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CN CANADIAN WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

September 6, 2009

Suzann Pettersen

CALGARY, ALBERTA

DANA GROSS-RHODE: Welcome, we have with us the 2009 CN Canadian Women's Open Champion, Suzann Pettersen. Congratulations on the win. Since the last win, you've had 19 Top-10 finishes, six runner-up finishes. What does it mean to finally have this win under your belt?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: At least I can have a bigger trophy. No, this feels absolutely great. I've been playing very good since 2007. Gave myself a lot of chances to win tournaments, and like I've been saying, if you put yourself in position often enough, you'll figure out how to close the deal.
It feels really good to win this one after last week's loss in the playoff. But I mean, you never feel safe. I had a five-, six-shot lead at the time on the back nine, but you're playing against so good players. Like an eagle, a chip-in, everything is possible.
So you've just got to make sure you can just stay on top of what you do and kind of try to still keep hitting aggressive shots, because anything else is just -- I mean, it's hard to control, so you just have to check try to keep staying aggressive. I kind of felt comfortable once I got that tee shot on 18. I knew I couldn't mess that one up.

Q. In your speech there after accepting the trophy on the 18th green, you mentioned that there are some downs, and I'm wondering, did you have some down moments in the two years since it's been since you won an LPGA event?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I mean, downs, I always try to look -- I mean, even if you feel like you're going through some tough times, there's always an upside. You've always got to look at it as a challenge. I don't know; if you get sick, how get out of the sickness quick. I always try to turn it into momentum so that I can turn it into something positive.
I've got to thank all of the people around me that I have on my team, like when we go through tough times. Like David Leadbetter said, "It's got to start turning around. I mean, you're so close, be patient, it will turn around." And just to have someone backing you and in your ear day-in and day-out, keep doing what you do, it is good enough. It helps. That's what it's all about, building a good team that works hard and kind of hopefully a successful team.

Q. It looked to us more like relief; is that your take on it, as well?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Yeah, it was definitely a different feel. I don't know if it was because I had such a big lead, that was kind of a huge putt you made, with all of the adrenaline. It was definitely a great week. I've been playing great. I've been hitting my irons very solid all week. My driver has been a bit iffy, so even like yesterday, it was almost better it was windy, I could hit the ball a bit lower and my grip was down and I just kind of controlled the flight like a little stinger. But it was almost to my advantage because I just -- that was my go-to shot. It was nice, like I said, it was nice when I got that tee shot out on 18.

Q. It was starting to get tight middle of the round; how big was 9, 10 and 11?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I mean, what did I shoot, 1-under today? It felt like a scrambling round, I only hit 13 greens. I chipped in once, missed some short putts. Just kind of bad putts. It wasn't like a misread, just straight pull. Obviously some nerves. And like I said, I'm glad I could seven-putt on that last green because my putting kind of felt a bit off today.

Q. That 20-minute segment where you made the really tough 2-putt on 9 and the chip-in on 10, was that 20 minutes just what you needed to propel you to victory?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I actually walked off to the 9th green and said to my caddie, "Just play some golf." And I hit a terrible approach into 10. And then I get my break, because I thought it just slipped out but it went in. Hit a great shot on 11. Hit two great shots on 12, like an easy birdie. And then, I mean, I hit some great shots, just like on 13, I hit the shot I wanted to hit. Just I was aiming too far right. Could have been more aggressive on the chip. The 3-putt again on 14 just a bad putt. I mean, then the save I had on the par 3 and 16, 17, 18 was more like just make sure you close your par and take the birdie if you get it.

Q. One more. This is not a major championship, but the Top-50 women in the world are here; does it feel like a major win to you?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Well, I have a major win, and this is obviously not a major win, like on the paper. But for me, this means as much as when I won the McDonald's back in '07. At least I probably won't get those questions again: How do you feel finishing up second; it's two years since you won last. I guess I've kind of closed that segment now.
It's just nice. I know I'm good enough, and it's just hard to keep yourself up there and kind of keep your mind-set positive. Like I mean, I've been close a lot of times and just haven't closed the deal. It just feels like a huge relief to have the lead I had this morning and just try to play my own game.

