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GRAND CHINA AIR LPGAOctober 23, 2008Annika SorenstamHAINAN ISLAND, CHINA THE MODERATOR: Annika, welcome to the Grand China Air. You've been here almost more than a day. How do you find the Island of Hainan? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Thank you. So far, so good. I must say, it's a little different than I expected. I've been to China a few times before, but it's been to Beijing and Hong Kong, so it's very different. But I'm happy to be here. It's just going to be a great week and a great tournament, and I think it's great for the LPGA to come here and play, so I'm excited. The MODERATOR: We have a very strong field, and you are approaching to your retirement, you have a few events left. Do you see one more trophy here and a few later? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, why not? I have a few more chances. I've counted six events left, so it's certainly coming to an end, and obviously a wonderful ride. So, I'm excited to be here, and I'm looking forward to the next few tournaments. I know it's been different since I announced my stepping-away plans in June. I haven't really played as well as I wanted, so it would be nice to finish with a few wins and kind of leave it at that. Q. (How has the experience been for you)? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, it's good for us, nothing that I wouldn't want to trade for anything. But it's a lot going on every week and it's been a little harder than I thought it would be, a lot more emotional. Even though I'm trying to stay focused and I'm trying to play some good golf, that's really what I've always been about is to play my best at every tournament. It's been different and I wish in a way I could have played better, but I think that mentally, I've made the decision, and I'm moving forward. So now I'm just absorbing the atmosphere, absorbing every week, and in a way, saying good-bye. Q. Can you give us a little prediction after your retirement, what you think the whole LPGA, especially the players from maybe Asia or especially Chinese professional players, how will they do in the LPGA? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: That's a good question. Just looking at the last 15 years that I've been a professional and been on the LPGA, I've certainly seen a change. Obviously the golf has gotten better and better. We're seeing obviously a lot more of an international tour and we're seeing a lot more players from Asia. If I could guess what's going to happen the next five years to ten years, we are going to continue to see a growth from this part of the country or the world, I should say, and I'm sure we are going to see a lot more Chinese players joining the LPGA and achieving success around the world. And I think this week, playing here, it's a step in the right direction, and really showing that the LPGA is a global tour. And I think it's wonderful that we're here. That's one of the reasons why I want to support this tournament. And I think we are going to see a lot more events in this area, and again, some more players joining the Tour. Q. Can I just ask you to follow up on that, what is it that you see with the players from Korea? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I'm not an expert in that area, but just from my own perspective and the things I see, especially here in China, I mean, golf is very young. In Korea, I would say Se Ri Pak paved the way with being a great role model, and after her success, huge growth. You know, that's very important to have somebody kind of break the ice. And going back to Sweden, Liselotte Neumann won the Open in 1988, and after that you got Helen (Alfredsson) and after that you got me and several other Swedish players. It's so important to have somebody as a role model and break the ice for the rest of the country. What I see with the Asian players is the work ethic. They work very, very hard. If you look at their swings, they are technically sound. They are working with some of the best instructors in the world. You know, you put that together, you're going to see some great results. Q. Judy Rankin has mentioned three names who have probably the most consistent golf swing: Ben Hogan, Mickey Wright, and yourself. So can you tell us a little secret about your golf swing? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I mean, that's quite the compliment. To just be even put in the same league as those two is huge. I mean, that's very flattering. I guess really the key to my swing is, obviously I've hit a lot of balls throughout the years, and as a little kid, worked a lot on my swing just to make sure that I could repeat it. If you look at my swing, there's very few moving parts. This game is hard enough and I try to make it as simple as possible by just really rotating around my spine. There's one swing plane, keeping the same through the wedges, through the drive and the same swing tempo. It's tough to describe up here about my swing more than that, but I would say that consistency has been my strength through the career, and iron play is a little bit more specific when it comes to distance control. So that's kind of what I've been relying on through the years. Q. Since you're stepping away, everybody else is saying it's retirement, but will we be able to drag you out? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I am stepping away 100 percent after my tournament in Dubai and I really don't have any plans of playing even a few tournaments here or there. I'm completely stepping away. The reason why I'm not choosing retirement is I'm not really retiring. I have a lot going on, and the last thing I'm going to do is just sit on the couch. I'm so active with all of my businesses and next year, I'm already the spokesperson for the USGA. So I'm going to be very involved in the growth of the game and so forth. So that's why I'm not using the "R" word, and we'll see if I come back in a few years to play, but as of now, I'm leaving the door open. Q. You're obviously going to be busy as you just said, but can we fast-forward to sort of February 2009, the first event is going to be played; what do you think you'll miss most about playing on the Tour? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I will definitely miss the competition. I mean, if you know me well, I'm extremely competitive. I mean, since I was a little kid, I competed in sports. I mean, I started with tennis. I played soccer and obviously the last 20 years or so, I've been playing golf. So I think I will miss that part of coming down the stretch and having to hit that great iron shot or have to make a putt to either win a tournament or get a playoff. I think I will miss the adrenaline pumping. But having said that, as you all know, it takes a lot more than just playing in a tournament to be up there. It's a daily grind and it's the constant putting golf first and always waking up in the morning and really feeling that you have to perform, you know, going to the gym and grinding and hitting ball after ball after ball. Those are the parts that I will not miss. I've done that for so long, and I've enjoyed it very much. I've pushed myself and I've enjoyed the journey, but I've come to a point now where I'm very happy and I'm very satisfied with what I've achieved, and another year for a few more tournaments is not going to change that. I just really want to leave at the top where I feel I've done it. You know, I'm content with my life, and I'm going to put all my energy into my businesses. I think we have discussed some of them before, but the ANNIKA Academy takes a lot of time; the foundation that I'm working very hard on; building golf courses; clothing line. As a matter of fact, I'm coming out with a wine label in May; a fragrance line in May. So these are all things that I'm going to put my energy and my competitive, I guess you can call, spirit to, where it's going to be very tough as well. Business is very different than golf, but I will channel it in a different way. So, new challenges ahead. And getting married and starting a family; who knows, I might come out on Tour sooner than later. It might be tougher than I think it is. Q. The junior events, the Annika Invitational next year, what will that represent, and besides your event in the United States and your homeland, have you ever considered to launch another such kind of event in other places such as Asia and China? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, I've been lucky to put my name on a few tournaments, and as you all know, it's been the Tribute Hosted by me in Charleston on the LPGA schedule; and, of course, in Sweden, the TPC hosted by me. So I've been very lucky to do that, and I've enjoyed that. And now we are going to venture out and do it with junior girls. Like you said, the Annika Invitational in January next year, which is actually the week after my wedding, so not much of a honeymoon. We are going to go directly and inspire these young girls. But that's just a thrill for me, it really is. And if I get the opportunity to do something in Asia or in China, I would welcome it. As we've said, I'm stepping away from competition, but I'm far away from stepping away from golf; on the contrary. I want to continue to be involved in different ways and help the game of golf and obviously the growth of women's sports; so it would be a thrill. Q. The three gentlemen you played with, after the round they were kind of depressed because you are way longer than they are and way straighter than they are. Can you talk a little bit about your round today in the Pro-Am, and also about the golf course. ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Sure. Well, I hope they didn't leave depressed, because we had a good time today. It's all about teamwork, and I tried to share some of my secrets out there. I think one of the guys actually hit it a little longer and straighter in the end, so he was quite pleased. But having said that, it was a great day. I thought, you know, we played in four and a half hours; it was great out there. It was a little wet. The mornings are very dewy out here. I like the lay out. It's the first time I've seen 18 holes. Yesterday I played nine, but today I saw the back nine, as well. I would really say the key is to stay in the fairways. They are quite generous, but if you are in the rough, it's tough. It's thick and it makes it a lot tougher to have more distance control into the greens. The greens are, I would say, the size vary. Some greens are bigger and some greens are smaller and some have a lot of undulation to them. You really want to make sure you're on the right side of the pin. Other than that, I like it. If the wind picks up, it can get quite tough out here. Today, this morning, especially, it was perfect conditions for scoring. Q. We all know that you have a golf course that you designed at Mission Hills. Are you hoping to have another one coming up soon in China? With the economy not going to well recently, are you planning to have another new course in China? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I do not have any plans, but I would love to get the opportunity to build another golf course. Overall, I've been lucky through the tough economic times to get involved in different projects. I'm actually working on my sixth golf course. I've come a long ways the last three, four years, and it's something that I want to continue to expand. And you know, I can't think of a better place than here. I had a chance to play with a gentleman today and he's a big developer and I was trying to throw my name into the pool, and we'll see. Hopefully, like I said, he wasn't too depressed; but on the contrary, I would love the chance to do it. Again, going back to these tournaments here, I think it's a wonderful step for the LPGA to have the women golfers come here, so maybe that will open some doors. But I would welcome an opportunity. Q. With 72 LPGA wins and ten majors, can you give us a few highlights of your career, and what do you think is still missing? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Let's see, where do I begin? I'll begin from the end. I would say that I'm really not missing anything, and that's one of the reasons why I'm stepping away. I'm feeling very complete with my career. There are times where I actually have to pinch myself and hey, say, has this really happened. But the highlights, I'm a lucky person, in the sense that there are many highlights since I joined the Tour in '94, '95, and you know, won the U.S. Open then. That was my first tournament on the LPGA. That was the U.S. Open, you could not have asked for a bigger tournament than that. You know, shooting 59 in 2001; playing with the men, 2003; you know, winning 11 tournaments on the LPGA; being inducted in the Hall of Fame; playing on several Solheim Cup teams; winning the LPGA Championship three times in a row. Again, I'm very lucky. I have a lot of memories and things that are going to carry with me for many, many years. It's been wonderful. THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much Annika. Have fun, and hopefully we'll see you here Sunday afternoon. End of FastScripts |
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