MCDONALD'S LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY COCA-COLA

June 9, 2005

Annika Sorenstam

Annika, thanks for coming in and speaking with us. 4 under today, one off the lead. Can you take us over your scorecard.

(Scorecard done.)

Q. I imagine this is the way you would like to start the tournament, 4 under, one off?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I'm very pleased with my start. I thought I played very good today. Very solid, didn't make a lot of mistakes. You know, if you look back on it, I thought I had some good drives, putted really well, good speed, control on the greens. You know, the par 5s I wish I would have played a little bit better, especially here on my 17th, I had a 6 iron in, and I was looking for an eagle or something like that, and walked away with par. That was disappointing.

I made some crucial par putts when I needed to. I'm very pleased with the start.

Q. Take questions.

The 11th, your second, what did you do there, or how.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: How I did it? I hit a good drive and hit a 7 wood just to the right in the rough, and a pitching wedge, I made the putt from 13 feet.

Q. How important do you think the putt was at the first?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: That was a very important putt. It was key. The putt was at least 6 feet long. To get off to a good start like that is important. To scramble par there was key. Last week I putted really well, and to come in here and continue that streak is obviously very important.

I think that's what it's going to take when you play a course like this. Putts like 6 feet for par is going to be very important.

Q. A couple times we couldn't see very clear where we were, the way the fringe goes right into the rough, especially on one, your ball is like up against it. I'm wondering if that was the case; and B, how you play that? It looks like it was that way, too, on 6 or 7.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: You're right, it goes from green to tiny fringe to rough. Sometimes a lot of times, I would putt from there, but when you're so close you have to come in a little steeper, which means you've got to chip. That's exactly what happened to me on 1. I came in a little steeper and that's the way I would have hit it.

I'm sure there is other ways to do it. Putting is what I want to do, but you can't with the rough. Same thing with 6, I'm a foot and a half off the green, it makes it very difficult to end up on the thick rough, and then you've got to pin 6 feet from the edge, it makes it difficult to stop it. That's one of the tricky things on the golf course.

Q. It looks like you got a good break on 15. What happened on the second try?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Second shot I hit the 4 iron and there was just well, I really don't know. All of a sudden the ball shot to the right. It felt like a pretty decent swing but didn't turn out to be a good one. Then I had a pretty decent lie to the right, and had to do a flop shot up to the green. Didn't want to be too greedy and make a putt for birdie. I wasn't going to push it too much.

Q. Practice round is one thing, but when the flag drops is a little different. How did that course hold up as a championship venue?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I think it's a great golf course. Today I saw some different type of pin placements. Especially on 18, it's not maybe the greatest or longest shot in, but the pin is tucked to the left, and it makes it a little tricky. There's some other pin placements, I can remember, sitting on the ridges, and they can really toughen this golf course up. It looked like they did mow the rough today, which I was surprised, but it's still kind of thick.

Q. Your pairing, obviously, went very well today. Is that fun for you?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Definitely. All of us played very well. I probably got off to the hottest stuff. Gloria played great in the middle, and Natalie had a fantastic finish with 5 birdies. It's always fun to play with somebody who is playing well. You hope that the momentum and the breaks will kind of be contagious. It's very important. The last thing you want to do is play with someone who is struggling.

Q. What type of game, Annika, do you think it's going to take to win this?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I think I would like to continue to play the way I have. I mean, today, I'm very proud the way I played today. Very solid. I think I missed two greens. It's the rough where things can happen. You need good speed control, that type of game. I'm very happy with my start. I would like to continue with this the next three days and see what happens.

Q. What is it about this Major that maybe brings out something special in you or

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: It's not in the last two years, but, I think I'm excited to be here. You know it's a big event, and this is what I gear up for. You know, I take it very seriously, obviously, but it's just what I want. I'm trying to focus and peak my game this particular month, and that's why. I mean, that's why it's so important. I love it here and love the challenge to see if I can play well on this practice week, on this new golf course, that's what it's all about.

