|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
THE SOLHEIM CUPAugust 16, 2013Jessica KordaMorgan PresselPARKER, COLORADO THE MODERATOR: Pleasure to welcome Morgan Pressel and Jessica Korda to the interview room. Winners by a score of 3 & 2 over Catriona Matthew and Jodi Ewart Shadoff this morning. If you both would just give us a few thoughts, generally, on your victory and the point you put on the board for the U.S. team. We'll start with Morgan. MORGAN PRESSEL: I think we played well out there today. We were both a little shaky early, a little bit nervous this morning. Beany and Jodi, we knew they were going to a tough match, and I know they probably didn't play as well as they would have liked, but we didn't make many mistakes. And we were able to make some really good par saving putts, and as fast as these greens are, you end up having a lot of 5, 6‑footers for par. And we both were able to make them and give ourselves a lot of opportunities at birdies as well. THE MODERATOR: Jessica, your first experience at the Solheim Cup. How was it today? JESSICA KORDA: I said it kind of in a lot of interviews after the round, but I don't think I would want to share this more with any other person than with Morgan being out here on my first time. I had such a blast out there. And whenever something was going wrong she would be like, it's okay, we got this. And then you always get a pep talk back and forth and I just had a lot of fun. Being my first Solheim Cup, I had a great first match. THE MODERATOR: Questions? Please raise your hand. Q. For both of you, what is it like when you see some of the young girls out there with all their flair and colors and some of the younger golfers that are out there watching you guys this weekend? JESSICA KORDA: I feel like I'm still one of them. MORGAN PRESSEL: Jessica is basically one of them. JESSICA KORDA: Most of them on the Junior Solheim Cup, I still know half of them out there, you know, even on the European side. So I'm walking down the fairway I'm like, hey, I know you. And it's just a lot of fun. Being in Junior Solheim Cup in 2009 I always dreamt about being here and doing this. And the fact that I'm here and doing it is really surreal. MORGAN PRESSEL: And I think it's really cool to see all the kids. It's the future of the game out there. Whether they're 3 years old out there and their parents dressed them in red, white, and blue, or they create their own outfits and they just come out and show their support and cheer really loudly. That was me. I was one of those kids who loved to go out ‑‑ I never was able to go see a Solheim Cup, but I was out watching golf tournaments and I loved it. And they do as well. Q. What was the explanation given to you guys for why you were not out there this afternoon? MORGAN PRESSEL: Rest. Just rest. I think that Meg said at the beginning of the week that she didn't want anyone to play five. So just needed an afternoon to rest. Q. How did she tell you that? You guys played so well this morning, I think most outsiders just assumed we would see you guys again this afternoon. MORGAN PRESSEL: We both, I think, knew before the day started that we were just playing this morning. Things can always change, but we were‑‑ we both anticipated resting this afternoon. If she needed us to go, of course we would have jumped on it, but we knew this was our day to rest. Q. Two questions. Curious, Morgan, on the 16th, what is your preference on the right side as opposed to the left side that have fairway? MORGAN PRESSEL: It's a tougher tee shot. But I think it's a much easier approach. And ‑‑ it's okay. (Laughter.) It's ‑‑ (Laughter.) JESSICA KORDA: Don't say that. MORGAN PRESSEL: I'm sorry. THE MODERATOR: This is foursomes today. Go ahead. MORGAN PRESSEL: Just in general, when you come in from the left side, having to hit over that cross bunker, and it shoots forward instead of playing from the right side, it hits kind of into the mound, and I think it's a little bit easier to control the bounce from that side. It still is a little bit of a crap shoot, but I think it's an easier shot shooting straight up that left little bank there. Q. Did you want to comment, Jessica, before I went on? JESSICA KORDA: No, it's just a really tough green. Either way, you're trying to hit it as close as you can, but from either direction coming in with a wood, or even the long iron, it's really tough to stop it out there. And you saw that Jodi and Catriona, they went down the left and even they went through the green. So that's kind of the normal thing from over there. MORGAN PRESSEL: Where Cristie hit her shot, that was pretty incredible. I mean, to get it in there. Q. Was she right side? MORGAN PRESSEL: They were right side. Yes. Q. Can you talk about the ruling on 16 and you went back and then you were talking to the official. What went on in that conversation and how did it come to a conclusion? JESSICA KORDA: Well, what happened was I kind of pushed it ‑‑ like I pushed it off of my line, and we weren't sure if it caught the bush or not. But I knew that it started and when it crossed that line, that it was going towards those bunkers and then fading off into the bush. The girls, they weren't sure, because they were on the left side of the fairway, so they couldn't see the angle that I was