THE SOLHEIM CUP

October 23, 1994

JoAnne Carner

JoANNE CARNER: I talked a lot about match play and the strategy in match play. The hard thing is to get to the first tee and you are nervous; you cannot help but be nervous, so to get them out of that I forced them to think of only winning the first hole, I said, I don't want to hear anything else. I want you to stand on that first tee and I want you to win the first hole for me. And like Beth Daniels said, you know she finally did it yesterday and just about threw her arm out of joint, you know, because she was so thrilled with the fact that she won the first hole, and what it did, it makes a person focus. They don't concern themselves as much with their nervousness or whether they miss the ball. If you are thinking you are going to win it, you are thinking much more aggressive and you are thinking where you want to hit the ball. You are not thinking about the bunker over there or the wind or the trees on the left and all that. So that was my main point everyday. You got to start out winning the first hole because it putS you in the right frame of mind.

JoANNE CARNER: When they first got here they were worn out with the exception of Brandie. And Michelle. They were just very tired. So we took Monday off and then we got in and they started talking about nerves and this and that and I squelched it. I said I don't want to hear anymore on that, all this negativeness; you are going to have nerves; if you need to, I will get you some vaseline; you put it on your teeth when you get to the first tee and your lips won't stick, but when I kind of got them focused on winning the first hole, no one ever asked me for some on their teeth. But they -- they couldn't help but being nervous, you know.

JoANNE CARNER: Well, yeah, when I questioned -- I called Beth Daniel about a week before - I had to call her about something else and I said if I paired you with Meg - they are very close friends and they play a lot of matches against other LPGA players, and they do it a lot, so I said if I pair you two together, do you think you will be too high, too wound up, trying too hard; I said, do you think you will try too hard. They that sort of makes -- I mean, Beth just sort of -- I could hear her jumping back on the phone saying, well, I don't know, you will have to call Meg and ask Meg, you know, but it was kind of the answer I wanted. You know, like I am not concerned with that, you know. Without saying it, inferring it. So that was, you know, let me know that was the pairing I wanted. But we all sat and talked and everybody talked about how nervous they were in previous matches, and how how it turned out you know, good, and I allowed just a little conversation Thursday night about some of the veteran players talking about how bad it feels to lose, but I hardly allowed any of that. I wanted everything to be you, nothing but up.

JoANNE CARNER: It depends upon whether you are on the winning end or losing end. Ben Hogan was probably one of the greatest players ever. I hated to watch him play. He didn't suit my style of play. He was too stoic; showed no emotion. Dottie shows everything. I like it. Dottie is so totally into it that I don't think Dottie knows what she expresss on the golf course, you know, she is just -- she is just wound, which is wonderful; makes you a wonderful match play player.

JoANNE CARNER: I would loved to have played her, but you know, you better you better be playing good.

JoANNE CARNER: Her knee which she has had a lot of surgery on, her knee went out during the backside of yesterday's round, so we sent her right down to the therapist, physical therapist and the fitness trainer worked on her and then she iced it mostly through the team meeting last night; dinner and meeting and then I think Keith did some more work on her this morning, so. . .

JoANNE CARNER: She said there is really nothing she can do with it. It is just -- she will play in pain and stiffness but she did not want me to say anything.

JoANNE CARNER: Well, the growth of the Solheim Cup is nothing but phenomenal. I mean, I don't know any other word to express it. Everything right on here and this is as beautiful a place as this is -- it is so out of the way, and when I look at all those galleries out there, it is just thrilling to know that people came from a long ways away. I know a couple of the caddies and players have driven 70 miles everyday, LPGA players and caddies that are not involved in this, but came to watch, drove 70 miles everyday, so...

JoANNE CARNER: Well, she surprised me. I kept thinking 6 points, 6 points, 6 points. You know, that is what I wanted. That was the goal. So I was keeping track of everything and when she came through and said over TV that I won, you know, I was gone because I hadn't prepared for it. I still thought we had to win one match.

JoANNE CARNER: I can't remember. Oh yes, I do. Yes, I do. The intercollegiate, I blew an overtime match and I was crying going back to the club house and this big burly guy came up and put his arm around me and he said, that is all right, JoAnne, I know how you feel and you know, gave me a hug and then he walked off and I said to this friend of mine, who was there, (indicating crying)said it was Mike Souchak and he had blown The Masters the week previous. So he knew how I felt.

JoANNE CARNER: I lost probably somewhere around 60 -- 57. I went to college 57 to 61, so...

