|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
DUBAI LADIES MASTERSDecember 9, 2008Annika SorenstamDUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome Annika Sorenstam back to Dubai, a place you've had great success, two wins, and obviously you'd like to add to that a third victory. A lot of people are wishing you all of the best and hoping to see you go out on a high. How much extra pressure does that bring and how does that feel? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: First of all, I'm just happy to be here. Dubai has been a wonderful place to come to, and obviously I've had a lot of success here. You know, it's a little bittersweet to make this my last professional tournament. I'm here to enjoy it. I've got both sets of parents here and my sister is here and a little bit of a celebration week. You know, hopefully I can play some good golf, as well, but just really want to come and enjoy it and get a chance to absorb everything and to leave, again, with some great memories. THE MODERATOR: You've been on your farewell tour all year now and you've been saying a lot of good-byes, but four days of golf left to play. Can you take us on a trip down memory lane through this year, going back over the year and also some of the best memories of your career. ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Sure. Like you said, it's been a farewell tour for almost five months now, and I'm saying good-bye to a lot of places. It's been great in so many ways, and really getting a chance to connect with the fans and the sponsors and the media, and like you said, really reminiscing through the whole time, and it's been great. But it's also been tough, because I'm trying to focus on competing, because that's what I know how to do. And then also trying to enjoy it, as well, and so you know, the emotions have been very mixed. But I wouldn't change it for anything. It's been a fantastic year and looking back on my career, obviously been a fantastic career. I couldn't have asked for anything more. It's 15 years, and it's time to say good-bye. I don't know, like I said, the feelings are mixed. But when I look back at my career thinking of all the highlights I had a great career. THE MODERATOR: When do you think you might get the urge to come back and play competitively? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I guess time will tell. Obviously this is the week that counts, and this is the week where all of my energy is. And then, you know, the holidays are coming up and get a chance to spend them with the family and then we'll see how things shape up in January and the rest of the year and we'll go from there. I don't have any immediate plans on if I should return, and if so, when. I'm just going to go with the flow and see how I feel. But I don't have the urge yet. Q. Five months ago when you announced your retirement, or the way you put it, stepping away from the game, and now when you're just about five days away from actually doing it, is this what you were thinking five months now and what are you thinking now as you're just five days away? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I announced it five months ago, but I really made the decision probably a year all. After I won here last year, I realised that I've come back from a tough time injury-wise, and I felt very good about it. I knew that if I really wanted to do it, I could do it. And therefore, you know, in my mind, I just said, you know, it's time to move on. I've proved to myself that I can do it and that I'm healthy and that I can do it coming back from an injury. Like I said, I've had this in my mind for over 12 months. Of course, along the last few weeks, last LPGA events, last tournament in Asia, and the next one, last week on the Ladies European Tour, I'm thinking, is this the right thing to be doing, not competing. It's something that I've done for 20 years, and I realise I've been very lucky. I'm glad I've had the opportunity, but nothing has crept in and questioned my decision; on the contrary, I feel very, very content and I'm glad I did it this way. And in a few years, I'll look back, and I'd say I wouldn't do anything differently. Q. (How is your game coming into this week)? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: You know, I had a really weird preparation for this week. I played in Singapore a few weeks ago and then I went to India on a yoga retreat and didn't touch a golf club, did a lot of stretching. Then I caught the flu and went to Malaysia for a course design visit and then I'm here. So I have not really prepared the way I wanted to, but again, I've just had some opportunities, and I wanted to do it. Today I'm going to practice and tomorrow a quick preparation, and we'll see how it goes. The one thing I'm going to rely on is my memories from the previous years and the knowledge of the golf course and then my caddie, of course. Q. You talk about memories. This place is quite fond for you, now, isn't it, having won here twice and unblemished record. It would be nice to complete the hat trick and go out on a high, wouldn't it? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Absolutely. I would love to do that. I love it here, I really do. The first time I stepped my foot in this country, I loved it. The hospitality has been fantastic. I think this is a first-class tournament, and you know, just the hotel we stay in is fabulous, the food is great, and that's one of the reasons I brought my family. I said this is one of the coolest places I've ever been to; please come and join us, this is my last tournament, and you never know if you ever get a chance to come back. I love it here. When you feel good about a place, that helps you perform, as well. Q. Can you tell us about your trip to India, who inspired it, what you did and where you went for the yoga re treat? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, it was actually something I planned for probably nine months. A good friend of mine at IMG, her name is Mickey, we decided to go somewhere and do some yoga, some meditation and some chanting and just eat right. She found a place about an hour outside Bangalore, and I've never been to India and I've never been to such an experience. I thought, why not? The timing was perfect. I had a week between the Lexus Cup and here, and I thought that would be a good thing to do. Of course, with some of the bombings and Mumbai didn't help, so we were thinking about canceling the trip, but we didn't obviously, and I'm glad I didn't. It was an extremely fun trip and hope to do it again. Q. How disappointing was it missing the cut in your final LPGA Tour event? