THE SOLHEIM CUP

September 18, 1998

Pia Nilsson

PIA NILSSON: Sorry it took a while, but I'm here. The team is just off to go and have dinner at the villa, so I'm joining them after this.

PIA NILSSON: Yes, right after play, we decided all caddies and all players would gather in the locker room. So I was -- we went through the day and some thoughts on it and then the pairings tomorrow and chatted individually with some players and then we had practical things going on. And now most of them are off at the villas to have dinner and get some rest.

PIA NILSSON: Kind of interesting. Feels like, since 5:00 this morning, it feels like a nonstop thing and it's been like -- seeing the numbers on the board -- of course, both me and the team thought we would see something else today. But still, I feel calm about it and it's like -- I feel that we -- we're almost there, but not quite there. In the morning, I felt that the greens were a little faster, fairways firmer, so there was some bad choices of lay-up shots and also on the greens. So just a little bit off the whole time. Then the same thing this afternoon. And we had chances to really -- when the opportunities came, the putts didn't go in. We had a very good talk about it: Stay patient with it and keep having courage and stay with it because we felt it wasn't, like, our day today. And the Americans played well and they made the putts and we didn't. The most important thing for us now is not to get down on ourselves because we were very close to playing well. So that's what we were talking about and so I think that's very important. Two matches left and I feel the strategy to play everybody the first day. I'm still happy. Tomorrow I'll have free hands to put together all the ones who are playing the best.

PIA NILSSON: They're not upset. They're a little mad. Good mad.

PIA NILSSON: The reason is the strategy was to play everybody so that four of them who went twice today was Laura and Annika, Helen and Lisa. So if I'm going to play Liselotte twice tomorrow. I know Lisa has probably been playing the best through everybody all through the practice days, so I wanted to play her twice today and then see, like, tomorrow how well we play her. So it was, like, many players would have one round where they wouldn't play and Lisa's happened to be the first day. Even though her form has been so-so the last couple of weeks, she is starting to play very well. So I feel good to have her fresh for two rounds tomorrow.

PIA NILSSON: Like Annika said, she is so into the match. She said she was hitting balls so well that all our irons went -- a few yards longer than she could ever hit them. She always left herself with difficult putts. She was so pumped up. So I think it's a combination of being pumped up and maybe they made some judgments on selecting clubs that they'll change for tomorrow.

PIA NILSSON: Yeah. Catriona Matthew is the -- same thing with her -- could very possibly play two rounds tomorrow because I think she is right there. With Trish, the hard thing is because with the neck and all that, she was fine, it didn't affect her swing or the game whatsoever. And somehow I wanted to check out Trish because I feel she is such an inspirational player and Laura and her want to play foursomes so badly and have such a good record that I felt -- I want to check it out early because if she is there, we can have good use of her even the next day. So I wanted to take that chance because I know how she is. Then it didn't work out today, but I still feel afterwards -- of course, it's easy to say I shouldn't have done it -- but I felt to give Trish that chance and the trust I felt in all those players, then I want to see them the first day.

PIA NILSSON: Definitely. See, I knew that -- if she wouldn't have had that pillow, the neck wouldn't affect her. It would be more she couldn't practice as much.

PIA NILSSON: It can go both ways. This team has an experience doing the opposite, very bad vibrations from that, many team members who didn't really feel part of the match. So everybody felt if we could do that it would be a great advantage and then having the opportunity the next day to put together whatever we want. So that's like -- you could do both ways, too, but it was something that I felt and then checked with the players that it would be -- we felt a good way to do it.

PIA NILSSON: You mean tomorrow morning? I feel they're the ones playing the very best right now, yeah.

PIA NILSSON: I talked to Laura and gave her some feedback. She is so close to playing exceptionally good. I felt, as I told you, she is right there, but loses her patience on -- was it 15 where she hit that superb drive and then her 2nd shot with iron, it was difficult, but she ended up just off the green right in the water. She got very mad and it affected her even afterwards. I told her she needed to get that fume into the ground and leave it there and get ready for the next shot. I just encouraged her to be nicer to herself because she is extremely well to play -- extremely close to playing very, very well. But as soon as she gets too many of the bad breaks, she takes it very hard on herself.

PIA NILSSON: The two of them were happy and enjoyed playing together.

PIA NILSSON: Yeah.

PIA NILSSON: Laura is a longer partner. I feel, with Trish, it's better to play her in the afternoon where she is playing her own ball and Alison the same way because Alison is close to playing well; but I feel if we play her, it's better in the afternoon. And then Lisa, she has played well, had a very hard day for her mentally today and I feel resting her in the morning she could do great things in the afternoon. No matter what I looked at, she is going to need a new foursome partner. So she liked that and Charlotta was comfortable, too. Charlotta is going to keep the ball in play for Laura. (Laughs).

PIA NILSSON: Actually, I know the rule was there. I haven't, like, spent time to -- like, to change it or not. It's something you can do after the matches if we're going to have some more meetings about what it's all about. From one point, I feel if you have a team in any sports, you pick the best ones and you always know that sometimes it's right and sometimes it's not. I would have to think about it more.

PIA NILSSON: Yeah. I -- yeah. She was, like, all week I felt she has been a lot more stressed than I thought that she would be. But when yesterday she felt a lot better -- this morning or before she teed off this afternoon, she felt quite comfortable, too.

PIA NILSSON: I haven't had time to more than just pat her on the back to talk to her about it. But she lost -- her confidence wasn't there at all.

PIA NILSSON: Yeah, but Lisa isn't a rookie. What was -- it was, like, putting everybody to play. And Lisa, as I said, the two of them get along really, really well and Lisa, all through the week has been outstandingly good. It felt like -- just like Annika playing Catriona in the morning and Laura played with Charlotta and the rookies got to play with some of the steadier, best players.

TIM MCNULTY: Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen.