JAPAN AIRLINES BIG APPLE CLASSIC PRESENTED BY GOLF MAGAZINE

July 14, 2000

Annika Sorenstam

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Okay. Yeah, let's see. I started on the 10th hole, but let's go to No. 1, it's easier. I birdied the 5th hole, 7-iron to 4 feet. Birdied No. 6, 9-iron to 2 feet. Birdied No. 8, 15-wood to 5 feet. 14, bogey. I hit the 7-iron toward the green in the strap, hit it up, 2-putt. 15, I eagled. Hit a 7-wood up to the green-side bunker and made the bunker shot. No. 16, birdie also, 6-iron to 18 feet. Then birdied 18, 3-wood just short of the green, chipped it up about 3 feet.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, I called for it.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, I mean I like that, obviously. Yesterday we did have some wind in the afternoon, but it's tougher to -- tough to deal with rain and thunder and suspended play and go in and sit and wait and then go out. So this is a good break for me.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah. I mean when I bogeyed the 14th hole, I felt, you know, I hadn't been playing well the first four holes. I really actually had some birdie putts but didn't make them. When you make a bogey, it got me on a sour note. Then I hit a hit up there and made the bunker shot. That obviously got me going. I got some good breaks in me and just kept going. I had the leaderboard there, and I saw the eagle kind of put me up there. So I just went from there.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: It wasn't really difficult. I just had to get over the lip. It was a longer bunker shot, but it was quite flat. There wasn't much to it. When you have a longer one, you're more concerned about how much sand you're going to hit and how much you're going to roll if you hit a lot of sand. But it was one of those shots that can always happen on the course, and it did.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: On which hole?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: It was a bunker shot. I holed it.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, yeah. So the putt was zero. Yeah.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: It was 16 on, I got it right here. Yeah, 16 on in the center.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, I mean it actually looked bad when we were on the 10th hole, 10, 11, 12. It was looking really dark but it was quite windy, so it was moving away quicker. But then when we came to the 18th, we just saw the sky behind the clubhouse and said, "Let's hit this tee shot and let's just finish it." It was just in time.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Then I'm in a great position. I mean I haven't given any thought to how many holes this tournament is going to be. I hope we get to finish in four days and we'll just go from there. I don't want to make any conclusions at all, but I'm obviously very glad that I came in with such a low round today to put me in a good spot for the weekend.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, it would be nice. I mean I know right now I have a ton of confidence. I think I'm playing well. I'm putting really well for me, and so I mean I think I'm coming into the week as good as I can. I mean I'm going to be as prepared as ever, and I have the experience for that type of tournament. It's just in the past, you come to an Open, you just want to perform so well. I think I've kind of -- I've gotten tight. I put a lot of pressure on myself, and I just -- my expectations have been really, really high knowing that I've won in the past. So this year is -- I'm going to come in with a different attitude. I'm ready to go, I'll just try to hit one shot at a time and see what happens. That's what I'm doing this week. I mean I don't try to put any pressure on myself because I did so well last week. So I just come here and I just play, and hopefully I can have that attitude next week. It's easier said than done, but I have to change what I did from the past because I haven't done really well.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, I've been there. I was there last year. We did an outing, I played 27 holes. But, you know, it depends on how the USGA is going to set it up. I'm sure they're going to let the roughs go instead of the greens. I'm sure they're going to be much faster than when I was there. I've seen it, but I can't really say I know it.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, they're tough. Especially on the front nine, you start with No. 4, today we had over 200 yards, 210 to the pin. And No. 8 was -- well, the pin was in the front, but it's still over 200 yards. I'm hitting woods on both of them. It's not that they're long that only gives you trouble, it's the greens. You have to be able to place them on the right side. When you're standing there with a wood knowing you have to be short left, it makes it a little tough. Then you have the wind. So...

