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U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPJuly 8, 2009Anna NordqvistBETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA RHONDA GLENN: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. We are happy to have with us Anna Nordqvist, who is a fresh new start on the LPGA Tour. As, you know, she's a rookie, and she won the LPGA McDonald's Championship presented by Coca-Cola. She played some blazing golf in order to do that. It's a big major win in her corner. Anna, just to start things off, do you think having won a Major championship, the LPGA championship, makes you a little more ready to perhaps win the Women's Open? ANNA NORDQVIST: Obviously winning McDonald's and winning a Major, it's a great confidence boost, so just knowing that you can compete in this level, but at the same time it's a lot of good players out here, so you gotta bring your A game if you're going to be on top. RHONDA GLENN: It's a very long golf course, over 6,700 yards. I noticed your driving stat is about 247 yards on average, which is good and long, but is this course going to test your long game, you think? ANNA NORDQVIST: I think not only for me, I think it's a great challenge for all of the players. You don't necessarily have to hit it very long. You have to keep it on the fairway, have to keep it on the right spots on the green rather than hit it very far. RHONDA GLENN: We'll open it up to questions from the reporters. Q. If you think back to winning the Major, how has your life been different in the past few weeks? ANNA NORDQVIST: Well, my life has changed a little bit after the Major. I mean, I had a little bit more to do, a little bit more attention, which has been really fun. It's a great learning experience for me. Obviously knowing, knowing that you're getting into tournaments took off some pressure because you're going to be able to make your schedule for the year. But it's been great fun. RHONDA GLENN: And she got a lot of newspaper coverage Sweden, didn't you? Big headlines, big photographs, that sort of thing. ANNA NORDQVIST: Yeah. I mean, it's great. It's great for the golf in Sweden, and it's been a lot of attention, but I've enjoyed it a lot. RHONDA GLENN: With Annika, you know, out of the game right now, on maternity leave, do you feel any more sense of pressure, you know, as one of the Swedes here in the field to step up and, you know, maybe continue your pace this year in your rookie season? ANNA NORDQVIST: I don't feel any pressure to come out here and compete right away. I mean, I'm just getting started, and there's a lot of good competition out here. Even though Annika is not here, I mean, there's a lot of good young players coming up. I don't think -- like being a Swede, of course, there's a lot of comparison with Annika and her footsteps, but I don't feel any pressure. Q. Can you talk about your involvement with the Annika Team and how that's helped you transition from the amateur ranks to professional golf? ANNA NORDQVIST: Yeah, Annika started a project with one of my former coaches, Katarina Vangdal, and they -- it's called Annika Team. It's been a good support to be involved in something like that. It's -- obviously it's a big step to go from amateur to professional, but it's been a good experience so far. RHONDA GLENN: What does the Annika Team do? What do you do as a member of that? ANNA NORDQVIST: Well, it's a project just getting started, and you can get some support from coaches. I work with Henry Rice, starting this year, and it's been -- I mean, it's a project that's just going to like help you with the transition from amateur to professional. RHONDA GLENN: Do you spend any time, then, in Orlando or in that area working on your game? ANNA NORDQVIST: I live in Phoenix, but I've been over in Florida, once this spring to work with Henry. RHONDA GLENN: Questions? Q. Do you have any comment about the letter that was sent about Carolyn Bivens to the board? ANNA NORDQVIST: I'm not in a position to comment on that. I'm just a rookie, so -- I'm sorry. Q. Just talk about the course and how it played for you tonight. ANNA NORDQVIST: What's that? Q. The course, how well was it? How was the greens and everything? ANNA NORDQVIST: Yeah, I think the course is such great shape, and I think I'm talking for all the players, that -- I mean, I'm excited to be here this week. It's a really good setup. It's pretty long; it's a great challenge. The greens are going to be fast. You can put it on the right spots on the green. I mean, it's just a great layout, and I'm really excited to be here, and I think USGA has done a tremendous job so far by preparing for this tournament. Q. Annika has admitted that she did not handle fame too well when she won the U.S. Open in '95. What advice has she given to you since you've won McDonald's and how to deal with the media and so forth? ANNA NORDQVIST: Well, I haven't gotten that much advice. Well, I got some, but I want to keep that personal with respect to her. RHONDA GLENN: You're paired with Cristie Kerr and Yani Tseng in the first two rounds. What do you think of your pairing? ANNA NORDQVIST: Oh, I'm so excited. I saw the pairings, and I never played with Cristie Kerr, and I've never played with Yani. They're two great players. I always looked up to them, so I'm really excited about tomorrow and Friday. RHONDA GLENN: I imagine they're pretty excited too, to play with you, Anna. Q. You guys are going to go to the Women's British and Evian. How much are you going to play in Europe? Will you stay and play any other like LET events there? And I guess beyond that are you -- do you think you have a chance to be on the European Solheim Cup team this fall? ANNA NORDQVIST: Well, after my win at McDonald's, I'm kind of in a different position, because now I'm going to know that I'm going to get into tournaments, and I do have my European Tour card, as well. Since I'm from Sweden, I grew up playing a lot in Europe, and I enjoy that a lot. I think the ladies European tour is a great tour. I'll go back there for Evian British and hopefully play a couple more tournaments, probably going to go back and forth a little bit, and about the Solheim Cup team, I mean, playing on the Solheim Cup is a dream of mine, and it would be great if it would come true this year, but I think I have time. I mean, I'm just a rookie, and I don't feel any pressure that I have to make it this year. I mean, if I don't, I'm just going to keep working hard, and hopefully I will make that dream come true in the future. RHONDA GLENN: Thank you so much for being with us. ANNA NORDQVIST: Thank you. RHONDA GLENN: Good luck this week. ANNA NORDQVIST: Thanks. 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