U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 6, 2002

Annika Sorenstam

MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, the leader of the Women's Open championship, Annika Sorenstam, for 54 holes, 2-under par, had a 1-under par, 69 today.

Annika, I saw that you hit every single fairway off the tee. That's in the plan, isn't it?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yes, it is.

Q. How did you feel about your round today? You seemed to have a real scrappy round and really hung in there.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: A scrappy round?

Q. Scrappy.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I'm very happy the way I played. I hit every fairway, and I hit a lot of greens as well. I played as good as I can, hit the ball, I believe -- I was happy to do it in the third round at the U.S. Open.

Tough pins today, and tricky little putts; but overall, I'm very, very pleased.

Q. She also hit every green on the front 9 and only missed three greens on the back 9, so she hit 15.

What were some of the tougher pin placements today and why.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: 17 is the one I can remember off the top of my head. It's five paces on, and it's sitting between, I think, three ridges, and it's very difficult to get to, and I only had 8, 9 feet for birdie; putt, and a huge break, tough pins, and you can't be aggressive on some of the these. And all these undulations, it seems they are getting bigger and bigger by the day.

Q. Annika, you have had such a history of going into fourth round of tournaments and not making any mistakes. Talk about the mentality you take into the final round when you have the lead.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I'm happy where I am right now. I'm hitting the ball as well as I can, I'm not making a lot of mistakes. I'm right where I want to be. Tomorrow is the day I've been thinking about for a long time, and I got my chance tomorrow, and I know that; but it's a tough course, a lot of great players are right behind me, and I have to play flawless tomorrow to have a chance.

Q. You said you've been thinking about it for a long time. How long have you been thinking about this?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: The Open is always on my mind. And when we got the schedule at the end of the last year, I was looking at July; that's when I like to peak, and I'm pretty close to that.

Q. Annika, when you didn't win in '97, did you ever think it would be this long between Opens? Did you just figure you'd be right back at it?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah. I mean, I've been trying since then, and -- but like I said, it's a tough course and tough competitors this week, and you need some good breaks, good momentum; but this year, I got good breaks and momentum, and I'm playing well. So like I said, I'm in the spot where I want to be, and it's far from over, I know that, and I'm going to continue to play the way I have; otherwise, this dream will not come true. But I am where I want to be.

Q. You probably come about as close as anybody to maybe solving the Prairie Dunes course this tournament. How do you look into going into tomorrow's round as far as what you've seen in the first three rounds?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I think the more I played this course, the more I get to know it. I feel comfortable with the wind here, obviously comfortable the way I'm hitting the ball. I would like to improve on the back 9. It seems I've got some troubles on 12 and 14. I want to play those holes better. But the front 9 is playing to my liking, so I'm going to continue to do that.

Q. Annika, Jill is 30, and she said this will be the first time, I believe, she's going to be playing with you in the last pairing. This will be her first time in the last pairing anytime in her career. I was wondering if you can remember the first time you played in the last pairing in your pro career.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I know it's been a long time ago, but I know we played sometime. I know Jill pretty well --

Q. When you first played in a last pairing, last pairing of the tournament on the last day, what was your first time that you remember being in the last pairing?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: That was a long time ago. When it was or how I felt?

Q. Both. Do you remember it?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I remember I was nervous, definitely. Playing the last group at the U.S. Open, that's going to be really nerve-wracking. I think I did it when I played in Sweden at a pro tournament at home, I was an amateur then, and that was plenty exciting for me.

Q. How much did those two putts on the first two holes put you in a good frame of mind for the rest of the day? And secondly, I'd be curious to know if your confidence comes from the fact that you've won half your tournaments this year or the way you're swinging the club?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: To answer your last question first, probably a combination of both. I am hitting the ball as well as I can. I know I can win. I've won 6 out of 12 this year, so I got the momentum going, and when I come out to the tee I only see the positive things. I only think about the fairway, I think about green. I know my game is good enough to win, so I don't worry about anybody else or the rough, et cetera.

The first question about the putts, it was important to 2-putt the first two. I had a great shot in on number 1. I could have had 2 or 3 feet for birdie; instead I had 40 feet, and made probably a 2- or 3-footer on the first hole, so it got the momentum going and I felt really comfortable.

Q. Annika, which statement is truer of this course: It's a very difficult course to protect the lead on Sunday? Or it's a very difficult course to make up strokes on a leader on Sunday?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I hope the second one. I don't know, I haven't thought about that. I know it's a tough course. Anything can happen here. Hitting in the rough, who knows what kind of lie you're going to have. My game plan is to hit every fairway and green and not worry about anything else.

Q. I think you probably answered part of this, but you said you've gotten to know this course. What is it about this course, how would you describe it as characteristics of it?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I think the greens play a big role here. I'm glad the greens have been soft, that I've been able to fire at the pins a little bit more, but you got to put it in the right places. The undulations are very tricky and the greens are speeding up a little bit. You could have 15 feet, but it could be a very tough putt, you might have to lag it. You might not be able to be so aggressive. I want to say the greens is what makes this golf course.

Q. Annika, do you feel like it's totally up to you whether you win the championship tomorrow?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: It's not totally up to me, but I can only control me. I can only control my shots and what I do tomorrow. I cannot control what Juli or Jill or Shani or anybody else is going to do tomorrow, but I'm going to make sure that I control myself tomorrow, and then we'll see what happens.

Q. Have you ever been more confident in your game than you are right now?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yesterday.

Q. Yesterday, okay. Let's go over your card, please, Annika. The birdie on number 5, please.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I hit an 8-iron to 11 feet.

Q. Number 7?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I hit a 5-iron in the green side bunker, hit it up to 3 feet.

Q. The bogey on 12?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I hit a pitching wedge over the green, had two chips, and made a putt from about a foot.

Q. What was the problem with that first chip?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I hit it past the hole and hit one of the dips and went off the green again on the other side.

Q. And 14, the bogey?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I had a sand wedge probably 35 feet past the hole and 3-putted.

Q. Then that real good birdie on 16?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: 8-iron to 11 feet.

Q. Did that mean a lot to you, getting a birdie on one of the three closing holes?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Definitely. I think they are very tough finishing holes out here, and 16 is a tough little hole, and the wind being left to right, the yardage was perfect for an 8-iron hit, exactly where I wanted it, and rolled up close to make the putt on. That was good momentum coming into 17.

Q. How much bigger is a 2-stroke lead when you're swinging the club this way at a U.S. Open?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: That's a good question, Doug. I really don't know. I'm not going to think about my two-shot lead tomorrow. I'm going to go out and have the lowest score tomorrow. Hopefully I don't need the extra two shots to bounce back on.

Q. Annika, I know you guys play in a lot of warm places, but it's been really hot out there today. Was this extremely hot or -- and how do you cope with it?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, it feels nice to sit here. It sure was hot today. I noticed on the 15th hole, I told my caddy, is it getting hotter or is it just me? He said he felt the same way. Somebody told me the heat index was 110, and I believe it. It's going to play a factor, I think, tomorrow, but I'm going to try and stay inside the rest of the day and cool down and be ready by tomorrow.

Q. Are you going to wear red shoes tomorrow?

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I've been thinking about it for a long time. It might be a little conflict in sponsors, so I'm going to end it there.

MODERATOR: All right. Thank you so much, Annika, wonderful playing. Good luck, tomorrow.

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