2009 Solheim Cup - Day Two Notes and Interviews

The Solheim Cup
Rich Harvest Farms
Sugar Grove, Ill.
Aug. 22, 2009

Saturday Morning Four-ball interviews: Brittany Lang and Angela Stanford | Catriona Matthew | Suzann Pettersen | Christina Kim and Michelle Wie

Day Two notes

All square at 2009 Solheim Cup. The European Team rallied during Friday's matches to overcome a slight Day One deficit and be tied 8-8 with the U.S. Team heading into Sunday's Singles matches at The Solheim Cup.

Europe entered Saturday morning Four-Ball down 4 ½ to 3 1/2 , but rallied to tie the 2009 Solheim Cup at 6 to 6 before the afternoon Foursomes began. The Europeans took their first lead of the week when Sophie Gustafson and Janice Moodie defeated Paula Creamer and Juli Inkster 4 & 3 in the afternoon's first Foursomes match. It was Creamer's only match of the day after sitting out the morning session for the first-time ever in her Solheim Cup career. The loss was also just her second, as she enters Sunday with a 7-2-4 career record and 2-0-0 in singles.

The next match found Gwladys Nocera and Becky Brewerton, of Europe, soundly handing Americans Natalie Gulbis and Christina Kim the duo's first lost when playing together, 5&4. Nocera and Brewerton entered this week with three and 1 ½ points, respectively, but have a combined five points this week, including an undefeated 3-0-0 record for Nocera – the only undefeated player of the week.

That was it for European Team points as Matches 14 and 16 went to 18 holes with the U.S. Team taking both points to finish the day 8-8.

Happy Birthday, Brittany. U.S. Solheim Cup Team rookie Brittany Lang celebrated her 24th birthday on Saturday by halving her Four-Ball match alongside partner Angela Stanford. Lang's day began with a Happy Birthday serenade by fans at the first tee and improved steadily until the 16th hole, where she and Stanford went dormie against the European pair of Diana Luna and Catriona Matthew. The European duo spoiled what might have been a bigger celebration by carding birdies on 17 and 18 to halve the match. Lang, who now owns a 1-0-1 record in Solheim Cup play, has earned 1.5 points this week.

U.S. Team rallies to tie. As the sun set on the Illinois prairie surrounding Rich Harvest Farms golf course, Morgan Pressel and Kristy McPherson took 2007 European Team captain Helen Alfredsson and five-time veteran Suzann Pettersen to 18 holes, winning the match 2 up, then returned to the course to cheer on another five-time Solheim Cupper Cristie Kerr and rookie Michelle Wie in their match against Europe's Maria Hjorth and another Tour rookie Anna Nordqvist.

Kerr and Wie had the momentum in the match, until Europe won hole 16. On the 17th hole, Kerr's approach shot to the green fell short and landed in the water. After Wie took the drop, she flew the green. Kerr was able to chip on and after Hjorth missed a 7-foot bogey putt, Wie knocked in her double bogey putt to halve the match. On the final hole, the match came down to the final putts. A 12-foot putt by Wie to win the match just lipped around the edge of the cup. Hjorth, one of only two players from either team (Suzann Pettersen) to compete in all four matches this year, set up for a 5-footer, but also failed to convert, thus halving the hole and allowing Kerr and Wie to hold on for the 1 up victory and bring the score to 8-8 heading into Sunday's final round.

History gives U.S. Team advantage with tie. The Solheim Cup has been tied entering singles play in two of 10 previous competitions. In 1994 at The Greenbrier in White Sulpher Springs, W.Va., the Cup was tied 5-5 entering the final day. The U.S. went on to win 13-7. In 2005, at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind., matches were tied 8-8 entering the final day. The U.S. went on to win 15 ½ to 12 ½.

The last time the European Team won singles matches was during their 2003 victory at Barseback Golf and Country Club in Sweden, 17 ½ to 10 ½ . Europe was 8-4-0 in singles. With a 7-3 U.S. Team advantage in Solheim Cup play, all three European victories came when they were in the lead entering the singles matches.

Down time. European Team captain Alison Nicholas chose to sit out team rookie Diana Luna, of Italy, for the Day One 2009 Solheim Cup matches. When she teed it up for the Day Two morning Four-Ball matches with Catriona Matthew, Luna and Matthew halved their match with U.S. Team veteran Angela Stanford and birthday-girl Brittany Lang, of the United States. Alternatively, for the Day Two matches, 11-time Solheim Cup veteran Laura Davies sat out both matches.