at. And so Morgan just walked back just in case she had to ‑‑ I think that's why you walked back‑‑ just in case she had to hit it from there, so we didn't have to walk all the way back. MORGAN PRESSEL: I kind of walked back to see the line that where we were, and because when you hit a shot, you're not necessarily looking, where did it cross the hazard. So you kind of have to go back and look at it again. And I knew that it was kind of going right at that second bunker, and if it had been enough‑‑ if it had been more club it would have gotten into that second bunker, and that was inside the red stake. So that was another reason why I was back there. Q. Did you get the yardage while you were back there? MORGAN PRESSEL: I didn't get one. Rock might have, I don't know. Q. Talk about the discussion about who would tee off this morning, how much of the rookie thing came into play. How much was it about strengths on different holes? MORGAN PRESSEL: It was all about strengths on different holes. It didn't really have anything to do with being a rookie or not. The way that the, the way that it worked, she ended up teeing off on the first hole, but that, I think ‑‑ when there's as much of a discrepancy and as far as we hit it, I think that it's better, better for her to tee off on the odd holes and we both agreed and it definitely worked out well today. Q. What did you think about the first tee shot? JESSICA KORDA: I thought I was going to be way more nervous on the first tee, but I actually wasn't that bad. The crowd up there was unbelievable this morning and being in the stands in 2009, I kind of knew what it was going to somewhat be like and then the girls were talking about it a lot this week, trying to get us prepared for it. And I think that I was pretty prepared for it because I did kind of tug it a little bit, but that was more adrenaline than being nervous. Q. Jessica, did you discuss coming into the week any aspects of team play with your dad as far as Davis Cup, his experience, that sort of thing? JESSICA KORDA: Dad and I have talked more, kind of, these past two days that he's been here about how he felt and kind of what he did. And I have a pretty good idea of how to handle myself, but he's played much bigger crowds than I can ever imagine in one room. But we have talked about it a little bit and especially this morning, when I was feeling a little bit nervous, but my warm‑up went by really well, and my tempo was good and I wasn't speeding up like I usually do, so I really wasn't too worried. Q. What was it like for each of you to be part of the first tee scenario environment, but up in the stands in the afternoon? Can you just talk about what that was like. MORGAN PRESSEL: We did it when we sat the morning match in Chicago on the second day, and we went out and being at home and being able to get the crowd riled up, it's a lot of fun. It's exhausting. And we were out there for an hour, and we felt like we worked really hard. But it's fun. There's nothing like it. We don't have anything, any other experience like that in golf. But of course you asked me about Lexi wanting the crowd to go crazy, she told us that before we got there, so we felt that it was our job to make sure that they were going crazy. It's something that you can't even explain unless you're sitting there and experiencing it too. You can't write about it, you can't talk about it, it's just an atmosphere that we don't have anywhere else. Q.  Do you think the people were surprised when you just showed up and were like, oh, can I sit here? JESSICA KORDA: I think a little bit. Yeah. MORGAN PRESSEL: Yeah. JESSICA KORDA: A little bit. But it's so electric up in the stands, it really is.  You can just feel the power from them and you kind of feed off of it. You feed off of it all day, whether you're up in the stands trying to get them riled or whether you're down there trying to hit the tee shot. MORGAN PRESSEL: I think that was one of the coolest things that happened today, was Jessica hit a really good shot on 8 and the crowd went crazy, and we just won the hole before, so we were looking at a chance to go 2‑up and she looked at me and she goes, I have chills. And it's just, I mean, we all had chills. There were moments like that out there on the golf course all day long. And I'll never forget that. Q. What did you think of the speed of the greens? MORGAN PRESSEL: Very quick. JESSICA KORDA: They're very fast. Q. Is it conducive for it? Was the harder part the speed of the greens or the slopes on the greens? MORGAN PRESSEL: I think the speed of the greens. Because even if you have, even if you have an uphill putt here and green light, let's be aggressive, you're going to have a 5‑footer coming back for a par and now it's straight downhill. The greens are tricky to begin with, but then when they're a 12 and you just‑‑ I told some of the girls before they went out this afternoon, the greens are fast, you will have some lengthy par putts coming back if you get too aggressive. It's inevitable. Q. Are they too fast? MORGAN PRESSEL: I think they're good. I think it's tough. Nothing wrong with it being tough. Q. Following up on what you were saying how you were pumped up, the crowd's pumped up, would you like to see professional golf have more of this type of tournament for women? MORGAN