The Solheim Cup
Halmstad Golf Club
Halmstad, Sweden
Sept. 16, 2007

Sunday singles and final team interviews: U.S. Team | European Team | Catriona Matthew | Pat Hurst | Stacy Prammanasudh | Juli Inkster | Becky Brewerton | Sherri Steinhauer | Angela Stanford | Morgan Pressel | Annika Sorenstam | Laura Davies | Nicole Castrale | Paula Creamer | Linda Wessberg | Cristie Kerr | Natalie Gulbis | Helen Alfredsson

U.S. Team dominates singles to win 2007 Solheim Cup on foreign soil
Second time in event history the visiting team has claimed the Cup overseas

HALMSTAD, Sweden, Sept. 16, 2007 – Only once in The Solheim Cup history, has a team retained the Cup on foreign soil. Following in the footsteps of their 1996 predecessors, the women of the 2007 U.S. Solheim Cup Team overcame an 8 ½ to 7 ½ deficit to the European Team entering Sunday singles matches to win the 10th staging of The Solheim Cup 16 to 12.

“We really played our hearts out. I thought we had a lot of talent on the team. I thought it would be tough to do it over here,” said U.S. Team Captain Betsy King, whose owns Solheim Cup career record stands at 7-6-2 in the first five stagings of the event. “Even though we had four rookies, they're not really rookies.

“It was just a great week. Obviously, it was a tough week condition-wise, and there were a lot of close matches, so it could have gone either way, but I think today particularly in the singles, we played very well,” King said.

Coming into the week, the U.S. Team was stronger statistically on paper, as all players are ranked higher than 40th in the Rolex Rankings. However, the European Team had the advantage of a combined 40 Solheim Cup appearances by team members to the United States' 22; and a 71-61-22 overall advantage over the U.S. record of 42-33-9. The European Team also had the home-crowd advantage and the history of a 3-1 record.

“It comes down to the golf and the players,” said European Team Captain Helen Alfredsson who, like King, played in the first Solheim Cup in 1990. “I can just judge from the team spirit that we had in the room. When we are in a team, everybody sits together. Everybody makes room for one another around, and it's not like people are in groups and not sitting together. We are sharing every moment, and that was very special to me.

“We all know the Americans are very tough,” Alfredsson continued. “They're very tough on their own, and we do enjoy a lot of strength when we are a team because we like to be a team. They are a lot more individual, and I don't have the answer to them, but, in a way I'm happy that we are the strongest team because that makes us be very fun.”

The venue, Halmstad Golf Club, hosted more than 100,000 fans throughout the week in weather that was windy and cool at best between rain showers. Despite resuming Saturday's afternoon four-ball matches on Sunday morning, Europe held the 8 ½ to 7 ½ advantage going into the singles matches.

“I'm very proud of the Swedish people that came out and cheered us on as much as they could,” Alfredsson said. “We didn't do good enough for them. I hope they got something out of it. I'm just proud of how Sweden handled this.”

On Sunday, the U.S. squad stepped up to capture 8 ½ of a possible 12 points in the singles matches. A day-three surge by three U.S. Team rookies secured the itinerary for the Cup's return trip to the United States. On Sunday, Stacy Prammanasudh defeated Suzann Pettersen 2 up, to give the U.S. Team their fourth point in singles matches, just minutes after two-time Solheim Cup member Angela Stanford posted a 3 and 2 victory over Trish Johnson to push the U.S. Team into a 10 ½ to 9 ½ overall lead for the first time since the end of Saturday's morning foursome matches. The next singles match was a Solheim Cup fixture Laura Davies defeating American rookie Brittany Lincicome 4 and 3.

“I've played really well today and didn't give Brittany too many chances, which was important to get a point on the board,” said Davies, who scored 2 ½ points for the European Team and has tallied 23 points in her 10 Solheim Cup appearances. “None of us feel like losers. We lost to a better team today. They were a very good team. They had some good team spirit out there and beat us.”

U.S. Team rookie Morgan Pressel was on the course and paired against Europe's Annika Sorenstam who, in her eighth Solheim Cup appearance, is the top points' earner in event history. Pressel entered the singles matches with an 0-2-1 record, but defeated Sorenstam 2 and 1 for the U.S. point. It was a tightly contested match as six of their 17 holes were played all square, and holes three and four saw a 1 up advantage for Sorenstam. Not until a birdie on 16 did Pressel gain her 2 up advantage and closed out the match on 17.

“I got off to a little bit of a rough start. I missed a short little putt on four. But I was back there well on five,” said Pressel, who played with Creamer and Lincicome as juniors in the PING Junior Solheim Cup prior to turning professional. “I came out this afternoon, played a lot better and made birdies when I needed to. I expected her to win the last hole. My caddie was saying that's why she's number one in the world for a very long time.”

The final rookie performance of the day was Nicole Castrale defeating European Team rookie Bettina Hauert 3 and 2 to give the U.S. Team their 14th point—enough to retain the Cup. Paula Creamer sealed the win with her 2 and 1 win over Maria Hjorth.

“Coming over here as the underdog. It's different. It's rainy. That's for sure. It was cold, but it was such a good week. I'm really proud of the team,” said Creamer, a two-time U.S. Solheim Cup Team member and second-youngest member of the team, who led the U.S. charge with 3 ½ points. “It feels good to win on foreign soil for the second time ever. That's pretty good, and it's exciting.”

Sunday singles and final team interviews: U.S. Team | European Team | Catriona Matthew | Pat Hurst | Stacy Prammanasudh | Juli Inkster | Becky Brewerton | Sherri Steinhauer | Angela Stanford | Morgan Pressel | Annika Sorenstam | Laura Davies | Nicole Castrale | Paula Creamer | Linda Wessberg | Cristie Kerr | Natalie Gulbis | Helen Alfredsson

Final notes

Captains reunite. The year was 1990 and it was the first staging of the biennial Solheim Cup. The United States defeated Europe 11 ½ to 4 ½ in the inaugural match, which featured 2007 Solheim Cup Team captains Betsy King and Beth Daniel (assistant captain) (U.S. Team); and Helen Alfredsson and Marie-Laure de Lorenzi (assistant captain) (European Team). King and Daniel were partners for the foursome and four-ball matches, and defeated de Lorenzi and 2007 European Solheim Cup Team member Trish Johnson 5 and 4 in foursome play. England's Laura Davies and Johnson are the only two 2007 Solheim Cup team members who also competed in the inaugural matches.

As competitors, the captains hold the following overall records:
Player Appearances Overall record Total points
Betsy King 5 7-6-2 8
Beth Daniel 8 10-9-7 13.5

Helen Alfredsson 7 10-12-2 11
Marie-Laure de Lorenzi 3 3-8-0 3

Captains by the numbers

EUROPE: Helen Alfredsson/Marie-Laure de Lorenzi paired together, 2-2-0
1996 day two foursomes, def. Kelly Robbins/Michelle McGann, 4&3
1998 day one four-ball, def. Kelly Robbins/Sherri Steinhauer, 2&1
day two foursome, lost to Dottie Pepper/Juli Inkster, 1 down
day two four-ball, lost to Donna Andrews/Sherri Steinhauer, 4&3

UNITED STATES: Betsy King/Beth Daniel paired together, 2-0-0
1990 day one foursome, def. Trish Johnson/Marie-Laure de Lorenzi, 5&4
day two four-ball, def. Laura Davies/Alison Nicholas, 4&3

Captains head-to-head
Europe 2-3-1
United States 3-2-1
1994 Alfredsson def. King, 2&1
1996 King def. de Lorenzi, 5&4
day one foursome, Daniel/Val Skinner def. de Lorenzi/Dale Reid, 1 up
day one four-ball, Daniel/Meg Mallon halved with Alfredsson/Alison Nicholas
day two four-ball, King/Kelly Robbins def. de Lorenzi/Joanne Morley, 2&1
2000 Alfredsson def. Daniel, 4&3

Halmstad Golf Club longest Solheim Cup venue. The 10th staging of The Solheim Cup started under damp, cool and breezy conditions. To add to the obstacles presented by Mother Nature is the fact that the Halmstad Golf Club is the longest venue in The Solheim Cup history at 6,615 yards. Prior to 2007, the longest course in Solheim Cup history was the 2002 course at Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minn., which measured 6,545 yards—70 yards shorter than this year's course.

Year Venue Course length (yards)
2007 Halmstad Golf Club (Sweden) 6,615
2002 Interlachen Country Club (Minn.) 6,545
2005 Crooked Stick Golf Club (Ind.) 6,515
2003 Barseback Golf & Country Club (Sweden) 6,470
1998 Muirfield Village Golf Club (Ohio) 6,428
1996 Marriott St. Pierre Hotel
Golf & Country Club (Wales) 6,386
2000 Loch Lomond Golf Club (Scotland) 6,338
1990 Lake Nona Country Club (Fla.) 6,338
1994 The Greenbrier (W. Va.) 6,330
1992 Dalmahoy Country Club (Scotland) 6,222

Inkster gets first Solheim Cup win on European soil. Veteran Juli Inkster's seventh Solheim Cup appearance last week at Halmstad Golf Club was a good one. Not only did she rank second on the U.S. Team in points with three (2-0-2), but she also experienced her first Solheim Cup win on foreign soil. Inkster was a member of the 1992, 2000 and 2003 teams that previously lost in Europe that included: 1992 at the Dalmahoy Hotel and Country Club in Edinburgh, Scotland; 2000 at Loch Lomond Golf Club in Alexandria by Luss, Scotland; and 2003 at Barseback Golf and Country Club in Malmo Sweden.

Four players go the distance. Four players at The 2007 Solheim Cup played all five rounds for their team. Paula Creamer and Cristie Kerr both played in all five rounds for the U.S. Team while Maria Hjorth and Annika Sorenstam went the distance for the European Team. It marks the second consecutive time Creamer, who was a rookie to The Solheim Cup in 2005, has played all five matches. Sorenstam has played in every match for four straight years, dating back to the 2002 Solheim Cup.

Davies only player to compete in every Solheim Cup. This week represented the 10th staging of The Solheim Cup and only Laura Davies, of the European squad, has played in every edition of the premier event. Davies has compiled a 21-16-4 record in Solheim Cup play, and has helped Europe win three Solheim Cups. Davies, who posted a 2-1-1 record at Halmstad Golf Club last week, holds the record for the most matches played with 41, most foursomes matches played with 15 and most four-ball matches played with 16.

Sorenstam holds all-time points lead. Annika Sorenstam improved her overall Solheim Cup record to
22-11-4 with a 2-2-1 record at Halmstad Golf Club, and continues her reign as the event's all-time points earner with 24 total points. Sorenstam earned her second full point alongside Suzann Pettersen in the day two four-ball match-up versus American's Cristie Kerr and Morgan Pressel. She also earned a point with Catriona Matthew in Saturday morning's foursomes competition with a 1 up win over Nicole Castrale and Cristie Kerr and a half point during Friday's four-ball match with playing partner Maria Hjorth. Laura Davies, who has played in all 10 Solheim Cups, sits just one point behind Sorenstam with 23 points and a 21-16-4 career Solheim Cup record.

Competive match-up ties record. Competition at the 2007 Solheim Cup was fierce as 12 matches went all 18 holes before they were finished, which tied the record of 12 set in 1996. This year, four foursomes matches and five four-ball matches went the distance while three singles matches finished on 18 as well.

Sunday singles and final team interviews: U.S. Team | European Team | Catriona Matthew | Pat Hurst | Stacy Prammanasudh | Juli Inkster | Becky Brewerton | Sherri Steinhauer | Angela Stanford | Morgan Pressel | Annika Sorenstam | Laura Davies | Nicole Castrale | Paula Creamer | Linda Wessberg | Cristie Kerr | Natalie Gulbis | Helen Alfredsson

U.S. TEAM, post-tournament interview

PAM WARNER: I'd like to welcome the victorious U.S. Solheim Cup Team and Captain Betsy King. Congratulations on your win. Just start by commenting on this week and your team's victory?
BETSY KING: Well, we had a lot of fun this week, and, as I mentioned a million times, we really played our hearts out. I thought we had a lot of talent on the team. I thought it would be tough to do it over here. If you go by history, but I kind of felt we were going to do it, but I didn't want to say that before we did it.
So now I'm saying it. I really wanted to play the underdog coming here, but even though we had four rookies, they're not really rookies and the blend of experience and people that are just competitive naturally and good pressure players that all these people I think proved that this week. It was just a great week. Obviously it was a tough week condition-wise, and there were a lot of close matches, so it could have gone either way, but I think today particularly in the singles, we played very well.

