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LPGA CORNING CLASSIC

May 27, 2004

Annika Sorenstam

CORNING, NEW YORK

PAUL ROVNAK: Well, Annika, thanks for coming in and joining us. That was a spectacular round. 7-under, without a practice round was pretty impressive. And you're at the top of the leaderboard. Tell us your thoughts and we'll go from there.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Obviously I'm very happy with the way I played today and the way I finished. To shoot 65, I mean maybe I should always come the night before. I thought I hit the ball really well, I putted well. I believe I hit 18 greens, and I haven't done that in a long time. I feel really good about my game and obviously it feels nice to make a lot of birdies. I believe I made 9 so that's a record in awhile.

Q. I know it's been awhile since you've been here, but do you find it strange that you birdied one, which is one of the tougher holes on the course. You bogeyed 2, which is one of the easier ones. You did alot of your scoring on the back nine, which traditionally alot of the scoring is on the front nine, is that at all strange that that's the way that things turned out for you?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I guess not being here for a long time -- well, I totally forget about that. I didn't really know that's the way you're supposed to do it. But, no, it seems like I got more comfortable on the back nine. I did hit some good shots on the front, but made a few boo-boos on the greens, but that could be because I'm not used to the speed of the greens. But my caddy said putt from the hill, putt into the hill, but it's a lot of information at once. I was trying to gather all of that and trying to keep it straight. But in the end I was playing my game and not thinking too much where the hill was or what green to put the ball short of the pin and all of that, I was just hitting a shot.

Q. How difficult was it to play a course that you haven't played in so long and you didn't get to practice on or play any pro-ams on?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I just have got the greatest caddy in the world. I come here and he knows the course so well and knows my game so well, he tells me what to hit and where to hit and I did that. That's the great thing having a caddy that knows the game so well and I trust him. I executed the shots exactly where I wanted and obviously that helps, too. It does help to play the golf course, don't take me wrong, but sometimes you're lucky, like I was as well.

Q. What's the name of your caddy?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Terry McNamara.

Q. Big gallery, and lots in the media room. Is it like this every stop you go?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: What do you think, Paul?

PAUL ROVNAK: It's like this everywhere she goes.

Q. Where were you last night, when did you get in?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I came in last night, from Orlando. So I got in and had dinner, and that was it.

Q. I watched the back nine, did you feel like you could be 8 or 9, the way the last two putts went?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: It's always like that on golf, would have, could have, should have. I made a great putt on 15 and a great putt on 10. Sometimes you make some, sometimes you miss one. That's just golf. Overall you look at the big picture. Shot 65, I'm happy with that.

Q. What was the putt on No. 10?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, I mean I told my caddy, what a tough pin placement, it was sitting between two ridges, and on the side of a ridge, and I probably had -- actually I wrote down 26 feet. So I think I had a good line, and then I hit and it broke more to the right. So I was hoping it would break more to the left than it did. I don't know if you call it luck, but it was one of those days where things go your way.

Q. Obviously you've been quite a few years since you've been here last. Your thoughts on this course in general and this event and your first day here overall?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I'm very happy to be back, I do feel tremendous support from the fans and the tournament. It is a little tricky golf course. I did not hit driver off most tees. There were a few holes you hit irons. Everything is about placement here, you have to hit in the right spots and hit it straight. There are some fairways that there are 20 yards wide, that's nothing. I'm just glad I hit it straight. I don't remember it being this tight. And so I'm glad I listened to my caddy, too, and didn't look at the course too much and trying to figure out where the best way to go, just listened to the caddy and fire away.

Q. Would you just take a moment and maybe react to the response you got from the fans here today. There was one gentleman on the 18th, I think, that double reacted when you missed the opportunity there, for birdie, and brought a smile to your face. Was it the same way all the way around today?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I thought so. I felt support all day. I got here early this morning. Not being here last year I didn't know what to expect. But this is my way to say thanks for the support I've gotten. And I could feel that all the way around today. The guy on 18, I think he was more upset than I was missing the putt. But it's great to have great fans.

