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SOLHEIM CUP

September 12, 2019

Gleneagles, Scotland, United Kingdom

THE MODERATOR: A warm welcome to two stars of the European team, Suzann Pettersen, making her ninth appearance in the Solheim Cup, and Jodi Ewart Shadoff, making her third Solheim Cup appearance. Jodi, it's been a long week so far. Your clubs didn't arrive on time. You must be desperate to get going now.

JODI EWART SHADOFF: Yeah, Monday was very stressful, to say the least, but just glad they came and had three days of really good practice. Excited to get going.

THE MODERATOR: Did it affect your preparations or is everything --

JODI EWART SHADOFF: Obviously I would have liked to have practiced a little bit on Monday, but the weather was probably the worst it's been, so I don't feel I missed out on too much but it just raised my blood pressure a little bit for a solid 24 hours.

THE MODERATOR: Suzann, you missed out on '17, but you must be excited to get going right now.

SUZANN PETTERSEN: Yeah, very excited to be here. Obviously a lot better playing than being a vice captain, a lot less nerve-racking being in control inside the ropes. But very excited to be here obviously in Scotland, the home of golf.

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. Suzann, you sound ill. How are you feeling?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: It's just from here up, so I'm fine. But I don't know. My voice is gone. So this is as good as it gets.

Q. How is your golf game?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Well, my golf game is in great shape. Being here it feels like I never left the game, which is kind of nice. I don't know if it's the atmosphere, the energy or everything that Solheim is all about that always kind of brings out the best of all of us.

So this time around the team atmosphere has been the best I think I've ever been a part of. And it's fun to be around all these new youngsters who are so energetic and really good golfers. It's fun to see.

Q. Why is the atmosphere different?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I guess every team has different players. I just think these new youngsters on the European side have a lot of character. They've got a great golf game obviously. I think just their personalities are different, but they kind of go together so very good.

Q. Suzann, did you catch the voice from your child or has he had a sore throat or where does it come from?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I would love if I knew. My son is 100 percent healthy. So it's definitely not him. The doctor thought I might have caught it on the -- I don't know. He doesn't know.

Q. What has he given you for it?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I won't tell you. I can't remember it all.

Q. A lot of the talk around the American team has been the fact that there's so many rookies within the team. I just wonder if that is something that you guys have been discussing and how you feel about the makeup of the European team?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Well, if you ask me and you say such and such is a rookie, I don't think they are rookies on these two teams; they're all great golfers. They've all kind of proved they belong on each team.

I mean, I do remember myself being a rookie back in 2002. It was nerve-racking, yes, but that's a part of the game. But skills-wise, I mean, they're as good as anyone else. I just think the rookie tag kind of gets overused a little bit.

Q. Suzann, given how you're talking about what a great atmosphere there is around this sport how confident are you that this will be Europe's year? How confident are you that this will be Europe's year?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Well, just go outside and see all the crowds. I mean, I feel like the energy is already there. I must say yesterday was quite fantastic walking off the tenth green. You had all the school kids, very excited to be out.

And I have to say, I mean, each and every one, they're so polite. We signed everyone's hat. And I don't think I've been around a bunch of school kids in a matter of -- there were hundreds. And every single one said, thank you, can you please sign. I was, not shocked, but it's so great to see such great manners.

And I think being on home soil is big. We'll have to try to use it to our advantage.

Q. These kids you were chatting to yesterday and signing their caps and things are youngsters who you hope to inspire, particularly girls, to take up golf in the future?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Of course. That's what this is all about, isn't it?

Half the teams on both sides has players from the Junior Solheim Cup -- not just the Americans but the Europeans as well. So it kind of shows how it kind of goes.

Q. Jodi, this is your first time playing at home. How are you finding the difference?
JODI EWART SHADOFF: The crowd is amazing. Everyone is rooting for Europe. I have noticed quite a few Americans out supporting, but it's going to be a different atmosphere for me since the last two Solheim's have been in the U.S. and everyone is rooting against you there. But it's going to be really nice to have the crowd on our side.

Q. Jodi, what does it mean to you and the other players to have Suzann on your team with her experience?
JODI EWART SHADOFF: She's the most experienced on the team. She's almost like a leader, and her golf game is great right now. And just like everyone's playing great golf. And everyone's experienced, and it's just nice to have an experienced team.

