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THE SOLHEIM CUP

September 20, 2011

DUNSANY, IRELAND

BETHAN CUTLER: I'd like to welcome Maria Hjorth and Anna Nordqvist to the interview room. Making her fifth Solheim Cup appearance with a 5-7-5 record is Maria Hjorth with 7.5 points earned for the European team, And making her second appearance, the 2-2-0 record is Anna Nordqvist, with 2 points for the European team in 2009.
So, Maria, can you start by talking about what it means to be here at the Solheim Cup in Ireland?
MARIA HJORTH: It obviously means a lot every time you play Solheim Cup. It's great to represent Europe and represent Sweden, and being here this week is going to be great. I've done three in America and one on European soil before. So playing again on European soil is just great, and I think the crowds here in Ireland are going to be amazing.
BETHAN CUTLER: Anna, how excited are you to be playing at home this time in Europe?
ANNA NORDQVIST: I'm very excited just to come back to Europe and play. I remember watching BarsebÃ¤ck on site, and just the atmosphere how it was there. Coming home is a big honor, and I think we're a great team and very excited to get to be inside the rope this week.
BETHAN CUTLER: Why is the Solheim Cup different to other regular Tour events, Maria?
MARIA HJORTH: First of all, it's a team event. Playing with the players that you play against every week, it's obviously very different. Solheim is also, especially for us, we have a lot of different countries representing our team, and it's fun to get to know some of the girls that are playing on a regular basis on the European Tour and also get to know some of the girls that you maybe don't spend a lot of time with because they're European but playing on the LPGA.
It's just the atmosphere of also having a chance, representing Europe and representing Sweden is something special.
BETHAN CUTLER: And you've both played Killeen Castle before, so can you give us your thoughts about the golf course and how it's playing?
ANNA NORDQVIST: Yeah, we played the Irish Open here last year and just a couple weeks ago. I think it's a great golf course. I saw it for the first time today. It's playing a lot different than it did back in August. It's playing pretty long, because the ball doesn't fly as far.
But it's a true test because you're going to have to hit your irons good to get close to the pin and hopefully make a lot of birdies. But I think it's a great set-up, and I think it's going to favor whoever plays the best.
MARIA HJORTH: I think it's obviously playing very different to the last time we were here, especially the front nine was playing very long this morning. The greens are -- the greens are really nice. The course is in great shape.
I'm not sure if we're going to keep having the course playing this long, but I still think it's great. It's going to be a great challenge for everybody. The greens are pretty tough, and coming in with long irons into the greens are very difficult.
But I think it's going to be a lot of fun, and hopefully the weather will cooperate as well.

Q. Could you tell us about your day to day? When did you get up and what have you been doing so far?
MARIA HJORTH: I felt like a really short night. We both came from America. Pretty long day yesterday flying out here. Then we got up at like 5:30 this morning, came out here, had breakfast. We all played 18 holes today just to get a feel for a bit of the foursome and the best ball format.
It took quite a while, so we just got back in at 2 o'clock and had some lunch. Then come here, and we have a photo shoot at 4 o'clock, and we have a quiz night tonight on the European team, having just a bit of fun and get together.
So it's a long day, a busy day. Tuesday is always the busiest day, so we're looking forward to getting to bed tonight as well.

Q. As the week goes on, do you get more nervous or excited as we get closer to Friday?
ANNA NORDQVIST: I think you get more excited the closer you get. I think everyone kind of pumps up each other. Obviously, it's only Tuesday today, so you have to really pace yourself to save energy for when you really need it. But just being in a team environment, I think that helps everyone really get motivated and really get inspired.
Our coaches have done a really good job with inspiring us with having different things every day. So hopefully we'll be a little bit more excited by Friday, but I think we all are here and everyone's just really happy and in a good mood.

