THE SOLHEIM CUP

September 10, 2003

Annika Sorenstam

MARTIN PARK: Welcome, Annika.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Thank you.

MARTIN PARK: You decided to play 18 holes in the rain.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah. Why not? Well, that's because I didn't play 18 yesterday. I had planned all along to play 18 today, so I just did what I planned to do, even though obviously the weather wasn't the greatest. The rain doesn't really bother me. I was just happy to see the golf course. Today I'm a little more rested than I was yesterday. I feel good.

Q. Completely different conditions than yesterday?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I would say so. Yesterday obviously was very, very windy. Today hardly any wind, but a lot of rain instead. I think the course played a little different, a little wetter. I must say I played the back 9 and I thought there were some great golf holes. So I'm glad I went out today.

Q. Much has been made of the pressure that you would seem to be under having this event in Sweden. Do you find that you've got more responsibility, more duties, more extra or nongolf activities related to this particular event than similar or other Solheim Cups or other tournaments you might have participated in? If so, how are you trying to handle that?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, regarding other activities, the schedule is so full that I don't have time for any other activities. This is the week of the Solheim Cup. All we've got planned is dinners and photos and opening ceremony and so forth. So I'm not doing anything extra than my teammates. Just regarding being at home, playing in front of the Swedish crowd is, I wouldn't say I feel any extra pressure, but I do feel a little more excited. It's really an honor to have this championship here. And I feel very proud what we're showcasing this week. The course is in superb shape. I think our accommodations, the hospitality has just been really really good. So therefore I just feel very proud of being a Swede and being here. I know the crowds are going to be huge. I know they will be very supportive. And I think that makes for a great week and a great championship.

Q. Annika, can you tell us what you feel about or how you feel for Catrin this week with her crutches and the position she's in?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I feel very sorry for Catrin. It seems like she's in -- it looks very painful, knock on wood, I have never had something like that, but she looks like she's in pain all the time. She can hardly walk. I know that she's been looking forward to be the captain and be here and be part of it, and now she's struggling to get out here. We have meetings when she's laying in bed, but she's really being a trooper because she's really trying. Yesterday at the photo shoot, I don't know how she did it. I thought it was tough for me and I feel good. So I don't know how she does it.

Q. How many meetings have you had with her lying on the bed?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: How many meetings? Every night we meet with her.

Q. Annika, how do you compare this course to Interlochen at Loch Lomond and what do you think are the key strategies to play successfully this week?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I think if we just look at this golf course -- obviously the weather is going to play a big role. Yesterday was very windy. The course played a certain way. Today with no wind it played totally differently. I do think again the par 5's here, I think if we can take advantage of them, I think that will be key. There's some tough holes. I think the course is longer than some other courses we have played. I like this set-up of the course. I think it suits us all very well. I think it's a great match course in the sense that you can play aggressive on some holes. Especially yesterday we were hitting a few drivers to reach par 4's. Personally I don't do that in regular stroke play. That's a little bit of a different strategy that you can do on this course.

Q. Annika, you said you obviously have great concern for Catrin. Is there any concern that something may happen to your team that a healthy captain would have been able to prevent? Is there any concern that because she isn't able to move around or operate quite as well as you would all like her to, you may be disadvantaged in any way?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I don't look at it that way at all because even though we have meetings when she was laying down, she told us not to worry. Her mind is working perfectly. I think she probably has more time to think now because she's just laying around. Alison Nicholas is a great assistant. I think she will take over if that's what it takes. So I don't think that is an advantage at all. Catrin is there with her mind. She's putting the teams together. She's doing all the thinking. I think maybe on the contrary, we want to help her out. We can probably do so by playing good golf.

Q. Does her determination rub off on you guys with the way she's handling this?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I think so. I'd do anything to try to make her feel better. We all feel that way. It kind of puts the team a little more together, if you know what I mean. A little more of a team effort. I think in these type of formats, that's a good thing.

Q. If you compare this to a major championship, where are you most affected by nerves?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: In a major championship, I'm always a little nervous on the first tee and maybe at the end of the round. And you know it's going to be four rounds. This is a little different because it's a little different pressure because you don't want to let the team down, so you're trying to perform well. But then the formats are so different, too. You're playing alternate shots, you're playing best ball. We can play a little more aggressive sometimes or more conservative. In a major I'm just trying to mind my own business and trying to put a good score together for four days. Here every hole is like a new match. It's totally different, but then again you get nervous in the same way because it means a lot.