Q. This one is for Beth. Beth, obviously you've been on the team with Betsy and played with her and played college golf with her and known her for a long time. What kind of captain did you think she would be, and what kind of captain has she proven to be?
BETH DANIEL: Yeah, Betsy and I met each other in college at Furman University. Played three years of college golf together and played the Tour together. We were Solheim Cup partners for many years. So, I know her pretty well. I was very supportive of her being the captain of this team. I think she deserved it, and I knew what kind of person she was. I knew she would be a great captain, and I think she was.

Q. Betsy, have you enjoyed a funny exchange with Dottie Pepper today?
BETSY KING: I have not seen Dottie Pepper the whole week. I haven't seen her.

Q. Does that apply to all of you or?
JULI INKSTER: I had dinner with her last night. (Laughter).
BETH DANIEL: Did you? When did you have time to have dinner with her? None of us have seen her. I saw Dottie early in the week. Saw her during one of the practice rounds, she and Brian Hammonds were going out to look at the golf course. We kind of briefly saw her. She was kind of, ‘Go get them this week.' That's it. None of us have had any exchanges. I think that was Wednesday when they first got into town or something. None of us have had any exchanges with Dottie since then.

Q. Presumably Juli didn't have a silent dinner with her.
BETH DANIEL: She was kidding.
JULI INKSTER: I got a really bad sense of humor.
BETH DANIEL: She didn't get home until about 8:30 last night and went to bed about 10:30. She didn't have time to have dinner with Dottie, believe me.

Q. I'm from Scotland. If somebody calls me a ‘choking freaking dog,' I would be fairly offended. Were you offended, and did you use those words as a motivational tool?
BETSY KING: No. I don't think Dottie's words had anything to do with how the team played. We're a good team. They don't need anything to motivate them like that. It's about us, not about Dottie. Let's change the subject.

Q. You said were you going to give your opinion afterwards of what she said.
BETSY KING: I think my opinion is that it's about us, not about Dottie. This is The Solheim Cup. It's a lot bigger event than one commentator on television. I think we played well today, and I think we proved that we're good pressure players. That's all I'll say.
I will say one thing. I'm retired, and you usually retire because you can't play anymore. That's just an age thing, but as a commentator—and I think you forget—is that bad? That's just it. Everybody, Johnny Miller, anybody, it's just—that's why you're commentating because you're past your prime and your abilities. It's not a slam. I'm the same way. I couldn't come out here and compete on the LPGA.
JULI INKSTER: I heard you made six birdies on the front nine last time you played.
BETSY KING: Fooling around. I just kind of tend to think it's the old thing: The older you get, the better you used to be. You think were you perfect, and you don't remember anything. I don't know. I'm getting myself in trouble. (Laughter).
Next question. Different subject.
BETH DANIEL: I'll add one thing. We came here with one goal. This team came here together to try and keep this Solheim Cup in the LPGA office in Daytona Beach, Florida, and nothing should take away from what happened this week on the golf course and the good play that was seen from every golfer out here, and that's the bottom line.
That's what it's about. That's the spirit of The Solheim Cup is about a great competition with great golf, and that's what we had this week. (Applause)

Q. I don't even know who to throw this one out to. Maybe Juli, you could start. Obviously the first two days it was like you guys were dominating play and then you would have a half point slip away. That happened a bunch. Did you still feel confident because, you guys do so well in singles? Or did it just get to be after it kept happening time and again, did it just get to be a little deflating, especially with the weather and you must have been tired? Anything like that?
JULI INKSTER: Well, this is my seventh Solheim Cup, and I keep telling the young ones, ‘This is the best position we've ever been in coming into the singles.' We played a couple Cups where we've had zero points after first matches. So when we had like 1 ½ or 2 points, whatever we had, I said, ‘We're golden.'
I think 16, 17 and 18, they're tough holes. It's not like we played bad. One person chipped in, one person—they played a couple good iron shots on 18 to make birdie. It's not like you're giving it away. They're playing well. This golf course is playing long, and it's not like you're hitting pitching wedge in there.
You just take your hats off to them. They probably thought they were right in the position they wanted to be, too. But I think deep down we kind of knew that if we could just stay close to them, come Sunday we would have a good shot. That's a good talk.

Q. Paula, could you describe your feelings compared to your first Solheim Cup?
PAULA CREAMER: I've always said that The Solheim Cup is better than winning. Whenever you get the chance to represent your country and do it with 11 other players, it is, it's truly a great feeling to be on this team. It's such an honor. I was pretty excited my rookie year, but I'm even more excited this year. I think we had a wonderful team captain, Betsy and Beth, they both did such a great job bringing us together. I couldn't wait for '09.

Q. It was great this year?
PAULA CREAMER: Yes. It was overseas. I've seen the history show. Only won once over here. I think emotionally for everybody to know this is our second win over here, that's pretty big.
JULI INKSTER: Good talk.

Q. This question is for Juli or whoever else wants to chime in. Obviously Paula is one of the younger players on the team. This is the second time that she's lead the team. Can you just talk about that?
PAULA CREAMER: Partner.
JULI INKSTER: I played with Paula in Indianapolis, her rookie time, and you know what? She's only 21, and she is the leader of this team. She played all the matches. She's very competitive, but she gets it. She's very polite out there. She plays her game.
Partner-wise she never gets too high, too low. She keeps everybody—I'm 47. Out there she's, ‘Okay, come on, Partner. Let's pick it up. Let's bring this hole. Be positive. Let it go, let it go.'
I'm like, ‘Who is coaching who?' But you know what? Everybody had one. I mean, when I first started, we had Patty Sheehan and Pat Bradley and Beth Daniel and Betsy King. She's 21, but she plays a lot older than that. She's a great player. Be here for a long time. All these girls will be.

Q. Can I just ask Morgan what you thought your first Solheim and beating Annika today?
MORGAN PRESSEL: I had a great experience this week. I really had a lot of fun. Honored to be on this team, and I think the team really got along a great, and I think we really played well, and that always helps. So, I played well today, and I'm happy about that.