Q. We know a lot about what Juli Inkster is as a captain. We've seen her twice before. We don't know what to expect from Catriona Matthew as a captain. Can you share with us a little bit what you're seeing in her and what might rub off on you guys?
JODI EWART SHADOFF: Obviously Catriona has played a lot of Solheim Cups so she knows what it's all about and she's very experienced in putting pairings together. She knows what she's doing. And I'm just personally very honored to play on her team.

And, yeah, it's been a fun week so far. And we have all the confidence in the world in her.

SUZANN PETTERSEN: Well, with Beany it's what you see is what you get. She's as natural as you could be. She's as relaxed as she looks. She's quite confident in what she's doing. But she's a -- I don't know if I would have done anything different in her shoes so far over the last two years as I got to know her a little better in this process, and she's as calm as it gets.

And that's what you see of her on the golf course as well. So she's just literally being herself, which is kind of nice for all of us. It's easy to relate. It's easy to chat with her. It's easy to kind of --

JODI EWART SHADOFF: Very approachable.

SUZANN PETTERSEN: Very approachable. Communication is, I think, the ultimate thing on a week like this. And she, -- like I said, what you see is what you get with Beany, which is very nice.

Q. Suzann, there's been some mild criticism about your selection as a wild card pick. Wonder how that's affected you personally? There's been some mild criticism about your selection as a wild card pick. I'm wondering how that's affected you personally?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Well, I'm not the captain, so I don't have to speak for that. All I have to do is show up with my golf game.

Q. But has it galvanized you, made you more determined?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: You know what? When this potential pick came up, I was very honest with the entire captain's crew, I would say. And it was a little bit hard because I was kind of a part of it as well, but I feel like I've been very honest about where I felt my game was at at the time and if it was going to be good enough on a stage like this.

And I don't know, I mean I feel honored to have been picked and I haven't really thought much more about it.

Q. There's been some fighting talk from Danielle Kang, taking shows and making rivals cry, that kind of stuff. How has that gone down in the team room?
JODI EWART SHADOFF: I think it's just extra motivation, really, for us. I don't think there will be any tears on our team, just happiness.

SUZANN PETTERSEN: And we're just going to step on their necks. (Laughter).

Q. Jodi, could you tell us a little bit about the procedure that you had for your back, and how worried were you earlier on that you might not be able to play in this?
JODI EWART SHADOFF: Yeah, it was a problem that I was -- it's plagued me since April, early April time. And obviously I tried to work through it, but I just got to the point where nothing was really working. And so I managed to see a doctor that was very experienced with athletes and, in particular, golfers.

And he basically said that I was just having some nerve pain in my lower back. And so he just -- the procedure was very simple, just keyhole. Went in and cleared up that nerve irritation, and now I'm back to 100 percent.

Q. When was it?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: About four weeks ago.

Q. With so many of the best ranked golfers in the world not coming, at the moment, from America or Europe, there's been discussion that possibly this competition should widen -- the entry criterias as to who would be eligible. Do you have any thoughts on that, either of you?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Well, I think Solheim Cup is Europe against the U.S., and that's how it's been and that's how it's going to be. And that's how I see that.

Q. Want to ask you about, I don't know if you've answered these questions earlier, about the course itself and playing the course and whether -- obviously you're not playing the course; you're playing match play. But how have you found the course itself? Would you say it's tough? Would you say it's long? Just your general feelings, really?
JODI EWART SHADOFF: I think it's a very good match play course. It's playing long because it's kind of wet. But the back nine is going to be very exciting. There's a couple of different ways to play each par-5 and reachable par-4 and it's going to be very fun.

Q. Can you get to all the par-5s?
JODI EWART SHADOFF: Me, personally, no, but I think there are a couple of players from both sides that will be able to.

Q. Suzann?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I can get to quite a few, believe it or not. But it all depends on how they set it up. It's probably more exciting to have reached the par-5s in match play than three-shot holes, if you ask me.

But the course is -- it's a great golf course. It's in great shape. The greens are -- doesn't feel like it's rained at all. So you've got wet fairways; dry, firm greens. So it's going to be fun.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

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