First day player interviews at Evian

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Joint-leader and LPGA rookie Eun-Hee Ji.

Q. What happened on your eagle on the third hole?
Ji: 9-iron from 130 yards. One bounce and in the hole.

Q. You played really well today and are currently tied for the lead.
Can you talk about your round?

Ji: Actually, all of my shots very good. My putting was doing
very good.

Q. Were you putting well today?
Ji: Yes. I make putts three or four meters. Not too long.

Christina Kim, after shooting five-under-par on the first round at Evian.

Q. You played really well on the back nine today after making the turn at even-par and finished at five-under for the day. Can you talk about your round today?
Christina: The first nine holes or so I was hitting some really good shots, but I made no putts at all. I missed a couple of not really short ones, but putts I thought were pretty important and I just got really upset and went on a barrage. I said if I want to have any chance at Solheim Cup or – there are just so many things going on right now, especially the last couple of weeks and the next coming week. I feel like if I want to have a chance at doing anything I really want to by the end of this year then I really got to start playing well. I just started hitting a lot of really great iron shots, tee shots, putts and chips. I don’t know if there are any other shots in the game (laughter). I just started hitting the ball really well all season and putting well. It is just a matter of whether or not I was putting them all together. There have been a couple of rounds where I thought I was playing really well and then you walk off the course and you are only like one-under or even par and you felt like you shot six-under. Today was a reverse I felt like I shot even, yet it was five-under. It was just a good day. It was a great group and we had a lot of fun.

Q. You have played this tournament before, can you talk about the course conditions this week?
Christina: I think there should be a lot of low scores. The only thing is this morning when I came up to the putting green there were a lot of foot prints and I was only the fourth or fifth group out. You can tell there are a lot of indentations on the greens because it has been so wet the last week or so. The greens are actually rolling a lot better than they are on the practice greens. The greens are soft so you can definitely attack the pins, but at the same time it’s playing a little bit longer. Some of the wedge shots – I spun a couple off of the green.Overall it is playing easier so there should be some really low scores here this week.

Q. Have you played well here in the past?
Christina: I did. The year that Paula (Creamer) won, 2005, I think I finished tied for fifth. I was leading after a couple of days, but like everyone else I got lapped by Paula. I’ve had a couple of good weeks here. I’ve had a lot of less than stellar finishes here, too. I think five-under is probably my lowest score of the year, which is pretty sad. What a better place to do it than here.

Q. Are you getting excited about next week at St. Andrews?
Christina: Oh yeah, I am so stoked. To have the Open at the home of golf is pretty exciting. I just can’t wait to go over there and check it out and see what it’s like. I’ve never been there. It’s going to be awesome.

Kyeong Bae, who also shot a five-under-par.

Q. You had a great round today. Can you talk about your round and what helped you play so well?
Kyeong: I was really consistent with my short iron shots. I practiced really hard from last week so I think it was perfect for today. Actually, I didn’t really have good tee shots today, but I had a really good short game with my irons and that is how I made that score today. Putting also was good.

Q. What are your thoughts on the course? Is it still wet out there?
Kyeong: It is in pretty good shape. There are a couple of holes that are very similar to Korea golf courses. They are hilly and right to left.

Q. So do you think the course works well with your game?
Kyeong: Yeah I think so. The course is really simple. I felt like it was simple for me today. I really enjoyed it.

Q. Was it simple because the course works well with your game?
Kyeong: The course is pretty steady. Every hole is more like one way, right to left or left to right.

Q. Did you play here last year or is this your first time?
Kyeong: No. This is my first time. I played 18 on Tuesday and only played seven holes on Monday late in the afternoon.