Q. Was it extra special beating Annika?
MORGAN PRESSEL: Extra special? I think that regardless, it was my first full point and I went out there today.
BETH DANIEL: Amen, girl.
MORGAN PRESSEL: I was excited about that. You're always excited to play one of their better players. And to win is that much more special.

Q. A question for Sherri and whoever would like to comment on that. Do you think the Europeans are kidding themselves when they believe that bad weather is an advantage for them?
BETH DANIEL: They think they have an advantage for the weather.
JULI INKSTER: You have to give some time to Sherri. Usually we draw a picture.
SHERRI STEINHAUER: You know …
CRISTIE KERR: I'll answer it. I'll answer it.
SHERRI STEINHAUER: They're great players in these conditions, but I think with this team that we can play under all conditions. I'm really proud of them and how our team played this week. I was fortunate this week. I never had to put my umbrella up. Can anyone else say that? Look at them.
JULI INKSTER: What do you mean?
SHERRI STEINHAUER: I only played three matches.
BETH DANIEL: In other words, the sun always shines on Sherri Steinhauer.
SHERRI STEINHAUER: I never played in the rain, so I was …
BETSY KING: I should have played you all five.
SHERRI STEINHAUER: They all played great in this bad weather, and I know the Europeans, they play in this all the time but, you know, we overcame it and did it.
CRISTIE KERR: I think it's really a testament also to the heart of this team because with our partners out there or we were playing singles, whether we won or we lost, we took Betsy and Beth's advice at the beginning of the week to say make every hole count. Make every shot count. Do the best you can. Doesn't matter if you lose, you hit it in the hazard like I did on 14, par 5, go out and win the next hole. That's what our motto was this week. The bad weather, we accepted it and we …
JULI INKSTER: Where is the hazard on 14?
CRISTIE KERR: Way right. Wide right. (Laughter). I'm over now.

Q. Betsy, is this a one-shot deal? Or would you consider doing this again?
BETSY KING: I think it's probably a one-shot deal just because there's a lot of people on our side, I think, that deserve to be captain, and I think that's what's it going to be. I think there's someone sitting to my right that I would be very surprised if they're not there in 2009. (Applause).

Q. Can we get Beth Daniel to captain in 2009?
BETH DANIEL: Maybe Betsy knows something I don't know. Betsy is right. There are too many deserving players that are in line right now, and seems like we're all kind of retiring at the same time.
But, yeah, unfortunately, I think our Tour is kind of past its time of letting captains go twice. Juli Inkster will be a captain one day. No doubt about that. Whenever she retires and stops making the team.
JULI INKSTER: That will be a very organized team.
BETH DANIEL: That will be organized chaos on Juli Inkster's team.
BETSY KING: Very serious team.
BETH DANIEL: We have quite a few players in line that are very, very deserving to be captain, and I'm sure the committee that the LPGA has set up would be that lineup.

Q. You'd like to do it in 2009?
BETH DANIEL: I would be very honored to be chosen but don't want to get my hopes up too much.

Q. Betsy, I know there's a lot of former captains around and you have contact with a lot of them. Did you turn to them prior to this for advice about how to be a good captain and an effective captain?
BETSY KING: I did. I tried to contact all the past captains and talk to them a little bit and ask them, ‘What did you do well that you thought worked, and if you had to do something differently, had the chance again, would you do anything differently and what would that be?' I definitely took the advice, things that they said, and implemented quite a few of what other things that they said.

Q. Anything in particular?
BETSY KING: Well, even in leading up, I know Nancy Lopez said that she felt she made a mistake in inviting too many people to some of the practice sessions before Solheim and then the people got their hopes up and didn't make the team. So I tried to keep most of the group smaller as much as I could so that there weren't 20 or 25 people that felt that they were going to make the team possibly.
I did that. I also tried to speak individually with everyone. I don't know. It's interesting to hear what they said, what each person had to say. Beth and I, our games are so similar, I think that's one of the reasons why we played well. I really did implement a lot of things that they mentioned.

Q. Was there one single piece of advice that you gave to everybody before the individuals today, something specific?
JULI INKSTER: Nice talk last night.
BETSY KING: No. For me, I really think I just let everyone have their say. I certainly don't feel like I know it all, and I try to bring in other people that had a lot of knowledge and even bringing in the past captains this week, Thursday night.
JULI INKSTER: That was great. That was great.
BETSY KING: It's more than one person. Obviously four, five minds are a lot better than one, and I really tried to do that. Who cares where the wisdom comes from as long as we get it.

EUROPEAN TEAM, post-tournament interview

BETHAN CUTLER: Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to welcome, Laura Davies, Helen Alfredsson, Catriona Matthew and Annika Sorenstam. You must be quite disappointed. There were a lot of positives to take away from the last three today. Would you like to begin by making a few comments, Laura?
LAURA DAVIES: Yeah. It's disappointing. This is 7-3 now. Overall, I was hoping to go away this week at 6-4 overall. We've got to win the next four to break even.

I think we're all very disappointed. None of us feel like losers. We lost to a better team today. They were a very good team. They had some good team spirit out there and beat us. That's the bottom line, basically.

BETHAN CUTLER: Helen, just make a comment. We heard you on the closing ceremony.
HELEN ALFREDSSON: Obviously we were disappointed. We thought we went with a good chance into the singles. Everyone played well. They happened to play a little bit better. I don't think our team played badly. They played really well for the conditions.

Q. The disappointment, Helen, perhaps I can put it the morning started so well. The disappointment must be double because of that.
HELEN ALFREDSSON: Well, of course, it is. I think, you know, being on the other side, it was absolutely an amazing week to see these girls fight so hard on every single shot. I think we saw the first two days, obviously the second day finished today, but it was a lot of heart and soul out there, and I think it's always hard when you fight hard and you do everything you can and at that moment it doesn't feel really enough. You don't end up with the trophy, but I think we have to give the Americans credit. They played really, really well. They did what they had to do, and obviously we didn't.

Q. Annika, can you just talk about, does it feel worse losing on home soil, just kind of what that feels like having all the home fans here?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I want to agree with the three of them here. I really don't feel like we lost today. I just think that the Americans outplayed us today, and their week has really been great in so many ways. I can't believe how many fans have been out there despite the weather.

