LPGA CORNING CLASSIC

May 22, 2003

Helen Alfredsson

Q. Obviously you had a great day out there. Can you just talk about what was working for you?

HELEN ALFREDSSON: I just had a little bit of luck, you know, which you need, and I made some putts. I hit them pretty close actually and missed a few. I don't know. You come to this point in your life and you don't even know sometimes. You're working the same every week and have the same intention, and some days you make the putts and some days you don't. You feel like you keep doing the same things, and sometimes when you don't even care, when you say, "wow, I don't give a (expletive)," you start making it.

Q. That is one of the days that you were making the putts?

HELEN ALFREDSSON: I was out there. We were happy. It was great weather. The course is so fun to play. I don't know. I just don't have an answer. I wish I had.

Q. It came together today?

HELEN ALFREDSSON: Yeah.

Q. Did you just miss the putt on 18?

HELEN ALFREDSSON: I think I had a little bit -- you know, there is some holes that used to be very fast, you know, down-grade, and they haven't been as fast. I was unfortunate not to have a practice round. I didn't get to play. Usually we play with a lot of breaks. They haven't been as fast and as quick breaks as they usually are. It's been a little bit of an adjustment today.

Q. How much did you pay attention to what Annika did today?

HELEN ALFREDSSON: Well, I think it's interesting. It's fun to see. After all the media attention that has been on it, finally the day has come, so I didn't watch it at home. I watched it when I came here. I thought she did very well and kept incredible composure. Obviously, she's an extremely strong player and mentally strong. She's got very strong goals and is very determined to meet them. It's interesting to see how she goes through it.

Q. Was it a distraction?

HELEN ALFREDSSON: No, I don't think so. No, I think we're -- if it was a distraction, we probably shouldn't have come here. We're here to play a tournament. It's a great tournament. I think everybody was glad to be here.

Q. Did you watch it all on the big screen?

HELEN ALFREDSSON: No, I didn't seem to be around the big screen. I never was around the big screen. I never saw it.

Q. Did you and Charlotta talk about it much?

HELEN ALFREDSSON: No, we just went along like we normally do. We wish her the best tomorrow, and then I just asked how she felt the course was, and she said she felt it was long and she was nervous, but we all knew that.

Q. How good do you feel to be where you are right now?

HELEN ALFREDSSON: You know, it's such a weird thing even to be in here, because everything is so up and down. Obviously, it's a nice feeling, but, you know, it's hard. You know, you try to find that ball and try to do the same thing and get in a rhythm. My life seems to be a roller-coaster and so does my golf games. I take these days when I can get them and try to repeat it for the next day. I would rather shoot 6 under than 6 over.

Q. Compare this round to last year's 79 in the first round.

HELEN ALFREDSSON: Last year was one of the weirdest rounds I ever had here. Everything that could go wrong went wrong. I didn't even know -- everything totally went wrong. You can get just a little bit off and you start hitting the trees and hitting in the wrong side of the green and you're hitting in the wrong side of the bunker. Hopefully, I just erased that. I didn't even remember it was 79.

Q. Do you take anything from last year's experience?

HELEN ALFREDSSON: It's been a long time since then, and, believe me, I've gone through a lot worse than that.

Q. Were you more focused coming into this tournament this year?

HELEN ALFREDSSON: No, you know, what I think, I'm just in a stage now where I work out hard and you try to find a comfort zone where you know where your ball is going. You know you have to putt the ball from A to B. That's what it always comes down to. The competition is so tough. You can't afford mistakes. You've got to minimize them. Of course, you've always got to rely on your putter. That's a very important part of the game as well. I don't know. You can't do much more than trying to do the same thing and trying to find a good golf swing that works and trust the putter, you know.

Q. Was any particular part of your game clicking today?

HELEN ALFREDSSON: You know, I've always -- even last year I didn't have a very good year. I didn't hit the ball very close, but when you start making a little bit of putts, it takes a lot of pressure off. I mean, that makes it -- when the putt is there, it makes it so much more comfortable.

Q. Your life is a roller-coaster?

HELEN ALFREDSSON: No, no, no, no, everything is up and down all the time. Right now everything is great, but I've gone through things, and it's just a reflection how my golf game is. Nothing really bad, but, you know the things that happened to me like I was here sitting here trying to get a flight out of Detroit. I was sitting right there waiting for the flight, and I missed it. Things like that. I have to go with the flow and expect the worst. (expletive) happens, as they say.

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