Q. So, Anna, can you tell us, the last time you played Solheim you were a rookie. What did you learn then that you can benefit from now do you think?
ANNA NORDQVIST: Well, I was really nervous as a rookie. I didn't really know what to expect inside the ropes. So I think I feel a lot calmer and with my own stuff, just trying to stick to my own game plan whenever you play.
I feel like I got really aggressive in the foursome matches I played with Mimi, so she had a couple of good return putts. But I think just try to keep your own pace and keep your own tempo even though you have a lot of adrenaline. I think that's what I learned last time.

Q. How important will the mental focus be, just trying to focus yourself and not trying too hard?
ANNA NORDQVIST: I think as strong as the athletes you have this week, you've got to really be strong. You're going to win holes, you're going to lose holes and fight through things. We can expect some weather this week. It's a part of it, and whoever stays the strongest will come out on top.

Q. This morning the Americans are saying that perhaps they're the underdogs. Do you think you're the favorites going into this event? You're probably the foreign team through the season, but does the favorite tag sit well with you?
MARIA HJORTH: I don't know. Looking at world ranking, they're still the team that's going to win this week. And I think that's why we have a great feeling coming in this week. We have nothing to lose. If we lose, then I think a lot of people are going to say, well, you were supposed to lose. If we win, it's going to be something huge.
I think we're going in here and we're all playing really well. I think that gives us a great boost. We're all playing very consistent and have been for a while now.
So I think that's -- I don't know I still think it's going to be them having a little bit of an advantage, but also with the course set-up, I think we have maybe a little longer hitting team on average, which will help I think, in these conditions. Also the crowd, obviously is behind us, and that's a huge bonus too.
So I think it's going to be a great match. I think it's going to be really tight, and hopefully we can start making some putts. That's usually where we kind of lose a little bit. But hopefully we can do that this year.

Q. How much do you know Annika, and can you tell me how much she's brought to the team this week?
ANNA NORDQVIST: Ever since I came out on Tour in 2009, Annika has been mentoring me. So it's been a huge support, and I practice a lot at her academy in Orlando where I live. She's just been a great support. Helping me go through a lot of things and helped me with advice here and there.
I think it's great for us to have her on our team this week. She has a lot of experience and brings a good spirit. So I definitely think it's a huge support for us this week.

Q. You have five rookies on your team this year. What's that mean for you? You've been around before.
MARIA HJORTH: I think it's just giving them a lot of confidence, a lot of help. If they have any questions, any questions, don't hesitate to ask us, because we know what they're going through.
The first tee experience is always something you cannot really describe or explain for them. You can go out there and be as nervous at any tournament, but you're going to be triple that, and that's how you're going to feel on the first tee.
So I think trying to explain to them that this is what's going to happen. You're going to have every feeling or every emotion this week. You're going to be happy, you're going to be sad, you're going to be annoyed, you're going to be angry, everything, everything is just popping up. That's what we really have to explain to them.
And it's okay. Whatever you're feeling, it's okay. And I think that's important for them to know that anything will happen, and you're going to be nervous, but that's fine. Everybody's nervous, even I am. It's my fifth time playing, but I'm still so nervous and excited on the first tee. It's important for them to know that everybody's nervous and excited.

Q. So what do you do to deal with this nervousness before you go out? What is your trick?
MARIA HJORTH: I don't know. I think -- normal events you just try to -- obviously with breathing and everything like that. But this is just so special that I don't think you can do anything. You just have to let go with just your experience. You've hit golf balls before. The golf ball doesn't know whether it's Solheim Cup or whether it's your club championship. You just have to let your body know this is a golf shot. Any golf shot, and just let it happen.

Q. Alison is the captain for the second time. Is there anything that she's doing differently or did you talk about things to change since last time?
ANNA NORDQVIST: I think she called every friend she has in Ireland, and they're going to come out and support us this week. She's just put a lot of heart into this. She's been working very hard the last couple of years.
This is what she dreamed of. And just being on the home soil, I think she's just, you know, just trying to make everything better. Having Annika, and having Jo as assistant captains, and just trying to make our lives easier. Everything she's done, it's just an honor to be a part of her team really.

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