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THE SOLHEIM CUP

September 21, 2011

DUNSANY, IRELAND

BETHAN CUTLER: I'd like to welcome three of Europe's five Solheim Cup team rookies. We have at the far end, Christel Boeljon, Sandra Gal, and Caroline Hedwall.
So Christel made history as the first European team member from the Netherlands in the history of the Solheim Cup, And Caroline is a true rookie. She's won three titles in the Ladies European Tour this season, And Sandra will make her Solheim Cup debut having earned a selection from the captain, Alison Nicholas.
So, Christel, if you could start by telling us what it means to you to be making your debut on the European team?
CHRISTEL BOELJON: Well, it means a lot. This is what I play for. You know, to play in these kinds of events, the Solheim Cup, the majors. To be a part of this team is an honor and I'm enjoying every moment, and this is one week I'll never forget.
BETHAN CUTLER: And the same question to Sandra, please?
SANDRA GAL: Yeah, obviously it's a huge honor for me as well. Growing up, it's one of the dreams as a little girl. You look at the Solheim and it's one of the weeks you definitely want to be a part of. I was so excited when I got the call that I'm going to be one of the wildcards.
Here we are. It's Solheim Cup week, and I think we have a really good team, and we're all very, very excited.
BETHAN CUTLER: Caroline, what does it mean to you to be part of the Solheim Cup team?
CAROLINE HEDWALL: Like Sandra and Christel said, it's a great honor to be here. It's been a dream since I was a little girl watching it in Sweden, so it's just great to be here.

Q. Were you actually waiting for the call whether you were to be a wildcard? Just exactly how did that work? You sat looking at the phone waiting for it to ring?
SANDRA GAL: Well, yeah, you've just got to let it be and wait for the call, you know. I was hoping she'd call me Sunday night, but I didn't know what the news would be. Definitely I thought I had a good chance because I've been part of the couple of team meetings we had before and the uniform fitting.
I did win earlier in the year, but you never know how the captain's going to decide in the end. So it was an anxious waiting for the call, yeah.

Q. Who has taken you under their wing so to speak this week and initiated you into the team surroundings and set-up? How has that made you feel?
SANDRA GAL: I have been, Catriona Matthew, and Maria Hjorth, and all the veterans have been so supportive in answering all our questions whether they're stupid or just curious questions, kind of preparing us for what's ahead in this week. Just basically explaining it's a very busy week, and you've got to take it all in.
We've also had some great support messages from some of the European players from Sam Torrance and Bernhard Langer. Those have been very exciting when you get a note on your locker. It means a lot to us.

Q. Sandra, can I ask you about your Irish caddie? He's from Cork. First of all, can you understand his accent?
SANDRA GAL: It took me about eight months to understand his yardage (laughing).

Q. Can you tell us how you met him and what he brings to your game?
SANDRA GAL: Say that again.

Q. How did you meet him first of all, and how might he help you this week particularly in Ireland?
SANDRA GAL: We met on the LPGA. He caddied for Sherri Steinhauer earlier last year. I parted with my caddie when he parted with her, and we've become very good friends since then. It's very, very special to have an Irish caddie on the bag, particularly this week.
He's going to have a lot of fans coming from Cork, a lot of his friends. A couple of buses from his golf club, and I think his support is just going to be tremendous.

Q. Christel, can I have a word about how it feels to be the first Dutch player to play in the Solheim, and are there a lot of Dutch fans over or just the reaction back home?
CHRISTEL BOELJON: Yeah, it's great. It's very special. I've had great support from everyone back home. I have my family and friends coming, every one of my management team. I get loads of messages. There is a lot of attention in the media as well. Yeah, I can only hope I can make my country proud, yeah.

Q. We're expecting some lovely Irish weather this weekend, and possibly heavy rain on Saturday. Have you got much experience playing in very bad weather conditions and do you think that will help the European cause a bit more than it will the Americans?
CHRISTEL BOELJON: Yeah, I think every single one of us is used to playing in this kind of weather. We're from Europe, so the winters are cold. You know, we all played amateur golf and lots in England and the U.K., so I think we're ready and we're used to it.
We have a great clothing sponsor, Abacus, so we're all nice and warm, so I think we're ready, yeah.

