PNC CHAMPIONSHIP

December 19, 2024

Annika Sorenstam

Will McGee

The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club

Quick Quotes

THE MODERATOR: Annika and Will, thank you for joining us, and welcome back to the PNC Championship for the fifth time. Just to start, how great is it to be back?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Oh, it's wonderful to be back. This is one of the highlights of the year. And we're so thankful for PNC for having us. It's great to be here in Orlando, hometown, and come in and play here with family and friends. We have a good time.

I missed him today. He was playing first behind me and then in front of me. But look forward to playing together for the weekend.

THE MODERATOR: How excited are you, Will?

WILL McGEE: It's a lot of fun. I look forward to this week every year. It's like I'm happy that it's right here, but it's also sad because in a few days it's already gone. We still have the weekend, so it will be fun.

THE MODERATOR: How did the pro-am go today, and how are you both feeling and your games coming into this week?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, we had a great time in the pro-am. Played with some great people from PNC. And it's a lot of laughs. We had some internal betting. It was pretty tough. We went out there trying to beat each other, and then in the end I got my team to support me and trying to beat him.

No, it's a great day. A lot of laughs. It's a casual day. You play scramble, you pick the best shot and you move on.

The course is in great shape. No, we had a good time.

THE MODERATOR: Will, how did you feel about your day?

WILL McGEE: My game is good, just have to work on my swing, which everyone does. It will be good. It will be a lot of fun.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. What was on the line?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Oh, a lot was on the line.

WILL McGEE: So her -- like after 18 holes, if she won, then I would have to do the dishes later. But then if my team one, I get to go home and get ice cream. But we tied.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: He said how about we get ice cream and do the dishes.

So but, yeah, no, our team had, what, maybe a 25-footer on the last, and if we would have made that, he would have made the dishes. So I told the PNC guy that I'm going to invite everybody from PNC because I'm going to use every pot in the house.

I hit the edge, and that was it. It was fun to have a little rivalry between us and get us fired up.

Q. Will, are you playing a different tee this year?

WILL McGEE: Yeah, last year I was all the way up, but now I'm moved back, same tees as her.

Q. How is that?

WILL McGEE: It's good. She still hits it a little farther. We don't really have -- like last year, I had a big gap. If I hit one well, I would be past her and we would have a good advantage, but now we're kind of similar. So everything else has to be good now.

Q. What's been your golf highlight of this past year?

WILL McGEE: It's still been less than a year or around a year since last time we played here, so probably that. But then I guess I played in Hurricane National Championship two weeks ago, and both parents were on the bag each day, because it was two days, and that was a lot of fun.

Q. How are they different caddies?

WILL McGEE: So my dad, he's more like a -- since he caddies whenever she plays, he knows more how to caddie or more like a player. So it's a little different. I'd say Dad is a little bit better on the greens for reading. And then whenever there's football on the weekends, it's like a Sunday, there's football, and so my mom never let me check the scores or whatever, and my dad would. So it's fun.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I think he answered that question, right?

Q. Important distinction there.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yes, I tell him to stay focused.

Q. Will, the last couple years as I've covered your mom's tournament, I have also seen you out on the back chipping area, working on your game. When you're doing that, are you doing it specifically for this event because the timing is so close, or are you out just working on your game and trying to get better in general?

WILL McGEE: I mean, I always just try to get better. I just want to be a better golfer. I'm not where I want to be now, and I want to be the best as I can. I'm always practicing for this tournament, but I just want to be the best I can be.

Q. I have to talk about the shoes. Who picks them out, and do you guys coordinate, and who is the head honcho and decides the shoes?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: He's over there. He's our wardrobe expert. He coordinates everything. As far as the shoes goes --

WILL McGEE: So with the shoes, my dad got me a few pairs for this event. But then I had -- when I got them, they were a size too big. So I didn't think anything of it. But then we got the ones that fit.

And then my mom went and played Grove XXIII last week and really wanted these shoes, but they didn't have them there. And she was talking at dinner, like, Oh, I really want these shoes. And my dad was like, Wait, Will has an extra size up. And it fit her size, so she just took them.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: And it turned out to be the size that I was looking for.

