career LPGA wins, has played 106 LPGA events since her last win. That margin represents the longest drought of her career. She enters the final round two shots behind Karrie Webb but a victory this week would give her another point needed (she currently has 25) toward LPGA Tour and World Golf Hall of Fame enshrinement. Twenty-seven points are needed to be eligible for entry into the LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame. Third-round leader interviews: Karrie Webb | Michelle Wie | Laura Davies Karrie Webb, 67-68-69=204 (-12) Scorecard: Hole 1, 360-yard par 4: birdie – 53-degree wedge to five feet Hole 5, 325-yard par 4: birdie – gap wedge to 30 feet Hole 7, 526-yard par 5: birdie – sand wedge to 15 feet Hole 9, 460-yard par 5: birdie – second shot over the green, chip to six inches Hole 10, 375-yard par 4: birdie – 53-degree wedge to five feet Hole 12, 412-yard par 4: double-bogey – drive out of bounds, 8-iron to 40 feet, two-putt Hole 13, 388-yard par 4: bogey – drive left, chip out of rough, sand wedge to 15 feet, two-putt Hole 18, 467-yard par 5: birdie – 5-iron into greenside bunker, sand wedge to one foot Q: Karrie, great birdie at the last to give yourself a one-shot lead heading into the final round. Can you talk about your day today? KARRIE WEBB: I got off to another good start today on the front nine. I was 4-under on the front and then birdied 10 to get to 5-under for the day. Then I struggled in the middle of the back nine again. I hit one out of bounds on 12 and made double-bogey and then hit left on 13 and made bogey. I made a few pars and then made a birdie after a really good sand save at the last after hitting a 5-iron into the right greenside bunker. Then I hot it to about a foot. Q: You had your putting down today? KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, I have putted pretty good all week actually. I felt pretty comfortable on the greens today. I either play them really well or I struggle. It was good to see some go in early on the first day, so I have felt pretty comfortable out there. Q: Do you get a match play feel out there today? KARRIE WEBB: No, there are plenty of great players out there in the groups ahead of us and it was only the third round. I was going to say it is only Saturday, but it is only Friday. It is only the third round and there is still a long way to go. There are low rounds to be shot out there, so I did not feel like it was that kind of situation. Q: Do you have a lucky charm? KARRIE WEBB: Probably the one that has been in my bag the longest is what I use to mark my ball. Q: What is it? KARRIE WEBB: It is a sterling kind of stainless steel that has my initials on it. Q: Did the heat affect you? KARRIE WEBB: It was much better today. Q: How many bottles of water did you have? KARRIE WEBB: Not as many as the last couple of days. It definitely warmed up when the sun came out. Q: So even for a Queenslander, it was hot here? KARRIE WEBB: Yeah, I think we are not used to it being this hot. Usually it is perfect here, but there are some pockets out there where there is no breeze at all. It is also a little more mountainous here then Australia, so we are walking up and down hills. Q: Do you like being in the lead going into the final round? KARRIE WEBB: It does not really bother me. I think with a one-shot lead it does not really feel like you are in the lead. There are a lot of great players behind me and you feel like you still have to attack the course as aggressively because it is not like I have a three or four shot lead. It is still anybody's tournament. Q: What do you hit on 17? KAEEIE WEBB: My 53-degree wedge unless the pin is in the back. Today, the pin was probably the toughest pin on that green. There is a tree to the short right and it is hard to get at that pin. I saw Lorena hit it short and Michelle fly the green, so I was a little bit lost but I was able to hit the front of it and make par. Michelle Wie, 69-66-70=205 (-11) Scorecard: Hole 3, 355-yard par 4: birdie – pitching wedge to 15 feet Hole 9, 460-yard par 5: birdie – 56-degree wedge to 15 feet Hole 12, 412-yard par 4: bogey – 9-iron to 35 feet, three-putt, missed three-foot par putt Hole 15, 559-yard par 5: birdie – 56-degree wedge to 15 feet Hole 17, 114-yard par 3: bogey – 56-degree wedge long, 60-degree wedge to 36 feet, two-putt Hole 18, 467-yard par 5: birdie – pitching wedge to 18 feet, two-putt Q: Michelle, another good round today, you birdied the last hole to get to 11 under, you're one back going into the final round so you'll be in the last group again tomorrow. Let's talk about your day today and then we'll take some questions. MICHELLE WIE: Well I felt like I played a lot harder than I did the past two days what with the wind coming up and the pin positions were a lot trickier, so I feel like I played very smart today and I played very solid and I felt I made putts when I had to so I feel good for tomorrow. Q: Shall we talk about 17? MICHELLE WIE: I think I become like the Hulk or something on that hole because you know how I always hit a 52, I hit a 56 today and you know I mean it was, there was no reason why it should have gone that far but I know what I would have hit if I went to the teebox, but you know I just got a bad lie for my second shot. It was just you know I felt I played it good when I hit it I felt it was going to be good, but it just kept on going. It was just a weird roll but I am not going to leave this tournament without birdying it. Q: We thought a hole in one for today was the program – before you were a long way short. We thought today would be the hole-in-one day. MICHELLE WIE: Well, yeah, but it was just very unlucky you know the teebox was very hard and I thought I hit it good I mean I didn't even hit a full 56 so it was just weird but tomorrow I'll get it. Q: What was the distance of your second shot on 18? MICHELLE WIE: I had about 140. Q: What do you eat on the course if you feel hungry? MICHELLE WIE: I eat energy bars and my mom and I make this trail mix, bananas, water, nothing too heavy. Q: Can you recall what the longest iron second shot you hit into a par four today? MICHELLE WIE: I can't really remember, maybe an eight or a seven but I can't really be sure. Q: Do you have a lucky charm in your bag? MICHELLE WIE: Well you know the stuff that I have on my bag, all the little dolls, I feel that those are lucky charms, things people have given me along the way and they have always been on my bag so I've always had them. QUICK QUOTES Laura Davies , 68-71-67=206 (-10) Q: What do you think you need to shoot tomorrow? LAURA DAVIES: Well I think if I can shoot 6 under I'll be in with a chance. Q: How do you fancy your chances tomorrow? LAURA DAVIES: I haven't done well on Sunday recently and I've been up there a few times. I did well in Switzerland and France. I didn't play badly in those two but obviously this is a slightly different league because you've got the biggest guns in the world out there so we'll see how it goes. You know, if I get off to a nice steady start, I don't need a bad start like I had yesterday and today, but I just need steady and if I can get to the back nine steady. The front nine seems to be easier from what I've seen, like Webby, but I seem to be the other way. I get to ten under on the back or nine under on the back or something. So if I can get to the back nine within a couple then I fancy my chances but it just depends. We'll see how it goes. I'll probably get to tomorrow morning and be nervous but I don't think I will because I feel really good. I'm driving it well, my irons are good, I'm putting well, and I haven't putted well last season, Q: You said they haven't gone berserk yet yesterday – would you say the same again? LAURA DAVIES: Yes, I can't understand it. I get to ten and I feel like I can relax. I mean there are a couple of tee shots you don't like on the back nine, I won't mention which ones, but if you get them away it makes the holes very easy. Q: Do you think they might get to 13? LAURA DAVIES: I mean it doesn't really matter as long as they don't get to 16, I don't want to be six behind. If I'm two, three, four behind yeah. I'm playing well and I'm trying to win tomorrow don't get me wrong. But if it doesn't quite work out this week I know I'm getting closer and closer and that's the key. I'm not struggling to make cuts at the moment I'm trying to win tournaments which is obviously what you've got to do.