Stanford International Pro-Am
Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club
Aventura, Fla.
April 27, 2008

Final-round interviews: Annika Sorenstam | Paula Creamer | Karrie Webb

Final-round notes

Sorenstam outlasts Creamer for 71st LPGA Tour victory at inaugural Stanford International Pro-Am.
Aventura, Fla., April 27, 2008 – It may have taken a one-hole, sudden-death playoff, but Annika Sorenstam (68-67-70-70=275, -8) became the second multiple winner on the LPGA Tour this season, winning the Stanford International Pro-Am and simultaneously punching her ticket to the season-ending ADT Championship. The 71-time Tour winner outlasted five-time winner Paula Creamer (68-71-67-69=275, -8) in the first playoff of the season, improving her career playoff record to 16-6. It was the first playoff of Creamer's four-year LPGA Tour career.

“I thought I played very well, and so did Paula. She played excellent. I know it came down to the last, well, it took 19 holes to separate us. It could have gone really any way,” Sorenstam said. “I'm just fortunate that this time it was my turn, and I'm going cherish this moment. Like I said, I felt like I played well the whole week. This is a big tournament on our schedule, and it meant a lot to me to come down the stretch there and hit some really crucial shots and finish strong.”

Trailing by one stroke at the start of the round, Creamer quickly amassed a one stroke lead over Sorenstam by carding back-to-back birdies on the second and third holes of the Soffer Course at Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club. Sorenstam knotted the leaderboard with a birdie on the sixth hole, and jumped ahead as Creamer bogeyed the next. The “Pink Panther” and “Ms. 59” traded birdies on the ninth and 10th holes, but Creamer's birdie on the 11th put both players at 9-under. Sorenstam bogeyed the 13th hole, and Creamer maintained her one-stroke lead until she followed with her second bogey of the day on the par-3, 144-yard 17th hole, which led to the playoff. Sorenstam clinched win No. 71 with a tap-in for par, while Creamer made bogey.

“It's incredibly disappointing. You know, I had the lead for quite a while out there, and then I bogeyed and she had a birdie in there. It's very disappointing,” Creamer said. “But at the same time, I'm going against on of the best players in the world that's ever to play golf. There's a lot to learn from that. This is was my first playoff as a professional, and probably the most nervous I've ever been.”

Webb cards low round and season-best finish at Stanford International Pro-Am. LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame member Karrie Webb (73-69-70-64=276, -7) fired a tournament-low 7-under-par 64 in the final round of the Stanford International Pro-Am to propel herself to a season-best tie for third-place and $117,224 paycheck. The 35-time Tour winner entered Sunday's final round at the Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club tied for 10th place, but she lit the course up early with five consecutive birdies on the second through sixth holes of the par-71 Soffer Course. Webb made the turn at 5-under 31, and added birdies on the 11th, 12th and 16th holes, with her lone blemish occurring on the par-4, 408-yard 14th hole.

Mallon and Ward cross career milestones. With a combined total of 22 LPGA Tour victories between them, Meg Mallon and Wendy Ward became the sixth and 33rd ladies, respectively, to cross the $9 million and $4 million marks in winnings with their performances at the Stanford International Pro-Am. Mallon's tie for 46th gave her a $7,449 payday, bringing her LPGA Official Career Money total to $9,000,599. She joins the company of Annika Sorenstam, Karrie Webb, Juli Inkster, Lorena Ochoa and Se Ri Pak as the only players to earn $9 million or more in prize money on Tour. Ward's tie for 36th was worth $11,772, bringing her career total to $4,004,329.

Wright notches third top-10 finish of season. Five-year LPGA Tour member and Duramed FUTURES Tour alumna Lindsey Wright (70-71-75-65=281, -2) notched her third top-10 finish of the 2008 season at the Stanford International Pro-Am, as her four-round score of 2-under-par 281 was enough to finish tied for ninth place. Wright's top-10 total through six events this season already matches her totals in both 2006 and 2007, where she also accumulated three top-10 finishes each year. In the second event of the year, the Fields Open in Hawaii, Wright recorded a career-best tie for third, and she later finished tied for ninth place at the Safeway International Presented by Coca-Cola. The Australian is a perfect six-for-six on cuts made this year, and her 3-of-7 top-10 finishes currently tie her for third on Tour, just behind Rolex Rankings' number one Lorena Ochoa (6/6) and Annika Sorenstam (6/7).