WILL McGEE: Thank you, Nike, for the shoes.

Q. And then Will, can you take me through your putt on 18, what was going through your head.

WILL McGEE: Talking about today?

Q. Yeah. What was it like when you hit that shot?

WILL McGEE: It was -- I was last to putt, and I don't want to let the group down for a par-5. But then we were tied with my mom so far, like the bet, and I just wanted to make it so we had an extra shot on. It was a good putt, dead center.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: So they beat us by one on the front.

WILL McGEE: Then you beat us by one on the back.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: So we're even. We continue tomorrow.

Q. Now that you two have gotten so much closer in distance, has he outdriven you?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: He's super close. I think in the practice round he hit one past me.

WILL McGEE: 20 yards past.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: It's just a matter of maybe not days, but it's a matter of weeks, right?

So I do have to hit it quite well to make sure I'm past him, which is fun. But it's one of those moments that I'm excited that he will, but then part of me is, Hmm, what does that mean about my game? I'm going this way, and he's going up, and it's just so. I'm excited for him.

But it keeps me continue to work on my game, get a little fired up. I don't want to lose it yet. So going to hold on to it as long as I can.

Q. What was your reaction when you finally hit one past her for the very, very first time?

WILL McGEE: I knew I hit it well, and I looked up, and hers didn't look the best, and I was like -- because there's a little hill, and I couldn't see mine, but I could see hers kind of on top. So I was like, I think I may have got her.

And then I saw her ball, and then I saw mine ahead, and I was really happy. But then I stepped it off, and I was like yeah. And it was cart path only, so I was yelling across the fairway, Mom, I outdrove you.

Q. And where was this?

WILL McGEE: On No. 6 out here.

Q. How did you take it, Annika, with your competitive edge? Mixed emotions?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Like I said, I'm happy for him, and I want him to do it, everything. I'm his biggest supporter. I want him to beat me.

But I want it to be fair and square and competitive. And I know that what he wants to do with the sport, he's got to be ready. He's got to be as prepared as possible. So I'm not one of those parents that would give it to him. I want him to earn it.

And so, like I said, it's fun. And I think in the beginning when he was -- I think I can see in his face that he, Come on, Mom, give me a break. But now I think he's tough enough that he knows that the day I do it, it's legit, and that's how I want him to feel.

Q. As you're getting a little bit closer, do you find your preparations are different for this? Are you more of a team preparer? Do you have some bossy moments, Will, on how your mom should prepare?

WILL McGEE: We both practice as much as we can, especially when a tournament is coming up. So I think we're pretty similar with that.

But she always -- I mean, she's still really good. So it's like every time she goes out, every shot looks the same. But she's consistently trying to work on one thing. I'll look at a flag and try to hit a big draw into it and then try to hit a big fade into it. So it's a little bit different there, but it's a lot of fun.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: We have different approaches to the game. I would say Will is more of a feel player. He loves to experiment, hit it high and low. For me it's like I'm not going to move on until I hit it perfect many, many times, and then I move on.

So I think we have different type of practice styles. He would love to go on the golf course. He plays a lot more on the course with his buddies. I like to grind more on the range.

But then when we go out and play together, it's one of those things, it's one of those things we don't play against each other, we play with each other. We do the scramble, two balls and play back and forth.

WILL McGEE: It's like alternate shot, though, with two different golf balls.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: We're friendly and we're competitive together, and it works out best that way.

Q. Will, I've heard you say how much you love this event, how much fun it is for you. As you come back over the years, starting to get a little bit older and further in your golf career, closer to high school golf, what do you try to take away from this week besides just having a good time?

WILL McGEE: It's a big event with a bunch of big players, and I want to see how I can stack up against them with my mom as my partner and just try to do better each year after -- first year I think we were towards the bottom. We jumped up a little last year. Hopefully we're towards the top this year.

Q. Will, I know you're a stats guy. What's your favorite stat about your mom?

WILL McGEE: Only female to shoot 59.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I'll take that.