THE SOLHEIM CUP

September 19, 2002

Dale Reid

Patty Sheehan

Q. Start to explain your selections for us, please.

PATTY SHEEHAN: Can I see a sheet of paper where they are lined up? Because I don't even remember what I put out there? Inkster and Diaz are first against Laura -- that will be a great match, absolutely.

I think every single match is going to be very interesting. What else to say? There is not a whole lot to say. Well, I put my two top point-getters in the first group, and so I figured that that was a pretty strong team, and it looks like Laura Davies and Paula Marti is an excellent pairing, and this will be exciting.

What am I supposed to say? It's going to be great.

Q. Can you sort of explain each of your pairings, why you went the way you did, paired which player with which player?

PATTY SHEEHAN: No. I just had a feeling and I went with it. They sort of have similar games. And the last pairing is a little different. I thought that was kind of an interesting one, Meg Mallon and Kelli Kuehne. Kelli Kuehne is a real fireball, and Meg is, you know, a little bit more even-keeled. So that's a little bit different.

Q. Dale, after seeing those, anything to be worried about?

DALE REID: Well, I have to admit, I did guess a couple of those pairings that Patty put down. I got the Inkster/Diaz one right.

No, I mean, I think the one interesting one I have got is Iben Tinning and Raquel Carriedo, and I just thought it was an interesting combination. I mean, obviously, we have got rookies playing, and I was trying not to put people with rookies. Obviously, Raquel has played Solheim.

And Helen and Suzann, they have both got exactly the same temperament, they are both the best of buddies, so I just thought they were a great partnership to do.

Annika, I mean, Annika, four-ball or foursome, you could put her out with Mickey Mouse, no disrespect to Carin Koch; Carin Koch is such a steady player. That's a pair that is really good and I thought is a good key match for me with two very strong players there, so I am really happy with the pairings.

Q. Did either one of you have a plan to try to play everybody tomorrow, or do you have a rotation that you sort of thought of yet?

DALE REID: Well, obviously, I am not going to disclose anything to Patty because we still got to put the four-balls in yet.

And I have to admit, I have thought about it a little bit, but I am certainly -- if I don't, it doesn't matter. I mean, Saturday to Sunday, there is a lot of matches in this tournament, so, you know, there is -- I think the good thing about it this week is that it's obvious that we have got two terrific teams there.

But I think Patty is obviously having just as hard a time as I am pairing it off, because the hardest thing is leaving four out. So it's nice to have such rich teams to pick from. It's also hard to leave four out; that's the hard part.

Q. Patty, did you put Pat and Kelly together just because of the amount of success they have had in the past?

PATTY SHEEHAN: Yes.

Q. Hard to screw that up?

PATTY SHEEHAN: They have got a great Solheim Cup record.

Q. Why do you think that is?

PATTY SHEEHAN: You know, they -- I think they were pretty good pals in college, they didn't go to college together, but they were pretty good pals in college, so they go back quite a few years. And they are good friends and they can talk to each other about anything and how they are feeling and stuff, so I think they relate to each other very well, and I think that's why they have done well.

Q. Dale, you said you saw that Juli Inkster/Laura Diaz one as being what Patty would do. How much time do you guys spend trying to guess what the other one is going to do and where they are going to put them? I mean, is that the biggest stress?

DALE REID: No, not really. It's stressful enough trying to get your own team right. I have to admit, I was trying to guess what Patty would be doing, but at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter who the other captain chooses, we still have to make our team.

I think the fun part of this is when you put the two teams together and see what the combinations are, and as far as I am concerned, I think there is four really, really good matches. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if all four of them come down 18. I hope they don't on their part, but --

Q. Patty, a guessing game?

PATTY SHEEHAN: Yeah, it's totally a guessing game, and it's -- I sort of figured that she would put a strong team out first, and she certainly did, so I wanted to counter and -- but I also feel that all four of my teams are very strong, so I felt very confident about -- I could put them just about anywhere and they would have been fine.

So it's an amazing chess game that you play with yourself, and you keep going back over your pairings time and again looking to see if there is anything you have missed or any little nuance that maybe it's a character case or a -- maybe one is a better putter than the other, or maybe one is a better driver, or whatever the case may be.

So you are constantly thinking about your pairings. And I have been doing this for a long time, months, and so -- it took a lot of thought, and this is how it came out. I mean, I have got 30 pages, like I said yesterday, I think, 30 pages of pairings, and multiple days and combinations. I think that's the most I have thought since college.

Q. Can I ask, how important is the format? (Inaudible)?

DALE REID: The opening games are important. Obviously, every game is a key match. I mean, it's nice to get off to a good start in the Solheim. You know, I mean, we still have morning/afternoon play there, but it's -- I feel, really, most of the key matches come Saturday when you are getting ready to go into the singles. I feel Friday is a warm-up, and if you are ahead on a Friday, I think it's a bonus. I think Saturday is really the key factor at the Solheim.

Q. Patty?

PATTY SHEEHAN: Every single match is important. There aren't many -- there aren't a whole lot of matches in the Solheim Cup, so every single one is very important. You know, a point is -- the first point won is always a huge psychological victory, I think, for that team, so I imagine it's very important.

Q. You both put three rookies out for tomorrow morning. How important is it to get your rookies out and get them their first match so maybe they, you know, settle down a little bit for later in the weekend?

PATTY SHEEHAN: I felt it was important. I feel that the rookies are -- since they don't really know all about the Solheim Cup yet, they don't know the little things that happen on the first tee, and songs and the chants and all the excitement that happens out there; I felt that it was important to get them out there and experience it.

DALE REID: Yeah, I agree. I mean, at the moment these rookies have come here and seen us standing there doing photo shoots, going to dinners and speeches and opening ceremonies, and I think it's important to get them out early.

I mean, there is no feeling like standing on that first tee of the Solheim Cup, and I feel you have to get them out there to get them prepared to know what's what it's all about.

MODERATOR: Any more questions, ladies and gents?

Dale and Patty, thank you very much.

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