I think just being here is a victory itself. Of course, it would have been nice to bring home the Cup for the Swedish fans and for all the Europeans and for the team but we gave it our best. I really feel like we did that.

I think this particular time we fought really to the end. A lot of matches, as you can see the previous days, we were down coming to the last two holes and were able to turn it around and get a half instead of losing. That shows a lot of spirit that we had this week, and I think that's worth a lot.

One thing that we can give credit is to Helen for her attitude. She's a Captain with a lot of spirit, lot of heart. I've never seen anybody really care so much. So, I think on behalf of all the players, we want to thank Helen for that. It's been great this week. Sometimes you cannot just look at the scores and decide if it was a bad week or good week. I thought we had a great week.

Q. Helen, could you explain to us the strategy behind the singles?
HELEN ALFREDSSON: Well, I think we did something different this week that we haven't had before. I always thought it was very strange that the players were the last ones to know who they were playing with and the ones who are playing. We were a little bit more involved. We were going to do, like I was saying yesterday, we felt that we went out strong with strong players. We finished strong. It's hard when, like Annika just said, they just played better. They did what they had to do. Obviously it's funny when we sat, yet I really felt we were all playing well and had a very strong team. The Americans just played better. They made more putts than we did.

Q. Helen, if there's anything could you go back and do differently this week, what would it be? Or would it be anything at all?
HELEN ALFREDSSON: You know, I really don't know. I felt that my goal was to have a good team together that we felt that we can draw energy from all the players, and I think that from what I heard from the players, they felt that that was the case.

I felt that I was very proud of the ones that everybody was here, and I felt they were playing well. It's just I don't think that Annika was with us when we helped to put the team together. We really felt that it was a very strong setup that we had done, but it's hard when somebody plays better than we did. We did as much as we could, and it wasn't enough today.

Q. This isn't a particularly serious question, but I wondered where Annika got her wig from? And is this a sign of future things to come in the future?
HELEN ALFREDSSON: She joined Cirque du Soleil.
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Ralph Lauren. No. I just thought trying to cheer the situation up even though the team was pretty happy in the locker room, anyway. I thought give the crowd a little cheer and a little patriotism before I leave. So that's really about it. It keeps my head warm. It's a little chilly out.
HELEN ALFREDSSON: You look good in curls. What was the picture on the locker when were you 12, you had curls then. Still looks good.
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Humidity makes it look curly.

Q. Helen, a little more serious note. There was a situation where Becky was going to stymie against a tree there on 18. I was curious if you were even around there, because there was a thought that maybe she could get some kind of relief because of the stands that were kind of in her way. I don't even know if you were there.
LAURA DAVIES: On 18?
HELEN ALFREDSSON: No, I don't think I was there.

Q. Anybody there? Okay.
HELEN ALFREDSSON: I don't think it really would have made a difference at this moment, do you? I think she knows the rules.

Q. Helen, I'm wondering on an emotional scale how this ranks for you in your career as far as disappointments go or how you're feeling?
HELEN ALFREDSSON: Well, I think sort of when you are the Captain, you want to try to do everything as good as you can to make everybody happy and play their best, and, of course, always some doubts that you feel like maybe you weren't doing enough, if that was the thing that affected.

But I think that everybody was quite happy in the team room. Everybody get along really well. I really don't know if I could have done things that much different.

It comes down to the golf and the players. I think you would have to ask the players. I feel like I did what I had. I can just judge from the team spirit that we had in the room. I think typical is a example was when we are in a team, everybody sits together. Everybody makes room for one another around, and it's not like people are in groups and not sitting together. We are sharing every moment, and that was very special to me.

Q. Do you want to do it again?
HELEN ALFREDSSON: I think it's way too early. I think I've had a great run this week, and I think … I don't know. I think Laura is probably going to play the next time. There's plenty of girls that should be getting a chance to be captains and enjoy this spirit.

MATCH 17

Catriona Matthew (EUR) def. Laura Diaz (U.S.), 3&2

Catriona Matthew

Q. Catriona, sent out first to get some blue on the board. How does it feel to do just that?
CATRIONA MATTHEW: It feels great. Definitely played my best golf today. I think the rest yesterday helped me.

Q. Turning point must have been the putt at 12.
CATRIONA MATTHEW: I was just trying to two putt. Two great shots onto the green. Laura had a tough putt for par. I was trying to tap it down there.

Q. Is it tough with so much red on the board?
CATRIONA MATTHEW: Few of the games are pretty close. Hopefully we can turn them around. Yeah, it would be nice if we can put more blue.

Q. Were you surprised, or were you asked about being on top?
CATRIONA MATTHEW: Helen asked me. I said I would be very happy. I was pleased today. Nice to get a point. Maybe we can turn a few more around. My short game was pretty good this week. I hit some good chips.

Q. Did you give a pep talk, any words of encouragement?
CATRIONA MATTHEW: It was kind of difficult with most of the night playing. Yeah, I mean, it was just kind of difficult with the way it had gone yesterday and this morning.

Q. Did you get together before the singles? I know there wasn't a great deal of time.
CATRIONA MATTHEW: No. They were still finishing, and I was warming up.

Q. What did Helen say to you on the first tee?
CATRIONA MATTHEW: Just ‘Good luck and go out and try to win a point.' She had confidence in me.

Q. You had a big putt at the beginning.
CATRIONA MATTHEW: I just gone 1 up on six and hit the tee shot in the bunker on seven. Then missed a 15 one. That was a good par. Lost nine and 10. Nine, my tee shot was too far. She made a good up-and-down out of the bunker for par. Then 10, just a little long on the tee shot, ran off. It was a real up-slope, slide-slope, and she hit it, basically birdied it. She hit to like three feet.

Then 11 was maybe the turning point, 11 and 12. We both hit it in the greenside bunker. She kind of hit a long bunker shot and thinned it over. Two putt probably would have won it; probably the turning point in those two holes.

MATCH 18

Pat Hurst (U.S.) def. Sophie Gustafson, 2&1

Pat Hurst

Q. Pat, U.S.A. behind going into the singles, it's important to get some red on the board early. You've done your job. How pleased are you with that?
PAT HURST: Anytime you can get some points on the board early, it's always good. So, we've got a lot of red on the board. It's looking good for us. But there's still a lot of golf left to play.