Enthusiastic galleries. After two days of competition for the 2009 Solheim Cup at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill., fans have turned out en masse to support the U.S. and European Teams. Day One estimates were 25,000 fans, with 27,000 fans estimated in attendance for Friday's matches. Tournament officials said 90,000 fans have ventured to Rich Harvest Farms this week with Sunday's singles matches yet to be played.

Saturday Morning Four-ball interviews: Brittany Lang and Angela Stanford | Catriona Matthew | Suzann Pettersen | Christina Kim and Michelle Wie

U.S. TEAM
Morgan Pressel, Kristy McPherson, Cristie Kerr & Michelle Wie

MIKE SCANLAN: Ladies, thanks for coming in. We'd like to welcome Kristy McPherson and Morgan Pressel, who had a 2 up victory over Helen Alfredsson and Suzann Pettersen; and Cristie Kerr and Michelle Wie, who had a 1 up victory over Mimi Hjorth and Anna Nordqvist. We'll start with Kristy McPherson and Morgan, if you would take us through your match and tell us a little bit about it today. Kristy?
KRISTY McPHERSON: Starting with me, huh? Well, we halved the first hole, which felt like a victory to me, because my first two matches, we were two down after two, so when Morgan and I were all square after two, it was looking pretty good for us. But yeah, we made a huge birdie on two where they hit the green in two. We knew going in with Suzann and Alfie, the two of us aren't necessarily long, so we knew we'd be at a disadvantage, especially on the par-5s. And sure enough, they made eagle on 15 to get it back to 1-up for us.
But you know, it was a grind out there. We got off to an early lead, but they fought back and took us all the way to 18. It lasted a little longer than we wanted it to, but we were happy to get the win.
MORGAN PRESSEL: Yeah, I think that we played very solid out there today. We hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens. We just kept putting the pressure on them. They made a couple putts. Suzann made a great putt on 17 and eagle on 15.
But I think that two was probably the biggest hole for us because Kristy hit it in there tight, and we deferred going 1 down, I guess, which is easy on a hole where they can get there in two. And to be that early in the match to go 1 down is never a good thing, and we ended up being 3 up through six. Suzann wasn't hitting it that great. She hit some uncharacteristic shots, but we were able to take advantage of it.
And they came back fighting strong. The par-5 11th was pretty ridiculous, but you know, we knew that our point was really important, and you just kind of have a feeling that Suzann's going to make a putt like that on 17.
But the 18th hole hasn't been too kind to us this week, so finally we won two matches there today this afternoon.

MIKE SCANLAN: Cristie Kerr and Michelle Wie, if you would just take us through your match. We'll start with Cristie Kerr.
CRISTIE KERR: Yeah. It was tough right from the get-go. The first hole I hit a good iron in, and we halved the hole, and I didn't hit a very good bunker shot on the second shot and ended up losing the hole. Then we made great par saves at three and four with eight- to 10-foot putts that Michelle holed. Halved with birdies, five. Made a long putt on six for birdie to all square the match. It was kind of an interesting match.
Next hole we both had to take an unplayable and ended up halving the hole with sixes. We won eight. We lost nine. Ten, she hit it stiff. Eleven, I made about a five-footer, and 12, 13 were pretty good for us. Fourteen, we ended up halving that hole, which was huge. They ended up making a bad three-putt and we snuck out of that one.
And 15, I didn't hit a very good iron, but Michelle got it up there real snuggly, and I made the three-footer. I played good on 16. Seventeen was kind of a lie in the rough that kind of fooled me. I even opened the face up a little bit so that it wouldn't turn over, and I got more grass than ball. Maybe it started to get a little bit more wet. It's kind of a lie that can fool you sometimes.
And I mean that halve on that hole was, pardon the expression, but it was -- I'm not going to say it. It was ridiculous. I mean, she hit it over the green, and you know, I just said the only way it's going to stop is if it hits the hole and I actually hit a better shot than that. It was probably one of the best flop shots I've ever hit in my life, especially under the circumstances. I mean, I would put myself up on that shot against almost anybody in the world with how good that was. I mean, it was ridiculous.
We ended up halving that hole and then ended up winning the match on 18, which I mean, the 18th hole did owe us.
MORGAN PRESSEL: Did you miss a hole or did you make sure you got all of them?
CRISTIE KERR: I got all of them.
MICHELLE WIE: I think you missed one.
CRISTIE KERR: Sorry. It's been a long day. And I just want to say for the record, I have played all 54 holes. Yeah. I did my homework.