Creamer moves into first-half ADT Points lead. Paula Creamer's second-place finish at the Stanford International Pro-Am moved her into the lead on the first-half ADT Points standings. Through seven events, Creamer has tallied 558,150 ADT Points, which edges rookie Yani Tseng's 445,333. Suzann Pettersen (390,343 ADT Points), Lindsey Wright (244,417 ADT Points) and Louise Friberg (242,409) round out the top five positions on the first-half standings. Rolex Rankings' number one Lorena Ochoa and Stanford International Pro-Am champion Annika Sorenstam are the two automatic qualifiers this season, having won Winner Events, which qualify as events on Tour with a purse of $2 million or more.

The LPGA Playoffs 2008, a yearlong competitive structure that splits the official LPGA season into two halves, culminates at the ADT Championship, Nov. 20-23, at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla. Fifteen players from each half qualify for the ADT Championship, and two additional wildcards will be determined following the Lorena Ochoa Invitational Presented by Banamex and Corona.

Eagles for St. Jude's. As title sponsor of this week's Stanford International Pro-Am, Stanford Financial Group is including the LPGA in its Eagles for St. Jude program. For every eagle made on the LPGA Tour in 2008, Stanford will donate $1,000 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in the name of the player who makes the eagle. Through the Stanford International Pro-Am, LPGA Tour members have carded a total of 130 eagles—and $130,000.

Third-year Tour member Morgan Pressel is an ambassador for Stanford Financial Group and, in addition to Stanford's contributions, matches the corporate donation for every eagle she makes. Individuals can also make donations through www.eaglesforstjude.com. The program has already been in place on the PGA TOUR and, in 2007, raised approximately $1,262,000 for St. Jude, which has a $1.3 million daily operating budget.

Davies records third ace on LPGA Tour. Laura Davies recorded the 11th hole-in-one of the 2008 LPGA Tour season in the opening round of the Stanford International Pro-Am. The 20-time Tour winner used her 9-iron from 157 yards on the 13th hole of the Soffer Course, where she recorded the third ace of her LPGA career. Davies first hole-in-one on Tour came at the 1994 Chrysler-Plymouth Tournament of Champions, and her second was in the 2001 Chick-fil-A Charity Championship hosted by Nancy Lopez.

Through nine official events this season, 10 different players have combined for 11 aces. Leta Lindley is the lone player to record a pair of aces, with her first coming at the Safeway International Presented by Coca-Cola and the second at last week's Ginn OPEN.

Final-round interviews: Annika Sorenstam | Paula Creamer | Karrie Webb

Annika Sorenstam, 68-67-70-70=275 (-8)
Soffer Course - Hole 6, 490-yard par 5: birdie – 5-iron over the green, chip to three feet
Hole 10, 366-yard par 4: birdie – pitching wedge to four feet
Hole 13, 174-yard par 3: bogey – 6-iron over the green, chip to four feet, two putt

ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Annika, congratulations on your 71st victory on the LPGA Tour, your second of the year. You improved your playoff record to a very solid 16 6. Can you just talk about your round and that playoff hole?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah, I mean, first of all, obviously I'm very relieved and happy and, you know, excited at the same time.

It was I thought it was a good day today. I thought I played very well, and so did Paula. She played excellent. I know it came down to the last, well, it took 19 holes to separate us. It could have gone really any way.

I'm just fortunate that this time it was my turn, and I'm going cherish this moment. Like I said, I felt like I played well the whole week. This is a big tournament on our schedule, and it meant a lot to me to come down the stretch there and hit some really crucial shots and finish strong.

ASHLEY CUSHMAN: And it looks like you'll be back in the area this November. You punched your ticket to the ADT Championship, this being a Winner Event. Can you talk about having that confirmed and not having to do it on the points list?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah. No, it's great. It's obviously a bonus, I would say. It wasn't anything I was thinking about, but I'm in. I'll be there, of course.

Q. Talk about what goes through your mind when you win like that and when another player at the end makes a mistake like that?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, by the end the day's, you know, it's a win. Like I said, it could have gone either way. We really played solid throughout the round. I had two great chances, in regulation and in the playoff, and just hit the lip in both of them.

Obviously it was not the finish Paula had in mind, but we fought very hard, both of us, and just gotta take it. Like I said, this time it was my turn.

Q. First of all, when Paula made bogey on 17th and you had a makable birdie. Still, having her come back to you with that one shot, what kind of a boost did that give you?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I've been around a while and I know that anything can happen. Even though I was trailing by one for the last four or five holes, you know, I know anything can happen on this golf course, especially with the wind.