Q. Do you have to work really hard at containing your emotions on the golf course? I mean, you rarely smile out there; is that because there's so much pressure on you, and that's just the world of golf, or would you like to smile more out there?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I think I would like to smile more, but I mean, I'm so into it. Even when I make putts, it's like I'm so into it. Even like on 18, it's a tough pin and I was like -- and I asked my caddie, "Do I have to go at the pin?" It's like always the ball is not on the hole until it's in the hole and for me it's hard to let go. I'm working really hard on my post-shot reactions so I don't bring as much -- I'm very perfectionist, and if I don't hit a perfect shot, I can easily kind of go on with it and kind of keep asking myself if that was the right shot, if I made the right decisions.
But my caddie has been right on top of me in saying, whatever you decide to do, whatever happens, what happens, and that's nothing that you can do. That has helped me be more -- I hardly get upset on the golf course anymore. Sometimes I hit a bad shot and kind of get a bad reaction but in general, I've been very good this year. I think it helps. I mean, obviously the past is the past and the history is in the books.
But the sooner you can leave those bad shots behind you, you're better off. I mean, on 17, it was a perfect number. I chipped it right into the bunker. And then I could have, I mean, instead of just reacting to it, you just leave it and face what's up next. That's what I work on a lot, because my game is good enough, and then it's more about your course management and how do you manage your own head.

Q. When you won in 2007, you didn't stop winning; do you expect to reel off a few more victories this year?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Why not? Yeah, I don't know. In '07, I had a great fall. We are coming off a summer, it started with the Solheim. The Solheim was a great key for me to bring those momentums. Mentally you are totally different approaching all the putts. You stand over every putt trying to make them and kind of bring that attitude into the next tournament is kind of a huge advantage, because you're kind of so used to just -- I don't know, you get more aggressive with the putts and obviously you make more putts.
So I think that was a very good warmup for me for these last two weeks and now I'm just going to relax and kind of chill at home for a week and then we have another great stretch of tournaments. Like I said, I have another seven tournaments left to play, six or seven.

Q. You told us Saturday that you had a number in mind that you wanted to reach; did you reach it?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: No, I didn't. No. I thought 18 would be a great number. I said to my caddie finishing on Friday, "We should try to get to 18."
At the time, I thought it would be much more players, around 13, 14, 15, than it actually was at the end there. But I got it to 17 I think and I kept saying, I want more birdies. I dropped a few, and it was enough this time.

Q. And yet every time you made a bogey, you seemed to come right back and make a birdie and give yourself some positive momentum again to move forward.
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Yeah, like I said, I mean, I just try to leave and don't really fiddle around and think about it much. Just go to the next shot and take it from there.

Q. How big of a story will this be in Oslo?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I don't know. They are probably expecting me to win; I had a five-shot lead.

Q. Looking back at yesterday, Karrie said that it was probably going to be daunting to be all alone in front with a five-stroke lead, a big lead. And you look at her, and she's an LPGA Hall of Famer; did it feel like that out there? Did you think about that? Did you have the nightmares from last night that we talked about?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: To be honest I didn't sleep that well. I tried to -- actually, it was funny, tried to look an all of the press conferences on the US Open last night before I went to bed and there were a few kind of big wins yesterday and a few surprises, and I tried to look at all the underdogs and what they said in their press conference. Everybody kept saying, you never give up, you keep grinding and you've got to believe you can do it. And I tried to bring those words kind of with me today, just keep believing what you do and don't fear anything. The door is wide open and you've just got to keep doing what you're doing.
In that way, I used a lot of other sports and performances in kind of an inspirational way. I got a message from Tiger this morning, "Keep doing your shit." So I guess I did keep doing my shit. (Laughter).

Q. Were you able to keep the fear out of it even when Karrie got a bit close?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: No, Karrie played great today. She made me work hard. She made three quick birdies. You never know. You expect them to make birdies and I made a few errors coming out of the gate, but I knew I was going to get a lot of chances, as well, the way I was hitting the ball.
9 was obviously a good 2-putt and a great momentum, 10,11, 12. I that I that was the turn around that kind of brought the momentum to my side and kind of gave me a little nice cushion there going into the next three holes.

Q. All of a sudden, I think you're only about 100,000 off the top of the Money List; a nice objective for the rest of the season?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: Yeah, this is obviously the tournament to win of the tournaments we have in the fall. It's a huge tournament money-wise and also field-wise, and also among us players, the CN is one of our biggest tournaments. It's always nice. It doesn't matter what you win, but this is obviously a nice one.
DANA GROSS-RHODE: Thank you all very much.

SUZANN PETTERSEN: Bogey on 2. I missed a 2-footer for par. 9-iron over the green and chipped and missed a 2-footer.
Birdie on 3, I hit a gap wedge to about five feet.
6, I hit a 9-iron to about seven feet.
8, bogey, I missed the green right with a 4-iron. Missed a 10-footer for par.
10, I chipped it in from, I don't know, 20, 30 feet.
11, 8-iron to about ten feet.
12, tap-in for a birdie. Hit a 6-iron just short of the green.
13, hit a 9-iron just right of the green and missed a 12-footer for par.

End of FastScripts

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