JoANNE CARNER: Well, I think with each match, I couldn't follow all. I had Michelle working the early groups. I stayed; watched everyone tee off; then I went out. I could not follow any and because of the difficult of getting to the holes, unless you are walking, I couldn't get to a lot of holes, so I would have to stay in a set area and, you know, like what worries you, I mean, you are thrilled when you get Sherri Steinhauer 4 up and then you see her relax a bit and start to faulter, you know, and the harder she is trying, you know, and I said just relax, let everything go, relax your hands and whatnot, let it go. And she ended up winning that hole. And then I kept trying to root her on, you know, but she wasn't -- I mean, she'd hit it either on or just on the collar and she couldn't take the pressure off herself, you know, she'd putt and instead of being that close (indicating 6 inches) it would be like that (indicating 6 feet). She kept putting pressure and pressure and pressure on herself. And you know, she just hung in there, and that was sort of the, you know, what happened; some players who are behind, they just stayed in there and came from behind and to move ahead.

JoANNE CARNER: Yeah. I think Laura inspires the team. You know, she has always done it, and I think it becomes a team ritual, sort of. So when you move Laura around, it changes the team atmosphere around.

JoANNE CARNER: Yes, I was really because we were battling so close on the others, I knew Tammie and Kelly had to come out of their slump. Tammie, from what I heard, was hitting the ball well, but they just were not clicking as a team. There she is right now. And I knew that she is -- her game is there, so I put her in the position that she was in because I figured she'd come out of her slump -- not her slump, but her two losses and with the West Virginia fans here if she gets going, they are going to start screaming and hollaring their head off and we heard them all the way around that golf course today. It was just wonderful. If Tammie follows directions, this is a Stoli. It is. Thank you, Tammie.

JoANNE CARNER: I have to recover for this one. I absolutely loved it. I think you really have to know your players. I think one advantage I had -- I picked long hitters and I think it was very critical on this golf course.

JoANNE CARNER: Well, Donna has always been good and solid, but never long enough. And she worked on her length and consequently she started getting just a little longer, little longer and that that allows you to hit a shorter club, get the ball closer to the hole. She has always been a very accurate driver. She has always hole high on her iron shots and just a very good fast green putter. And she has, due to back trouble, disc trouble, has tried to change her swing and it is miraculous that she has made the changes; although, I noticed this week she sort of looking like her swing earlier in the year, but to make any changes at all normally takes a good year, year and a half. So whatever she is working on, she accomplished in the very, very short time. But she started getting stronger and stronger and I put her in the position of number 10, part hometown; second thing which was strategy all week that if we play early, let the shorter hitters play later in the day so the course has time to dry and thirdly, in every match that she played she got stronger and more accurate as the match neared closing.

JoANNE CARNER: No, they literally outplayed us.

JoANNE CARNER: No, it is not, I mean, like listening to Beth earlier, we play against these girls with the exception of 3, I think 3, maybe 4 players that play our--and have beat us all in many, many events, so there is a great deal of respect there for their games. I mean, they are wonderful players.

JoANNE CARNER: And they are getting more and more of them over there, so I do not see a shortage of talent over there at all.

JoANNE CARNER: I don't know. I don't know -- I mean, myself, I like this format, but I think it makes it a harder job for a captain and as a player, I wouldn't want to sit out, you know, sit out a day. But what they are talking about is the possibility of a player has to play on a day. You wouldn't sit out two matches.

JoANNE CARNER: Yes.

JoANNE CARNER: Absolutely.

JoANNE CARNER: Yes. But there is a lot that goes into it. Watching players, you know, as you go. It was very hard this week because I couldn't get out and watch them, you know. So if you go to the format next time, I would have to change the whole setup for press conferences because I have to watch the players to see who I am going to play and who I am going to set out.

JoANNE CARNER: Well, I can't say it is the ultimate, but it is probably the highest honor I could ever have that pertains to golf, but doesn't involve me playing golf.

JoANNE CARNER: I'd like to say a lot, but I think my game just wasn't there. It didn't.

JoANNE CARNER: Well, Steve, I wish I could have taped the Thursday night round table that we had where I just had the rookies speak first. I spoke. And then I had the rookies speak about how it is to be here, and where they can speak on anything. And they talked about many, many things and then when -- they went into the veterans and certain players talked about other players and how they had been inspired by them and rode buses to watch them play, when they were 15 and so on, and you know, the other players looking at them, you did that, you watched me, there were just a lot of things that went on and wer revealed about how inspiring other players are, but they have never had the sort of closeness and freedom to talk as well and as openly as we did. They inspired me as well, I mean, the team inspired themselves by just talking.

JoANNE CARNER: No.

JoANNE CARNER: Spur of the moment -- what did you call it, intuitive. Yeah, I just wanted to hear it from them.