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SAFEWAY CLASSIC PRESENTED BY COCA-COLAAugust 28, 2013Suzann PettersenPORTLAND, OREGON Q. Opening up, how does it feel being back in Portland? SUZANN PETTERSEN: It's obviously a lot of fun to be back here for me. It has become kind of a second home, but it feels like a second home having the Nike family around me. Yesterday I spent a little time with them. It's just neat to be here. I have a lot of great memories both on and off the golf course. It's nice to be back here at Columbia Edgewater. I've been long enough on Tour that I should play this track a few times, even though I've always played better on the other side. It's a good course. It's in good shape and I'm glad to be here. Q. Talk about coming off Solheim. You played really well and so did a lot of other players. Everyone was kind of surprised about that in Canada. You guys all played really well. Talk about the momentum of that and how you are trying to take your good play away. SUZANN PETTERSEN: I just think obviously Solheim is a big week. It can easily be an energy kind of draining week. I think most of us, you kind of live on such a high that it's kind of‑‑ you don't really fall down that easily. It kind of keeps you going for a few more days. By the time you tee it up on Thursday of the following week, you're pretty much ready to go. I think it's‑‑ I've always felt good coming off of Solheim week. You play aggressively, you putt to the hole. I mean, it's like it really pays off that you play match play for a week, a week in advance. So I'm still feeling good and excited to tee it off tomorrow. Q. How do you describe the holes at Solheim? SUZANN PETTERSEN: I mean, the Europeans, we usually win the party. When we won, I think we won the party, too. Q. I have a question here. I'm doing a book on childhood idols. Asking some of the players, who was your very first idol back when you were a little kid? Does somebody come to mind? SUZANN PETTERSEN: Obviously being Norwegian, I looked up to a lot of our skiers, a lot of our big‑time skiers. (Indiscernible) is probably the biggest Olympian with the most medals and world championships in Olympics in Norway. It's such a small country so it's so easy to kind of see them as role models. When you grow up, you actually get to know them and you get to put their personality to their name in like the real world. I would say a lot of the skiers. Then obviously Annika was one of my big role models. Q. What was it like to meet her for the first time? Was it surreal? Every time somebody meets that boyhood or childhood idols, it's like oh? SUZANN PETTERSEN: Yeah, I mean, you know, it's kind of weird how it goes, especially when you grow up and you are competitive yourself. I think it's just‑‑ for me it was just nice to get to know them, like to get to know them off the camera. You usually have an image of what they are on the camera and to meet them in person and kind of get a personal relationship gives it just a little bit different edge, I guess. So for me, it was quite neat. I remember at first you ask a lot of questions, everything you've wondered for years. They are so genuine and so nice to sit there and take the time to answer. And then from there, I mean, a lot of them are very good friends of mine. So it's kind of fun. Q. Annika has been mentioned by so many players as somebody they looked up to. Obviously there are young women looking up to you now. Do you feel that? Do you think about that at all? SUZANN PETTERSEN: No, I don't really think about that. Annika was for me obviously because she is from Sweden and I'm from Norway. What she did was show me that‑‑ she kind of walked that path for me. And I took a lot from what she did and taking all the challenges there is when you play golf up in Scandinavia, especially during the wintertime. I mean, obviously I have been on Tour for a long time and obviously I'm probably one of the more older‑‑ Q. Veteran? SUZANN PETTERSEN: Veterans. Not veterans. There is a lot of younger players on Tour now that obviously might have looked up to you when they kind of grew up and you try to be as real as you can be. I mean, you can only be you and I am aware of it. You try to kind of think of that when you take actions. It's kind of hard because as long as you are competing, you don't really look at it that way. I don't know, I just think it's surreal to think that people look up to what I do. I still don't‑‑ Q. The last thing for me. With Annika, did your careers overlap? SUZANN PETTERSEN: Yeah. Q. What was it like to play with her the first time? SUZANN PETTERSEN: She's become a very good friend of mine. I still stay in touch with her and see her play all kinds of different sports these days. It's a nice link for me to have that even though to this day I could give her a call if I have questions. It's always nice to kind of have someone to play ball with, someone who's done it, experienced it. Obviously she did it her way, you have got to find your own way. But getting good advice never hurts. And I don't think it will ever hurt anyone in the future. Q. Aside from the obvious about playing 54 or 72 holes, is there anything mentally or physically that you need to‑‑ that's different? SUZANN PETTERSEN: No, I just think a proper golf tournament is played over 72 holes. In the past obviously Safeway, this tournament, has had twodays of Pro‑Ams. It's really hard to get 72 holes in. I'm very glad, especially on a course like this, where it kind of sets the group to play four rounds. Q. Inbee withdrew earlier, yesterday. Does her getting out of the field make a mental note for you guys? Does that come into any play? SUZANN PETTERSEN: No, not really. I didn't know she had pulled out. We all want to play the best fields. For the most part, all the best players in the world play pretty much every week. Unfortunately, sometimes we get sick or something happens, like Stacy Lewis pulled out last week. It's just unfortunate, but we're all human beings and sometimes it's tough to get all the tournaments in. Q. Do you do a big meeting with Nike in Portland? SUZANN PETTERSEN: Yeah, I had kind of a lot of meetings yesterday. Product development, feedback, shoes, apparel, yes. Q. Do you have input? I like that or I like that? SUZANN PETTERSEN: Yeah, they are really asking me, that's one of the nicest thing about Nike. They are so athlete‑oriented. They are really looking at their product development from their athletes and the feedback they get from their athletes because obviously we are people who spend probably the most time in their apparel, in their shoes, with their products. So it's fantastic to be a part of it and see the results. I must say being with Nike and being an Nike athlete is like a dream come true. Any type of sport. It's a fantastic comfort. Q. Is it mostly clothes and shoes or do you do clubs? SUZANN PETTERSEN: Clubs is not here. Clubs is in Texas. Everything but clubs is here. Q. What was your biggest feedback to them? SUZANN PETTERSEN: We have been marketing a little bit the shoe that I'm wearing, so we spent a lot of time with the shoe team, with Toby who has kind of been the guy behind the Free shoe with Nike. I mean, it's just so many fantastic, knowledgeable people in that system and it's a fun group. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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