MIKE SCANLAN: Thank you for that very thorough description, Cristie.
CRISTIE KERR: You're welcome. Just wanted to make sure you got it.
MICHELLE WIE: So number one, I did this. And number two -- how about I just go all over it again.
MORGAN PRESSEL: I think she's got it covered. Michelle doesn't really need to say a whole lot.
CRISTIE KERR: Yeah. Exactly. On to the next question.
MICHELLE WIE: I just want to say that shot on 17 was ridiculous. I mean I -- I think we really worked well as partners today.
CRISTIE KERR: We're very comfortable with each other, for sure.
MICHELLE WIE: Exactly. You know, I think -- the first couple holes we didn't hit fairways and we didn't hit greens. So it was a struggle, and we got down. And I think it was just both of us were looking too far ahead and we said, come on, we need goals here, fairways and greens, and that's all we're thinking about. And I think that really helped. I think that really -- she calmed me down.
CRISTIE KERR: Except when I hit it in the water on 17. That was not quite the green.
MICHELLE WIE: I think we worked really well as partners, and I think over the past couple days I feel really lucky to get to know Cristie a lot better because I think she's one of the people I've gotten to know a lot better and got to play a lot of practice rounds with, and I think it's really cool.

Q. For Cristie and Morgan, because you guys have done this before, does it give you guys a sense of confidence knowing how well this team has done in singles over the last, you know, two Solheim Cups? I mean nothing's for sure, but talk about going into Sunday?
MORGAN PRESSEL: Absolutely. You know, we did lose some ground today, but we're still tied going into singles. We got 12 points available tomorrow, and you know, we have a very, very, very strong team, and you know, you look at the people who have sat on the bench each round, and you'd be pretty amazed at the depth of our team.
I think that that will help us tomorrow. Every point is still important. You can't look at the leaderboard. You can't get too far ahead of yourself, and each one of us just has to go out there and beat our opponent to a pulp. That's our goal tomorrow.
CRISTIE KERR: Take care of our own match.
MORGAN PRESSEL: That's all that matters. In our mind there aren't 12 matches tomorrow. There's one, and that's each of our own.
CRISTIE KERR: Very poignant.
MORGAN PRESSEL: And we can celebrate afterwards. Hey, that's what you get with lack of college education. No, neither of us went to college. She's the only one that did. You're still in college.
CRISTIE KERR: We're a very articulate group over here. (Laughs.) I'm a little slow. I played all 54 holes.
MICHELLE WIE: I think it's been a long day. I'm just going to say that.
CRISTIE KERR: It's 8:20. Don't you people want to go get a cocktail?

Q. Morgan and Cristie Kerr, did both of you realize as you're coming in on the back side that Europe had pulled ahead and how important your matches were, otherwise you face a deficit going into tomorrow?
CRISTIE KERR: Absolutely. There's only four matches out there, and we know how important every single match is. You know, you've got to summon that within yourself to try and win your match, and that's what we did.
MORGAN PRESSEL: Yeah. We were on -- was it six green, and we were the only red number on the board.
And at that point, I mean, you never know what's going to happen, but we knew just how important our match was, and I was hoping that, you know, one or two of the other matches could turn it around, but we just needed to win our match, and you know, we played great.
We had one bogey today. When you have one bogey in alternate shot, that's pretty darn good. And they put up a very, very tough fight, but we were able to hang in there. And you know, I'm a leaderboard watcher. I like to pay attention, but at the same point Kristy and I were looking at each other saying, ‘This is our match. This is all that matters, and the team needs our point.' And we were able to get it done.

Q. For Michelle, you expended so much emotion out there today. Did you ever feel like you kind of ran out of gas at any point?
MICHELLE WIE: Well, I was running out of gas until I did my first cheer. You know, I think on the first couple of holes it was just kind of like, aww, kind of going down there. But I think that putt on number two really just woke me up, and you know, I just felt so much adrenaline out there.
After I was done on 18, I could play 18 more. I was so excited out there. I just had so much fun, and I love match play. I think match play really shows true competition, and I enjoy it so much.
So you know, I didn't feel like I ran out of gas. I had nice little downtime between my matches, but it was all good.
CRISTIE KERR: Oh, to be 19. (Laughs.)
MICHELLE WIE: You're the old lady.
CRISTIE KERR: Yes. I am the oldest.