When you're leading and you come down the stretch the wind might change. I just kept telling myself to stay focused and keep on going. I might roll in a putt. Whatever happened on 17 can easily happen.

Of course it's nice to get to 18 knowing that it's you know, we're at the same score rather than forcing a birdie. Because it's a tough hole, the 18th. The green is very severe and you got the wind you and don't really know where it's going. One minute it's right to left and the next it's downwind.

You have to be so precise, so just knowing that birdie would probably win, that was obviously more comforting than feeling like you have to force a birdie.

Q. Speaking of those birdie putts on 18, obviously it worked out in the end for you. How did either of them stay out?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Good question. I mean, I've hit a lot of lips this week, and I finished with two. So I felt like I made two good runs at it. You know, it's just great approach shots. Like I said, these greens are not easy to read. You know, I tried.

Q. After the injuries of last year and not being able to win for the first time since you were a rookie, talk about what it means to have already won twice now?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I'm very excited the way the season has started. I feel like I've been very consistent. And actually, if we go back to the end ever last season, pretty much the British Open and on, I've been top 10 I think every tournament except two.

That is as consistent as when I was at my peak. I just had a few more victories. But top 10s and top 5s are probably as many. I feel good about my game. I feel I would say it's very, very close.

I mean, this week I hit ball beautifully I thought. Especially my iron shots. I've had good distance control, and that's always been my strength. It's been a while since I really felt that.

I believe my injury is really healing and I'm starting to feel shots again, which is that feeling disappeared a little bit when I didn't have the control.

Now I feel like I have control again, and that's what I want to take from this week. I'm hitting my iron shots on the number, and that's what I love and that's how I play golf.

Q. This is Paula's first playoff, and you've obviously played in a lot of them and done well. What would you say if you had to give any advice to Paula or anyone else is the key to playing well in a playoff?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I'm not going to share my secrets. Well, I mean, it's you know, I've been lucky in playoffs. I think really the key is just to focus on your game. You know, it's so easy to get caught up in the other player that you forget to play the course or the hole the way you have to play it.

I just try to play my own game. It's a little bit of luck in the playoff. So, I mean, my advice to her is just keep on playing your game. I mean, we all know she has a fantastic game. She's proven it today and she's proven in the past. She's going to win many times.

Q. In general, what did you think about the tournament and the format? Did you like it?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, first of all, I want to thank Stanford for the support of this tournament. I think they have done a really good job, together with IMG and Turnberry Resort. It's really a first class event start to finish. It's nice to stay on property, and the hospitality has been great here. The course has been in fabulous shape.

The format itself is different. It takes a little while to get used to it. You really have to be patient and play your own game, because there's a lot of distractions and it takes a long time to play.

Overall, I think it's been a great week. Obviously walking away the winner makes it sweeter. I would rank this tournament as one of our premier events on the tour, for sure.

Q. Do you think this format and the celebrity angle brought in some new fans?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: That's a good question. I'm not really sure. I'm sure when there's some big names from TV or other athletes, you know, people that love it watch celebrities play, I'm sure they will be here.

I do think we have a strong following from the LPGA in general, so we knew the fans would be big anyway. I'm sure some of the people have showed up to see what this is all about.

Q. Paula said in her first playoff that her hands were shaking holding the putter at the end. Do you remember your first tour playoff and what happened?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I don't know in if I remember it. I played if a playoff against Laura Davies in the World Cup, I mean World Championship. I don't know if that was my first one.

I mean, you get a little extra adrenaline and maybe a few extra butterflies. That's what I love. I mean, that's why I do this. Not to say I want to have playoffs every week, but it's a lot of drama and you have to hit that certain shot when I it counts.

You know, it's my 15th year and I've experienced a lot of wins from behind. I have run away with certain tournaments. But when you win in playoffs it's special because you have to work extra hard.

You know, it's very memorable for sure.

Q. Are you playing next week?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: No, I'm not.

Q. When will you come back again?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I believe it's Kingsmill. Is that the week after?

ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Yes.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yes, I'll be there.

Q. What kind of momentum swing did you kind of sense on the 17th when Paula had her trouble and wound up making bogey?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: We just talked about that. I don't remember my answer, but this answer this time is Yeah, you get a fresh answer. I mean, you know, when you're out there playing, you really just have to keep on grinding because anything can happen on this golf course.

