Pre-tournament interviews: Annika Sorenstam | Karrie Webb | Paula Creamer | Morgan Pressel

Annika Sorenstam

PAM WARNER: Thanks for coming in and joining us today. You are defending your fourth title of the year; I want to talk about being here in Atlanta.
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I'm happy to be back. I have great memories from this place. I won the championship twice, and last year's was obviously a great way. I remember playing really well and it was one of those weeks where everything went my way. Obviously it helps to play a golf course over and over, but I think last year was just all of the pieces came together. So I'm happy to be back and hopefully I can play as well.

Q. Annika, a lot of talk about these girls rock and the "IT" girls and what they are promoting. Your thought on what they are chasing. You must relish the position for once that everybody is trying to shoot for.
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Of course I like being the best player out here. I worked really hard for a lot of years and it means a lot to me to be able to stay on top since the competition is getting tougher and tougher. So I'm happy with that position, but then again it gets tougher because everybody is getting better and better and I have to find ways to get better myself and raise the bar and continue to work further in trying to get better. I enjoy it and it's a great time to be part of the LPGA there is a lot of exciting things. So I'm happy.

Q. If I can ask you, next week the young girl, Dakoda, that is playing in the tournament down in Florida. I guess you know a little bit about the situation. Can you talk about what that is like, the LPGA giving the girl an exception, and what the whole thing means in the grand scheme. It's kind of an important and interesting thing.
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: It really is. I met Dakoda when she was 8 then, but she told me she was 10. I do something called "girl power," it's a clinic trying to promote golf for the girls in the neighborhood and she was there and she said she was 10, and I guess it was three years ago. I met her a few times and then I saw her a few weeks ago down at Reunion and just to kind of get a chance to spend sometime with her, and talk about the tournament and, because I'm a spokesperson, it works out really good. I think it's a really fantastic thing what they are doing, and what the LPGA is doing and it's really giving this young lady an opportunity to play. The reason behind it is her mother wants to see her play before she is going to die. But it's a sad story, but they are making something nice out of it. To see this young girl hit balls, she is really strong. It's really inspirational. It kind of put things in perspective and you kind of see what the LPGA and the chances you know it gives to different players and people out there. It's very special. So, you know, I'm happy to be a little bit apart of it and helping her out a little bit and we're going to play a practice run next week.

Q. Your sister is in the field and what is your relationship with her, and how do you get along? Do you talk during the week and argue and have sister conferences and things? What is that like?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: We get along well. I'm happy she is here this week. They gave her an opportunity to be a part of this week, I was thankful for that, and she was happy to get a chance to play. We see each other pretty much every day and we talk every day and we have dinner together. It's nice to see her in the field this week.

Q. Any practice rounds together?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Sometimes we do. It's a schedule. So it's different every week. Normally I come in later and she comes in earlier in the week and this is just different. You know, she might have a sponsor obligation and I might have. It's tough to get together. When we do get a chance, we do enjoy it.

Q. Can I ask you about golf course design? You have a course that you are working with in South Africa. How do you see that as part of your future long term? And what do you bring in to golf design maybe that hasn't been done before?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Well I guess we'll see. No, you know, I designed a golf course in China that was my first experience and it was a lot of fun. I got to see a course from a totally different aspect. I grew up on the tee, and I hit a shot and I look at the green, and I look at the pin placements. That is what I do every week. All of a sudden I looked at it from a different aspect where, okay, this is just a lot of trees and some dirt, how can we make a good golf hole out of this? It's really fun. I have to get back to the basics and think about players at my level, and players, you know, a little bit higher handicap, and beginners. How can you design a golf course that a lot of players can enjoy and be a challenge for everyone. I'm enjoying that part and South Africa when I was there in January it was just dirt. We went out in the Jeep and this guy I am working with says, can you see this hole? I was thinking, how can we make something out of this? It's a lot of fun and I'm starting with a project in Sweden, and I have three projects right now. So I see something down the road. Hopefully one day I can do a course here in the U.S.

Q. What are your thoughts and general impressions on the LPGA's new playoff system?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: It's something new. Something different. It's tough to say. I guess we'll see how it goes. It's very different. I don't understand the point system really. I think all I'm going to try to do is play my own game and hopefully get in and we'll see. It's going to be exciting. You may have a three-footer for a million dollars. It will be a totally different feeling than we'll have any other week.