PRESSEL: I think that's what makes this event unique and special. And I mean it's, people are cheering for a country. I mean, when we play, when it's an individual sport it's a lot harder to do that. But when people really get behind their country and behind their team, that's what leads to this kind of excitement and I think that if we had it every week it wouldn't make this week as special as it is. JESSICA KORDA: I don't think you would appreciate it as much as we do. Being first time here, it's something really special that I've never experienced before and it makes you hungry to experience it again. Q. Morgan, were you concerned, I know you're a veteran at this, more so than Jessica anyway, were you, talk about being over psyched at least at the start. MORGAN PRESSEL: What do you mean by that? Q. Just being too fired up. MORGAN PRESSEL: I don't know that we were necessarily too fired up, it's‑‑ the first tee's a crazy atmosphere and it's kind of like, once you get past that, you're like, okay, this is what I do every day. I know how to play golf. And you kind of settle in a little bit. But we were both a little shaky this morning. I didn't sleep well last night. I think that's normal. I was nervous. We were both a little bit nervous. It's a really big deal and we both want to do really well. We had a tough match and so I think I'll sleep better tonight because I'll be so tired. But I hope so. JESSICA KORDA: We got pumped up certain holes. Like I holed that putt on 14 and I got all riled up and ready to go and pumping the crowd up and then I realized I have to hit the next tee shot. And I'm like, oh, I actually need to calm down now. And it takes a lot. You have to step back and realize, like, okay, I need to get back to reality and hit this next tee shot. So you kind of get lost in the moment a little bit. But I think that once you just reach the next tee, it's a whole new ball game. Q. Jessica, did you lose your breakfast on No. 1? MORGAN PRESSEL: It took a long time. JESSICA KORDA: No, I was wondering how long that was going to take. Maybe a little bit. (Laughter.) Q. Did that help? JESSICA KORDA: I actually. MORGAN PRESSEL: I think it did, she hit a great shot into the green. JESSICA KORDA: For me, I was more nervous when Morgan was hitting her second shot than me actually having to hit the tee shot. So I can't explain what happened, I just knew that the banana did not sit. (Laughter.) MORGAN PRESSEL: And I told her after, as we were walking up the fairway, I looked at her and I said, some day when you are captain of this team you can tell your team this story of what happened to you on your first Solheim Cup. You'll have a story for life. JESSICA KORDA: I'm now just making everybody else laugh on the team, so I'm getting a hard time for it. It's okay. MORGAN PRESSEL: Hey, you won. You got your first point. Q. What's the best thing that your dad told you this morning? Is there something he said that was most helpful in getting through maybe just the first hole from the sounds of it. JESSICA KORDA: Just to remember to breathe and keep my tempo. You don't realize that you stop breathing at some points out there. You get so caught up in what's happening and you kind of forget to take that deep breath and just relax and take it all in. But that was the most important thing. Q. A brief question to both of you, just about the joy of match play, the thrill of match play, as opposed to what you do for a living normally playing on the tour. Jessica, to you first, what it means to you to be amongst this team and to be engaged in this gladiatorial format? JESSICA KORDA: Well, for me this means everything. Coming into this year I wanted so bad to be on this team and I wanted so bad to do well and earn my spot on it. And to finally be here, to already be Thursday or Friday afternoon, it's crazy for me. Going through this whole experience and kind of being one of the younger girls on the team, representing the UnitedStates for me is the highest honor that I could ever have. And my team's great. I love my team. I think we have a great chemistry and we have so much fun together. MORGAN PRESSEL: I'll touch on match play. It's fun. I love match play. I don't think that's any secret. And I love having a teammate. Having Jessica out there, I mean there were times when I wanted to say, "I'm sorry" today and I held it in because that's just kind of part of the deal of having a partner. We just battled back and had a lot of fun. When you make a putt and you have your partner there to celebrate with you, it's a really cool feeling. When she had that putt on the last hole, I knew she was going to make it. And I just knew that it was going to go in. And to be able to celebrate together, to celebrate with the crowd as well here playing at home and everybody really getting up for our victory, it was a lot of fun. Q. Do you feel like a gladiator out there? MORGAN PRESSEL: I felt like a golfer. I don't know if I felt like a gladiator. I don't know if I've ever felt like a gladiator. But it's a fight. It is a fight. And that's the difference between match play is you are fighting somebody else instead of the golf course. And it's just a long day. THE MODERATOR: Ladies, thank you very much for coming in. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|