Q. Caroline, can I take you back to the beginning of the season. Did you ever think you would be here and just talk about the wins you've had and how great of a season you've had?
CAROLINE HEDWALL: Well, of course. In the beginning of the season it was more of a dream coming here than really a goal for the season. I mean, it's my rookie year, so I didn't really expect to be here.
But then after starting the season pretty well and getting a few wins, it was, of course, an honor to get one of the captains picks.

Q. A couple of years ago you won the European Nations Cup. Is there anything you can take from that experience that you're going to use this week?
CHRISTEL BOELJON: I think every win that you have is just something that you take from. It's always very special to win, and it gives you a lot of confidence. But I don't know what this week is going to be like. I've never played in one, so I'm not sure what to expect.
But playing on a team is nice. It's certainly something I've missed. When I was an amateur, we played a lot of team things as well. So I'm just looking forward to it.
Yeah, I'm not sure there's anything from the European Cup that I can specifically take. It's a win, so that's one of the things that means a lot, and probably means the most, yeah.

Q. Christel, I hope you take this as a compliment. Have you any Irish ancestry, and has anyone remarked on the uncanny likeness to Rory McIlroy? If he had a sister, you might be his.
CHRISTEL BOELJON: You think so? Wow. This is the first time I hear that, but I take it as a compliment. He's a great player, so hopefully I can be too. But, no, nothing in my family is Irish. No, I'm Dutch, for sure, yeah, yeah (laughing).

Q. Caroline, you have your twin sister on the bag. Was that something you planned before? What about your relationship because it's rather unusual?
CAROLINE HEDWALL: Yeah, she caddied for me all summer. She was doing her internship for her major in the States. Since I played really well, I just wanted her to come back for this week, and they gave her the week off in the U.S., so it was nice.

Q. When you were growing up was there any particular player who was your inspiration or what inspired you to want to reach these heights?
CAROLINE HEDWALL: Well, of course, Annika's always been a great idol for me growing up and having a great player from Sweden. But there are so many good players from Sweden, like Neumann, Hjorth, and Gustafson, so I've had a lot of idols to look up to.
SANDRA GAL: My biggest idol was probably Ernie Els, and later on Freddy Couples, just because I really loved the fluidity of their swings, but both of them actually just regarding their game and swing.
Who really inspired me when I came to the LPGA when I started in my rookie year was Lorena Ochoa. She's a really, really nice person and one that's displayed such great sportsmanship, that you see very rarely. I think, yeah, she's been one of my big idols, yeah.
CHRISTEL BOELJON: Yeah, for me there are a lot of people I admire in golf. I'm not sure if I have one specific idol. You know, I think it's pretty hard to focus on one player and say, oh, I want to swing like that, I want to play like that. I don't think it works like that.
But, of course, Annika has meant a lot to women's golf, so I look up to her. You know, we've got Tiger, of course, and there are a few other players I admire, of course, yeah.

Q. How important do you think the mental game will be this week?
SANDRA GAL: I think it's very important. You've just got to put your poker face on and go out there and have some fun. It's one of those weeks you've got to give your best. You're not just playing for yourself, you're playing for a team. So the team is there to back you up, but you've also got to give it your best to support them.

Q. Sandra, as a rookie, does it help that you have no history against America in this competition? Because we keep hearing that they're red hot favorites.
SANDRA GAL: I think it's a little bit of both, pro and con. I definitely don't have any -- like Christel said, I'm like a blank sheet of paper. I don't know what to expect. I'm just going to go out there and play.
On the other hand, I do compete with a lot of the Americans day-in and day-out in the U.S., so I do know a lot of the players and their games. However, this is a totally different format and different size of competition, so, you know, a little bit of positive and negative there.

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