Q. If someone who has won a number of Player of the Year trophies, is it something that you could see reach that same level of prestige or surpass that?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I don't see that. You have to remember you play all year long. You can play 20 or 30 tournaments and get into one event. One event is not going to change somebody's season. Especially not 18 holes. If you play this game you know you can have it one day and the next day you can't. To me golf is a game about consistency. That is why we play 72 holes in a tournament. I think it's more for show and excitement in one week and we shouldn't put anymore emphasis on that.

Q. Do you follow the standings closely or not?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: No, I do not.

Q. Along those lines do you see it as a marketing gimmick almost? Maybe "gimmick" is not the right word, but it's a bit of a marketing ploy?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Definitely so. I don't know if it's a gimmick either. It's a little different. Get some excitement at the end of the season. We have had 30 events through the year and maybe try something different, I'm all for that. We shouldn't put any emphasis on it. It's one tournament and in the end, it's 18 holes. It's fun to be a part of and I hope I get to be a chance to be part of the excitement for sure.

Q. You said right now, it's part of the excitement to be part of the Tour and the players and all. Your idea is to win the Grand Slam and go off into the sunset. How long do you think you will be chasing that Grand Slam?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I will have to wait another year. I can improve as a player and I have a few goals to achieve and one of those goals is to win majors. I believe I can win the Grand Slam. I can win all four majors in the same year as long as I feel that I will keep on trying.

Q. Annika, where do you see the future of this Tour, say, in five years? What do you see? There is so much talk about the potential here, how do you think it will be realized?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: The Tour has come a long way and where we are today is a really exciting time. I think we're going to be um, you know, I think we're getting a lot more exposure. People are starting to recognize some faces and not just women's golf. I like to think the purse is going to continue to grow the way they have done. Hopefully we'll get on TV. So, five years of improving in different areas I think we'll go a long way. So I mean it's fun to see the future. The Tour is really in good hands and a lot of exciting stuff is happening. I think it can only get better from here.

Q. Annika, could you talk a little bit about the Nabisco and the way Karrie won the tournament. She has been a little off the map, not off the map, but not playing as well as she did. Is it interesting to see she has jumped back in and jumped back in the fray.
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I think it was great. If you watched the finish it was as exciting as it gets. Birdies down the stretch and eagles down the stretch and playoffs. You have Karrie who is up there at the top and knows how to play and has bounced back. I was excited for her and I think it was great. I missed the times when we went back and forth. I was happy for her.

Q. Do you find it motivational to have someone pressing you and coming at you? You have won here once in a play off coming from behind. You had it won by Saturday morning, I think it was, last year. Which of those two extremes do you enjoy more?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I don't know. It's kind of nice to win on Saturday afternoon. But you know, it's never over. Even though I had a nice cushion last year, you never know what can happen. A win is a win to me, and there is so many different ways, you know, that you can experience it and that. I feel lucky that I won a bunch and have had a chance to experience it all. I like the excitement, but then you also like to know the outcome so it doesn't get too exciting. Maybe for the fans and everybody around it down the stretch, but as a player it's nice to have a little bit of a cushion. But, you know the competition is getting tougher and tougher. So, I think I have got to just, you know, when the wins come you have to enjoy it.

Q. How are you affected by this influx of young talent. Is it making you feel old or is it revitalizing you?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I don't feel any older, but I get treated like I'm old. But, you know, I guess you know we have all been there and done that. You know, I love the competition, I mean whether it's a young player or someone that has been out here a long time it's another player. I like to take my game to a different level and it doesn't matter who I'm playing. For me it's the satisfaction of going out there and knowing you worked hard and you want to see results. That is the really the bottom line for me. But then it's fun when you know the young ones because you can see their attitude is very different. You know they have strong games and a lot of them have a great future ahead of them.

Q. Annika, you mentioned Mission Hills China. Do you know if they are making any progress on an Asian tour event there? I know they talked about having one.
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I'm not sure. I heard about it too though. If they do, it would be great if they played my course. I think I have a little knowledge.

Q. Annika, as an LPGA player from Sweden, could you tell us why do you think so many young players come from Sweden?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: We have a really good junior program, or we have had it for about 15 years, and I think I'm the product of the beginning of that. It really starts at a club level and really organized practice and organized competition; parents and coaches that help the juniors at an early age. You know, we haven't had a lot of young players come up in a few years. Now I think it's a new generation and the ones that are here, the rookies, they are very strong and, you know, two of them are very long hitting players and they have had great success over here and, you know, in college. So I think they are going to do well.