Q. Carin said earlier this week she would like to play with you again. Would you like to as well?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I thought we played excellent last year together. Last year was the first time we did play together. I thought it was a great. It turned out really well. Karen was putting extremely well and it kind of worked out great. I'd like to play with Carin again. I think we would do really good. I think it depends on all the different combinations. We know each other really well. We played together in amateur golf. The chemistry is there. We'll see what happens.

Q. I apologize. Given the fact that this is in your home country and you're proud of it and the excitement level is pretty high for you, are you worried at all about that affecting your game, not being able to stay within yourself as you play? Is that something you're going to have to think about and work on this week?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yes, definitely. That's something I've got to think about. If I can compare, it's probably the way I felt in majors when I get too anxious too early. I have to be able to control that and hit one shot at a time and stay in the present. It might help playing as a team, either as an alternate shot or best ball because I'm kind of dependent on my partners and we do it together and not just me performing on my own trying to showcase something.

Q. Juli is kind of a leader for the American team and you're kind of a leader for the European. Would you like to meet her this Sunday in the singles? Or does it matter at all?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I would love to play with Juli. Obviously I would like a little revenge, because we played in Loch Lomond. And I didn't do too good then. If I need to play with her. Obviously I'd like to do better. They have a lot of good players on their team. It really doesn't matter who I play with. I'm just going to try and get my point. But I know Juli really well, and she's fun to play with. So if it happens, it may be a little extra.

Q. Did you come over on the charter?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yes, I did.

Q. Are you going home on the charter?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: No, I'm not.

Q. Why?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Because I'm going to Orlando and not to Philadelphia.

Q. Did you go home on the charter after Loch Lomond?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yes, I did.

Q. Instead of just rolling your eyes, can you share what that's like?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: It's a little different. This is a team type of tournament. Whether you win or lose, it's just not the same feeling going on the same plain. I think you either kind of celebrate on your own or you be kind of grumpy on your own. It's not something you share with the other team really.

Q. Did you guys have to control yourself on the way home?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Europe won so we were in good spirits. For us I think it was fine, but they probably didn't enjoy it as much as we did.

Q. That's the way it is.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: That's the way it is.

Q. Annika, where would this rank in your career being part of a winning Solheim Cup team in your own country?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: It would probably rank up there. There's a long ways to go. A lot of things have to happen until then. It would be very special. I've had the chance to be on a winning team once, and that was a wonderful feeling. At Loch Lomond it was so exciting. It came down to the last match. That excitement I don't get too often in golf tournaments, even though winning majors or winning tournaments is exciting, but when you do it together, it's so different. Doing it at home with the crowd behind us, with my parents here, family and friends, you probably will share it with more people and I think that will make it special.

Q. Are you satisfied with the way you performed in the Solheim Cup so far? And which one do you think is your best and your worst?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I'm quite pleased with the way I've played the last two years. The first time I played was in '94. I didn't really do so good. I was a rookie then and very, very nervous and inexperienced, but I believe the last few years I've played much better. It's not easy because it's match play. You play with a partner, so you really can't control it as much. I'm kind of a control freak. It makes it tough in this type of situation. I think last year I played really well and the combination with Carin I thought was a great pairing. I'd like to see something similar to that this year and make a few more points than last year.

Q. Could you tell us what part of being a team do you enjoy most? The dinners, the coach, what part is the best?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I enjoy the camaraderie on the golf course, discussing the golf course, trying to find a plan together. I enjoy talking about just the way we play. The dinners, we're so tired in the evening we don't really talk as much. In the lunch room, everybody sits together. Everybody is very positive. We tell jokes. It's just a relaxed atmosphere, and I think I enjoy that.

Q. Have you had to lift Catrin -- have you had a role to play in maybe lifting her?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Lift? Physically, no, I have not had to lift her physically.

Q. Mentally, her spirit, her spirits, has she been down at all? Have you been able to encourage her?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: We haven't really had to. Like I said, she's been very, very positive. She's the one that tells us not to worry. And when we tell her to get some rest, she says, "No, I'm fine, I'm fine". So I think we're more worried than she really is. But on the other hand I don't think she's really telling us how much pain she's in. She doesn't want to be a burden. I know that. She just wants us to play good golf and not worry.