Paula was playing great there. On 15 she had a great chance and on 16 she had a great chance, too. I just kept hang in there hoping I would roll a putt in or something would happen. When I stepped on 18th tee, it's a better feeling knowing rather than when you're behind, when you're behind on a Par 5 I always feel like I have to press a little extra. That's not really a hole that you want to press.

The green is very tough and the wind, you know, the approach shots into the wind and the little green makes it tough. I felt really good. I had 5 wood off the tee and I hit 8 iron down there and then 100 yards in. Those are the shots that I live for. I practice those a lot, and I could not have asked for better yardage.

Q. Yesterday someone asked you about the Olympics, and you said you weren't quite sure if the format was suitable for golf. Can you elaborate a little bit on that?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah. The format I mean, golf in general would work. I think it would be tough to get the best players in the world to play because we have tournaments every week. On the LPGA, I mean, I play 11 months of the year. I know the guys play probably 12 months of the year.

I think it would be tough to get the Summer Olympics in the middle the U.S. Open, LPGA Championship, PGA Championship, you name it, you know, British Open.

I think it would be very hard to get the best players, and when you have the Olympics you should have the best players.

Q. What would be the only circumstances you would have gone for the green in two?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: You know, I don't know if I ever would. You know, I thought it was a very gutsy play of Paula to hit driver off the tee. I hit 5 wood just to make sure that I'm short of everything.

Q. If you were down by two, any chance you would have gone for the green in two?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: It's tough to speculate. Maybe two back, and then I think I would need a little bit more downwind so that my drive would get out there further. I would probably have no more than a 6 iron in.

I've had some shots we can take my second shot on No. 6 today. I hit a 5 iron in and released 30 yards. If you land that ball 30 yards, it might be over the green. You have to be just one or two yards on, and that's very tough to judge.

So I think that's the reason why I wouldn't go for it, because the green is so firm. Unless you land in the bunker, but what are the chances you're going to be that precise when the wind is swirling everywhere. So tough to speculate.

But I did hit the green in the Pro Am, not the Pro Am, but the practice round. But that's a little different.

Paula Creamer, 68-71-67-69=275 (-8)
Soffer Course - Hole 2, 518-yard par 5: birdie, 3-rescue from 60 yards to 10 feet
Hole 3, 138-yard par 3: birdie – 9-iron from 125 yards to three feet
Hole 7, 170-yard par 3: bogey – tee shot into hazard, second shot hit the flagstick, two putt from four feet
Hole 9, 378-yard par 4: birdie – wedge from 100 yards to 12 feet
Hole 11, 492-yard par 5: birdie – 58-degree wedge from 65 yards to four feet
Hole 17, 144-yard par 3: bogey – 9-iron short of green, chunked chip shot, two putt from 15 feet

ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Paula, thanks for coming in and joining us. Your first playoff of your LPGA career. I know things didn't quite end up the way you wanted them to, but you have every right to be proud of yourself. You've had an incredible week, playing well and playing with your friend James Blake, not to mention finding yourself atop the leaderboard. Can you just talk about the playoff and what you're feeling right now?
PAULA CREAMER: Yeah, I mean, obviously it's incredibly disappointing. You know, I had the lead for quite a while out there, and then I bogeyed and she had a birdie in there. It's very disappointing.

But at the same time, I'm going against on of the best players in the world that's ever to play golf. There's a lot to learn from that. This is was my first playoff as a professional, and probably the most nervous I've ever been.

Now, looking back on it, I made more mistakes than she did. Obviously I made more birdies than her, and I knew going into it that I could make a lot more birdies out there. It was just the mistakes.

She's always plots herself around the golf course, and that's why she's as good as she is. She doesn't make those bogeys. I just made too many.

Q. First off, on the regulation, did you have a chance to go for the green in two on 18?
PAULA CREAMER: Yeah. I've always you know, I've always been a pretty aggressive player. I hit my drive as straight as anybody can out on tour. It's a huge fairway, and you never know. You might get lucky and get a 6 iron or something into that green. But I did, I had about 180 to the front, but I can't stop it with that wind.

Q. And then could you just take us through the second playoff hole when you hit the shot and you get to where the ball is just above the hole, what kind of lie you had?
PAULA CREAMER: Yeah, I had a little wedge. Well, we were really confused with the wind. I probably you know, my gut instinct was telling me that it was more downwind and it wasn't hurting as much as we thought. It was just a cross. I didn't really go with that.

So I went a little long. It was kind of sitting it was a really weird lie in the rough. I putted it, but it was a lot faster than I thought it was. Even if I would have hit it where I wanted, it still would have gone probably three and a half feet by the hole, which was like I said, just I misjudged it.

