The 2001 U.S. Women’s Open kicked off with several player interviews
on Tuesday, one of which was with 1996 Women’s Open champion, Annika Sorenstam.
Rhonda Glenn, USGA Manager of Communications, served as host.
Glenn: Ladies and gentlemen, Annika Sorenstam, the two-time
Women's Open champion, who won on this golf course in 1996, as you all know.
Annika, you were here the week before last, playing some practice
rounds. What motivated you to come in so early, and how did you find time and
how did you find the golf course?
Sorenstam: Well, finding time was easy. I wanted to come
here and get some memories back, because I really don't remember too much in
'96. I wanted to come back and see the course again, and just kind of get ready
for this week. This week is such a big week, with a lot going on, that I wanted
to come early and get a feel for the golf course.
Glenn: Because of your fantastic year – which includes
the 59 you shot – and all the tournament victories, do you feel you have more
momentum going to this Women's Open Championship than other Women's Open Championships?
Sorenstam: Definitely. I'm obviously playing better now
than I have the last few years. I've gotten off to a great start this year.
And winning Nabisco was really a dream come true. And that was the first major
I won in a few years. I'm excited about this week. I'm happy to be here. I can't
wait to get going.
Annika, thinking back to 1996, you came here, you were a pretty
hot golfer at that time, too. But this course really, really seemed to suit
your game. And the way you played, I wonder what your thoughts are about that?
Sorenstam: Well, it definitely fit me in '96. And I think
since then I've matured as a player. I think I'm more consistent today than
I was then. Just overall I think I'm a better player. So I hope that the course
is going to fit me again this year the way it set up here when I was here two
weeks ago. It was good. But I'll have to wait and see.
One thing that I thought you were good at that week was you
felt out these Donald Ross greens as far as the putting goes, and as far as
where you had to come back and chip for an up-and-down. What are your thoughts
about the greens here now?
Sorenstam: Well, I like the greens a lot. Just overall
I like Donald Ross courses. If I remember correctly, Broadmoor is another one.
I like the old, traditional courses. You have to play a special way; you have
to get used to them. You can't hit your approach shots anywhere; you have to
place them in the right places. And that's the kind of golf I play.
When you came and played the practice round, was there anything
that you noticed differently? How did the changes affect you as far as the No.
5 hole, the par-3, do you like that better? And also the moving the bunkers
back on No. 10? Is this going to affect the way you play the holes?
Sorenstam: The No. 10 bunker will not affect me at all,
because I will play more to the right. I won't really cut the corner. On No.
5, if I remember correctly, they'll move the par-3 farther back. It's a shorter
one in front and a longer one in back.
There's a 13-year-old playing in this year's U.S. Open. I was
wondering, what were you doing at age 13, and what do you think about this little
phenom?
Sorenstam: That's a different story. (Laughter.) When I
was 12, I was telling my husband earlier, I just started playing golf when I
was 12. I think my handicap at the time was 63. So you can just imagine how
many shots I made in 18 holes. It's great for her, obviously. I imagine it's
a dream for her to come out and see what the ladies do out here and how we play
and what kind of courses you play on. I hope she enjoys the week, just come
out here and enjoy it, maybe look and learn a little bit, enjoy the experience.
When you're 12 years old, you have a lot of years ahead of yourself.
It's just the beginning of many great years for her. But she should just enjoy
it. When I was 12 I couldn't imagine coming to a tournament like this. It was
tough just being a spectator.
I believe only two players were under par in '96. You shot
8 under. Is 8 under possible again? And what do you predict the winning score
will be this year?
Sorenstam: Well, I think if the weather continues like
this, it's going to soften the greens a little bit. So I think you're going
to see some scores under par. The course is in great shape. The greens are really
true. You're going to see some low scoring. Not a lot under par. But the course
is in great shape, so it will be fair. It will reward good shots.
Beside yourself, which players do you feel might be in a contending
position on Sunday?
Sorenstam: Well, Karrie Webb is obviously one of them.
Se Ri Pak. There are a lot of good players out here. So you're going to see
some players raising the bar and doing good at a championship. Players that
have won this year is something I would look for.
You mentioned Karrie. When you're playing, do you ever look
for her name on the leaderboard to see if she's up there? And talk a little
bit about your relationship with Karrie.
Sorenstam: Well, I definitely look at the leaderboards.
Sometimes you see Karrie -- actually, last year I saw her all the time. And
she is a great player, obviously. And you know that she's going to be in contention
in big tournaments like this.
I don't really know Karrie that well. I see her here at tournaments
every week or whenever we play. But other than that, we don't hang out or eat
dinners or anything like that. We have different friends and so forth.
Can you win all those tournaments in a row? You shoot 59; you
win the first major of the season; you should win here. I mean, is your life
going to become really chaotic when people start really thinking about the slam?
Sorenstam: Well, I just want to take one tournament at
a time. I've had a great start. I'm very happy about that. This is a tournament
that I've been looking forward to playing, and coming here to Pine Needles is
going to be -- it's just wonderful. But I want to leave it at that. This is
a big event. I want to play one day at a time, hit one shot at a time and add
them up on Sunday.
There is so much going on, so much excitement. I don't want to
look beyond this week. Like I said, one thing at a time. I'm enjoying the moment
very much. It's been great. But this is the first time I've ever thought about
having a chance of doing a Grand Slam. Because I've never won the Nabisco before.
So this is the first time. It's fun to think about it. But like I said, I don't
want to think any further than this week.
Annika, they're talking about golf and the possibility of the
2008 Olympics. Is that something you would be interested in? How would you fit
it in your schedule?