Q. Let me ask you one more question. With your success has come a lot more notoriety. Your face is out there a lot more. Is it hard to find private time for yourself when you go out to restaurants or airports? Do you have to put up with more things than maybe you did before?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: Yeah. I mean, people recognize me a lot more. I think I'm quite lucky because I kind of have the best of two worlds. Once I take off my visor and let my hair down, a lot of people don't recognize me. I have my golf face, and my private face. It works out fine. A lot of times if I go somewhere or a grocery store and they recognize me they always come up and say nice things. You know I respect your game or for example, when I played Colonial I thought that was great we were cheering for you or I named my daughter after you. Those are really great things and when you hear that it makes you feel good. So I welcome that.

Q. When is the last time you talked to Dean Wilson?
ANNIKA SORENSTAM: I have talked to him maybe a few months ago. He was playing very, very solid, you know, in Florida and in some of the tournaments on the West Coast. So I'm trying to cheer him on. He is a great guy. And it's great for him to maybe get some recognition without being the guy that Annika played with. Hopefully his game will do the talking.

Karrie Webb

DANA-GROSS RHODE: We're going to get started. Karrie, thank you for coming in. This is the first tournament back after winning the Major. Congratulations on that.
KARRIE WEBB: Thank you.

DANA-GROSS RHODE: This is your eighth time playing in Atlanta. If you want to talk about coming back off a win, and coming back to Atlanta again.
KARRIE WEBB: Well obviously, my last competitive round was a pretty exciting one. So I have a lot of good feel about going into the tournament this week. And I have really enjoyed playing here in Atlanta. Obviously here at this golf course I have been in contention a few times. And I haven't won here, but I have always had a good feel here and always thought I could play really well.

Q. What have you done since Nabisco?
KARRIE WEBB: I went back to Australia and I got back on Sunday.

Q. What do you like about this course? You have been in contention before, what is the strength of this course?
KARRIE WEBB: Well obviously in the past it's been probably seven out of the eight years it's been pretty damp and soggy, so it's played pretty long. So then as a premium on your mid to longer irons. I like the fact you have to shave them into the greens, and you only need three spits of rain on this golf course and it will be under water. I like the fact even this week if it plays a little faster, you still have to shape shots into greens and stuff.

Q. After Nabisco how have you reevaluated your season's goals or almost your whole career?
KARRIE WEBB: I haven't really. I'm not reevaluating anything. Like I said, I'm working to be in that position to win tournaments more often. With the goal of getting back to the standard I that I was playing a few years ago.

Q We just got done with the Masters and we were talking about technology, and I was curious on how the women's game is going. How is technology shaping things? A lot of young women are killing the ball, how has that changed the game?
KARRIE WEBB: Distance-wise, I don't think it has had as big effect. It's not as noticeable as the men. And obviously because we play from very different tees on golf courses we have plenty of length to move tees back and stuff like that. And our courses are getting a little longer. But I don't think our courses have lengthened to the extent that the guys have had to lengthen theirs. That is the difference. I think that technology has helped the top male pro more than it has anybody in the game, and it's supposed to be helping the average amateur golfer. I don't think they are getting any benefit out of the knowledge, they are just buying it all.
I think where it shows out here is it just brings everybody closer together. I think technology is bad in a way that people that actually have the talent don't stand out as much as they should. Because I don't think it's -- I don't think ball striking is a premium anymore. You have balls that don't move in the wind and clubs that are so hot that you don't even have to shape a shot. That is what the disappointing thing is, that someone like Annika is head and shoulders above us, but there should be three or four more that should be head and shoulders above other people. That is what you will see in the top 30 this year, a few different names and the ones that finish -- there will be a few different names that popped up in the top 30 last year that might not this year. And you know, that is due to playing good, obviously. But I think technology helps a lot of players compete out here.

Q Since the victory there was talk about Karrie Webb is back. Have you gone anywhere?
KARRIE WEBB: It's one tournament too. If I continue to do that for the rest of the year then I would say I was back to the level of what people are mentioning. I was disappointed with my year last year. So getting back in the winner's circle felt really good. So I would say I enjoyed coming back. But, yeah, it's been a quiet couple of years for me. And I have been working harder than I ever have. So I would like to put in another four or five really strong years and see where that puts me and reevaluate things from there.

