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MANULIFE LPGA CLASSIC

August 30, 2016

Suzann Pettersen

Cambridge, Ontario, Canada

Q. Obvious question. You're defending champion. How does it feel to be back around here?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: You know, I always love coming back to Canada. It's always great to come back to places you've done well on. Played really good here last year, had a nice battle coming down the stretch there. But I like the course. The course is in great shape again this year. So excited to get started.

Q. Do you feel like it's playing the same or similar to how it played last year?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Yeah. I think so. The greens are rolling really nice. Course is in great shape. A little bit of rough. But this course I remember from last year was, there were quite a few low scores, and typical course, we just gotta keep hunting birdies.

Q. Had a Top 10 last week and pretty strong showing at the Olympics. Do you feel like you're at a place right now where you've found something that's working for you?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Yeah. I think this is as good as it's been all year for me. It's taken a while for me to wake up. But I feel like I'm swinging the best I've done all year. My putting is getting better. I switched to old-style putter. So I feel like I'm back to some good grooves on the putting.

The Olympics is kind of where my body showed up and was excited to play. So it's always nice when you have the desire of wanting to play well and feeling good and feeling good about your game as well.

Q. So you switched to a putter that you've used in the past?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Yeah. I switched to the same head but a normal-sized grip. I played with one of those long grips, a little bit of longer putter, like a counterbalance putter. And I don't know if I lost the feel in my hands, but it was just nice to get a normal-size grip and normal-style putter back in my hands.

Q. You've had a pretty strong season but no victory yet. What do you think that you'll have to do maybe to notch a win before the season is over?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I mean around this golf course you need to go for low rounds. I remember last year I think I was 21 or 22-under par, and one by one. So I mean it just shows that it's a course where there's a lot of birdies out there.

And I think the only defense this course has is the wind. So get off to a nice fast start is always nice. But play your own game, get a good strategy and try and hole some putts.

Q. You've won both the Canadian Women's Open and this golf tournament. Is there something about Canada that agrees with you? What do you like about Canada?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I don't know. I feel the same way about Canada as I do with Asia. It's been quite good to me overall these years. I've played a lot of good golf here. I think it's nice to have the variety the way we do it here in Canada. Not always come back to the same course. I mean you've seen a lot of different courses, a lot of different looks. But I don't mind coming back to a course where you've won, obviously, the previously year. So big change from Calgary last week. That was another great golf course, a little bit cooler, now we're back in shorts and summer.

Q. This year is obviously a big year with the Solheim Cup coming up in a few months. Do you try to peak for that or does your season focus on that big event?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Well, it's Ryder Cup this year, isn't it. It's not Solheim. Solheim is next year.

Q. Is that still something on your radar for next year?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I mean for sure. I mean you have the Solheim year and then you have the Ryder Cup years. I feel like we are kind of on a little bit of a break this year. Usually how it feels and then the actual year it kind of builds up and tension is kind of -- it tightens up the closer you get.

But yeah, I'm excited to play another Solheim back on U. S. soil in a little bit over a year. It'll be fun to watch the men play the Ryder Cup and battle it out. It's always close calls who's going to win, but I think Europe has a strong chance with a lot of young players this year.

Q. What was missing from your game prior to the Olympics?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: You know, a year and a half ago I changed and started seeing Butch Harmon. I knew what I was coming from was quite good and consistent, but I felt like there was more in it for me and decided to go work with Butch. I was prepared that that could take a while to get adjusted and get comfortable and kind of do the change that we felt was needed.

The win here last year was a nice kind of backup of, yes, it was a great call. I mean when the game is good, it's really good. And it's taken me about a year and a half to kind of get comfortable week in, week out. I feel like I go through, I've gone through spells where things have been great and then there's weeks where I've been struggling more when it's really tempting to go back to what you used to do, because it's always nice to go back to old habits that has worked in the past. But you keep reminding yourself why you wanted to change. I wanted to elevate my game because I felt like there was more in it for me and better golf ahead of me if I did it.

And it's taken about almost this long for me to kind of own myself and feel comfortable about it. So I mean and through the times when it's inconsistent, it's tough. It's mentally brutal. I mean it takes a lot of effort and a lot of energy to kind of get through those weeks and kind of move on and feel like you've progressed.

But I gotta admit, I mean it's tough when it's not your best, but like I said, I'm starting to own it, and I feel more and more comfortable with it. And one thing is to be comfortable when you practice, but to go out there and trust it on the course when you feel like you kind of have to produce shots.

So the Olympics was a good kind of wakeup call for me. I mean I had -- we were tested on a great golf course, and it was fun to play, and it kind of brought the desire back out.

Q. When you returned here, did you have any memories of the course that, hey, I remember this from last year?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I mean I remember every hole like it was yesterday. I played nine holes earlier today. It's not a course I feel like I have to go out and grind to get to know. I feel like I know the lines. I feel like I had a good feel for the greens. Went back out today. The greens are really true. They break, what you see is what you get. They're rolling at a nice pace.

So I think this week try and go out and play aggressive. It sets up for it, and you have some reachable par-5s. Some of the par-4s, they move around a little bit to kind of make more exciting. So yeah, it should be a good week ahead.

Q. When you were at the Olympics, were there any athletes that you met that you were like, oh, my gosh, I just met so and so?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Sure. I mean staying in the village you kind of run into and bump into all kind of different athletes, any sport, any type.

I gotta say I went to the athletics track and field and watched Bolt the eve of his 100 meter final. To stand on the warmup track, literally right on the warmup track right next to him was quite amazing and more fun than watching him actually run the actual race because you get so close. So see kind of how they prepare and how they warm up and how they get ready is quite cool.

Q. With Nike's announcement over the last couple months or couple weeks or so, have you done anything differently or will you be having discussions with club manufacturers through the new year?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Yeah. I mean it was as surprising on us as it was on everyone else. I mean I've been with Nike for eight years. Nike is what I consider a family of mine. They have been supportive of me, I've been supportive of them.

Like I said, I had no plans in my head to change any equipment anytime soon, so I won't be rushing into looking into stuff, but obviously you want to be able to play the best equipment out there. With Nike discontinuing their producing new clubs, not being the most innovative club manufacturer, I mean you -- it almost forces you to look elsewhere.

But as of now, my current clubs are I'm very happy with it. And I might have to use the off-season to maybe test some other stuff. But I won't rush it. I think where Nike is now is probably the best stuff I've ever had, ball and clubs. So we'll see, but I mean equipment quickly gets old in this game because new stuff is developed. New technology is kind of popping up around the corner every single year so in a year's time what you have today might be old. There might be better stuff out there that might be able to help your game. So I'll be looking. But it's hard if you change clubs and balls at the same time. So try and do it progressively.

But like I said, I've been with Nike for eight years and I've never really had my eyes anywhere else. So I don't really know what's out there. So just going to try and take time to possibly look at other stuff. But like I said, no rush.

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