Q. You hit some magnificent iron shots all week. You're striking it about as well as you ever had.
PAT HURST: I'm hitting the ball pretty good. It's showing good. I'm hitting the ball good. Putting is a little shaky at times but overall, it's coming around after working hard at it. I was working hard for this event.

Q. Very difficult week sort of from the conditions point of view, right?
PAT HURST: Definitely. With the wind and the rain, it makes it that much harder. But, everybody has got to play in it, so you've got to put those elements aside and just go out and try to play some golf.

MATCH 19

Stacy Prammanasudh (U.S.) def. Suzann Pettersen (EUR), 2 up

Stacy Prammanasudh

Q. Tremendous round. Did you think you could play that well today?
STACY PRAMMANASUDH: I knew I had to. Suzann is a great competitor. I knew she would play well. I know she had a lot of support from the fans out there. I knew that going in. Just had to play my own game, and, luckily, we'll get away with a couple good shots and come out on top.

Q. Three twos and a possible birdie chance there. You saved your best until last.
STACY PRAMMANASUDH: You had to. I had to get it anywhere on the green and hopefully put some pressure on her, and that's what I had to do.

Q. Good stuff. There's a lot of red on the board. How confident do you feel?
STACY PRAMMANASUDH: I'm feeling very good right now.

Q. Well played and congratulations. You got one point. How does it feel?
STACY PRAMMANASUDH: It feels so good. I mean, I got two halves earlier previously in the matches today. I'm just happy to finally get a win. I knew it was going to be tough throughout playing Suzann. She's a great player, and I'm just very pleased.

Q. You had seven birdies within 15 holes down for you.
STACY PRAMMANASUDH: Me? I'll take them. All I knew I was one ahead of her going into 18. That's all that counted.

Q. Was it because Suzann pushed you to this performance, or did you feel comfortable all day long already?
STACY PRAMMANASUDH: I knew it was going to be a tough day. She's a great player. She made an eagle on a par 5 out there, and we were constantly pushing each other, and that's what match play is all about. It's a lot of fun.

Q. Great match. What was your strength today?
STACY PRAMMANASUDH: I knew it was going to be a tough day. Suzann is probably one of the strongest players. I knew I was going to have a tough match. If I could just get it going early or get a couple birdies out there, then it would be a great match. I think we both shot maybe 2-, 3-under. So it was a great day out there and lucky I was able to come away with the win.

Q. I was keeping score and more like 4, 5-under. You both played great matches. That will put the U.S. Team two points ahead of the European Team. That's a great Solheim experience.
STACY PRAMMANASUDH: Thank you. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

MATCH 20

Juli Inkster (U.S.) def. Iben Tinning (EUR), 4&3

Juli Inkster

Q. Juli, six wins from seven Solheim singles. What's the secret?
JULI INKSTER: Well, you got to play your own game and just try to keep the pressure on them. I let her off the hook a couple times today but I hit some good shots out there, and she gave me a couple putts.

Q. You're 47 years of age.
JULI INKSTER: I know.

Q. You've played four matches and unbeaten. It's incredible. How do you do it?
JULI INKSTER: I've got a good captain. She keeps me even. You know what? This is what I play for. I love The Solheim Cup. Win or lose, you know, it's just great to be out here and representing the country and I had a good partners, Paula. I played with today with Paula and others. I had some good partners.

MATCH 21
Becky Brewerton (EUR) halved with Sherri Steinhauer (U.S.)

Becky Brewerton

Q. Becky, I know it was an emotional finish and a sad way to finish the game, but you should be very proud of yourself this week.
BECKY BREWERTON: I must admit as far as match play goes that was one of the best matches I've ever had. We both played well and probably, a halve is probably a bad result.

Q. It's been a great experience for you. Tell us about the best moment.
BECKY BREWERTON: This week has been unbelievable. Getting here and walking into my room and seeing the golf bag and trying on the uniform and just finally get to Friday, it seems to take forever to get to Friday, it's been brilliant. I've really enjoyed it.

Q. Becky Brewerton. First time in The Solheim Cup. How is your resume after this week?
BECKY BREWERTON: Brilliant week. Thoroughly enjoyed it. The Solheim Cup is the premiere event. It was a pleasure to be here.

Q. Is it as you expected it to be?
BECKY BREWERTON: It was better. It really was. People trying to describe to you what it's like, and they just can't because until you're here, you don't know. That's what a lot of people said to me.

The entire week, from getting my golf bag out to trying on the uniform and finally getting to the matches on Friday, it's the most unbelievable week. As soon as I got here—I'd been here for half hour. I've got to make sure I'm fine.

Q. You had miserable conditions during the weekend. How did you cope with that?
BECKY BREWERTON: It was very tough. We all got it. We didn't seem to get any luck at all with the weather. We were always out there when it was raining and windy and when we were stopped and everything. It was a shame, but it was testing conditions on a tough course. It was the same for everybody at the end of the day, but it would have been awfully nice for the clouds and if we could have just seen some sunshine.

Q. Do you think that the bad weather maybe took the home advantage a little bit away?
BECKY BREWERTON: The sun has been out, so I would have thought it would have helped, especially on European soil. We've been playing conditions like this, it seems like, the whole season. Every week it's been horrible. So this is no surprise to us, but, I mean, everyone coped with the conditions very well, considering how tough it was out there. The standard of play was excellent.

Q. Last comment on the performance of the U.S. team?
BECKY BREWERTON: They're doing very well. It's you know, all 12 players really, really tough characters. Really, really good players, and you've got to be on top of your game to have a chance, and they were an incredible team and performed very well.

Sherri Steinhauer

Q. How do you hit shots like that under that sort of pressure? How did you do today?
SHERRI STEINHAUER: I played really well. I shot 1-under-par, and she shot even par today, so it was just great golf match. She is such a nice person, just I thoroughly enjoyed that match this week.

Q. One point, is that right? Overall, do you feel the support from the American fans?
SHERRI STEINHAUER: Absolutely. Absolutely.

Q. Take it to America?
SHERRI STEINHAUER: It's the first time I've taken a look. Actually, I did not watch the leaderboard all day, so it's looking good.

MATCH 22

Angela Stanford (U.S.) def. Trish Johnson (EUR), 3&2

Angela Stanford

Q. Great match, Angela. After that point, how did you feel?
ANGELA STANFORD: Good. Good. I know it's important for to us get as many points on the board as possible. So, that's what I was trying to do.