Q. What did you miss most about those years when you were winning consistently and you were the top player in the world? And what has happened in the last couple of years? What did you miss most about the great years other than the winning?
KARRIE WEBB: I think what I realized is I didn't appreciate or enjoy golf as much as I should have. I think I took it -- you know, if you would have asked me if I could go back in time and said, 'do you take it for granted you are playing good?' I would have said, 'no'. But I think deep down I really thought I was going to play good for my whole career and never hit a roadblock. So, you know, I think, it's been good to me to struggle a little bit. So if I would have won that tournament the way I won the Nabisco the way, I won it a couple of weeks ago, even if that was five or six years ago, I would have enjoyed it. But I just really never enjoyed winning a golf tournament as much as I did a couple of weeks ago. That is what I want to do. No one wants to play bad. I am not going to enjoy the bad. I tell you that. But I will appreciate and enjoy the good on a more consistent basis.

Q. And the last thing what do you think you are working the hardest on right now. What is maybe the thing that has got you back on track a little bit?
KARRIE WEBB: I made a couple of putts in the last few weeks. I have been consistently working on my swing. But my swing has always been good enough to win out here. You know that hasn't been really a factor. But because I haven't been making putts and you feel like you have to hit it in every time so you don't have to putt, you know. So then that puts pressure on swing changes because you are trying to be perfect all the time. You know, if you hit them to 20 feet and making them a couple of times around, making a couple of 20-footers, you sort of ease up and starting to swing and hitting it closer. It's a catch 22. I have been working hard on every aspect of my game. But the fact that I have seen a couple of putts go in has helped me play a little bit better.

Q. Karrie, you are partially into this. You were in the limelight for a couple of years and then you weren't and now you are back in it. In the last couple of weeks are you enjoying the attention more than you did the first time or looking at it in a different way?
KARRIE WEBB: I still don't like how much time it takes up. That is a part though I think I will handle things better if I put myself into that spotlight again. But that is the part I didn't enjoy. And that is what made me not enjoy my golf as much because you know everything else. And I was criticized a lot too for a few years there. So that made me not enjoy coming in here and talking to you guys.

Q. And the other part you also partially answered this. If you were to compare your game now and then, what went away for two years? Was it just on the greens was the only thing?
KARRIE WEBB: No, not necessarily. I have made a few swing changes, and with that I lost a little confidence and trust. I am still probably not as strong as I was when I was playing really well. I think when I was playing really well I was very strong mentally, but I really don't know the process that I did. It just all was very natural and now I'm sort of learning all over again. And I'm trying to get confidence back in believing in myself and putting the hard work in and believing that I have done the hard work and that it's good.

Q. Was the trip back to Australia planned or because you won?
KARRIE WEBB: It was planned.

Q. It was planned. And did you get a lot of attention when you did go back?
KARRIE WEBB: Not really. I had already been in the papers, and I did a couple of interviews and stuff, but that was it.

Q. How much have you been working your game?
KARRIE WEBB: I didn't work real hard for the couple of weeks. I just enjoyed being home. I have a new niece that was the reason why I traveled home. So, you know, I worked probably half of you know four or five days before I came back.

Q. Karrie, we were grilling Annika about the new wave of young players springing up everywhere. I will ask you the same questions where are they coming from and what do you think of the new wave of teenaged talent?
KARRIE WEBB: I think it's great. I think it's really exciting. It's scary that you know at 17 and 18 these kids are good enough. They don't have to have break in years where they are getting used to playing professional golf. They are ready to play as soon as they come in. I think it's good. I think it's good. I see young Americans that have a lot of potential. I think that is really good for our Tour. That is what has been missing for a number of years.

Paula Creamer

DANA GROSS-RHODE: We're going to get started. Paula, thanks for coming in and talking to us before the tournament. This is your seventh tournament of the year, which, for April, is a full schedule. You were here last year, you missed the cut; in your rookie year it was the only missed cut you had, and you turned around and won your first professional tournament the next week. Do you want to talk about that?
PAULA CREAMER: Well it's my only cut that I have ever missed besides the U.S. Open (conducted by the USGA) when I was like 13 or 14 years old. But, coming back here, I definitely want to play well. I kind of take what I wanted last year and play well here and kind of redeem myself on the golf course. It's in good condition, hopefully if it doesn't rain it stays firm and hard. The golf course will be difficult; if it gets softer, it will be obviously a little longer.