Q. How difficult was it to read the putts?
MICHELLE WIE: I asked her to see if she could be my caddie.
CRISTIE KERR: I don't know why, I can read putts.
MORGAN PRESSEL: Not only can she read putts, she can putt.

Q. How difficult was it to read?
CRISTIE KERR: Yeah. It got really tough on 17 and 18.
MICHELLE WIE: You couldn't see anything. It was so dark.
CRISTIE KERR: I mean, we probably shouldn't have played, but I don't think any of us wanted to come back at like 6 a.m. and finish a half a hole. It was hard to judge my distance with my pitch shot on the last hole. When the depth perception gets messed up, it messes with your feel. I actually hit a very good pitch shot, just flew the hole, and there's a little ledge there.
But I mean, Michelle hit an amazing putt. I told her, ‘Hey, right here,' and she hit it right there. I don't know how it stayed out. And I will caddie for you one day, in one tournament.
MICHELLE WIE: Really?
CRISTIE KERR: They ask me for lessons.
MICHELLE WIE: You swear?
CRISTIE KERR: I'll caddie for you in a tournament. I might not be able to carry a bag. I don't know if I can carry that big a bag. Might need the double strap, too.

Q. Michelle, you've made a lot of great putts in the last couple days. Can you talk about your work with the Stocktons and why you started working with them and what you changed?
MICHELLE WIE: You know, I just rang Dave Stockton up. You know, I just didn't feel like I putted my best the last couple weeks, so I just thought I'd have a fresh eye on it, and he was in the area, so we just met up.
And you know, he's a really great guy. I just really enjoyed working with him, and I think it proved good so far. Hopefully one more day is going to be good.
But you know, I think he's a great guy, and I learned a lot from him. He just has so many great stories to tell, as well, and Morgan can account for this. They're really good guys.

Q. Did you have one thought or anything in particular?
MICHELLE WIE: Not really. Nothing I want to share right now.
CRISTIE KERR: To me who has an instruction background, it seems like she's a lot more still with her body and she's just swinging the putter, and the rhythm of the putter is so much better, which comes from keeping your body still. But the pace she's hitting her putts with are absolutely perfect.
MICHELLE WIE: Thank you, Cristie.
KRISTY McPHERSON: You're welcome. I answered it for you. Y'all are cute. (Laughs.)

Q. Early on in the morning session, did you guys get the sense of maybe you were about to start pulling away from them?
MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, certainly. I mean, I'll say, because I was inside watching, that we were up in a couple of the matches, and you know, when Lang and Stanford were dormie 2 and that looked pretty promising, but like I said, those last couple holes had not been our friends this week so far other than this afternoon.
So you know, I think that we were happy to be at 6-6 and no worse because at one point it looked like we might even go worse than that, but we were able to pull out another half in alternate shot, which is big for us. And heading into singles tomorrow 8-8, I think it is, right. We'll take it.

Q. Michelle, I just am curious. It looked like the team kind of rallied around you there at the end on the putting green. Can you talk a little bit about how this excitement compares to playing in like a PGA TOUR event, because I know you've enjoyed those a lot, and how you've warmed to the Tour?
MICHELLE WIE: I mean, it's hard to answer that question because like I said before, it's a completely different feeling because I'm not only playing for myself; I'm playing for my team; I'm playing for my team members and I'm playing for my country. So that in itself I feel like makes for a completely different experience, and you know, what I do in other weeks, I do for myself. You know, I play well because I want to play well, and I do it for my own -- because I want to do it for myself, basically. But you know, this week I do it for my country. I do it for us. I do it for pride, and I don't think it's comparable at all.
MORGAN PRESSEL: Good answer.
MICHELLE WIE: Thank you, Pressel.

European Team

Janice Moodie, Becky Brewerton, Gwladys Nocera

BETHAN CUTLER: I'd like to welcome Janice Moodie, Becky Brewerton and Gwladys Nocera.
So Janice, you defeated Paula Creamer and Juli Inkster 4&3 along with Sophie this afternoon. That was a very important first point this afternoon. How important do you feel it was for the European team.
JANICE MOODIE: Well, I think we were setting the pace. Obviously we were like 45 minutes ahead of everybody else, and it was just nice to get the blue numbers up on the board early on, and we just maintained it. Yeah, it was a fun match.

