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KAPALUA LPGA CLASSIC

October 16, 2008

Suzann Pettersen

MAUI, HAWAII

MIKE SCANLAN: Let's go over your card first.
SUZANN PETTERSEN: 13, I hit a wedge 25 feet short and made the putt.
1, I was 70 yards out on my third shot and I hit it to ten feet and knocked that one in. 4, bogeyed from 20 feet and missed a 4-footer for par.
6, it was about 15 feet on the third shot and knocked that one in.
Bogey on 7. Hit it short in the bunker on my second shot, hit a bunker shot to about 20 feet and missed the putt.
Then on 8, I hit my wedge to about three feet.
MIKE SCANLAN: How far was the drive.
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I was trying to get on the green but it's hard because it slopes. I was about 20 yards short of the green and chipped it to ten feet.
MIKE SCANLAN: 4-under par on the first day, leader in the clubhouse by one, a little windy out there for you, if you would, just talk about the conditions and how you played today.
SUZANN PETTERSEN: It was actually a little bit more quiet after I teed off this morning. So you kind of adjust and play your way around.
It definitely got a lot more windy as we made the turn. Down by 4 and 5, those are very exposed down there, so tough, very, very tough to putt. And with grain and downwind, if you're on the wrong side of the grain and the wind behind you, you're like praying for that ball to hit the hole almost. It's tough but you're so exposed with your body.
But it's tough. It's very it tough. Like I was saying, it's almost harder to putt in this kind of gusty wind, kind of comes and goes. Some greens are more exposed than others, but it's tough. I'm glad I'm done.

Q. Is there any similar practice rounds that were anything like today for you?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: No, but I was told when I got here that they expected four tough days in the tournament, but they were expecting more wind. So yesterday in the Pro-Am I think it was like normal or windy but definitely very playable.
Today it's much more gusty, especially when you go down 4 or 5.
I mean, you've got to take what you've got and you've got to take it one shot at a time. I mean, it doesn't matter what the other player is hitting because you're trying to just trying to create the best shot possible to try to keep the ball out of the wind or kind of under the wind. I mean, I like to play in the windy conditions because I like to kind of create different shots.
So for me, I play probably more with my feel game more than my kind of mechanic game in these conditions.

Q. How many shots did you have to create today?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I don't think I hit one normal golf shot, except for the tee shots. Most approach shots, I'm trying to hit like three-quarter, knock-down shots. Especially if you hit uphill into the grain and into the wind, you have to make sure you take the spin off the ball. That's all you're trying to do is trying to control the trajectory of the ball.
If you do that from a 9-iron from 100 yards or from a sand wedge, I don't know, but I usually do it with a 9-iron just for control. That's my way to play around a course like this in these conditions.

Q. What's it going to take for you to be standing with the trophy in your hands on Sunday?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: It all depends what the course gives us. All of the caddies when they walked this course, I think most of them walked the course in fairly quiet conditions, said you could shoot low on this golf course. The par 5s are not too hard. It's pretty straightforward and there's kind of nothing ahead of you.
So the wind is the only thing that can protect this course from the players, and if it stays like this, I would take four round at 4-under and sit in the clubhouse and wait.

Q. How would you assess your year?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: My year? It's been great. It's been interesting. I've been kind of adding some people to my team and kicking some people off. Some people have been replacing other people. I mean, I've been playing great. I've been doing changes. I've been -- I don't know, I won pretty solid two tournaments in Europe, so it's not like I've gone a year without winning.
I've been close over here. I just haven't quite caught up. But I know that if I am patient and I play well, I'm capable of winning, and that's the most important thing. Yeah, I mean, right now, just trying to adjust a little bit to the new stuff in my swing, and this is the time to do it and still tried to be competitive and be playable out here.
So I'm just playing with what I have and really working hard on my short game.

Q. ADT today announced they will not be extending sponsorship into next year; what is your reaction?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I mean, ADT has been great the last couple of years, how they have built it up with the two seasons, like first half, second half, and people are trying to get into those spots. You want to be there and kind of play for that million dollar first prize.
I think it's been great and even though ADT won't continue, and we will probably have some other great ending events next year. Hopefully some similar tournaments coming up in a couple of years time. It's just a very tough time these days, and unfortunately they are not continuing. But I think this year, we can prove that it will be another great event, and you never know.

Q. Any scenario where you see Kapalua shifting from here to next season in the ending position?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I don't know, I'm not the tournament chief or tournament director of this tournament.

Q. Would you see that, as this being the season-ender?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Personally I think this is a great full-field event. I think a season-ending tournament should be a more limited field like whatever, top in the Money List, like a tournament championship kind of thing. That's my opinion.
So I think that should be -- that's why I think ADT is a great tournament. You have to kind of play your way in to get there and it's kind of based on how you've played all year, and I think that's great.
Hopefully the LPGA will come up with another season-ending tournament similar to that.

Q. You had a great year last year, and you made it look so easy to win; did you realize how difficult it is to win? You had your chances --
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Last year I played great, and when I had a chance, I got it.
This year, I had a chance, but I haven't got it. I mean, if I've got my kind of finish to do twice this year, won two, you've had a great year. And being close and not finally closing the deal and you get a second place, third place, you have like an average year.
It's such a fine line of what kind of defines a great year, a good year, average year. Like I'm saying, I've gone to Europe as a kind of expecting -- people are expecting me to win, and it's almost harder, but I pulled it off twice and played really good, which almost for me gives me a better -- it's almost harder when people expect you to win, as opposed to people expect you to go and play, and you still have to do the job.
It's such a fine line on how you kind of define your year. You look at the good stuff and kind of build the energy around that, and to get better, you have to look at your worst shot. You're never better than your worst shot.

Q. Are you discouraged?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: No, no, not at all. I've been enjoying my time out here this year and I've been trying. I changed coach middle of the year which is not ideal. But I figured I would rather do it now than wait another six months, so that will probably benefit me the beginning of next year, that I'm more ready than I would have been if I had to wait.
Sometimes you have to do some decisions that might not be ideal short term, but long term, it might be good. So patience is a great word for this.

Q. Do you like Kraft foods more?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I don't know, do you think so? I don't know.

Q. The year before --
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Second place is the first loser. (Laughter).
No, two years ago, if I'm lucky, I lost it. This year, I feel like I won my second place. I was able to make the cut this year. I won the second place last year and lost my first place. You can look at it more ways.
But it's really a course that I proved to myself that I can play well.
MIKE SCANLAN: Suzann, thanks so much for taking the ride over here.

End of FastScripts

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