Q. Could you talk about year one and year two and how dramatically everything in your life is different. Last year at this time you came in and you played like five or six tournaments, maybe. Now you are a two-time winner, a millionaire and one of the "IT" girls-just how have things changed in the past year?
PAULA CREAMER: It's gone by very quickly. Last year I had pressure pretty much from myself. I hid under the radar and nobody expected me to do much or as much as my expectations were. This year it's totally different. It's a different kind of pressure. You come out of the tournament and you are wanting to win. I won last year, it's a hard year to come after. After a rookie year, I have won twice in the LPGA, twice in Japan, I want to win ten times. It's difficult. Competition is harder. Golf courses are getting more difficult. Yeah, it's the same ones, but they are difficult more pin placements and things like that. It's kind of going into the men's golf, getting harder and harder. I think it's good because it makes me work hard in the off season, how to get more fit. Everything has gone by just so quickly, that it's kind bowler pretty much.

Q. For all of the confidence you had, and you had confidence when you first came on the Tour, could you have possibly expected though that it could have gone as well as it did last year? Did you even surprise yourself, maybe?
PAULA CREAMER: Well, I knew that I could do what I did. My goal was the Solheim Cup to win out on Tour, things like that. I wouldn't make a goal that I didn't think I could accomplish. One of the goals I didn't accomplish was a Major. I wanted to win a Major last year. But, I think that going now into this, it's just a totally different mind set. I'm not the same golfer as I was last year just mentally. I'm much more mature when I'm out on the golf course and the way I think, different types of shots. It's just my game has broadened so much, it's learning how to do that out on the golf course.

Q. Paula, we had Karrie (Webb) in here and she was saying, when she was number one, one of the things she didn't really like was this (celebrity attention) sort of. She said it takes a lot of time. How much do you enjoy the golf course stuff and the celebrity, and how much do you get recognized now around the country?
PAULA CREAMER: Well I have been getting definitely recognized more, that is for sure. I sat on the airplane and people come up and ask, "Are you Paula Creamer? Yes." It's nice, it's flattering and humbling all the same time. If you don't have it that means you are not doing anything good. If you are not being interviewed or having press conferences that means you are not interesting. Or it means that there is nothing that people want to know. I think if you are a good golfer and you have a potential to be one this is another part of it. It's like a practice round. You have to do a practice round.

Q. You do enjoy it?
PAULA CREAMER: I love the photo shoots, I love that. Those are my favorite things to do. Just to be a girl and to be myself.

Q. Your first win last year, correct me if I'm wrong, came a few days before you graduated or a week before you graduated?
PAULA CREAMER: A week before.

Q. Has that year and post-graduation, did it become easier to focus just on golf and have school out of the way?
PAULA CREAMER: Yes. I finished my school the first semester of my senior year. I was done after the first semester and I had to just do some little things. So I could focus on my golf. But after I graduated, I was like, "Okay, it's done, and now let's move on, turning professional, you just won and now what's next?"

Q. Morgan is going through the same thing this year. Have you talked to her about that at all and given any advice?
PAULA CREAMER: Not really, no. When I talk to other players, we don't really talk about school or golf or things like that. We talk about what is going on in your life, totally away from what we do every day. I think that that is good. She has a good head on her shoulders, and I think she knows what she is doing, and I don't think she really needs my advice in that category.

Q. Just wondered, were you involved with that big sister program last year and who was your big sister?
PAULA CREAMER: Lorie Kane.

Q. Can you describe that relationship and how that helped you in your rookie year?
PAULA CREAMER: Lorie Kane has been on the Tour for quite a while. She knows what is going on out here. When you have any questions you go to them. They help you with certain things, what day is the designated Pro Am party, or what day are certain things, or where is this? You go to them and they help you. She helped me a lot with certain things. Talked to me about golf courses and, you know, things that I could feel comfortable with. If I had any questions I could go to her. There are a lot of players on Tour that have been like a big sister to me. Not only Lorie Kane, like Juli Inkster, Natalie (Gulbis) and Cristie (Kerr), they have all just helped me. It's a whole new world when you come out here. Especially since I was 18, I didn't go to college, and I had to take all of that responsibility of what you do in college. Coming out here, you need that, and that is what they help me with.

