News

Friday 11th June

USA Interview - Captain Martha Kirouac, players Sarah Huarte and Liz Janangelo

Q: How did you find this morning's British weather?

HUARTE: I've played in weather like that a few times and it takes a bit of getting used to and warming up to in the first couple of holes as I did today. I warmed up on the range with the punch shot and tried to keep the ball under the wind. It's definitely not surprising. I kind of expected this.

JANANGELO: It's really what I was thinking coming here, watching golf on TV - the wind and the jackets, the rain pants. The team really do hit it a long way and we have knock-down shots. Hopefully, the wind will pick up and make for some interesting golf and for some fun shots out there.

Q: Sarah, why were you playing on your own?

HUARTE: I just chose to be out on my own, I got to hit a lot more shots. It seemed like today that everyone was doing their own thing and that's what I felt comfortable doing.

Q: Martha, tell us more about today's practice?

KIROUAC: What we tried to do on Monday was to try and block out the week, to try to do everything we had to by Thursday afternoon so that on Friday I could say to them "This is your day, to do what you need to do. You know what your practice routine is." There's a couple here that, on a regular basis, like not  to play at all on the day before, so I was trying to get the hard work done by Thursday afternoon, so we all came into Friday comfortable we could do what  we wanted. We took the opportunity to play in the higher winds today and this enticed several other people who hadn't intended going out, at least to play a few holes in the wind.

Q: Any stomach problems?

KIROUAC: None that I heard about.

Q: Tell us about yesterday's shopping.

JANANGELO: I saw a lot and I didn't spend as much I would have liked to. But that's a good thing. The dollar doesn't convert too well here but I got a bargain. This ring cost £5 and that's pretty comparable with the U.S, but we went to some stores and I just don't have that kind of money. So maybe in a couple of years on Tour we'll all have that kind of money. Now we're really running on tight budgets.

Q: Tell us about the art of captaincy.

KIROUAC: One word is "Communication." I stressed that from the beginning the first time we got together. Hopefully, when these players leave here they'll be able to say they might not agree with all the decisions made but they'll know the reason why they were made. I've been very open with them, my thought process in getting to a decision. We've done that throughout and the players have a good voice in saying what we need in being fully prepared and what we need to do in coming together as a team and a united group of eight. They'll have full understanding of why I come to a decision. That's been my approach.

Avoid the surprises. You're going to have some bumps on the road but give a person a chance to prepare for the bumps and they become minor bumps. I was lucky enough to come over in April and Maggie and I had a chance to see the course and the hotel - do all the things that are part of making this work and that took all the stress off. I knew that I needed to cover my bases. And once we got here, we were ready with the process of getting ready to play - no logistical issues to solve.

Q: How would you like to be known as a captain?

KIROUAC: I would like to be known as a captain who won. There are so many facets to being a captain. You're tough when you have to be tough, but you're nice most of the time. Hopefully, they (the players) see you that way. It's a balance.

JANANGELO: Four letters describe Martha and that's B E S T.

Q: What motivation do you have to prevent the four match-play trophies being in Europe?

KIROUAC: It's a tough question and you can't lay the responsibility at the feet of the captain alone. The most you can ask of a team is to tee it up and the best player will win. From the beginning, I took the opportunity of getting to know the players and then setting together a plan, get them prepared as much as I could and, come tomorrow, all I want to do is to let them get out
there and play.

Q: What is your strategy in the order of play?

KIROUAC: I have eight players and the hardest part is: do you rank them strongest to weakest. I asked one of the players: "Here's your assignment. By 3 o'clock get the eight players lined up, strongest to weakest. I want to see what you can do." She thought about it for a minute and said: "God, I don't know where I'd put myself on this."

We are blessed with eight tremendously talented players and that will come out in the next few days. My hardest assignment is to leave out two of these players who are all playing so well. This next couple of hours is pretty tough in choosing my selection.

My eight players are aware of the fact that the Cup is still held by the Americans and we intend that the Cup stays there. It's all about taking part in the match and having the opportunity of competing for your country.  I have not put pen to paper on the selection yet and I believe that all eight players will play tomorrow.

Q to Liz Janangelo: Are you as long as Michelle Wie?

JANANGELO. I think I am as long as her with the irons. We play different sort of shots, especially in the wind out there today, keeping it down, keeping it low, so that it won't balloon. She hit her driver not as much as I did. When she did, we were about equal.

Q: Do you use utility clubs?

JANANGELO. I believe Paula Creamer has one. I tried out one earlier this week but my five-wood is working out better in these conditions.

Q: How many woods do you have?

JANANGELO. Three. Driver, three-wood, five-wood.

Q: What's your average drive?

JANANGELO: That's a tough question to answer. Downwind here, it's pretty good though! If I can catch one, it goes 280/290 yards. Dead into the wind, it can go 240/250. It depends.

Q: Do you find these conditions difficult?

JANANGELO: No, I find them fun. You can use your imagination. Golf's about finding a solution to the problem and whoever can do it the easiest will get it right.

Q: A profile from "Golfweek" describes your "cut-throat" attitude.

JANANGELO. I learned golf from my dad and brother. Just growing up with great rivalry, always positive. My brother and his friends were rough on me when I was younger and got me well prepared for competition ahead and so I owe a lot of my success in match-play to that.

I don't know if I would describe my attitude as "cut-throat." My brother's name is John and he's 25. He works in an insurance company. He's getting married so his game's going downhill.

Q to Huarte: What's it like being the oldest member of the team?

HUARTE: It's not much different from being on a college team and being a senior, which I was last year. It's just like coming in and learning to play with all the rest. I don't see anything different. I don't see that the age gap is that big.

Q to Huarte: But 14 to 23 is quite large?

HUARTE: Yes, that's quite sizeable, I suppose. I wasn't even playing golf  when I was Michelle's age. When she's around us, she doesn't act like she's 14.

Q: Do you feel like her big sister?

HUARTE: No, not really