Sorenstam: I would fit it in, that’s for sure. I haven't
given it a thought at all, even though they were discussing it. It would be
nice to get a chance to get a gold medal or some medal in golf. That would be
neat. I haven't given much thought about it, so I can't comment too much.
When you play your practice rounds, are there one or two things
that you really concentrate on?
Sorenstam: Today or tomorrow?
Yes. Or when you came in by yourself?
Sorenstam: When I came in last time I kind of walked around
the course, trying to figure out which shots I needed to work on the next two
weeks just to prepare for this week. Mostly kind of looked around the greens,
to see what kind of shots you needed to hit. And looked at the rough a little
bit just kind of familiarize myself with the course and what shots you really
need to hit this week. So I had two weeks to kind of get together and work on
those shots.
Glenn: Did they charge you a greens fee?
Sorenstam: I haven't seen the bill yet (laughter.)
Annika, are you totally happy with every facet of your game
or is there something you need to work on in the next couple of days?
Sorenstam: I'm very happy with the way I'm playing. Obviously
I always work on something. I don't feel I'm a complete golfer yet. I'm working
on that. This week I feel very good about my game. I had a week off last week,
I got some rest, but still practiced a bit. But it's a matter of fine tuning
the swing and getting a feel for the greens.
If you play your best, can you be beaten?
Sorenstam: We'll see.
Annika, what kind of shots does it take to win here?
Sorenstam: Well, you have to stay out of the rough. I think
driving is going to be key, hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens. The
difference from this course is say Mission Hills where we played Nabisco. There's
not a lot of rough around the greens, everything rolls off. But you can putt
some of the shots up the green again. There's going to be a lot of bunker play,
because they roll down into the bunker. It's not going to be a couple of shots
like you hit at Nabisco. I worked on bump-and-runs the last few weeks, and on
my driving.
The U.S. Supreme Court said that Casey Martin could keep his
cart today and play with it. Have the women talked about that on Tour? Do you
have any opinion about whether that should be allowed?
Sorenstam: We haven't really talked about that, because
it hasn't been an issue on the Tour. I heard the announcement just before I
got in here. I'm happy for Casey.
Do you have much in your computer on this course that you've
stored?
Sorenstam: No, not yet. I only store scores. I have from
'96. But I don't have the golf course in the computer or anything like that.
When Karrie Webb was dominating the last two years, did you
go through some soul searching? Can you share with us what you were going through?
Sorenstam: Some soul searching? No, my soul is here. (Laughter.)
You know, I think I got motivated in '99 when I finished fourth on the money
list. I just realized that that's not where I want to be. I'm not happy with
that. I want to be the best player out here. And I personally think I had a
good year last year; winning five times was really good for me. It was just
that Karrie had an exceptional year. I felt like I was on the right track. And
I can see at the beginning of this year that the results are coming. I'm obviously
very happy about that. I have stepped up my practice. I'm trying to become better
in every aspect of the game and it's paying off.
Glenn: How much time each day do you spend on your conditioning
program, working out?
Sorenstam: A little bit every day. I think I do more when
I'm at home than when I'm on the road. It's a little difficult to kind of balance
everything and have time for it. But I run a little bit, bike a little bit,
stretch and do some sit-ups.
Glenn: Do you spend an hour a day when you're on the road
doing that, would you say?
Sorenstam: Yeah that’s about right.
Annika, if you were 8 months pregnant, would you play in this
tournament?
Sorenstam: I've never been pregnant, I don't really know
how it would feel (laughter.) But if she feels great, I think it's great she's
out here. I've heard a lot of people talking about how they feel more relaxed
when they're pregnant. I know Carin Koch said that, a friend of mine from Sweden
said she felt relaxed, and you don't put too much pressure on yourself. If that's
the way you feel, that's good.
The foreign/U.S. win ratio is quite skewed. Is there a lot
of friendly kidding about it at all in the locker room about it?
Sorenstam: Not very much. But I see this Tour as more really
an international Tour. We have so many players from so many different countries,
that this is a world Tour. I'm not surprised to see all these foreigners are
winning tournaments. I know that the U.S. players are going to win their share,
and they have the last few years. I think it sparks them a little bit.
But it's so early in the season; who knows who will win the rest
of the events. It's not something we talk about in the locker room at all. I
think the Americans, they're just -- they want to win, obviously, and they're
trying to figure out how to do it.
It's not just on the LPGA Tour that foreign golfers have dominated.
If you look in the NCAAs and on down -- just wondering when you were growing
up in Sweden what playing golf was like as a junior at that time, and was it
more of a social thing, and what it was like for you growing up playing golf?
Sorenstam: Well, I think golf is a growing sport around
the world. And it's very similar to over here. This is just where the best tours
are. This is where most tournaments -- this is where you have the chance to
combine studies with golf, like I did. I went to college, and that was a great
opportunity for me. I would never get that opportunity in Sweden. And therefore,
I think you see a lot of foreign-born players coming over here to get an opportunity
to do both.
We have wonderful facilities here. And this is a great Tour. This
is the Tour I grew up wanting to play. Especially when I started playing golf
in Sweden, it was more of a social thing, it was a hobby, which I think it needs
to be, because otherwise you can't keep grinding every day if you don't enjoy
it. Once I got more serious, I came over here on scholarship, and now I'm here.
So I've been climbing the ladder and playing more golf and learning along the
way.
What format is the match you're going to play with Karrie --
ala David Duval and Tiger. What format is that going to be?
Sorenstam: I don't know yet. I don't think it's been announced.
I don't know. But I told Tiger I want to play with him. So we'll see.
Glenn: Has it been decided that the match is going to take
place.
Sorenstam: Obviously talks are very serious. I hope it
takes place. I really want to play. But I've been totally -- I
don't think it's been totally finalized.