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: ADT? You know, I haven't thought about it now. This was several weeks ago, and I'm not going to dwell on something like that. It's a little funny format, as you know, and it's a little different than what we play throughout the year. It was just a tough week for me, emotionally and coming to the end of a long stretch. So I'm not going to think too much about that. That's just a little drop in the sea of all of the things I've done. So try focus on the positive and move on. Q. Also, you had the ten major successes; which of them gave you the greatest satisfaction? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I would say that all ten have given me a great satisfaction. However, if you don't win the first, you know, you can't win ten. So I would say the U.S. Open in 1995, that was pretty much my second year on the LPGA, and you know, to make it my first win on the Tour, I could not have picked a better win than the Open. I mean, as a little kid, I was content to have a 3-footer to win and never did I knew that I would ever get the chance. If I were to single one out, that would be it. Q. The women's game has changed so much since you first started, and thankfully, it's because of you. Do you see anyone else around at the moment who will pick up the baton and change the game even more from here? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I would have to agree that women's golf has changed the last ten, 20 years, there's no doubt about it. It's become more of a global tour and the players on the Tour, it's very diversified now. I can tell you that the level of golf has really increased. I don't know if that's really thanks to me, but I'm just happy to be a part of it. I would say that I can't think of a better time to step away from the game, because it's in good shape. We have so many great players. Just take the LPGA, for example, we have Lorena Ochoa No. 1; Paula Creamer is playing fantastically; and Yani Tseng is playing awesome golf. So I feel very good about leaving the game in such a good time. You know, it's up to them now to carry it on, and I'll be watching it very closely and wishing them the very best. I care a lot about the Tour. As a matter of fact, even though I'm stepping away from the competition, I'm going to help the Tour in different ways and hopefully make it even better in the future. Q. Can you tell us about your academy in Florida, please? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Sure, I would love to talk about it. It's a dream of mine that I've had for many years and we had a chance to open about a year and a half ago. It's a place where I share my passion for golf and fitness with my personal coaches, my fitness coach and my swing coach. It's a petite setting and a first-class place in Orlando. We do everything from one-hour to three-day packages. Again, we share the knowledge that we have. We have an academy promise. It's all about our guests are friends for life. It's more than just working on your swing. It's the whole experience, and it's been a lot of fun. Q. I understand also that you've launched a perfume? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yes, next year, Mother's Day in 2009. Q. Just talking a little more about happier things, Annika, early next year you are going to get married. Can you tell us what you are planning to do for the marriage, where it's going to be? Is Tiger on the invite list or who is on the invite list? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, not to get into too many details. I am getting married in January, like you said. It's an exciting time and I'm excited about a new chapter in my life. We would love to start a family and that's going to be very different, than I'm used to, anyway. We have about 150 people coming, and you know, Tiger has received an invite, so we'll see. Q. And where is the marriage going to take place? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: It's in Orlando, Florida, close to home. Q. If you could imagine yourself meeting the Annika of '92 when you turned professional, what would you say to her? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I don't know if I would even recognize myself. I think I've changed quite a bit. I think I've matured quite a bit. I mean, if somebody would have told me about some of the achievements, I would have said you're crazy. But then again, I'm very proud of the transformation. Not just personally, but obviously as a golfer. Golf has been incredible to me. I think I have just learned so much, just through a game that started as a hobby; all of the places I've been, all of the people that I've met, that it can make such an incredible impact on me as a person is amazing. That's one of the reasons why I've started the ANNIKA Foundation, and I hope that I can inspire some kids to do the same thing that I have done, because I know it is possible. I just come from a little city in Sweden, and here I am in Dubai and I've been travelling all around the world. I think it's quite the story, and I would love to share that with other people and just tell them that anything is possible. Q. You mentioned earlier that you were thinking about life off the course and not being competitive. What are your thoughts about it and what do you see happening? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I mean, there are certain things that will not change, and that's being competitive. I mean, just because I pin issue with a put here in Dubai doesn't mean I don't care about competing. The goal was to channel my energy and competitiveness into the business world. It's not going to be easy and with the businesses I have going and the academy I've talked about, we've talked about the foundation, building golf courses, and being a female in that world and that industry, is not easy. You know, I'm launching a wine, a red wine next year. I mean, the list goes on, and I'm going to need that to stay competitive and to stay relevant and successful. I think I'm closing a chapter here but I'm opening another one that I'm going to need all of the experience that I've gotten the last 15 years. Q. I'm sure you're sick of hearing this question, but still, if you have to look back at your career, which of all your achievements, which you would say is the one that is dearest to you? And if there is one in your career that you did not do, what would that be? ANNIKA SORENSTAM: If I had to pick one thing that defines me, I would say that it's playing with the men in 2003. I would say that changed me in so many ways. It was a short tournament, I mean, I only played two days. But the preparation and the four months that was leading up to the event helped me tremendously, for the rest of my life. You know, when I look back at the career, I made a lot of mistakes, and hopefully learned from them. But I can't think of something that I haven't done. And I still have time. I'm only 38. So if there's something I missed, I'm going to make sure that it's done by the time I'm finished. THE MODERATOR: On behalf of the Ladies European Tour and golf in DUBAI, I'd like to wish you all the best this week and going forward. End of FastScripts |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|