Q. Very good. You gave your teammates the momentum to bring them on to victory.
ANGELA STANFORD: I hope so.

Q. Better weather today?
ANGELA STANFORD: Little better.

Q. What did you think were the key points of the match?
ANGELA STANFORD: Probably the shot on nine that I had to get it to the middle of the green and then the birdie on 11. Probably those two.

Q. Did you start to worry there the last couple holes?
ANGELA STANFORD: Well, match play is never over until it's over. Obviously Trish is a great player and she's done this—I don't even know how many years she's been here, so she's got a lot of fire. I knew that it was going to be a long day.

MATCH 23

Morgan Pressel (U.S.) def. Annika Sorenstam (EUR), 2&1

Morgan Pressel

Q. Morgan. How special is The Solheim cup win against the Europeans?
MORGAN PRESSEL: It's tremendous. I was sitting on the couch last night and Betsy had the pairings in her hand. I just have this feeling, I was like, ‘I feel like I'm going to be playing Annika.' I looked at the list. It said ‘Annika.' I was like, ‘Wow.'

I was really pumped after playing this morning, and they got us by a little bit this morning, but I came out this afternoon, played a lot better and made birdies when I needed to.

Q. You played inspired golf. Pressure didn't get to you at all?
MORGAN PRESSEL: I missed a couple shots. I tried to stay patient and just trust my game.

Q. Morgan, what do you have to do to win a match like this? It's head-to-head. She's done a few of these. You're relatively inexperienced in Solheim Cup play, but you held tough.
MORGAN PRESSEL: I expected her to win the last hole. My caddie was saying that's why she's number one in the world for a very long time.

Q. Morgan, this appears to be a very satisfying win for you today. How does it feel to put the team in good shape and to be where you are right now?
MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, definitely. I was watching the leaderboard a little bit today, and I saw a red, but coming off 15 I saw the leaderboard and said, ‘This is a really important point, my point.' I thought it was going to be a little more important than it ended up being.

Q. Did you feel like you had control of the match all day?
MORGAN PRESSEL: I got off to a little bit of a rough start. I missed a short little putt on four. But I was back there well on five.

Q. Do you have a lot of experience playing match play?
MORGAN PRESSEL: I have quite a bit. Not a ton, but I have a little bit. I think that's helped tremendously.

Q. Satisfying to be a big part of a one-pointer. Annika, was there anything that fell short for her?
MORGAN PRESSEL: I'm sure she didn't putt as well as she would like to. I played really well.

Annika Sorenstam

Q. Annika, a little bit of a disappointing outcome today. What did Morgan do well?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I thought she played really well. I thought I played well. I didn't miss really a fairway, not many greens and just a few more putts, but I'm really pleased the way I hit it.

It's been tough, it's been a long week and difficult conditions for everybody, but Morgan just played slightly better than I did today, so there's not much I could have done.

Q. Is it a matter of like one putt or one shot in match play?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well, I would say that in any match and here in every situation, that's just the beauty of this game. It can just turn around real easily. You got to keep on going and not think about that. Hopefully make a putt and turn the match around.

Morgan just birdied, I would, say the hardest hole on the course, number 16. So you just got to congratulate her on good play.

MATCH 24

Laura Davies (EUR) def. Brittany Lincicome (U.S.), 4&3

Laura Davies

Q. Laura, you've been doing this since 1990—still winning points. You absolutely love it, don't you?
LAURA DAVIES: Yeah. I've played really well today and didn't give Brittany too many chances, which was important to get a point on the board. I've been trying to keep tabs on the rest of them. We need a few putts to go in, and that will give us a chance.

Q. How was the atmosphere with your match?
LAURA DAVIES: It was good. Nice atmosphere. We both played pretty decent golf.

Q. The Americans do have the momentum. What's the key to turning it?
LAURA DAVIES: Annika. If Annika can turn hers around against Morgan—I think she went 1 down with three to go. She needs to win. She doesn't need a half. She's got to win two of the last three holes.

Q. How important was this match for you to win?
LAURA DAVIES: Well, it makes no difference whether I win or not. It's all whether we get enough points. We need 14 ½. At this point, if it doesn't get us to 14 ½, it's pointless.

Q. How sweet will it be to come back to win the Cup?
LAURA DAVIES: It's important. I came here trying to win five points. I only got 2 ½. That's not enough. If we lose by a half point or a point, which it's looking like at the moment, I don't know how it's going to turn out. I'll be disappointed with the week. This point is irrelevant if you're on a losing team.

MATCH 25

Nicole Castrale (U.S.) def. Bettina Hauert (EUR), 3&2

Nicole Castrale

Q. Nicole, how do you feel about this win and what it means?
NICOLE CASTRALE: We're bringing the Cup back.

Q. One-point deficit into this final series. Were you always comfortable that your team could come from behind?
NICOLE CASTRALE: Apparently, it's the best start ever even being a point back. I was optimistic. I knew we had 12 awesome players on our team and we've got a lot of heart. I think that's what it came down to.

Q. How satisfying is this for you?
NICOLE CASTRALE: It's pretty neat. I think I'm speechless right now, and just looking forward to being up there for the team. And, I don't know, don't have much more to say.

Q. How nervous were you this morning, you had singles?
NICOLE CASTRALE: Of course, I'm going to be nervous. I knew I needed to take care of myself and just keep executing golf shots. That's what I did, especially this afternoon, played really good, hit a lot of fairways and greens. Putted the ball really well. It was awesome.

Q. Is this Solheim Cup everything everybody told you?
NICOLE CASTRALE: It absolutely surpassed my expectations. It's one of the best weeks of my life, and it will go down as something I'll always remember it.

Q. This year has been pretty special, hasn't it?
NICOLE CASTRALE: To finish this way, I couldn't pick this year to go any differently than it has. It's pretty awesome.

Q. Come a long way, huh?
NICOLE CASTRALE: Sure have.

MATCH 26

Paula Creamer (U.S.) def. Maria Hjorth (EUR), 2&1

Paula Creamer

Q. Paula Creamer doesn't know what it's like to experience a loss in The Solheim Cup. This is your second, you won as a rookie in the U.S. Now you're going with another win. Describe the differences winning over here.
PAULA CREAMER: Coming over here as the underdog. So many supporters for you. We have our people out here cheering us on, seeing red, white and blue everywhere. It's different. It's rainy. That's for sure. It was cold, but it was such a good week. I'm really proud of the team. Betsy did a phenomenal job being our captain.

