HILTON GRAND VACATIONS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

January 21, 2023

Annika Sorenstam

Lake Nona Golf & Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Annika, you had some great holes today. How do you feel about your round?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, obviously finishing the way I did feels like not the best, but I hit some really good shots today overall I think. Really had a solid -- the last 10, 11 holes I thought was quite good. Drove it well and just didn't really get it to finish.

I knew I had to be a little aggressive knowing Mardy was playing well and he wasn't going to give any ground. Beautiful day, nice crowd, people out there, and conditions better than I thought they would be. I was hoping for moving day, but I moved in the wrong direction. But another day tomorrow.

Q. Second day in a row you've played with Brooke Henderson, and this is the first two days you've ever played with her. Can you give me an assessment of what you think of her game and where she is?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, there's no doubt that she's one of the very best of the LPGA players currently. She drives it really well and just very solid. She has good distance control.

I don't know, I just like her demeanor. I always felt like she was a really good ambassador for the game, and she has everything that it takes to win. She's already won 12 times, I believe, and she's still so young. I'm sure we're going to see her at the top of the leaderboard a few more times.

Q. Is there anything about her game that reminds you of yourself at some point?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, she's very steady. I think that was one of my strengths, a lot of fairways, a lot of greens. Maybe a little bit of a temperament, as well. She doesn't get too over excited and she doesn't get too mad and angry when she doesn't do well. She's kind of steady, keeps that momentum going, and I think it's easier to recover that way and just kind of keep it going.

Q. Hard to believe it's been 15 years; your last season was 15 years ago this year. What is different now about your approach? Do you have more fun? Is golf more fun? That 18th hole notwithstanding, is it lighter and more enjoyable in some ways?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I mean, it's very different, of course. I'm at a different time in my life, and I don't put as much time into it. I don't have the time to do it. I'm not as serious and motivated. From that perspective it's a lot more casual golf you could say. But once again, once I step inside the ropes, I'm still so competitive. 15 years might sound like a long time, but I'm still -- for me it's not that long ago.

Sometimes it's hard because I still have expectations of hitting fairways and greens and making putts and when I don't come out here and have a good time but I don't know that anybody likes making bogeys. It's a fine line where it is, but my approach is a lot more casual and I'm not as serious out there, even though I try to focus, but by the end of the day I get out here and I've got my family and I've got my kids and all of a sudden the golf really doesn't matter. It's just, okay, what are we having for dinner, what do I got to do and everything. I quickly can forget about what happened here and move on.

Q. I know you've won the DeWiz swing analysis. I was wondering what kind of insights that gives you into your own game.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, it's more to give them the info right now. I don't really want the info myself because then I get too technical, but I think what it does is a great tool to track the transition, the length of the backswing and even the tempo, and I can see -- I know a lot of times when I hit it left, but I can see the numbers. It gives you more obviously accuracy.

But it's interesting. I have it in practice. I really haven't done it in competition.

It's good to see one thing is to do one thing in practice and then to do something else in a tournament, and obviously that's the key to be able to mirror that.

Q. Being at Lake Nona and you're such a big part of this community and have been for so long, what's it mean to you to kind of not oversee it but have such an influence on this event?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, it's nice to be here. That's probably one of the reasons why I'm playing, because it is here, and I have the support from the family, from the members, and I know the golf course. It's just a great way to start out the year.

But I do feel the connection here, and this is -- not just a golf course but it's part of our community. You see people that you see their kids at school, you might see them at Publix or just regular dining, whether it's Thanksgiving dinner, whatever, we always see them. So it's a lot more than just playing this golf course, but I certainly feel connected. I've been here since 2000, so it's an extended family for sure.