Q. If you had 180 to the front the first time on 18, how much more do you think you would have needed? How much closer do you think you needed to be?
PAULA CREAMER: Probably maybe about 15 yards, uh huh. Because I would have been hitting then 15 yards closer, so maybe 5 or 6 iron.

Q. Just the last putt, were you surprised that it was short?
PAULA CREAMER: Yes.

Q. What were you thinking on that shot, that last putt?
PAULA CREAMER: Well, when we were reading it I kind of went over to Colin and said, God, I wish this was a lot closer than what it is right now. But you know, he just told me confidence. My hands were shaking so much I probably should have gripped it a little harder so I would've actually followed through.

But that was just, you know, classic nerves and not being in that kind of situation before.

Q. The last time you played in a playoff, do you remember?
PAULA CREAMER: Long time. Hmm, oh, you know, my rookie year in Japan I did. It was a one hole playoff and I won. I birdied.

Q. You said you had learned something playing with a player like Annika's caliber. What immediately comes to mind about what you learned today?
PAULA CREAMER: Patience. That's the biggest thing.

Q. You obviously won out here a number of times before. Still, in that situation, going head to head with a player like Annika and two holes to go and a one shot lead, how much do nerves enter the equation?
PAULA CREAMER: I wasn't nervous. I was in control. I mean, I was leading that golf tournament. A careless shot on the Par 3 led to a bogey. That's plain and simple.

Just, you know, getting I guess it wasn't sloppy, but you just should never miss that pin right and that's what I did.

Q. Nancy Lopez has been out watching you the last couple days. Can you just kind of talk about your relationship with her and maybe anything she shared with you at all?
PAULA CREAMER: Sorry. No, Nancy has been a very, very good friend to me. She's standing back there so this is really hard.

No, she's always been a role model to me, so when she takes the time and comes out and watches me, it really means a lot. Every since she was my captain we really bonded, you know, and she always tries to help me with what she's gone through out on tour.

I think that, you know, she's not only a mentor to me but one of my very good friends. She tried to tell me to go out there and play my game. I'm one of the best players in the world, and it's all about confidence. You know, she was there through it all, so...

Q. Just to make sure I've got it straight, the careless shot on the Par 3, was that the tee shot or the chip?
PAULA CREAMER: Yeah. No, I mean, it was the tee shot overall, because I hit a 9 iron to that green and you should never miss it. You should go long, if anything. I didn't hit it real solid, which was important.

And then I kind of had another funny lie in that rough. The rough here, you never know what you're going to get. I didn't really accelerate through the chip and kind of chunked it short. I thought I made the putt, but I didn't.

QUICK QUOTES

Karrie Webb, 73-69-70-64=276 (-7)

Q. Talk about your round. Pretty good round. Awesome number.
KARRIE WEBB: Yeah. I'm very happy with it obviously. You know, I hit the ball good again and actually made some putts today, so it was really nice.

Q. Would you consider this your best round overall of the year?
KARRIE WEBB: I thought it was if I put it all together. Obviously I did that, which, you know, I got off to a great start getting, you know, 2 through 6.

So, you know, I played really solid and the putter felt great in my hands, which, you know, is the first time in a couple months.

Q. Did you change anything putting?
KARRIE WEBB: No. Like I said, I've been hitting some good putts this week and just not misreading them a little bit, you know. And I just went out there today and, you know, when they start going in, you know, you get a good feel and you feel like you can make some putts.

Q. Your best finish of the year here, but do you regret not making birdie on one of those last holes to maybe play your way into a playoff?
KARRIE WEBB: Well, obviously it's a good finish for me. I doubt I'll be in a playoff, but I don't think you can count on Annika and Paula stumbling coming in. So, you know, I would have liked to make the one on the last, but, you know, I feel great about things.

As much as, you know, I've been down on myself, I knew that if I could get my putter going it just sort of goes to the rest of your game.

Like I know my swing's been close, but when you feel like you can't make putts then you can't go at pins because you don't get up and down. So, you know, it's a good start. Hopefully, there's more to come.

Q. Was there a point after the second or third birdie went in where you thought, Where were these earlier in the week?
KARRIE WEBB: No. I try not to think too much about it and just shoot as well as I could. Obviously on the back 9 I knew I had a chance. Probably wasn't as free flying as I would've liked it. But, you know, just to shoot 64, you know, I know that I have it in me. It's just a matter of putting it all together.