BETHAN CUTLER: Becky and Gwladys, you were successful 5&4 against Natalie Gulbis and Christina Kim this afternoon, and Gwladys, you also won with Maria Hjorth this morning, which means that you're undefeated in this competition so far. So what's the secret to your success?
GWLADYS NOCERA: I've got good partners, and it was just going well. We have to win points, and no matter how we're winning them, it's a matter of the European team that makes them, so I don't think that's an issue.

BETHAN CUTLER: Becky, how do you feel about the score line at the moment?
BECKY BREWERTON: We did well. We won today. We've got back that point that we were behind, and it's all looking good for tomorrow. We all feel confident. We're going to go out and concentrate on our matches and make sure we win our points and think we have to win our game if we want to win. I think that goes for everyone.

Q. Actually for any and all of you, can you just talk about being tied going into the final day and how you like that position?
JANICE MOODIE: I mean, I think we're in a good position. Obviously we came in here as the underdogs, and I think, you know, we're all playing well as a team. And as Beck said, I think we just gotta take every point for yourself and go out and win it.
BECKY BREWERTON: Yeah. I mean, we're all feeling pretty good. I think there's a really good feeling around the team room. Everyone is playing well, even in practice. I think Ali actually said to us one night that we've given her a big headache because everyone was hitting the ball so good. And if she could have played us all every day, I'm sure she would have, because everyone's hitting it really good. And we have got to go out with that mentality tomorrow and think we have to win our own individual matches if we're going to win, and everyone's got to go out with that attitude.
GWLADYS NOCERA: Yeah. Well, I tend to agree. I think, yeah, we are playing well. We are all really waiting to win that cup, and all we have to do is play our own game tomorrow and not worry about what's going on in the other groups and play our game and play our best and do it.

Q. Are you feeling tired at all after laps of this very long and strenuous course, and if you're not, what are you doing to stop yourself from feeling tired?
JANICE MOODIE: If you're talking to me, I've only played two foursomes matches so I'm actually feeling quite refreshed.
BECKY BREWERTON: Yeah, it is tiring. You're so pumped up during the day, and when you get to the evening, most nights you sort of hit a bit of a wall because the adrenaline is run out, but as soon as you get up the next day, when you're playing for what we are, there's no feeling tired. The only time we're going to feel tired is tomorrow night. Well, we probably won't feel tired if we win.

European Captain Alison Nicholas

BETHAN CUTLER: Welcome back, Alison. Great day for Europe today. Tied 8 and 8 with the Americans going into the final day singles. How are you feeling about the position that your team is in?
ALISON NICHOLAS: They've done a fantastic job today. We were one point behind, and we've squared in the match, so that's always a good day.
It's going to be very exciting tomorrow.

BETHAN CUTLER: What about some of the highlights of the day today for you.
ALISON NICHOLAS: Yeah, if I can remember anything. I think -- have you got the results there? I'm trying to think. I'm so tired.
I think Catriona Matthew has to be -- pulling that half match out of the bag was tremendous. And Diana Luna, a rookie who, you know -- what a great effort that was. You know, she was disappointed not playing before this morning's matches. We had some great conversations, and she said, no, I'm ready.
So I can thank the rookies who have played really well, and obviously nicking those last two matches.
And this afternoon we were looking like we were up in three for a long time, and then that's part of what happens, and I think it's a fair result.

Q. Alison, can you clear up the confusion with Laura, who apparently said she was fine when you spoke to her, that she was fine at sitting on the sidelines, but seemed to be anything but fine by the time she got in front of the television cameras?
ALISON NICHOLAS: I think that was misunderstood what I said. I said that I talked to her. I didn't say she was fine about sitting out necessarily. I think she said that she knew she wasn't going to play five. I think that I miscommunicated that to you.
She didn't say I'm fine about sitting out. Laura wants to play whenever she can.

Q. You just said that she was fine about it. I think those were your words.
ALISON NICHOLAS: Well, I had some conversations with her in practice and stuff about, you know, possibly sitting out. But it wasn't necessarily, you know -- I think she understood that she wasn't going to play every match. I think that somebody somewhere said something that wasn't quite understood properly there, because, yeah. No, of course, Laura is a competitor, and obviously she's not happy because she likes to play.

