THE SOLHEIM CUP

September 21, 2002

Raquel Carriedo

Laura Davies

Karine Icher

Q. Ladies and gents, we have Laura Davies, Raquel Carriedo and Karine Icher.

Q. First of all, Laura, dramatic match.

LAURA DAVIES: We were enjoying watching the three matches in front as well as playing ours. It was good fun, obviously, seeing all the blue on the board, and I thought we had ours in the bag, and that's the worst thing you can think.

And, obviously, they came back with a couple of good birdies, and Sophie missed 15, we missed the fairway on that hole, we were in a bit of trouble, and they made a couple of really good birdies, and just managed -- on 18, I could see it all slipping away because Kelli also got a very bad lie in the bunker, and I don't think there was much sand there, so it sort of evened itself out.

Q. Any of you talk about the stunning turnaround from this morning to this afternoon, 4-0 this afternoon. Even though three of the matches were tight, winning 4-0 is pretty decisive.

LAURA DAVIES: Fire away, girls. Well, I think it was fantastic. If they are not going to talk, I will have to do it. We were a bit irritated this morning after losing 3-1 because I don't think -- certainly not myself and Paula -- played very well and felt disappointed to lose our match, and I know the other girls were disappointed because they were playing well, so I don't think anyone's head went down, we were just more determined, and the captain got the pairings spot on.

Q. Laura, can you talk about the 10th hole.

LAURA DAVIES: Yeah, that was lovely, probably two of the best shots I have ever hit in my career, I would say, because the drive had to be hit perfectly and drawn, as well, which is not my natural shot.

And we had 227 to the pin, and I had to draw the 3-iron, as well, hit out over the lake, and then hang on there with the line, and the wind hit it just at the right point, and it was about 6, 7 feet for the eagle, and I had two putts to win the hole. I nearly missed it, but I managed to nick the second one.

Q. Laura, would you talk a little bit about you have played every match, Annika has played every match, Carin Koch has played every match. This afternoon the US didn't play Inkster, Diaz, Mallon, all played pretty well for them. Any factor in that and, obviously, playing five matches in three days won't be a problem for you?

LAURA DAVIES: No, I mean, you just have to play. You are a little bit tired, my back is a little bit sore. I had to take it to 18 three times and 17 once, so it's been a lot of holes, but captains have different philosophies, and I know the Americans have the philosophy that they have all qualified for the team, and they all get roughly three matches in the first two days. What Dale's theory is on it, you will have to ask Dale, you know, she is the captain, she puts the team sheets up, but I think she has given everybody a fairly good run at it. Obviously, you have got to use Annika for all four, it's debatable whether to use me, but she did, and obviously, Carin Koch is playing very well, so you can't really question it, you got a two-point lead.

Q. You are coming pretty close to winning on American soil for the first time. Can you talk about what that would be like?

LAURA DAVIES: Well, that's obviously the dream for all of us, especially the new players who have never experienced winning at all, just winning would be great. We have all -- a lot of the team, six, maybe five of us, have won in Europe, and out here is the ultimate, really, on star golf courses and good weather. The weather really did help, absolutely no question about that, good weather, but there is a long way to go.

The Americans have a history of having good singles days, and we will just have to make sure it's our turn. We want to win the single, that was the goal at the beginning of the week, regardless of how we stood on Saturday night, we wanted to win 6 and a half points in the singles, just to prove that we can win the singles. We have only done it once, twice now, on home soil.

Q. I just wanted to ask Karine and Raquel, Raquel, I am wondering whether this match was your best Solheim moment so far, despite, obviously, winning in Loch Lomond, and Karine, whether you think it's sort of a good start for you now.

KARINE ICHER: It was a very good start, and Raquel played very well this afternoon, she played fantastic, she made some birdies on the 9th and 1st hole and it was a very, very good match, and we are very happy.

Q. Laura Diaz, a sweep this afternoon.

Q. Raquel had a question to answer.

Q. I beg your pardon.

RAQUEL CARRIEDO: I just wanted to say that I think I have played one of the best golf in my life, one of the best days of golf in my life, and I would like to congratulation Karine, as well, because she really helped me a lot, especially at the end, and I think we really made a good team today and we were fighting a lot until the end because the Americans were really tough to beat, Karine was making everything, and I don't know, just keep fighting, and it was great to win the point at the end.

Q. What about the singles? You are looking at -- you need five singles wins.

RAQUEL CARRIEDO: Yeah, well, we just need to keep on playing -- I think all of us are playing quite good at the moment, and we will see tomorrow, but we really need to concentrate a lot tomorrow in the singles. I think the singles normally are the decisive matches in this kind of competition, so we will see tomorrow hopefully.

Q. Now Laura what about your play, because I think this is by far your best, your very best, performance in the Solheim Cup.

LAURA DAVIES: Yeah, there is no question. All week I have been hitting the ball really well, and there has not really been too many weak moments. I probably haven't holed as many putts as I would have like to, but we all say that, we want to make everything, but the ball striking part of it, it's been nice.

And it's been nice to be paired with -- obviously, with Paula and now Sophie, and -- you know, two great players, they keep you going, they give you confidence to hit shots, and it makes the keep easier if you have got someone beside you that you really trust and believe in.

Q. They say it's going to be colder and windier tomorrow. Do you think that will help you guys?

RAQUEL CARRIEDO: It won't hurt us.

Q. What do you think overall of the course?

LAURA DAVIES: It's fantastic, not a poor hole out there, a lot of false fronts you have got to be wary of, you have got to make sure you throw the ball beyond the pin on 16 and a few of the other holes; otherwise, you are spinning really hard down the front of the green, but the layout is fantastic, unless we lose tomorrow, then it's a terrible course.

Q. What's the team plan for tonight?

LAURA DAVIES: Probably sleep, I think. It seems like we get up at 5:00, we get home at 8:00, we get up at 5:00. It's the longest week ever, it really is.

Q. Question for Laura only because you guys haven't been on the -- haven't played Solheim in America before. How about the crowds? I felt at Greenbrier they were pretty much hostile, but here they seemed to be --

LAURA DAVIES: They are good-natured. I was saying to my caddy, Knobby, on the way around, I have had so many Americans wish me good luck, and they are genuine. They, obviously, don't necessarily want us to beat the Americans, but they are genuine fans. And it's not very nice when they hole a putt because they go crazy, and you can tell on the course from some of the roars that the Americans have made another birdie. And our European fans here are having fun, too, and they are being heard. Obviously, that atmosphere is friendly, at that first tee, all the singing, and the whole week has been a great success.

Q. Ladies, a thought or two from each one of you about the golf course, itself. Where are the tough holes out there for you, personally? What's the one or two toughest holes that you have to play and how you play them?

RAQUEL CARRIEDO: I find number 9 quite a tough hole, especially the shot into the green. Today, for example, I put it right on the top and it went back to the front of the green, so I don't know, that's a difficult green and tough hole.

And, also, number 17th is also a very tough hole. It's quite long for me, maybe not for other players, but I am not a long hitter, so it's also a tough hole for me, number 17.

And all the holes are tough, but for me, those two maybe are the most.

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