U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 1, 1999

Annika Sorenstam

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I don't think there is a big difference. It is just a tough game and tough competitors. Seems like a lot of girls are really playing good golf this year. I am happy the way I have been playing. Like you said, my scoring average is lower than it has been before. The golf is there. It is just putting it altogether and in four days in a tournament. My game has kind of been -- some weeks I had hit the ball really well. Next week, I would putt really well. I have been working on all parts of my game, trying to just put it together at the same time. I think right now what I need is patience. Just because I haven't won, doesn't mean I am walking around depressed or anything. I am still happy with the way I am playing.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I don't think I can take that credit. Other foreign players have been out there before me. Laura Davies has won the Championship; Liselotte has won. I think they are the first ones. LPGA is becoming more of an international Tour, more players from around the world are coming, especially girls in college over here. They start playing college, then they want to turn pro; they join the LPGA. When you talk about 50 players, it is definitely a reflection, but I also think there is going to be more to come.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I haven't played the course. Sorry I can't give any feedback about it, but I am going out in about an hour. That will be the first chance to see the course. However, I like the place so far. Everybody has been really friendly. We are staying at a great place. The practice is good. Nothing about the course yet.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: If you think they are going to duplicate, that is very high expectations. What they did last year was really exciting. I watched the playoff on TV. I thought it was great golf. But you've got to look. There is 150 players here and a lot of them that are really good. It is going to be really tough to do it again. I won't want to put the pressure on them. Like I said, there are a lot of good players out here, and four days of really demanding golf. You need to really play your best to be here this week. Especially if you are going to win on Sunday, it is going to be really tough.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I think my game is better than it was two years ago. I am hitting it longer off the tee. I think I am more consistent just in general. Short game, I have worked a lot on it. I personally think I am a better player. It is just when you come to a Championship like this, it is not just how you have been hitting it. It is more mental than anything. When I won the Open in 1995 and 1996, especially 1995, I really didn't know what I was doing. I was just going out there and I was just playing. Then things turned out the way they did. Then in 1996 I didn't expect myself to do it again. But the years after that, I think I expected myself to do better because I had done it in the past. I thought: Well, I am older, I should be wiser; you know, I should be able to do this. I think that has been kind of in my way more than just my game, because my game is better, and I know that for a fact. I just got to keep myself under control, keep my mind just calm, and I think maybe I can do it again. If I start thinking too much, then that is going to hurt me.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, it is always tough when you come back to tournaments, especially the Open, because it means so much to win a Championship like this and, you know, when I came back, like I said, I didn't expect to do it again. I was just playing my own game. I think that is going to be the key for Se Ri to kind of go out and play her own game. Try not to think about being the defending champion. Try and go out play your own game. It is more mental this week than any other week just because it is such a great championship. Everybody dreams about winning the Open; personally I put a lot of pressure on myself and I want to do it again. I think Se Ri's case, just go out and play your game. That is all you can do.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: The first one I just changed everything. It was my first victory on the LPGA and turned out to be a major of all tournaments. I mean, it was -- I will never forget it. Just came home, and I suddenly had 30 messages on my machine, suddenly everybody wanted a part of me. And before, nobody really cared what I did and what I played. Suddenly it was hard to share everything with people and demands of playing certain tournaments, and it was nothing that I could prepare for. I don't regret any of it. I'd like to do it again, but it was quite a change.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: It is a totally different desire. When I came to Pumpkin Ridge six months before the Championship, all I have heard was three-peat, three-peat. It was the only thing in my mind. I didn't have a clear mind when I came there. I knew it would change my life, I knew it would change women's golf and so forth. So I felt like I had everybody's expectations on my shoulders. When I came there, it was probably the worst tournament I have had. I mean, I even missed the cut, which I've done maybe two, three times my whole career. Now I feel I come with a clear mind. I feel very happy with my life, my game, everything has kind of come together. I don't have any pressure at all. I am just trying to enjoy myself.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I think the tournament itself is different than other tournaments we play all year. But I like to kind of low key the tournament for myself just so that I can come out and play my own game. I learned that the from the past, especially Pumpkin Ridge and especially Kohler and all the other championships that I played since 1996. I built the majors up to much and I just want to keep a low key, just come out enjoy myself and let my game do the talking. I did that when I came out in 1995, I just played. No expectation, I mean, I know I can do it because I have done it. If I can just keep that in mind, that is my goal this year, this week.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I think it is great. I think the same thing would happen, you know, if a new person came in and raised the bar I would go practice. In our case for women's golf when you go out and watch a tournament nowadays, it is good golf out there. You pretty much got to shoot under par four rounds, scoring average is getting lower all year. I think it is good for golf in general. The bar is getting higher and tougher, competitive. I think that is what it is all about.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: A lot of differences. But weather-wise, yes, you are right, I was not brought up in this type of humidity or heat, but I have been in the U.S. for over eight years and I went to school in Arizona, so I am getting used to the heat. Then the last few months I spent some time in Orlando; bought a house there, so I think I am getting used to it. I can't -- I don't think I will be able to blame it on the heat or the humidity. That is just something I have got to deal with and actually I find it very cold in Sweden nowadays, so.....

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I haven't talked to Jenny at all about last year or how she feels this year. But I think, you know, if I was her I would just come out, being a rookie as a professional, it would be a lot of fun to come to this tournament knowing that you have done well in the past. I don't think anybody has any expectations on her. I think she is just -- whatever she is going to do it is going to be great. She is a great player and there are so many good players out here you can't just take somebody and say, hey, you finished second last year, I know you are going to do that again. I don't think anybody can put that pressure on her. So if I were her, just enjoy it. She is going to play a lot of these tournaments, probably going to do better year after year.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I haven't looked at the tournament field. So it is hard to say who is going to win. If you are in you have a chance to win. I don't want to pick a number, it is really hard. But I don't know. I don't want to make that prediction.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, it is. I mean, I have heard that the course is very long so I think it is going to favor a long hitter. I know when it is the U.S. Open, you should have some experience. It is hard to say. I had never won a tournament and I won the Open as my first. You have got to have certain criteria to do well in the Open, that is for sure.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: You need patience and you really need the desire to win this week. It is not about having a good round on Thursday. You really got to hang in there until Sunday. I think you really got to be a straight hitter, normal U.S. Open courses the rough is really thick. You want to try and hit a lot of fairways and greens. I think that is what you have to do in a U.S. Open. You need to be a very consistent player, especially this week, I mean, you really got to hit a lot of straight shots. You can't turn sideways and rely on your short game.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I will take it. It is very flattering. It's a Championship, but that means a lot to me and when they say that it gives you a little confidence, that is for sure.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Thanks.