Q. The way you played, it's like you're born to play on The Solheim Cup team. Three-and-a-half points two years ago, 3 ½ points again. What is it about this atmosphere of match play that makes you excel?
PAULA CREAMER: Representing your country. You begin to shine when you have to. Coming out here, playing for my country, there's no better feeling than that. I think it's every athlete's dream to wear their colors and try to do as much as they can to support their country. I definitely try to do it with pride.

Q. You sure did. Love the cheeks, the red, white and blue. You got the points. You finally scored. How does it feel?
PAULA CREAMER: Couple more holes I really wanted to play. It's hard when you know the Cup has been secured. I'm standing on the tee box with Betsy, saying, ‘We won.' I wanted to get it in as fast as I could. I tried.

Q. You won obviously the last time in the States. How was it in Europe?
PAULA CREAMER: We came as the underdog. I think it feels good to come on soil the second time ever. That's pretty good, and it's exciting. Our captain, Betsy, did just a wonderful job preparing us and, Beth, the assistant. Everybody really did just such a good job.

Q. You played 10 matches in Solheim. You won nine of them. You seem to thrive on the pressure.
PAULA CREAMER: I love pressure. I love to play for my country. I just love being out here. I think it's so exciting to be on a team. I love that, having everybody out there, be supporting each other, clapping for good shots. It's really good camaraderie, representing your own country.

Q. Talk about the atmosphere.
PAULA CREAMER: Wherever we went in our little area, it's always red, white and blue. Representing our country and seeing that, and I think that's why we played so good this week is we're out here. There's not many of us supporting us over here, our family and our close friends, and we just try to take the momentum from them.

Q. Word for the Europeans, they gave you a terrific fight.
PAULA CREAMER: Every match has been so close. I played 18 to 17 holes every match I played, and that's good. That's good golf. It's great for women's golf, especially over in Europe as well as in the States.

Q. What does winning The Solheim Cup to you?
PAULA CREAMER: It's better than winning a tournament individually. Anytime you can play for your country and win, there's no better feeling than that.

MATCH 27

Linda Wessberg (EUR) def. Cristie Kerr (U.S.), 1 up

Q. Linda, as a rookie, can you talk about earning your singles Solheim Cup point?
LINDA WESSBERG: Well, I tried to do what I could do for the team, and it's tough, though. The U.S. has a great team and I'm sure the girls did everything they could today and this afternoon. So it's really tough.

Q. Slightly disappointed, obviously.
LINDA WESSBERG: Well, it's on home soil, and, of course, everyone wants to win this one but …

Q. Especially Sweden.
LINDA WESSBERG: Of course. I've had a great week, and it's great experience for me. I'm probably going to come out a better player out of this week than I was before I came here. So it's tough. It's a team effort, but I'm pretty happy with what I did.

Q. Do you feel like you could have done more for the team if you had been given more of a chance playing?
LINDA WESSBERG: It's really easy to say afterwards. I'm totally supporting Helen in her decision, what she did with the team and the players she played. She probably had a reason for why she did the way she was doing, and so it's easy to say afterwards.

I felt great. I played well coming into this week. I've been playing well all year. Maybe she didn't want me to. I don't know.

Q. Do you feel like you practiced okay and stuff before playing?
LINDA WESSBERG: Yeah. Yeah. I felt great. It's really hard. I came in from the U.S. on Monday night, and it takes a few days to adjust and all that stuff.

Q. Your caddie, were you happy with him?
LINDA WESSBERG: He's done a great job. He's pretty much running all over the place. He's a little bit energetic.

Q. What happened with his hair?
LINDA WESSBERG: I had plenty to do. To get away sometimes, I have to look for him.

Cristie Kerr

Q. Cristie, can you talk about taking the match to 18, knowing your team had already won?
CRISTIE KERR: I hit a great shot in. It's time to go home. It's been a long three days.

Q. What do you say about the atmosphere?
CRISTIE KERR: It's electric. It's terrific. It's amazing to win on foreign soil. Other team is to good. It was a great competition.

Q. Coming back to Halmstad?
CRISTIE KERR: Possibly.

MATCH 28

Natalie Gulbis (U.S.) def. Gwladys Nocera (EUR), 4&3

Natalie Gulbis

Q. Again, like Paula Creamer, you guys had a successful Solheim Cup two years ago and now you've won another. What's it like doing it over here on foreign soil?
NATALIE GULBIS: Huge. Huge. This is one we definitely wanted. We had to defend the one we had two years ago. This one was great. To win over here is great.

Q. What was it like to be one of the last few groups for Betsy to instill that confidence and if this thing was tight, it was going to come down to one of the last few matches?
NATALIE GULBIS: It was great. I was really excited about the match. I got off to a good start. I was happy about that. I found out on the green before I had a 15, 20-footer, I said, ‘Great, at 14, does that mean it's done? Why am I putting?'

Helen Alfredsson, European Team captain

Q. Would you do it again, or is it too emotional?
HELEN ALFREDSSON: No. I mean, if we can have it the same way with everybody being happy and pleased and laughing, and, it's obviously—I'm emotional. I'm always emotional. You feel like it gives so much energy when you get known so well, no matter where you've been or how long you've been around. It's very nice.

Q. Is that the Trish Johnson you shouldn't give this team a match, you did, congratulate her.
HELEN ALFREDSSON: It is tough sometimes with the Europeans players because they haven't really played much. Part of it is a little bit of intimidation. We all know the Americans are very tough. They're very tough on their own, and we do enjoy a lot of strength when we are a team because we like to be a team. We have fun together. They are a lot more individual, and I don't have the answer to them, but, in a way I'm happy that we are the strongest team because that makes us be very fun.

Q. Despite the crazy weather, how was it?
HELEN ALFREDSSON: It was hard because you feel, having been on the other side before, the first time you know so much work goes into this and everybody is working hard and the weather was tough, and it was tough for the girls. But, I'm very proud of the Swedish people that came out and cheered us on as much as they could. We didn't do good enough for them. I hope they got something out of it. I'm just proud of how Sweden handled this.