Q. Karrie Webb's performance a couple of weeks ago seemed to surprise a couple of people. She has been away and come back. What did it mean in addition to all of you young golfers who are on Tour now, Annika up there to have her back playing like she did a few years ago to throw another element into it?
PAULA CREAMER: Karrie is a fantastic golfer. She has so much talent. It's unbelievable how much talent she has. I think that she took a, I guess, we could call it a little rest period and now she is back. She wants it, you can see it in her eyes. She is determined to get it and that's great. That's good, I think. You can have two players of that caliber that have been there and now competing at that level that is great.

Q. In your opinion, why are there so many more great young players out there these days that are just competitive right from the get-go?
PAULA CREAMER: Well, I can only talk about myself. But I think that you know I have been given a lot of opportunities. I have a great coach, and technology, golf ball, it all goes down to golf swing now. You can you know the things you can do with your coach you couldn't do back then really. I have so much competitiveness inside me. I want to win every time I step out on the golf course. If I don't, I want to know why. I have a lot of drive. I think that is it. You can't settle for seconds.

Morgan Pressel

DANA GROSS-RHODE: Thanks for coming in, Morgan. This is going to be your fifth tournament of the year. Your professional debut in Atlanta, but you've been here once last year. So if you kind of want to go over what it's like to be here again for a second time, and also with everything coming up, and your award, the Nancy Lopez Award, coming up later this week.
MORGAN PRESSEL: It's nice to come back to a venue that I know and a course that I have played before. You just feel a little bit better about the week. I played, you know, decently here last year and I feel that I have improved a little bit, so maybe I can play a little better. The Nancy Lopez Award is a real honor. I think Thursday night is going to be great night for the banquet. To win an award that is associated with Nancy Lopez, who is such a great champion, and a great person, and a good friend of mine is really-a treat for me.

Q. What is the reality of the LPGA Tour compared to what you expected coming?
MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, to tell you the truth it's just about what had I expected because I had played 7 events last year, kind of got the feel of what it would be like. I have played tournaments in a row, traveled to many different places. So it was about what I expected. I mean I had gotten a little bit of a preview last year, so.

Q. Morgan, does it seem like -- I mean you were 12 years old when you competed at the U.S. Open (conducted by the USGA). Does it seem like another lifetime ago that that happened because so much has gone on since then. Some people remember you as a 12-year-old, but you really have come a long way since then. Does it seem like forever since that happened?
MORGAN PRESSEL: It does seem like a long time ago because I have changed so much, and it was almost a third of my life ago technically. So, I mean, it was a long time ago, but it was interesting because somebody just mailed us an article from the 'Detroit Free Press' from back when I just qualified. It was funny reading it, and we have talked about it quite a bit for some reason this week with people. But, you know, it was a great experience for me, and showed me what I really wanted to do, it was just play professional golf. From there I gained some experience and just continued to really want to work hard and play well.

Q. Just talk about the challenges of balancing going to school and still playing on the Tour. Just talk about when you do play what the typical week is like for you.
MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, in the past few weeks when I have played, I have really been bad about my school. I have been trying to cram in all of my school work when I get home for two weeks, and that has just been totally overwhelming. So this week and the next couple of weeks, I'm going to have to try to do more so I don't have to cram everything in before graduation. But, you know, I have a lot to do, and it's like my teachers decide to give the second semester seniors more work than they have had all four years combined. They know we don't like to do work. So they give us that extra bit. But, you know, I have been trying to work pretty hard in school and it's fun when I go back, but I still love being out here, so.

Q. Morgan, on the Men's Tour there has seemed to be over the last few years a growing sort of trend if Tiger doesn't play in a tournament, the tournament is not an upper echelon event. And this is not a knock against you and Paula and everybody, all of the young players on tour and Annika as well, but is there a sense in your eyes that in the media sort of spotlight if Michelle is not playing in a tournament that it doesn't reach that hype status? Is that a concern?
MORGAN PRESSEL: No. I think that is very true. I think that is why when she doesn't play, it hurts the event so much. Even Annika, when Annika doesn't play, it hurts these events. If Michelle was playing a full schedule, or a somewhat full schedule and was a member of the Tour, that would help the tour so much. That is part of the reason you know why the events that she plays everybody knows about. But then the events that she doesn't they are hardly covered basically.

Q. With that said, would you like to see an exception made to allow her to play more events? Obviously the rules are the rules, but she is the marquee draw.
MORGAN PRESSEL: I would like to see her become a member of the Tour, yes. I wouldn't advise giving extra sponsor's exceptions or anything like that. But I have said that for a long time. Her becoming a member of the tour would tremendously-she has the ability to do for the Women's Tour what Tiger has done for the Men's Tour, and that would help all of us.