Q. You used to talk about a couple years ago about when you're playing well and know it, not to try to win the thing on Thursday. When did you learn to just ease your way into it, be okay with however you started, and is that where you're at right now?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I think it's taken me, you know, some hard lessons to learn that. I'm not going to say that I'm totally, you know, in control with it yet, because I still get very excited and very anxious to do well the first day. I've learned it the hard way, it's a long ways to go.

Today is probably 10 percent of the whole tournament. It's such a long ways to go, I've got to be patient. If you prepare for months and months and set high goals, the last thing to do is come to a tournament and be in my own way. That would ruin it for myself.

I told myself, you've done the preparation, feel good about it, and do what you know you can do. I'm out on the golf course, and I have a lot of mind games I have to play with myself to keep myself in control, otherwise who knows what I will do?

Q. Which kind?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I don't want to get too personal, Doug.

Q. You can trust us.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Oh, yeah. Don't tell anyone, huh? I mean, I talk to myself constantly. A lot of it is very positive thinking, and if I thought about Sunday or keep telling myself, hey, it's only Thursday, be calm. There's two people in me; one calm and one totally excited.

Q. Who won today, the calm?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: The calm won today.

Q. Is there one in the middle?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I'm not schizophrenic, but sometimes I could be on the course I think.

Q. Are you tired at all?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: No, I'm just I'm hot, I think today it was hot.

Q. There is kind of a sauna out there?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: It's totally a sauna. I like that in the winter, but not when you play golf. Same for everyone, you got to keep on drinking. My caddie keeps score how many water bottles I'm drinking. When I'm done, I've got to stay cool and get out of the heat. It definitely can be a factor. It wears on you.

Q. How many on a day like this?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Today it was five.

Q. Will the heat cause you to work out less after your round?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Probably. I'm pretty happy the way I'm swinging and putting. Right now, I want to get something to eat and maybe hit a few putts and head home. It's all about staying ready for the weekend. A lot of stuff is on my mind, and I want to be fresh.

Q. Annika, would you like to have a rivalry type deal again like maybe you had with Karrie and Se Ri Pak then?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: No, I'm pretty happy how things are. No. I mean, I come out here and play my own game, and it's very challenging for me to be out here. I'm very pleased the way things are, and I wouldn't want to change it. Again, it is fun to play with someone, like today Natalie, she rolled in a putt on the last hole, and I wanted to make mine. I wanted to show her, hey, you might be younger, but I can putt too.

Q. Did the chip at 5 off that bank have anything

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, that was probably one of the shots I have been working on, a slopey lie and move the ball forward and hit the ball high and softer, definitely, yes.

Q. How much differently is this course going to play if we get no more rain the rest of the week and the fairways started running?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: If the fairway starts to dry out, I think I'm going to start hitting more forward off the tee; stop playing some of the slopes in the fairways. Yesterday and today I was playing aggressive. You're not going to get a lot of roll, but once it dries out, it can make it a lot of tougher, because there is some doglegs. Now, it's more firing, and you know it's going to sit. This is the only way I've seen it, you know. My caddy was walking the course last week, and he was trying to explain to me how I was playing. It was totally different out here today. I think you can see a lot of different types of shots. If the greens dry out, it could be tough, because you're going to have to land it in front and let it release. Now, you can fire to the pins.

Q. How many drives did you hit today?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I hit a lot of drives. I think I hit forward, so subtract it by the par 3s.

Q. Do you think someone like Natalie has to prove she has to stay with you the entire weekend?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I don't know what Natalie's mind set is. Mine is to go forward from here, continue to play my game plan. It's pretty clear and simple what I want to do. I'll just try to stay out of my own way and play the best I can.

Q. Compared to Williamsburg, how bad in your mind were you playing then and how much have you kind of hit a stride, and did that motive you?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I was working on a few things in my swing, and it just didn't work out there. I wasn't really swinging well and putting well. Now it's a month later, and I've kind of fine tuned my swing, and the speed on the greens were back. Small changes, but the results are a lot bigger.

Q. Do you have the new FT3 in the bag?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yes, I do.

Q. Okay. Thank you, Annika.

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