back in high school …
I lettered in boys' varsity golf. I wasn't trying to break down barriers, but with no women's golf program, if you wanted to compete, you joined the guys …
Did they welcome you taking a shot, or resent you as a "skirt"?
If the guys played off the championship tees, so did I. Since they outdistanced me I tried to make it up on my short game and putting, which has always been the strongest part of my game.
Is it so different here in Washington, being a young reporter among the grizzled press corps, proving your mettle?
Similarly, you just do the best work you can. Compared to many reporters here, I'm new to Washington. So it can be intimidating working around people who are so good at what they do and who know this city like the back of their hand. Fortunately for me, my colleagues at CNN are willing to lend their expertise.
As a reporter, you can't tell us your political allegiance. As a golfer, whom would you rather face on the green? Hillary Clinton or Rudy Giuliani? Barack Obama or Fred Thompson?
Why pick? Sounds like an awesome fivesome!
Complete this sentence: If life were a game of golf …
… then don't fret if you don't end up where you intended. Some of the best shots come out of the rough, the sand or from one of life's other obstacles.
OK: Notoriously press-shy Tiger Woods offers you: (a) an exclusive, hour-long interview for CNN or (b) 18 holes at Robert Trent Jones. Which do you choose?
Eighteen holes. Then I'd spend the back nine convincing him to give me an interview, too!
Speaking of courses: Congressional or Stonewall?
Stonewall. Golf can be so elitist. I can't resist a great public course.
You were born in Australia. Ever play Royal Melbourne (Black Rock), New South Wales (Sydney) or Kingston Heath (Melbourne)?
I haven't. I left Australia as a toddler and, sadly, have yet to go back.
Share your biggest hole-in-one story as a reporter.
Reporting, like golf, isn't so much about a single shot as it is about the sum of your shots. The stories that mean the most to me are the ones I've told through the eyes of people affected by them. I did stories on the one-year anniversary of Katrina, as well as on students at Virginia Tech. Both were difficult to cover, but it was satisfying to know I gave these everyday people who had suffered so much a voice.
Now tell us your dream story, the one you're still angling for …
I have one in mind. But it wouldn't be prudent to let it out of the bag, now would it?