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah. They both slope from back to front, and they both have a ridge in the middle. And today, on No. 8, I hit it thin, landed just short of the green, landed up to the back. And my first touch, it was probably 25 feet long and I aimed 15 feet left of the hole. And I'll tell you, I ended up 8 feet right of the hole. It hit the edge -- or the ridge, and it just goes sideways. So that's what makes the par 3 so difficult here, it's the greens. Because you can't be so precise with the long shots you're hitting into the greens.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: First of all, I love the golf course. I think it's a course that demands all kinds of shots, and it's a course where you constantly are on your toes. There's not a gimme hole out there, and you just have to -- especially on these par threes. When you make par, that's a good thing. It almost feels like you gained half a shot on the field. So I think it demands a lot of patience, and you just got to keep grinding, shot after shot. You might hit a good drive, it doesn't necessarily mean you're going to have a birdie chance. Because the greens are so severe, you have to be able to put them on the right side of the flag. No. 12 is another example, sloping from back to front. You don't want to be above the sand, but then you have a false front of 6 or 7 yards so you have very little room to work with. And I think it just demands a lot of preciseness in your approach shot.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yes, a lot of fun. I mean I love playing, but when you play well, there's nothing better. I put in a lot of work this winter and it's paying off, and it's fun. I go out there with a lot of confidence. I go out there knowing I can control the ball. I go out there knowing when I birdie pins, I can make it. It can't be more fun for me. I mean I really enjoy it. Last year was a little bit up and down because I was struggling a little bit. But now the results are back and I'm just enjoying the ride; it's a lot of fun.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, you know, the money list is an important thing to me. I like to be No. 1 on the money list. I like to be Player-of-the-Year. And right now, the way Karrie is playing, I got to keep playing the way I have the last few months. I don't really compete against Karrie, but I do compete for those awards, definitely.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, it sure would be exciting, I would say. I mean what I remember is when Sherrie had a playoff with Jenny. That was real exciting. In a way, I really don't think it matters who it is. In that case you had two young, upcoming players and I thought that was exciting. And, you know, I think it would be exciting if two veterans were up there, too. Kind of when you have a theme going, I think that would make it exciting. And I mean, I personally would love to see that. But, you know, I'm not really thinking about who's going to play well. All I want to know is how am I going to play. That's kind of what's on, you know, on my mind right now. So we'll see...

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Emily? Yeah, she played good. But, you know, it's not like you're out there looking at what the other girls are shooting. You're trying to focus on your own game one shot at a time. But it's always nice to play with somebody that has the momentum going, somebody that's hitting good shots, hit the fairway, hit the green so you see some good shots. I think that's important. A lot of times good play in one group will see it all from each other. So it was good that she played well.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, right now it really doesn't matter because they're not out there. I mean this is -- this is going to blow away in a few hours. It's going to soften the greens. It's going to soften the fairways, which means it's probably going to play a little longer off the tee. On the other hand, you will not have firm greens. You will have to be a little more aggressive on your approach shot. As of now, it sounds pretty heavy, so I don't know when they would go out again. But this could be quite some time. Also after a storm, it always kind of calms down. We had some wind to deal with, so I don't know what's better.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, if you have soft greens here, it's going to make the course easier and maybe even slow down the greens a little bit because they're quite fast. But I mean I won't tee off for quite some time so I'm not going to worry about it too much. I will take the circumstances the way they are tomorrow. Or if we don't get to play tomorrow, then I'll take them on Sunday. I'm just going to kind of enjoy the round and let it sink in a little bit.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: ...(Inaudible) I don't know, I'll probably go to the gym, work out, probably kill some time. I probably won't go into the city, too much traffic to deal with. But kind of relax. It's been a very hectic week coming from last week, but I'm having a massage tonight so I can't wait. I'm going to kind of treat myself a little bit.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah. Well, it started in October last year when I felt like I was falling too far behind in the money list. I was unhappy with my swing, I was unhappy with my short game, and I had a little bit of that attitude on the golf course - I was very tough on myself. I decided to put in the time to just work on my game, hit a lot of balls on the range, hit a lot of putts, hit a lot of chips, just practice, you know. I just put in a lot of hours on the golf course, and it just straightened things out. To make my swing more consistent, the way it's been in the past. And I started to work out more on a regular basis, start working with a fitness person, and just kind of took everything a little bit more serious again. Even though I've done it in the past, I felt like I had to put some more hours in and just kind of -- just work instead of just, you know, instead of going to the range for two hours, I was there for three and so forth.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, it's just the mental part of it is having positive thoughts about yourself, having positive thoughts about your golf game, and, you know, I was going back to the previous years when I played so well and trying not to cut myself up and say, "Hey, you've done this, you've won so many tournaments, and, you know, you have to just accept it, we all kind of go through little roller coasters. If this is the worst, you can deal with it." It's just positive thinking and more having a different attitude towards myself. I know I can play good golf. And when I don't do that, I start asking why, why instead of just saying, "Hey, deal with it, go hit some good shots and take the results as they come."

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: No. No. I was reading some books though.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Just on mental toughness. It's an old book that I've read before, but it was kind of mostly to just go through it again, just kind of remind me of some good thoughts. And my caddie had a book, I was trying to think of the game now. Oh, it's called, "Dancing Mind, Thinking Body," I think.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: It's a very good book. It's about mental approach and a very positive outlook on things. I was reading that one over and over again.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: No, it's English. I think Phil Jackson, the basketball coach, he kind of endorsed it, and I wish I can remember the author. It's a Chinese guy. I can't remember it, but it's -- it's very, very good.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, I mean a saying that I won't forget is: "What you see you become," kind of thing. That's one thing that they have. And "Face the fear" is another thing. It's just things that I wrote down on my little -- my kind of -- my notes, just to keep reading it. And it doesn't take much. You just have to remind yourself sometimes and kind of -- you have to pump yourself up. Golf is all about confidence. If you don't have confidence, it really doesn't matter how you play.