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RICOH WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN MEDIA CONFERENCEJuly 8, 2008Annika SorenstamDANA von LOUDA: I'd like to welcome everyone to the Annika Sorenstam Ricoh Women's British Open teleconference. A quick couple notes here about the Ricoh Women's British. The first two rounds, July 31st and August 1st, are on TNT. And the third round and the final round of the tournament will be televised on ABC on Saturday, August 2nd and Sunday August 3rd. We'd first like to give a little summary on Annika's season so far. She has had three victories this season, eight top 10 finishes, and she is second on the season Money List. She has had a very successful showing at the Ricoh Women's British Open. She has a total of six top five finishes at the Ricoh Women's British Open. In 2004, the last time this championship was played at Sunningdale Golf Course, she tied for 13th. And she is the winner of the 2003 Ricoh Women's British Open. Annika, if you could talk a little bit about the British Open and your feelings of entering the tournament this year. ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Hi, everybody. The British Open has always been I would say one of my favorite tournaments. Being a European and enjoying links courses, you know, that was kind of the major that I grew up watching. It's always had a special place in my heart. When I finally won there in 2003, it was just a special moment. It's fun that the LPGA is playing overseas. I think it's great that we have the British Open considered a major nowadays. You know, I plan my schedule around this event, always have. Go to Europe for a week before, kind of get used to the time change, get ready for the course. Like I said, it's a big tournament and I always look forward to playing in it. DANA von LOUDA: As we all know, you announced earlier this year you'll be retiring at the end of the season. This will be your final Ricoh Women's British Open. Talk about this being your final showing at the event. ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, I'm sure it will be quite emotional, just knowing that it will be the last one. But I'm also very competitive and I'm also trying to finish this season on a high note, really trying to be competitive in every event. It's hard to put the emotions in at the same time as I'm trying to compete. I will reflect by the end of the week and just take in all the memories I have. It's been a great tournament. It will be a tough good-bye. But it's a decision I made. I'm sticking to it and I'm excited about the future. DANA von LOUDA: As we said, in 2004 you tied for 13th at Sunningdale. Can you talk a little bit about the course. ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, I mean, it's not as typical links as you would think going over there. It's got an unusual start with par 5s in the beginning. Like any major championship, they set it up, it's a long golf course, puts a premium on your approach shots. Again, you need to have some touch around those greens. The conditions always vary. I mean, I played there as an amateur, I played there as a professional, and I've played through some tough conditions. Last time we were there, I believe it was very, very hot. If it's very hot, it will be very bouncy. That puts another element into how you should play the course. But I enjoy it. It's a great golf course. DANA von LOUDA: Thank you. We'll now open it up to questions. Q. You said you're not going to play any more majors. If you should win this tournament, would you return as the defending champion? We've heard athletes say they're not going to play any more. Michael Jordan said once he was 99.9% sure he was retired, and came back four years later. At your retirement announcement, you didn't say retirement, you said you were stepping away. Is there any way that you would consider coming back and playing in some other major championships? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I'm definitely stepping away from the game by the end of this season. What I mean by that is I won't be competing for several years. If it will be three, four, five, six, maybe for the rest of my life, I'm not really sure. But I am definitely stepping away. Hopefully I win the British Open. But I have no plans of coming back defending any of my titles next year. It's just a plan I have. No disrespect to any tournament. I'm giving it all this year and then I'm done. Who knows, if I get the urge again to play in six years, that would be a different story. But I do know it's going to be harder to come back after a long break and also being a little older and having another generation to catch. But, I mean, I'm not closing the door a hundred percent, but I am for sure going away now. Q. You've won three times this year. Obviously you're the greatest player of all time in women's golf. How do you feel your game is right now as opposed to when you were at your very best? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: You know, I feel very good about my game. It's not at the very top as it was probably four, five years ago. But I've been very steady this season. For me to come back from an injury I had last year, that was a big thing for me. You know, it's a comeback to get back to the top. It was a challenge for me. I've never been injured before and all of a sudden you're starting from scratch. So I'm obviously very glad I was able to come back. And now I just feel like I can leave the game on my terms because of that. Q. Three of the last seven women's majors have been won by teenagers. Is that a fluke, a trend? If it's a trend, can you give me a couple reasons why? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Good question. I mean, when it happens that often, I wouldn't say it's a fluke. The reason why this is happening, I mean, we are seeing a different generation joining the tour. Several of the players don't play college any more. A lot of these players are from overseas, where I don't even know they know what college experience is all about. They get introduced to the game earlier. They get introduced to coaches earlier. I just think they bloom earlier. That's why I think we see them at this age. Teenagers, I mean, that was unheard of before. Here and there maybe, but not on such a regular basis. Q. That's changed since Lorena. She's 27 and went to college. There's a whole different wave of players coming in now. ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Absolutely. You're seeing it's changing. Now they're dedicating themselves to golf early. It's almost like it's a job sooner rather than later after you finish your teenage years. Q. Do you see much fear in their eyes the times you've been paired with 18, 19, 20-year-olds? Do they look at you just like another victim to be? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I'm not really sure. I do see a change in the way they play. We can see that in several of the previous winners. They don't show maybe the nerves that you would expect. They don't crumble down the stretch, which you see at other championships, when you have maybe more of a veteran when you know what it means to win a major. Look at some of the young Americans, it takes them a while to win because it means so much. It's almost like you look at these Asians, and Koreans especially, they're very strong mentally. If they play well, they play well through the whole tournament and then they win. I don't know if that makes sense, but that's what it looks like when watching on TV. Q. What you're saying is being naive can work to your advantage if you don't have the whole grand scheme getting in your head? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Absolutely. Q. Why do you think it might be that so many great athletes, we see this trend, they have such a hard time stepping away for good? Somebody mentioned earlier Michael Jordan. What do you think the main reason is? There's so much at stake when you come back and you're not in the same form you used to be. ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I think because you live your sport and you've done it for so long and you're such a competitor, it's tough to leave something you enjoy and that's been filling your life for all these years. And then, you know, it's hard work to be at the top. You look for a break and then you realize you miss it. That would be my answer to that. Sometimes when you've been at the top, you've been invincible at times, it feels like I can do it again. You just believe. There's a lot of confidence in you. It takes a lot for that to kind of disappear. I can see how you get the urge to want to come back thinking, I can do this again. Q. Five years from now, do you think you'll still feel invincible? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I don't know. I mean, obviously this year I'm not as competitive. Even though I'm competitive, I'm not out there every week. You just realize what it takes to be at the top. You need to live and breathe golf to stay there. I think you have to be realistic. I'm seeing that. Some of these young players, I remember myself when I was starting out, that's all I did. All I did was focus on golf. Then it's easier. But when you get a little older, you have other priorities. You start thinking about family and so forth. You can't just commit a hundred percent. And if you can't do that, it's tough to be at the top. It's a fine balance of mentally knowing and then also thinking realistically what you can do. Q. I missed what you were saying about Sunningdale itself. Could you repeat your feelings for the course, how you feel it fits your game. ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, I like the course. It's not as I would say linksy as you would think of going over to England or Scotland to play. But the setup is good. It's quite long. It's a variation of holes there. I remember some par 4s that are a little shorter, maybe you can even drive a few, and then some that are long. So a good variety of holes. A good start with two par 5's. I played there before the previous Open as an amateur and I know the conditions can vary a lot. It can be very firm and very bouncy, which obviously then you have to adjust your game to that. And then you never know England, it can be rainy, then you have a soft course, and it would make it very tough. Q. Your own course design, obviously you're going to be stepping that up a bit. I saw the course in China. ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, I mean, obviously I'm thrilled about the opportunity to design golf courses. It's a chance for me to express my feelings about golf and kind of share some of the experiences I have and some of the passion I have. When you build a golf course, it will be there hopefully forever. So it's about creating an experience for other golfers. My goal is to create a course that can take beginners, can take daily golfers, and obviously scratch players and professionals, and they can all enjoy the golf course. It is tricky to be able to put everything in play depending on all the different tees and the skill level. The last 20 years I've been traveling playing golf, I've seen a lot of courses, picked up a lot of ideas here and there. Me personally, there's nothing better than when you play a great golf course. In my opinion, a great golf course is where you use all the clubs in the bag, where you can remember the holes, and then also be challenged but not being ridiculously hard or very easy. I mean, that's my goal. I don't know if you call that my philosophy in golf course design, but those are some of the things I try to do. Q. Do you have any courses on the boards right now? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yes. The one that's going to be next to finish is in South Africa, called Euphoria Estates. I wouldn't say it's a links course, but it's a little bit of a links because of the terrain they have there. It's going to be beautiful. We're going to have the grand opening in November. I'm excited about that golf course. Then just in drawing stages with Malaysia and we're in drawing stages with a course in Canada called Red Mountain. Then having permits in the works for a redesign in Charleston. Q. South Carolina? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Correct. DANA von LOUDA: Annika, could you quickly talk about what you'll be doing in the next couple weeks to prepare for the Ricoh Women's British Open. ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I'm just going to practice the next few days and then I'm heading out to L.A. actually for the ESPY Awards. That will be exciting. And then I'm heading over to play in the Evian Masters. Just practicing and preparing. DANA von LOUDA: I think we'll conclude this teleconference. Annika, thank you very much for calling in. ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Thank you for having me. DANA von LOUDA: Good luck at the Ricoh Women's British Open. ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Thank you. End of FastScripts |
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