Q. You had said she wasn't going to play in the morning, but what went into the decision to hold her out in the afternoon, and when did you make up your mind to do that?
ALISON NICHOLAS: Well, all the other players were just playing so well and gelling together that I thought that that was the best team decision. You know, that's what I thought, that it was best for the team. It was a tough decision, and I know it's not nice being left out, and I know that I've been in that position myself. But you know, I have to make a decision that I think is best for the team and that's what I did, because it's a team game here, you know. It's not about any one person.

Q. (Indiscernible.) with some kind of injury she played with well with. Why didn't Suzann play the four matches, Pettersen?
ALISON NICHOLAS: She's played four matches, yeah. Why?

Q. I know it's very important, but maybe in the afternoon, she seemed so tired.
ALISON NICHOLAS: I saw that, but I just spoke to her now and she said she was fine. She was just a little bit tight in her hip flexors. It was nothing major. There was no injury or anything. She was just a little bit tight, and she just got the physio to come and stretch her up, so there's no injury.
You know, I asked her. I said, you know, can you go five, and she said, yeah, no problem. So I think she's just a great player and a great leader, and I just felt that it was important to play her.

Q. Can you please talk about the message you got from Seve? Was there a tape or a message from him?
ALISON NICHOLAS: Yeah. Yeah. We had a little message from Seve, a little video, just wishing us good luck, which was very inspirational for the girls.

Q. Were you wearing something --
ALISON NICHOLAS: Yeah. We got these arm bands which is Seve Ballesteros Foundation, which he asked us to support, basically. I think the Tour is going to support his foundation.

Q. Alison, with the U.S. record in singles, how much did you want to go in tomorrow with either being a full point ahead or even a half point, and what kind of message do you give to your team tonight about overcoming that?
ALISON NICHOLAS: Yeah. I mean, you know, after being one point down yesterday and bringing it back to all square, I'm happy with that, because we won the session in matches.
Singles is always difficult. We haven't been that good over the years, but we have won singles series, and I think we've got nothing to lose. We just got to go out there and play our hearts out and hopefully do a bit better than we have in the past.

Q. Maria seemed to be very, very disappointed afterwards. Did you talk to her, and what did she say?
ALISON NICHOLAS: I didn't actually get to see her because I was doing the singles draw, so I was having a meeting really at that time. So I haven't actually spoken to her, but she seemed perfectly fine when I saw her a minute ago.

Q. The video from Seve, when did it arrive and when did you show it to the team?
ALISON NICHOLAS: Well, I've had it in my possession for a couple of weeks, or maybe a week and a half, and so I've known about it for a long time, but obviously didn't show the team until Thursday night.

U.S. Captain Beth Daniel

MIKE SCANLAN: All right, Beth. Thanks for coming in. 8 and 8 after two days of play at the 2009 Solheim Cup. If you would, talk about the day, kind of up and down, a long one for sure. Just give us some thoughts.
BETH DANIEL: Well, I mean, the first thing that comes to my mind is that I'm just really proud of them for the way they came back. It was not looking too good for us for a while, and they really rallied in those last couple matches there in the afternoon to get the tie, and I think that was huge. I mean, it also should be a huge momentum swing for us to come back that way.
I mean, you know, they feel like they're ahead, and they should feel that way.

Q. Beth, could you talk a little bit about Michelle Wie today. I'm sure you're very proud of her, and what a day like this might mean for her going forward.
BETH DANIEL: I mean, I've always been proud of Michelle, and I know how much talent she has. But you know, for anybody that's said Michelle Wie can't play under pressure, I think they were proven wrong today. I mean, she did everything and more that we've asked of her, and I mean, she was like walking on air. I've never -- I asked Patrick, I'm like, have you ever seen her this pumped up. I mean she was so pumped up I was worried about it that maybe she was too pumped up, but it didn't seem to affect her.
And she and Cristie really hung in there, and to pull that victory out there at the end was really, really big. But you know, I mean, she just hit great shot after great shot.