Q. Talking about the mental preparation going into the singles, you were the only European who won in Wales. There must be something you are doing right. Can you give tips to the others so that they're getting stronger?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I agree that the singles are the most important day. In the past we've done really well in the team formats. To win here we've got to play well in the singles. I don't think it's enough -- it's not going to be enough to be way up in points before the singles. We've got to win more single matches. We practiced the singles this week just to try to get into the feeling of playing that way. I don't really have any advice. I think you've just got to play the way you normally play a regular event because that's individual and that's the way I look at it. I just try and play my game then. You can't rely on the other teammates to get a point. It's up to you to get your point. I think if you focus on that, then that's all you can do. Play the best you can and then you've got to see what happens. It's easy to get involved in everybody's matches and look at the leader board and kind of have opinions, why is she not playing better, why is so and so. You've just got to play your own match and hopefully get a point.

Q. What has your appearance in the Colonial done for you in terms of what you've been working on in your game or mentally or technically have you become better?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Definitely. Not maybe for this week but in general. My goal was to play the Colonial so that I would get the experience to do better in the majors, to be able to handle the pressure better and so forth. This year I've had my best performance in majors. I like to credit it to the Colonial, the preparation I had and the focus going into it has really helped me. I worked so much on my short game to try and get better there. But now I think it's really the best part of my game. I believe it's working.

Q. Shouldn't you do it again if it helped that much?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I'm not going to do it again. Long-term I think it will help me. I know what I've got to work on. It just takes time. But I sure enjoyed playing with the guys to see how they approached the game, how they practiced, etc. I think I have a lot to learn from them.

Q. Tomorrow night there's a one-hour documentary on television about you?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Is there?

Q. How does that feel? Are you going to try to watch it?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I hope I have time to watch it. I don't think I will with everything going on, but I know my parents, I'm going to make sure that they tape it so I can watch it when I'm done. Either fast forward it or do it in slow motion, but I'll watch it.

Q. Annika, do you have any -- anxiety may not be the right word, but just a sense that in a way you're the host of this event. It's your home country. You obviously want this to come off as well as possible for the rest of the world beyond your own -- what the team does. Just sort of address that and maybe the level of either anxiety or anticipation you have about your whole country coming off as well as possible?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah. I think I covered it a little bit in the first question, but I can repeat it. Like I said, I'm very proud to be here and to see how well organized it is, especially to see the golf course. It's in such great shape and I love the setup. It is an honor for us I believe anyway to have this championship here. It will kind of show case obviously the best women in the world, but also the Swedish golfers. We have had a lot of success around the world the last 10-15 years. I believe this is the biggest tournament we've ever hosted when it comes to golf. I think that's great for the game and for golfers in general here to really see how big Sweden is in golf. When you come over, I was worrying a little bit, how is this going to be about, how are they going to handle it and so forth. But I think it's been great so far. The hospitality especially they've been really, really good to us. Once we see all the people this weekend, I think it's going to turn out to be one of the better Solheim Cups. At least that's what I hope. I'm going to remember this week for many, many reasons. Who knows if we ever get this championship back here, but -- I'll probably never play it over here again. This is my sixth Solheim Cup. Who knows how many more I will play in.

Q. On that note, Annika, long-term can you see yourself being a Solheim captain?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I don't think so. I think I'll be too hard on everybody because I'm so hard on myself. I'll probably need several assistants that will kind of convey the message what I really mean.

Q. You're not picking up tips off Catrin now?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I think Catrin is doing a great job. I don't know if I could handle it. i'd be so emotionally involved. I would be really telling everybody what to do. And I don't necessarily think that's the right thing to do. You have to try to find a happy medium, but not really tell them what to do. I'm kind of bossy that way at least with myself. If you've got 12 players to deal with, it could be kind of a chaotic situation. I haven't really thought about it. I would be honored if I was asked, but I don't know if I could handle it.

Q. Annika, you've had to deal with overwhelming media for the last couple of years really, this year especially. When you look back at say '95 or so when you were kind of shy and this was a little harder for to you face the media, do you ever stop and just marvel at how different you are now and how you've been able to handle this?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I've had a lot of practice the last, what is it, eight years or so. It's taken me a long time and I'm still learning a lot until I get used to it. When I started playing golf I didn't really play golf to be in the limelight and do all the talking. I really wanted my clubs to do the talking. Lately I've been doing a lot of talking. It's not really me. It's part of the whole thing. I'm getting a little more comfortable. I'm doing a few more appearances here and there. I feel more comfortable with myself in front of the microphone. Obviously that helps. I remember the first speech I ever gave I think I said something like, "I prefer golfing than talking". And the guy that finished last said he preferred talking than golfing. It depends on what you'd like to do. I feel little more easier about being up here.

MARTIN PARK: Annika, thank you very much for coming in.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Thank you.

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