Q. This is a question based on the future of women's golf and the LPGA. Your so zoned in on what you have to do to get ready. But you look at the bigger picture too as to maybe we're on the cusp of something really big, something special here?
MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, I think it's been shown with the increased amount of publicity that the events have gotten, and the Tour and, you know, when they talk about the LPGA first on Golf Central, things like that it's become a much more frequent happening. I think that, you know, if everything falls into place properly, I think something really big can happen definitely.

Q. Going back a minute, what was it like to grow up basically in the public eye? How hard was it to have a normal kind of teenage years?
MORGAN PRESSEL: Well it wasn't really hard. I mean I knew that this was what I always wanted to do. I was in the public eye when I was 12, but then after that I fell downhill and I was kind of down in the bottom again. You know, I didn't really think about it like that, and I was focused on my golf and what I had to do to get better, but I am still going to school and still trying to live a normal life.

Q. You are still able to have a normal kind of teenage life even though you are out here every week?
MORGAN PRESSEL: Yeah. When I go home, while I'm still practicing and working hard, I'm trying to cram in tests and writing papers at the last minute. It's still the same.

Q. Morgan, being that you are one of "them" what is your definition of an "IT" girl? Do you have one or know what one is?
MORGAN PRESSEL: Wow, an "IT" girl. I haven't heard that one. I guess it is somebody that is maybe interesting to the fans, fan-friendly, somebody people can relate to as well as, you know, being a good player, and who can compete week in and week out. People who are attractive to the public, I guess that is what it would be, who are young, people have been calling the young generation has the ability to lift the Tour.

Q. Can you talk about your grandfather's role, obviously it's been an important role how important he has been to your development and even your development as a person off the golf course as well?
MORGAN PRESSEL: My grandfather has been my biggest supporter as far as I can remember. Starting me in golf and working with me every step of the way. He gave me a great opportunity to go to St. Andrew's School and he was my closest companion, and we have such a great time together. He has helped me tremendously. Like you said, not just from the course, but off the course, and my character, and the way I conduct myself, so. So if you have any complaints talk to him.

Q. Morgan, just from a sponsorship point of view is it confusing at all to be playing in the Florida's Natural Charity Championship (hosted by Nancy Lopez) in Georgia?
MORGAN PRESSEL: I thought about that when I got the e-mail. Florida's Natural Championship (hosted by Nancy Lopez) in Georgia, but it's a great sponsor for the event, and the little orange juice boxes, orange juice cartons as tee markers are kind of cute, and I think it's a great partnership for the LPGA.

Q. For the general public to hear that, you said you were surprised when you first saw that, it is a little confusing when you hear it, is it?
MORGAN PRESSEL: Some people might be like, "Wait that is in Georgia." But it's not just a Florida company, it's national, that's why.

Q. Just getting back to kind of balancing school and golf, did you get any advice from like, say, Paula Creamer who did the same thing last year on just how to go about it?
MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, I have known Paula for a while. She said to me, if you have any questions. We talked about things that happened on Tour, and she said just ask me. We're friends and I'm sure that whether it's from a Paula or any of the older players who have done it for a very long time. I'm sure that I know a lot of people who I could ask for advice.

Q. In your opinion why has there been such a dramatic surge in the young stars like there has been over the past few years?
MORGAN PRESSEL: That's a good question. I don't really know why. I think one of the reasons is that maybe some parents or children are becoming more focused on one sport maybe not playing quite as many. The younger players are getting very good training at very young ages and just are more focused at 12 or 13 or even younger than that.

Q. Can you talk about the Juli Inkster tie. How have you two become so close? You call her your "big sister," how did that whole thing start, and just talk about the relationship.
MORGAN PRESSEL: Well there is a program on tour where every rookie has a big sister. She was assigned as my big sister. I have known her for a while, and we have been friendly, and she is great. She is a great role model, and as well as a great mother, and a great champion, and a great person to have as that person that I can ask for whatever I need. She would be willing to help me for sure.

Q. With all of the focus on the young generation, how cool was it that she won a couple of weeks ago there?
MORGAN PRESSEL: That was really exciting. I didn't get to watch it. But she was playing great all week. I actually played a few holes in a practice round with her early in the week and could see that she was playing well. That was great for her. She hasn't won in a while. And that was certainly exciting. Especially after she called me a cash bag earlier in the week. I decided to call her that the next week.