U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

May 29, 2001

Annika Sorenstam

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, finding time was easy. I wanted to come here and get some memories back, because I really don't remember too much in '96. I wanted to come back and see the course again, and just kind of get ready for this week. This week is such a big week, and a lot going on, that I wanted to come early and get a feel for the golf course.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Definitely. I'm obviously playing better now than I have the last few years. I've gotten off to a great start this year. And winning Nabisco was really a dream come true. And that was the first major I won in a few years. I'm excited about this week. I'm happy to be here. I can't wait to get going.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, it definitely fit me in '96. And I think since then I've matured as a player. I think I'm more consistent today than I was then. Just overall I think I'm a better player. So I hope that the course is going to fit me again this year the way it set up here when I was two -- when I was here two weeks ago, it was good. But I'll have to wait and see.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I like the greens a lot. Just overall I like Donald Ross courses. If I remember correctly, Broadmoor is another one. I like the old, traditional courses. You have to play a special way, you have to get used to them. You can't hit your approach shots anywhere, you have to place them in the right places. And that's the kind of golf I play.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: No. 10 the, bunker will not affect me at all, because I will play more to the right. I won't really cut the corner. On No. 5, if I remember correctly, they'll move the par-3 farther back. It's a shorter one in front and a longer one in back.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: That's a different story. (Laughter.) When I was 12, I was telling my husband earlier, I just started playing golf when I was 12. I think my handicap at the time was 63. So you can just imagine how many shots I made in 18 holes. It's great for her, obviously. I imagine it's a dream for her to come out and see what the ladies do out here and how we play and what kind of courses. I hope she enjoys the week, just come out here and enjoy it, maybe look and learn a little bit, enjoy the experience. When you're 12 years old, you have a lot of years ahead of yourself. It's just the beginning of many great years for her. But she should just enjoy it. When I was 12 I couldn't imagine coming to a tournament like this. It was tough just to spectate.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I think if the weather continues like this, it's going to soften the greens a little bit. So I think you're going to see some scores under par. The course is in great shape. The greens are really true. You're going to see some low scoring. Not a lot under par. But the course is in great shape, so it will be fair. It will reward good shots.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, Karrie Webb is obviously one of them. Se Ri Pak. There's a lot of good players out here. So you're going to see some players raising the bar and doing good at a championship. Players that have won this year is something I would look for.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I definitely look at the leaderboards. Sometimes you see Karrie -- actually, last year I saw her all the time. And she is a great player, obviously. And you know that she's going to be in contention in big tournaments like this. I don't really know Karrie that well. I see her here at tournaments every week or whenever we play. But other than that -- we don't hang out or eat dinners or anything like that. We have different friends and so forth.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I just want to take one tournament at a time. I've had a great start. I'm very happy about that. This is a tournament that I've been looking forward to playing and coming here to Pine Needles is going to be -- it's just wonderful. But I want to leave it at that. This is a big event. I want to play one day at a time, hit one shot at a time and add them up on Sunday. There is so much going on, so much excitement. I don't want to look beyond this week. Like I said, one thing at a time. I'm enjoying the moment very much. It's been great. But this is the first time I've ever thought about having a chance of doing a Grand Slam. Because I've never won the Nabisco before. So this is the first time. It's fun to think about it. But like I said, I don't want to think any further than this week.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I would fit it in, that's for sure. I haven't given it a thought at all, even though they were discussing it. It would be nice to get a chance to get a gold medal or some medal in golf. That would be neat. I haven't given much thought about it, so I can't comment too much.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Today or tomorrow?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: When I came in last time I kind of walked around the course, trying to figure out which shots I needed to work on the next two weeks just to prepare for this week. Mostly kind of looked around the greens, to see what kind of shots you needed to hit. And looked at the rough a little bit just kind of familiarize myself with the course and what shots you really need to hit this week. So I had two weeks to kind of get together and work on those shots.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I haven't seen the bill yet (laughter.)

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I'm very happy with the way I'm playing. Obviously I always work on something. I don't feel I'm a complete golfer yet. I'm working on that. This week I feel very good about my game. I had a week off last week, I got some rest, but still practiced a bit. But it's a matter of fine tuning the swing and getting a feel for the greens.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: We'll see.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, you have to stay out of the rough. I think driving is going to be key, hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens. The difference from this course is say Mission Hills where we played Nabisco. There's not a lot of rough around the greens, everything rolls off. But you can putt some of the shots up the green again. There's going to be a lot of bunker play, because they roll down into the bunker. It's not going to be a couple of shots like you hit at Nabisco. I worked on bump-and-runs the last few weeks, and on my driving.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: We haven't really talked about that, because it hasn't been an issue on the Tour. I heard the announcement just before I got in here. I'm happy for Casey.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: No, not yet. I only store scores. I have from '96. But I don't have the golf course in the computer or anything like that.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Some soul searching? No, my soul is here. (Laughter.) You know, I think I got motivated in '99 when I finished fourth on the money list. I just realized that that's not where I want to be. I'm not happy with that. I want to be the best player out here. And I personally think I had a good year last year, winning five times was really good for me. It was just that Karrie had an exceptional year. I felt like I was on the right track. And I can see at the beginning of this year that the results are coming. I'm obviously very happy about that. I have stepped up my practice. I'm trying to become better in every aspect of the game and it's paying off.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: A little bit every day. I think I do more when I'm at home than when I'm on the road. It's a little difficult to kind of balance everything and have time for it. But I run a little bit, bike a little bit, stretch and do some sit-ups is what I do.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, that's about right.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I've never been pregnant, I don't really know how it would feel (laughter.) But if she feels great, I think it's great she's out here. I've heard a lot of people talking about how they feel more relaxed when they're pregnant. I know Carin Koch said that, a friend of mine from Sweden, said she felt relaxed, and you don't put too much pressure on yourself. If that's the way you feel, that's good.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Not very much. But I see this Tour as more really an international Tour. We have so many players from so many different countries, that this is a world Tour. I'm not surprised to see all these foreigners are winning tournaments. I know that the U.S. Players are going to win their share, and they have the last few years. I think it sparks them a little bit. But it's so early in the season, who knows who will win the rest of the events. It's not something we talk about in the locker room at all. I think the Americans, they're just -- they want to win, obviously, and they're trying to figure out how to do it.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I think golf is a growing sport around the world. And it's very similar to over here. This is just where the best tours are. This is where most tournaments -- this is where you have the chance to combine studies with golf, like I did. I went to college, and that was a great opportunity for me. I would never get that opportunity in Sweden. And therefore, I think you see a lot of foreign-born players coming over here to get an opportunity to do both. We have wonderful facilities here. And this is a great Tour. This is the Tour I grew up wanting to play. Especially when I started playing golf in Sweden, it was more of a social thing, it was a hobby, which I think it needs to be, because otherwise you can't keep grinding every day if you don't enjoy it. Once I got more serious, I came over here on scholarship, and now I'm here. So I've been climbing the ladder and playing more golf and learning along the way.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I don't know yet. I don't think it's been announced. I don't know. But I told Tiger I want to play with him. So we'll see.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Obviously talks are -- very serious discussions. I hope it takes place. I really want to play. But I've been totally -- I don't think it's been totally finalized.