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SAFEWAY CLASSIC PRESENTED BY COCA-COLAAugust 21, 2011Suzann PettersenNORTH PLAINS, OREGON THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome the 2011 Safeway Classic champion Suzann Pettersen into the interview room, starting the day nine shots back of the leader. Kind of take me through your day and kind of what your emotions were going from the moment you teed off until winning? SUZANN PETTERSEN: Wow, I definitely didn't think I was going to sit here when when I started the day warming up. But I teed off, and my caddie told me, you know, if we have a good one today, we might be able to pass Cristie on the World Ranking. Just something to have some motivation to go out. We got off it to a pretty good start. Gave myself a lot of chances, missed the short putt on 8. I really thought I had no chance and just tried to grind. I knew people ahead of me weren't doing too much, but I never saw the leaders are going to kind of end up where they did. Made a fantastic eagle on 10, and a birdie on 11 and a great par save on 12. From then I just thought try to get a few more birdies and then I had to wait two hours for the other girls to finish. That was probably the tough part is I had to start all over again. I couldn't ask for a better pin placement on 18. It really suits my go-to shots. When I was in the first one to hit, I thought it would be good to just give it a go and put the pressure on her. So it was a good shot, and I made my good par. Q. What did you do for those two hours? SUZANN PETTERSEN: Well, went up to the clubhouse, saw the chiropractor, had a few cracks. Yeah, he popped a few joints. Tried to sneak out the names of the picks of Rosie and the U.S. captain. Just trying to get time running. Q. I know it's been an emotional summer for you with what happened in Norway this week and you dedicating this win to your friend. Can you just talk about what this summer has been like off the course? SUZANN PETTERSEN: I don't think we can take anymore back home. It's been a brutal summer. This last incident was just the top of the -- just, I don't know. It's, like I said, it's been very, very tough. All I can think of is my love and my hugs go to his family and his wife and his little son. It's just very, very sad. To pass away at 29 years old is way too early, but he left this place doing what he loved to do. So I guess that's the only kind of thing you can look back at and say he did what he loved to do. But anyway, it's tragic. It was nice to go ahead and play some golf and put life in perspective. Even though I didn't feel great in my game. I dug deep, and grind, and made a few putts on the back nine. Q. What does it mean to you with how you played this week that you take over the No. 2 spot in the Rolex Rankings? SUZANN PETTERSEN: Yeah, well, No. 2 ranking doesn't really mean much to me. I'm trying to chase down Yani. To chase down her, you've got to win tournaments. I went one step in the right direction. It was nice to have a back-to-back win, Ireland and here, and my full-time caddie on the bag this week. So now this is really a bonus coming off a five-day vacation back home. I did not anticipate this, but I'll take it. Q. Can you talk about on the playoff hole, talk about your drive? First you got a good kick out there, and what was the go-to shot? Can you describe what was your go-to shot? SUZANN PETTERSEN: I've been aiming down that left side all week long. You never get a huge bounce coming off there. Even if it stays out there, it leaves you a pretty good angle. But 9 out of 10 shots are always going to jump back out to the fairway, that is one thing I've learned over the years playing this course. I mean, I can hit draw, I can hit fade, and my go-to shot is a fade. I took a little off, and I told my caddie, There is no point anywhere from this pin, and I hit it pretty good. It was just two or three inches too long. It stayed on the green. Me being the first one to hit, I thought I had to put the pressure on first. So good shot, good execution. Q. Can you describe your eagle on number 10? SUZANN PETTERSEN: Yeah, it was like two inches too short. Yeah, it was as close as you can get, I guess, but I left it short. Q. What was the club you hit? SUZANN PETTERSEN: I hit a 3-wood. Little nice draw 3-wood. It was 240 out and got the right bounce. It was a bit of an aggressive line, but I got the right bounce and perfect. Q. Did you come in thinking of a number today or anything like that? SUZANN PETTERSEN: You know what, we tried to go out and make birdies. To be honest, I never thought 6-under was going to do it. But around this place, you can make birdies, but if you miss greens, it's hard to get up-and-down, especially with the greens being this firm. So I don't know. I'm a bit surprised. But that's a good thing. When you can post a low number, you can sit and relax and wait for the other ones. Q. When you're isolated in first place, does your mind play tricks on you when you're that far in front of everybody else? SUZANN PETTERSEN: I really don't know how far. I know she shot 6-under in the first round and then she was three shots ahead. Three shots is nothing out here. You see that's the thing. You have three shots and you never feel secure or safe. I can't talk on her behalf, but you've got to go out and try to play your own game. Like I said, I never thought 6-under. I never paid attention to the board. I looked at the board on 17. I saw my name in that little window, and it said T-1. I'm like, really? So then I thought, well -- but that's the thing. It's fun to play like that, but at the same time, it's a shame if it's not enough if you shoot that low on Sunday, then you've done something wrong for the first two days. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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