U.S SENIOR WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

August 2, 2024

Annika Sorenstam

Fox Chapel Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We welcome Annika Sorenstam to the flash interview area here at the U.S. Senior Women's Open. 2-under 69 today, 2-under for the championship. How did you feel about your round today?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, as you know, we had quite the rain delay this morning. We were delayed about three and a half hours. But I thought the course was very, very playable, a little soggy in the first few holes. You had to adjust to the speed of the greens and also there was not a lot of roll in the fairways, so it played a little differently than yesterday.

But overall I felt like I was a little bit more aggressive, which was my plan. Made a few mistakes out there, but other than that, I'm proud of how I fought and proud how I just kept going and just kind of moved on from bad shots and kept giving myself opportunities.

Q. Yesterday you talked about you were having trouble releasing on your swing. Were you able to correct that today?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, I felt a little bit more relaxed and trusting myself on the tee, especially with the iron shots, having a good line into the flag and just trusting the line. That was very helpful.

I hit a lot of greens today. I had a lot of opportunities. It feels a little better. Small steps, getting closer, and really look forward to the weekend.

Q. When you made the turn you birdied 10 and 11. Can you talk about those birdies?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, I was a little fired up; let's put it that way. Sometimes it's good to be a little fired up. I made a nice birdie there on No. 10 and then followed it up with a really good shot on 11 and was able to roll the putt in there. The par-3s have been good to me. I've just got to figure out the par-5s, but I've got two more days.

Q. What did you hit into 11?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I hit a 9-iron.

Q. You birdied the par-3, the 17th?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I hit an 8-iron. It was a perfect yardage. I believe it was 146 yards a little downhill but the wind was a touch into, so it was just a perfect 8, and hit it the way I wanted, so I had a nice birdie opportunity.

Q. You've gone through this before, but we had a three-and-a-half-hour delay to start today. How do you get yourself prepared to play later?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: The good news was my alarm went off at 5:30, I kind of looked over -- I had heard the storm at night, and I saw a text from the USGA and they said it was delayed a few hours, so it was just literally turning the phone back on the table and go back to sleep. It was nice. We got a few more hours to sleep. Then we came out here, really took our time, and really still didn't know what was going to happen, if there was a dangerous situation. But the grounds crew did an excellent job, and it seemed like they got the course ready to go within a few hours, so we appreciate that.

Q. I heard you may have played a little ping-pong to warm up?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I've played a lot of ping-pong this week, yeah. Our son Will likes it, and it's fun, kind of keep your mind a little distracted and not think too much about what's going to happen, and then also we have an amazing physical therapy team up there, and I've been using them, so I'm thankful for their support and their guidance, so I got some bones cracked and some muscles stretched.

Q. We're halfway home; what do you have to do to win this championship?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I've got to play a lot more aggressive. I've got to make some birdies. It's great to be playing the weekend, but I've got my sights set higher than that. Just going to go out there, trust myself and enjoy it. It's such a beautiful place, and we've got amazing fans here and friends are here, so go out there and just play and not think too much and just enjoy it.

Q. How comfortable are you with this course?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I love it. I really feel good about it. We've had two good practice rounds. I feel like I know the lines. I feel like I know the distances. I think the biggest thing has been the weather, just adjusting to the speed. Obviously when it rains, the greens get a lot softer, so it's not going to release as much. But it's amazing, if we just get 24 hours of sunshine and a little wind, all of a sudden you have a different golf course.