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KRAFT NABISCO CHAMPIONSHIP

March 26, 2005

Annika Sorenstam

RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIFORNIA

PAUL ROVNAK: Annika, thanks for coming in and speaking with us. We appreciate your time.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Thank you.

PAUL ROVNAK: 11-under, five-shot lead. What do you do tomorrow then ?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, tomorrow I want to have a day like I did today. No, obviously I'm very happy the way I played today. It was very solid off the tee. I played some good approach shots, made clutch putts when I needed to. It's just a great day for me out there, and obviously I'm good I'm in good shape for tomorrow.

And again I'm going to keep reminding myself there's a long ways to go and don't want to take anything for granted. I'm happy the way I played so far last three days.

PAUL ROVNAK: You had a bogey-free round. Let's go over the six birdies before we take questions.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I birdied the second hole. I hit a 4-wood on the green and 2-putted from about 25 feet.

No. 3, I hit pitching wedge to eight feet.

No. 7, I hit 7-iron to three feet.

No. 11, I birdied. I hit 6-iron to 11 feet.

No. 12 I birdied. I hit pitching wedge to 12 feet.

Then 15, I hit sand wedge to six feet.

PAUL ROVNAK: You've gotten better every round, 70 69, 66, was that the plan coming in or putts just rolling in?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I like when my plan comes together. Every day is a new day, you go out there and play the best you can. You never know what it's going to give you.

The conditions today I thought they were great. A little wind here and there in the, beginning but on the back nine, just really perfect conditions. I stayed patient. You know, I had a lot of fun out there. I played aggressive when I needed to and played save when I thought it was a good time to do that. Turned out really good.

Q. Is it a different game plan tomorrow? Will you be more conservative because you have that cushion?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, it depends. Obviously how everyone is playing. My goal tomorrow is go out and play my game it seems to be it's working. I've been in this position before, not here, not at a major, where I've started thinking I have a nice little cushion and then start playing tentative and, all of a sudden you look up and you're only maybe a shot ahead.

So I'm going to try not to make that mistake tomorrow, I'm going to go out and play my own game, see how things are going and be aggressive on the holes where I feel that I can be rewarded on that and then play smart on some tricky holes.

I really don't want to change much. Obviously it depends on how I hit the ball. If I'm in the rough a lot, I might be a little more cautious off the tee. But, you know, I've learned the lesson here that you've got to attack this golf course at certain times, but then you need to be respectful of it, also.

Q. Saturday at a major, is this as good of a round as you've played in a while?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I would say so. It was very solid. I hit a lot of greens. I think the first green I missed, I could be wrong, but just on the edge of 13, only like a foot or so. Then I missed it on 16. Other than that, it's been very solid all day. You know, considering the conditions, yeah, I would rate that high.

Q. And with as much as you've been winning, playing well, does it feel like you were kind of building towards this now, tapering towards this, in essence?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I just felt really good coming into this whole week and every day I felt like I played a little better and better and had good warmups; I've been feeling good. I've been a little nervous, but not too nervous. Felt like I had control of my emotions out there and that's always a good thing. So I'm very happy that things are the way things are going.

Q. Seemed like the back nine you made some putts that kind of kept the round going rather than necessarily birdie putts, but I think 13 and 16, maybe 17 you had 4- or 5-footers maybe for par. Are those as important when you have a round like this as a three-foot birdie putt?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Oh, definitely. Like I said, those are the putts that keeps the round going and keeps the momentum going. You're not always going to have tap-ins for par, and when you can make great saves like that, those are crucial moments and that's what you need to post a low score out here.

Q. Any other par saves?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Larry mentioned one, it was 13; I made a 5-footer for par. Then 16 I made a 9-footer for par and then on 17 was probably a 4-footer.

You know, when you come down the stretch and you look at the leaderboard, all of a sudden those putts don't seem so short; they seem longer rather than just tap-ins.

Q. If you win this tournament, you'll be winning for five tournaments in a row; right?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yes.

Q. I would like to know, you've gone through some personal difficulties recently, and I would like to know what's the secret for you to keep the high playing standard as you can? I would like to know the secret of it.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I think what's important is to do something you enjoy doing, and that's what I do. I love to play, I love to compete, and that's something positive in my life right now so I've spent all my energy on that and it seems like it's working.

Q. Would winning five straight, or the four you've already won, over that off-season stretch, does that make it any less meaningful that it's been over the end of one season and the beginning of the next?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Oh, not for me, no. I mean, for me it's consecutive tournaments and that's the way I look at it.

Q. (Inaudible.)

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I haven't played with him this year, so I can't really tell too much to help him out. But they are great players and they have a lot of potential so I'm sure the future is going to be really good out here, so be patient.

Q. Of all your various achievements in your career, what would five in a row say about your game? Would it say something about just getting hot or being steady over the course of several months, since it's spread out a bit; what would it sort of say about your game to you?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: To be honest with you, I don't think it really, for me personally, is going to say a lot of different things tomorrow. You know, I believe I'm a consistent player. I believe I can play under pressure. I love to compete. Whatever happens tomorrow is not really going to change that. Maybe in the record books it will say something different, but for me personally, I know what I'm capable of and that's all that matters to me.

Q. During this streak, do you think you're playing the best golf you ever have?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: On a consistent level, definitely. I mean, it seems like right now, I'm able to scramble well when I miss a shot. You know, I will bounce back from a bad hole to have a good one or a bad round to a good round. I'm just very consistent.

I think obviously working out has helped me. I can stay very emotionally detached on the golf course, but then again I'm motivated to practice. I think I just found a lot of things that work for me, and I keep doing the same thing and I find the rhythm and I find the routine and it's working. So I would say this is probably as good of golf as I've played on a consistent level for a long time.

Q. Sorry, not correct English, what do you think about your swing, weak point or strong point?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I think it's a strong point.

Q. The reason?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I can repeat my swing. It helps me to shift my weight from the right side to the left side. And I've done it now for, so long, for years, 20 years, so it's not something I'm going to change.

Q. You mentioned working out, anything else did you in the off-season you did to keep in shape, weights, running, swimming?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Mostly weights. I play a little tennis once in a while. I ski; I snowboard; I stay active. I love staying outdoors and have a lot of fun. That's really what I do in the off-season, I get away from golf, try not to think about it. And when it's time to practice, I really have to focus what I have to do. It's a mixture of work and pleasure I guess.

PAUL ROVNAK: Thank you, Annika.

End of FastScripts.

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