MCDONALD'S LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP MEDIA DAY

May 10, 2004

Annika Sorenstam

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Thanks very much. Thanks for having me.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Definitely. I think the competition in general is just getting better and get better. You know, in my particular case, I've always tried to raise my bar, trying to become a better player myself. And I think when other players do that, they all have to hunger to be No. 1. They all have the hunger to win tournaments. You just chase whoever is in front. I definitely feel that if you don't play consistently for four days, you don't win nowadays.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I still love what I do. I think that's the biggest reason why I continue to get better. I set some personal goals and I like to challenge myself. As long as you like doing that, it really comes easy and naturally.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, it's tough to say. Personally, I don't look at players and say, hey, you know, she's from so and so country or that part of the world. I look at them as players and those are the biggest -- my biggest competitors. For sure, you have Se Ri Pak winning last week, you've got Grace Park winning the first major, and those are the players that I think, right off the top of my head. But if you look back to the really younger ones, obviously Aree Song who is playing really consistently this season. And if you look even further back, even then somebody like Michelle Wie. So I think the future is very, very strong for the LPGA and obviously the competition as well, and it seems like a lot of players are just so much better when they come out on TOUR nowadays. Their swings are better, they are stronger. They are just more mentally ready, too.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I think it's a very difficult question. I do know that there is a reason why we have an age limit and that's because it's tough being out here. It's not always about how far you hit it and how well you're playing in tournaments. It's all about being ready to travel week after week, earning money for a living and being part of this world. You know, there's so much more than that, like I said, just to play. There is a reason why there is an age limit. However, I'm sure it's going to change a little bit, like you mentioned Aree Song betting an exemption and she was ready to go. I'm sure the Commissioner will have to deal with that in the next few years. I just think we need some kind of limit just to make sure that there's no kids that come out here and live in this world if they are not ready, because, like I said it's so much more than that, and I think that's just to protect themselves.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, obviously I was very excited win the McDonald's Championship, to be able to do a personal Grand Slam is obviously a dream come true, and I feel like I've had the opportunity to win up there so many times but I was never able to close the deal. So last year was really a great feeling to be able to do that. And when it comes to the PGA TOUR, I've said it all along, I'm not going to play in another PGA professional event. However, if I get an invite to a fun event like a Skins Game or something like that, I'm very up for that.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yes, well, I grew up playing at a golf club just outside Stockholm. We had great junior programs. There was a lot of juniors in my club and it was very organized, structured practice, structured tournaments and whoever got better got to compete against other clubs. And if you did well there, you had a chance to go to regionals and play with even more successful coaches and that's kind of the way I went. I was part of the Swedish program from start to finish, and I'm still involved in the Federation and still trying to help the juniors nowadays growing up.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Oh, no, on the contrary. I loved it. I mean, it was just the greatest week ever. Golf-wise, it's the best week I've ever had. But I'm not going it for that reason at all. I learned so much; it was wonderful. I just feel like if I did it again, it would never be the same, and, you know, I have a great tour to play on, so it's not like I don't have a place to perform. It just that I wanted to challenge myself for a week to see where my game would stand, and I know where it stands today. So now, I want to take that experience and learn from the Colonial and I want to take it to the LPGA. I want to win tournaments and that's what it's all about.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, first of all, the pressure, learning how to deal with pressure when I felt like everybody was watching me, that was probably the hardest thing. But then also, it gave me a lot of confidence, believe it or not. I didn't make the cut, but I learned a lot. I felt that I've got a good game and that gave me a lot of confidence.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I always want to play with somebody who is playing well, usually with good momentum. I like to play with somebody who is fast because I'm a fast player myself. I don't like to mess around. I just want to play with somebody, who goes up to the ball, makes a decision and hits a good shot.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, you can say so. I mean, you really have to look at that year, it was tough conditions a long day; it was rainy, it was wet. In the end, it got a little cold. So, you know, I remember my caddie kept telling me, "Let's keep on fighting, it's a long day today and whoever will be standing at the end will win." That's what I remember and that's what happened.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Luckily today I'm won't be practicing, but I do have a week off and what I hope to do is I work out the first few days. And then I get some practice in, and normally three or four hours, and at the end of the week I'll be playing on the golf course again. So I don't think I don't take a lot of breaks, but I just take a little bit. You have to refresh your mind and have to get away from it for a little bit.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I can tell you that I've always had so much respect for the golf course. It almost intimidated me a little bit that I had a hard time scoring. But last year, suddenly I saw the course from a different view. I was making birdies, I took advantage of some of the holes I've always had a hard time on, some of the par 3s, and I just had never really put the ball in the right places and I did that last year. And when that happens, I just felt more and more comfortable on the course. It's like I was able to handle it more better.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, that's a good question, I really don't know why it hasn't happened in women's golf. In college, I played with African-Americans, but they didn't become professional and I don't really know why. I think Tiger's success on the PGA TOUR would show that it's right there for them as well. If you're watching him, the best players in the world, they are fantastic. It's think it's just a matter of time.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Oh, yeah, that was a great experience. Obviously, first of all, playing in Sweden was a great privilege last year and to have the opportunity to play in my home country. It was such a great honor and turned out to be one of the better moments I think. It was so exciting, and the crowd, they were just so into it. The atmosphere was just so wonderful. You know, I wish had a chance to really just be the deciding factor in the trophy, but I did my share and had a wonderful time. It was really, really cool.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, first of all, she doesn't seem like she needs a lot of advice. I think she's come a long ways and she's very talented and so forth. But if I would say something, I would just acknowledge that maybe to slow down a little bit, take your time, she's very, very young and she has a lot of years ahead of her. Her future is so bright. But there's no need to hurry up. People will get their success eventually and time will tell, but you can't rush those things.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I do believe that if you play well at a place, especially if you win, the memories are wonderful, but it proves the way that you can play the golf course. That's the way I look at it. I look back at the year before and say, you know, I did this before, if I remember all the good things and all the good shots I hit, with that in mind, I just play better.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, it doesn't seem like I swing the same every time every week, every day, but thank you for the compliment. I do work a lot on my mechanics. I see my coach about eight times a year. I mean, mostly it is going back to the basics, the lineup, the grip, and my backswing. If my backswing is great, then everything else is set. But I do work on it. It might look the same, but it definitely doesn't come out the same.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I would say probably not for each and every tournament, but I do have a big drive for the majors, which are bigger than they have ever been. Like I change my focus a little bit towards them, but I do enjoy the competition and the challenge.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I just think, you know, the majors I like to win. It reinforces -- the trophy, I want to be a part of it, I've won 50 times overall, but it's a challenge to see if I can win certain tournaments, and that's what majors are meant for. That's what makes it so hard and challenging, too, because everybody is playing in it.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: My favorite golf course is actually Oakmont in Pittsburgh where we played the U.S. Open in 1992 and loved it. Haven't been back there since, but would love to do it obviously. On TOUR, of course, the Dupont Country Club is my favorite. But, you know, the way they set up the courses is always challenging. Like the one that we played last week, Kingsmill, I think is a great golf course.