PAUL ROVNAK: Let's go over your score card.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Birdied No. 1, I hit an 8-iron to 25 feet.

I bogeyed the second hole, I hit 6-iron left of the green, chipped it up and 3-putted.

PAUL ROVNAK: Do you know how far you 3-putted from?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: The first putt was 25 feet and then I missed, like a 3-footer.

Birdied No. 5. I hit 5-iron on the green, 2-putted from seven feet.

Birdied 6, I hit a pitching wedge to four feet.

I bogeyed 7, hit a 7-iron and 3-putted from 12 feet.

Birdied 8, hit a sand wedge to four feet.

And then birdied No. 10, I hit sand wedge to 26 feet.

11, birdie, hit it to 14 feet, 8-iron.

Sand wedge on 12, which actually was just a chip, I should say, to four feet.

On 15 I hit pitching wedge 20 feet.

16 I hit a sand wedge to four feet.

Q. As far as Billy Crystal says, you look "mahvelous" out there, regarding your physical attributes. I'm just wondering, I've heard you even keep track of your body fat. I'm sure you even have stats for that, too. I'm wondering where that is, and I think I saw an article that you said there's room for improvement, maybe.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: You're right, there's still room for improvement, but to be honest, I have never checked my body fat. I don't know why. I guess I don't have an interest. I keep stats on everything else, but not that. I think I'd probably be too obsessed if I looked at it. But thanks for the compliment, I feel pretty good, and I work pretty hard in the Jim.

Q. If you get out of golf, will you pursue the off golf regimen enough to feel confident to take on exemptions and invites to tournaments?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I didn't get that question.

Q. Once you get out of golf, if you don't keep up a physical -- I thought you might not be keeping up your physical regimen on a day-to-day basis, if that's something that would keep you from taking on exemptions or taking on tournaments?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I love doing that, I work with a great trainer and hopefully will prevent injuries and hopefully will be able to play longer that way.

Q. Did you know that they showed your round at Colonial last year on the screens here?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: They tell me about it, yeah, and I thought that was very sweet.

Q. As of right now you share a lead with a fellow Swede that hasn't played here since 2000. Juli won last year after not playing here for a number of years. It seems kind of strange that players have had such success here even though maybe they haven't played recently, is there anything to be said about that?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I don't really know. If you look at me and Liselotte, we had just one good round, you can't base anything after that. Juli on the other hand played good last year when she was here. It's not a course you have to play over and over, it's just if you hit it straight you can score here.

Q. Probably a scary thought for the rest of the field, but do you feel as you play this course more this weekend you will become stronger on it?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I hope so. We'll see. But normally the more I play the better I do play, the more comfortable I feel. But it's tough to improve from a 65. But if I can do the same thing, obviously I'll take that.

Q. Regarding the eBay, and I don't know if you've ever checked, there's lots of stuff on eBay, I've asked some of the girls about their opinions and what can be done about it, that people are making money off of your image, and the LPGA's image, and what can be done about that?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I don't really know what you can do about it. I've signed a deal with Upper Deck, which is a memorabilia company and I think they do a great job. And I try to sign autographs for kids. And then I do slip in a few for adults. And if they sell them, there's not much you can do for them. It's great to have fans, and if they make money, there's not much I can do about it.

Q. I have a Colonial question. A famous picture of the second day birdie, IMG is pushing it everywhere, there's many, many pictures of that, I've seen many, many different emotions, including, and I think there's one of them that says -- that one is for you guys out there that didn't think this could be done. And it was only one or two seconds, but there's so many pictures, and I've seen so many emotions.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: You mean the one on the 13th?

Q. The second day.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: The second day.

Q. The one on the PGA -- the LPGA van.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: That's the first birdie. So the reaction is probably -- I think I made one birdie. I think that's how I felt.

End of FastScripts.

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