June 26, 2008
EDINA, MINNESOTA
 FULL AUDIO INTERVIEW
HELEN ALFREDSSON: It was a very nice group to play in. I've known Laura for a long time and Stacy was such a doll. She was so sweet. A great player.
Q. Did you find the course different than what you expected when
you got out this morning?
HELEN ALFREDSSON: Yeah, I did, actually. It didn't play as fast as I thought it would be. But I looked at some of the scorer, and now it's playing fast again. But that's the good thing about being in the morning, we get it in the afternoon tomorrow.
Q. Laura was talking about cautious about going after flags, and
not realizing right away it was receptive.
HELEN ALFREDSSON: That's what we talked about last night, because we had dinner together. We were here for the Solheim, and it was a lot more damp then. You don't want to be too short, because you know you're going to be off the green, and you obviously don't want to be too long, because you're going to be off the green. It was very kind this morning, I think, as kind as it will be.
Q. You don't get that very often at the U.S. Open.
HELEN ALFREDSSON: No, no, never really. But I know that
this was probably just one day of kindness.
Q. (Inaudible.)
HELEN ALFREDSSON: Well, I think, you know, not that I've ever been able to have patience, but tried to just hit the shots, play your way around it, don't get yourself out of it. I mean, I think I was saying to somebody, it's funny, because both Laura and I looked at each other, it was so quiet this morning. And nobody says anything. Everybody is in the locker room, that you have fun with. It's something about this. Everybody just gets a little more focused and concentrated.
Q. Or tense?
HELEN ALFREDSSON: Or tense, yeah, that's probably more like
it. But it was -- but it is what it is, this tournament.
Q. (Inaudible.)
HELEN ALFREDSSON: No, I had no boiling going on today. No, it was -- I don't know, I felt pretty calm. And it's easy when you can hit the shots that you want. I don't know why, I mean -- I like this place. I like this golf course. And hopefully all these years being out here has taught me something, that you can't start boiling now. You've got three more days hopefully to play. And it's going to be a lot of emotions running around.
Q. (Inaudible.)
HELEN ALFREDSSON: She played great. I just love her game. There is no fuss about it. She just goes out. She had great drives today, great iron shots. I think she played very steady.
Q. (Inaudible.)
HELEN ALFREDSSON: Very simple. Yeah, you know, and that's why I think she's been around for so long. She just takes the club and hits the shots and moves on pretty much.
Q. She wore herself out on the range?
HELEN ALFREDSSON: No, I don't think she has done that ever, really. Or maybe -- I don't know. No, I don't think so. I saw her warming up today which was quite impressive, yeah (laughter). So she's not given up on that.
I
know that she said, was it a couple of tournaments ago, I shot 7-over
warming up. There is no warming up today. And then she
goes out and shoots 69, so what can you say? Stop warming up,
get out of bed and hit it.
Q. How has the event changed for you through the years if at all?
HELEN ALFREDSSON: I think it's obviously an event that is so special. You know you're coming in, and it takes a lot different game to come in here, much more precise, normally. You have to hit the shots. You can be patient, you have to play in certain places much more and place the ball. And a lot of the courses we play -- and then this is a lot longer than we normally play, too. You have to have a little bit more of the game in shape when you come into a tournament like this.
Q. Someone asked Laura, did you have a favorite Solheim Cup
venue in the U.S.?
HELEN ALFREDSSON: In the U.S., you know what, I fell in love with Greenbrier. I love Greenbrier. It's hard to say. I love this one, too. The courses have been great. But I really loved the whole ambiance of Greenbrier. And then I've been back so many times after that and it's always been very special to me.
Q. When?
HELEN ALFREDSSON: We had an outing there, CSX had an outing
every year. After that I was back for 12 years, which was
unbelievable.
Q. (Inaudible.)
HELEN ALFREDSSON: But also this is a Donald Ross, this is one of the -- he is one of the most spectacular designers. Compared to the golf courses we see now, it's just big and huge lands. You have to be pretty brilliant to make a course in those days like this. It's tough and they didn't have all these machines and bulldozers. They played with nature. And I think he -- I just love to play his golf courses. Pine Needles.
Q. Is is it kind of refreshing to be on a green or tee and have
to look over -- the greens and tees are so close to each other on some
of them?
HELEN ALFREDSSON: Oh, absolutely. I love everything about it. That's, for me, I grew up like that. And I think sometimes it takes away, when you come up to upstate New York, and it's the same thing, you play Winged Foot or those courses. It's unbelievable. That's golf to me, and to come out here, this is golf. This is how it should be. And -- no, you're walking and you're walking and you're walking. But the course, I mean this is some great holes, there, too. But it's just a little too wide, too open. I love when you have the holes next to each other. It's like Riviera, isn't that a typical example. It looks like there's nothing there and you start play!
ing it, which is great. But nice to play the U.S. Open, at least you don't walk too far in between. It's going to take a long time, anyways. Maybe that's what Laura and my -- we're old and can't walk too far. Maybe that's the key. I have no idea.
End of FastScripts
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