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LPGA STATE FARM CLASSIC

August 29, 2007

Annika Sorenstam

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS

ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Annika, this is your tenth start of the season and you're looking for your 69th career victory; how does it feel to be back at Springfield?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I'm happy to be back.
I'm happy to be back here. You know, last year was obviously a really special week, and especially you know, the finish that I had.
So no, I'm looking forward to a great week. I've had two weeks off and I had a chance to practice and work out quite a bit and I feel like my game is coming around, so I'm looking forward to testing it this week.

Q. Is it interesting coming back after winning, but having a venue change, is that something you have experienced before? A lot of times you play a course over and over and maybe you won last year but now there's a venue change here.
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, I think we're all happy about the venue change. I don't have a problem of coming to a new event playing a golf course.

Q. Can you answer that question again?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Sure, I'll try to give you a better answer.
Like I said, I don't mind coming to a new venue. It's always fun to play new golf courses. I had a chance to play the course today and yesterday. It's a great place. It's a little upgrade I must say with the facilities and the driving range. Everybody I've spoken to are just happy to try the new place so I think it's going to be good for the future of the tournament.

Q. The course conditions this week, it's been dry, the fairways are very firm and a lot of players are saying they are getting a lot of roll and at least as of right now, the greens, do they still seem to be fairly receptive?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: No, they are. I'm surprised, I think they are watering the greens a lot during the night. You can tell that it's been dry here for quite some time, and you're right, we're getting a lot of roll off the tees. I have to obviously pay attention to the run outs and then again, the rough is not as lush as you would think it would be.
So you know, it's going to be -- I think you'll see a lot of birdies, people firing at the pins thanks to the greens being a little softer.

Q. Granted a new venue, still certain places you don't want to be, but is there a philosophy of a lot of birdies being out there?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Obviously it's tough to tell before the tournament starts and not being here in the past. But you know, I believe with these type of conditions, you will see a lot of players reaching par 5s in two, giving eagle opportunities, par 4s are a little shorter, maybe with wedges in your hand, you're going to play more aggressive.

Q. This has been a very eventful year for you in a lot of different ways. You had an injury earlier in the year, and having to deal with that. You've had a lot of other endeavors, the Academy and just the ANNIKA brand so to speak, things like that. Has it been -- has this year been challenging in a lot of ways in terms of just coming back from the injury, and also just all of your other outside interests.
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: It's definitely been a different type of year, I must say. I mean, a lot of things are going right for me. I feel I'm just in a happy place in my life, and you know, inside the ropes hasn't been so consistent as the past but I would say the outside has been fantastic. I really made a lot of progress I think with the ANNIKA brand and the other business ventures that I've got myself into.
You know, the Academy is flourishing and the foundation that I started, and you know, hosting two tournaments and my Web site, it's been a busy year. But I really feel like I've accomplished a lot together with the team that I have helping me.
It's a good year. It's definitely a great year and, you know, I don't regret anything, even though I wish I wouldn't have had an injury. But it is what it is and I'm bouncing back and I feel good about my game and I'm looking forward to the next few events and getting back into the winner's circle.

Q. Maybe you haven't played as much this year as years earlier in your career, was this a priority to come back here and maybe talk about the history of this tournament being so long standing and then you have having won it last year, was it one that you really wanted to make sure that you played in?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Of course, you wanted to come back to a place where you have some great memories, and especially now that I'm looking for my first win of the year. You want to come back to places where you have done well. So this tournament fits perfectly in the schedule and I'm happy to be here, and like I said, I'm ready to play some good golf.

Q. You'll be playing with Ai Miyazato and Brittany Lang tomorrow. What are your thoughts on her? You haven't played with her this year.
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: With Ai? No, I've not played with her this year, but I've played with her in the past. I would say that we're pretty good friends. I know her quite a bit from just playing with her. She's a great person and she's having a good year. It's always fun to play with Ai, so I'm looking forward to tomorrow. It should be a good group.

Q. You very recently had a big announcement in your life. You and Mike, your fiancee, you're also a team in many ways now, business-wise and otherwise. Just talk about your relationship a little bit, it's a unique relationship, I would think, business-wise and otherwise.
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, we just got engaged Saturday, so that was a big announcement. You know, we've worked together closely. He started in December, so it's been about eight months, and he's been a great addition to the team. He's really working hard to build the ANNIKA brand and really get it out there and really helping me to achieve my goals.
So, it's been fabulous that way, and then it's so nice to have a supporter with me traveling, somebody that really, really cares, and he does. I don't know, for me it doesn't feel like a real relationship at all. It just feels very, very natural and it's a lot of fun and it's a special time.

Q. Your injury situation, right now, I think Mike mentioned just maybe the strength factor with your neck and stuff; just generally do you feel like you're at 80 percent or can you put a label on it like that?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, it's tough to putt a label I think. But if I compare it to kind of the distance that I have, compare it to some of the weight that I lift in the gym, it's probably 80, 85 percent. What's been hard has been just the coordination of the whole thing. I've been working a lot on my backswing and when I get up to the top, you have to fire in a sequence and then it really has not been doing that for a while, so it's been tough for me. Sometimes I come over the top and sometimes I come underneath a little too much.
I just think I have to train the muscles again, and whether the strength is there or not, I've got to work together and I'm finally starting to feel that. It's been several weeks where I felt like I feel great but it's just not coming out the way I wanted to.
You know, I worked with a physical therapist last week and he told me that I had to be patient. You know, I've had nerve damage and it just takes a while. I always felt that when I have no pain and I can practice hard and work out, I feel like I'm ready. But it's just going to take a little more time than I anticipated.

Q. Your injury situation this year, plus a lot of -- again, the academy and so on and so forth, Lorena obviously has had a tremendous year, she's currently No. 1, money, World Rankings, are you still very motivated to try to get back to that No. 1 spot, even though this has been kind of a challenging year for you, is that still the long-range goal for you?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, it is, my goal right now is to go back to 100%, so I can really play at the top that I know I can. I'm going to go at it hard next year and see how I can do. I feel like this year I really haven't been competing. You know, I've been around but I haven't really been able to give my best, and I look forward to that day when I can really stand there and be a big factor. So hopefully that will come sooner than later.

Q. Can you talk just a little about your Annika Foundation? I know you've been doing some things with scholarships like over in Sweden, but just are you still looking at all kind of possibilities for what you want to do with the foundation?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, it's a very good question. I know what I want to do and in the past I've done scholarships like you've just talked about. But this year I lined myself up with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and I'm actually their National Ambassadoress for a campaign they have called the Finish and Joy. So that's started yearly this year, which is when I started my foundation. Really my goal is to give kids a chance to follow their dreams, which is what I feel like I have been able to do.
We'll just at this particular time, just try to narrow down the mission statement, but I know inside my heart what I want to do. You know, to putt something down that you can see, it is the make a wish that I've been able to do. You know, I've granted a few wishes, helped out financially, and they are going to play a big role but eventually hopefully my foundation will be big enough to stand by itself.
ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Thank you very much for your time and good luck this week.

End of FastScripts

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