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KPMG WOMEN'S PGA CHAMPIONSHIPJune 10, 2015Suzann PettersenHARRISON, NEW YORK THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to the KPMG Women's PGA Championship. It's a pleasure to have in last week's winner, the Rolex ranking No. 5 player in the world, Suzann Pettersen is here. Congratulations, first of all. I think that's where we've gotta start, right? SUZANN PETTERSEN: Thank you. It the was a good week. I played solid golf from Thursday through Sunday. Made a lot of birdies. Managed to erase a lot of the mistakes I had earlier this year. Game felt pretty good. Hopefully I didn't peak one week too early. THE MODERATOR: You made a lot of birdies and that course allowed for a lot of birdies. I know it's been a little while since you got a victory on the LPGA or anywhere in the world for that matter, did that actually help in a way going into a big week like this to see the ball go in the hole on a scorable golf course, or does that make a difference to you? SUZANN PETTERSEN: The course kind of just suited my eye from the very first second I stepped on it, and it's always nice when you feel like you should shoot 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-under. I felt like I could shoot 9-under on a normal day; then you know your game is in good shape. I'm starting to putt a little better which kind of puts my low numbers in a better spot, and it's great for the confidence, yes. But I mean, I know what I've gotten so far this year. I know the work I've put in. I don't necessarily need the results to give me the confidence but I'm not going to lie. It does help. THE MODERATOR: Fifteen wins on the LPGA. What does that mean to Suzann Pettersen? SUZANN PETTERSEN: Nothing (laughter) really. I mean, 15 wins, I've been out on Tour for 15 years, that's one a year. That's not that impressive. No, I've had a great run out here. It's been some great years. I've had some mediocre years and I've had years where I've been struggling and battling injuries. I feel like I've been through it all. This last one was a little bit different. Kind of decided to kind of change a little route end of last year. Changed coach and brought old caddie back, just a new environment. Like I said, each win kind of has their own story and this one is definitely dedicated to everyone that's been around me, especially the spring, when I again kind of fell out with a little bit of an injury. Just had to believe what the doctor said was good for me to do, and that was rest, and believing that a big summer was ahead. Q. Your first victory with Butch as your coach, and also I know this place is special to him. Has he talked to you about it, and what's he told you about this place? SUZANN PETTERSEN: Yeah, for sure. It was nice to get the first win. I felt like I should have done it earlier than have to wait all the way till June. But Butch grew up playing around this place, so he has a lot of good knowledge. We talked about it. I think the major key, if you drive it well, you're going to give yourself a lot of great looks. So that's No. 1 key and that's what I did really well last week. Just try to keep up the good work off the tees. The greens are what they are. At this point they are probably a little bit softer than I anticipated with the rain they have had over the last week and the little bit we had yesterday. When I played yesterday, I felt like you could almost throw darts after the rain fell, and that obviously makes those greens a little bigger and not so fast and firm. I'm sure by the end of the week, they will be challenging enough. THE MODERATOR: When you talk about working with instructors, there's obviously what you hear and what you're able to implement on a golf course. There's also a -- so there's that fit, right; do you understand it; do you hear it. And then there's the fit of personalities. Something tells me that perhaps you and Butch might have a little fun on the range working in the process. SUZANN PETTERSEN: Yeah, our conversations are probably not to ever be recorded (laughter). But before I went to see Butch, I have always been very curious of his eye of my golf swing and kind of what he could possibly bring to the table when it comes to helping me. I was fortunate enough, because he's not -- he doesn't have too many women on his team. So I was fortunate enough for him to kind of allow me in. I must say, he's been very impressive so far. Hands on, genuinely interested in trying to make you a better player. And what I like is he's very current. He works with the best male players in the world. He's surrounded by great guys. They all have different skills. I've already had practice days with mostly all of his guys. I got to play a round of golf with Phil Mickelson which was very inspirational for me. Got to kind of pick his brain about his short game. I mean, stuff like that, you can't necessarily buy that off a teacher because I think the best advice you get out there is from the players themselves. So being on Butch's team kind of allows me to get more knowledge of not just Butch himself but also his players. Q. You mentioned last week making a lot of birdies to win the tournament. Do you expect the course to play -- or this course to play tougher, and if so, how does that kind of change your mind-set from, say, coming off a tournament like you played last week, to coming here where the winning score will probably be a little lower? SUZANN PETTERSEN: Yeah, I have no idea where the scores are going to be this week. I'm sure someone is going to go out and shoot 5- or 6-under tomorrow. Because I think at this point, this course is scorable. This is a completely different course. This is what I would say is a big course. You would need every aspect of your game. You'd have to drive it well. You have to shape it into the greens well to be able to hold the slopes, work with the slopes. And at the end of the day you've got to have a fairly good touch around these greens. Short game will come in. I'm sure you are going to miss greens. The rough isn't necessarily that thick at this point but it's quite sticky, so you can kind of get fooled a little bit by the lie. Overall, quite a different course to last week. Last week we didn't really have that much of a rough. It was playing all the par 5s last week were reachable. If you take care of misses there, you're going to hopefully have a good score at the end of the day. This place, so far from what I've experienced and kind of the notes I have, I think anything under par would be fantastic. I don't think anyone is going to get to double figures, but tomorrow is going to be a good indicator as to where this is going to go on the weekend. Q. Big golf course but also a big event. What has been the general vibe around this major, particularly from you listening to other players and what you've seen in its first year? SUZANN PETTERSEN: I mean, this to be quite honest, I think this is how our majors should be like, and I think LPGA and women's golf has to be very thankful for KPMG and The PGA of America to help stepping this up, because this is where I think our major should be. The bar is set. We have fantastic events on the schedule throughout the year, but this has definitely made a mark of: We want to be the best tournament out there. It's great to see and I think all the players are very appreciative of all the work and the support that we get. And I think combined, you're going to grow the game to a better spot. THE MODERATOR: Is this a quiet wow factor amongst players or is this a verbal chatter out there; players are talking and sharing and verbally saying, wow, this is impressive. SUZANN PETTERSEN: Well, I would think most players are a little bit wowed. I haven't talked too much about this. By the time you get here, you're down to business and you're trying to get the job, the preparation done. I'm wowed but at the same time, I feel this is what we deserve. I mean, we work as hard as the guys. I don't see a difference why we shouldn't have events like this. You can compare to tennis. There was back in the days a major difference between men and female tennis. Now at least the Slams are equal. And I think that's fair. Q. You've always been an intense competitor in the big events. How grueling mentally are these majors compared to the other events, and do you prepare differently for major championships? SUZANN PETTERSEN: I think in the past I always kind of looked a little bit different at majors. It's hard in the game of golf to try and peak. All you can do is kind of follow your schedule preparations and kind of feel like you've done your part and then at the end of the day, I mean, you don't know how you're going to feel waking up. You don't know what the conditions are going to be like. There's so many other elements that controls like the outcome of how you're going to play. The older I've got, I feel more relaxed coming into these events. I don't necessarily look at them differently. You try and go out and win every time you tee it up. Obviously it doesn't happen every week, so you've got to enjoy it when you do. But I'm pretty happy to already have two majors under my belt. I would love to add at least a couple more. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. THE MODERATOR: Okay. So I give you another chance to answer another question pointed at your career. You said 15 wins, not all that impressive, to you. 418 consecutive weeks in the Rolex Rankings Top-10, 418 consecutive weeks. What's that say about Suzann Pettersen? SUZANN PETTERSEN: I'm pretty old. (Laughter) I've been out here for a long time. I don't know, I mean, I think that equals to about seven years or so. Like I've said, I've had fantastic runs out here. I've been fortunate enough to play with some of the best players that have ever played this game. I joined the Tour when Annika was in her real prime. Webby was good then; obviously Lorena, Yani. Now it's still Inbee, Stacy and now to that list you can add Lydia. I mean, we've had great No. 1s, a good challenge and it's been a fun, well, 15 years or so, whatever I've been out here. THE MODERATOR: Let's go to our junior reporter in the front, Nicole. What's your question? Q. First, congratulations on last week? SUZANN PETTERSEN: Thank you. Q. I'm going to ask you, what surprised you the most about this course? SUZANN PETTERSEN: About this course? I was a bit surprised how undulated the greens were. And they pretty much, they are all about the same. They all slope back to front. So what I quickly learned, you can always miss short and in the front of the green and kind of give yourself a decent up-and-down opportunity for a par. I think the greens were kind of mostly surprising. THE MODERATOR: What drives you at this point? You made a comment a few moments ago that you were lucky to be on Butch's team, and I find that interesting. You're one of the most highly regarded players in golf, period, but in the female game, you're certainly among the top five most highly regarded, I would think, among media and otherwise. Do you feel like it's a favor that he took you on? SUZANN PETTERSEN: No, I don't know. But what I think we both have in common, and I don't necessarily compare my game to other female golfers. I compare my game to the guys. And I can take a lot of bull; I can take a lot of crap. I don't really take things too personally and if I did, I would probably be way out of that camp a long time ago. I feel like it makes me stronger to be around him and his staff and his players and for me it's a good comparison. Q. Until really this era, women haven't gotten to play the classic venues. Was there any perceived slight in that by the women in maybe that these places didn't think women were worthy of it, and if so, is there a great satisfaction that you have gone to St. Andrews and Pinehurst and put on some pretty good shows? SUZANN PETTERSEN: Well, like I said, I mean, if you ask the player body of the LPGA, I think we all find ourselves good enough to play venues like this. I don't think you can pinpoint a better timing of it than 2015. The growth of the game is strong. The depth of the LPGA is fantastic. And I think it was a matter of time before somebody kind of helped step it up and bring it to another level and hopefully this is just the start of the entire tour being raised one more notch. THE MODERATOR: Last question from me before we go. What drives Suzann Pettersen right now in your career? SUZANN PETTERSEN: Well, I have a lot of new goals on my mind. I feel like I've started all over. That's kind of what I needed. I felt like I needed a little bit of a kick in the butt to be honest. I didn't need anyone who was like sugarcoating me and just telling me what I've done is fantastic and I should be happy with that. I needed somebody to push me and help me challenge kind of my own skills. So I'm very motivated. I always said 2016 would be a breaking point for me. I would be happy to maybe hang the clubs on the wall after the Olympics, but at this point, I don't see why I should because I still love this game way too much, and I see myself feeling way too competitive. So I don't really have an end goal right now and I see myself playing for many, many years to go. So, I'm happy to be around. THE MODERATOR: That's good news for the KPMG Women's PGA Championship. Best of luck this week and the quest to add more victories. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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