Q. Beth, when you've got a hole like 17, one player goes in the water. Another goes over the green, and then 18, ball hits the tree, Michelle's goes through a tree, and you still end up winning that match. Would you have expected that? And then as a follow up, with your record in singles, does this feel like it's not a tie, that you're going in there a point or two ahead?
BETH DANIEL: Well, I mean, we've been -- so many times we've been behind after the first two days that we've always been trying to catch up, and this time it's even playing ground, and you know, I have 12 players out there, Ali has 12 players out there, and we'll see who wins the most points tomorrow.
I mean, you know, it's like I just said when I just turned in my pairings for tomorrow, I said, my job is now done; it's up to them. And it is. I mean, it's pretty much out of my hands now. There's not a whole lot more I can do.
So you know, we feel good. I mean, I really thought it looked like kind of early on today, or really even midway through the afternoon matches, it looked like we were going to go in down a point or two tomorrow, and to be even is big. It's really big.

Q. Beth, just talk about the 18th hole. Your players hadn't won it, so what are you thinking on those last?
BETH DANIEL: 16, 17 or 18 we hadn't won.

Q. So what are you thinking when those two matches came down to 18?
BETH DANIEL: Well, I mean, I'm so proud of Morgan and Kristy, just unbelievable that those two pulled that match out.
You know, and poor Kristy, I mean, she's been fighting her heart out, and I'm so proud of her for getting her first point. But Morgan was determined. Morgan Pressel has as much determination as any human being, and I saw her on the range before they went out in the afternoon, and she said, "I'm going to be with K-Mac, and we're winning the first point for her." And she did it.
And I saw her on the 18th green afterwards, and she tackled me, knocked me to the ground. She was so excited. But she was not excited for herself. She was excited for Kristy, because Kristy had won her first point in Solheim Cup. So that tells you a little bit about team spirit right there.
This team's -- I mean, they're just great that way.

Q. In the morning Michelle and Christina made an amazing match. Why didn't you put them together in the afternoon, and the Brittanies, Brittany Lang and Lincicome, in the first match they played awesome and then they never played together again. Why, if I may ask?
BETH DANIEL: Okay. So you asked about Kim and Wie, not playing them in the afternoon. Well, first of all, they haven't practiced foursomes together, and Cristie Kerr and Michelle Wie have practiced foursomes quite a bit. And they actually, you know, in my opinion, are pretty much a killer team. So they may be the future of Solheim Cup for the American team, just like Creamer and Inkster have been.
And then Lincicome and Lang, yeah, it didn't work out. We had to make some changes yesterday. Some things happened in the morning. We made some changes, and it took them out of the picture, and I feel bad for Brittany Lang because she's really playing really very good golf, but you know what, she has an important match tomorrow, and she needs to play good golf to win her match tomorrow, whoever she plays.
So you know, sometimes in a team event it just works out that way, and you know, it just didn't work out to play them together.

Kristy McPherson/Morgan Pressel (USA) def. Helen Alfredsson/Suzann Pettersen (EUR), 2 up

Q. What are your thoughts on this second match today?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I don't know, I mean, we kind of struggled so much. We kind of fought back and gave ourselves a chance for half a point. It would have been nice to grab a half a point.

Q. And what are you thinking about heading into Sunday?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I think we have a very, very good chance. We played outstanding all day and had a great morning and pretty good afternoon, so it's going to be very tight tomorrow.

Sophie Gustafson/Janice Moodie (EUR) def. Paula Creamer/Juli Inkster (USA), 4 & 3

Q. How do you feel about your match today?
PAULA CREAMER: We didn't play very well out there. We tried to get it going there on the last couple holes. Juli started to hit some really good iron shots that we just couldn't capitalize on it. Really enjoyed it.
They played great. However, we just kind of gave them the match.

Q. At what point did you feel like the momentum started to shift out of your favor? Was there a specific point?
PAULA CREAMER: We were never up in the match. We lost the first two holes, and from there on we were always fighting back. And we won a lot of holes out there, but we just kept giving them back afterwards, and you can't do that in match play, unfortunately, but at the same time we'll get out tomorrow and hopefully our team can finish strong.

Q. What were the struggles that you guys faced?
PAULA CREAMER: There were just a bunch. Lots of things didn't happen.
You have your plan, but didn't quite do that, didn't quite go on that plan, but that's all right. It is one point. It's a big point, but at the same time we have our singles matches tomorrow.

Q. Lastly, how does this set you up for tomorrow? How does it make you better to play?
PAULA CREAMER: Hopefully I can go out. I feel I have a lot of confidence. I'm hitting the ball really well and I'm putting the ball great, so we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Saturday Morning Four-ball interviews: Brittany Lang and Angela Stanford | Catriona Matthew | Suzann Pettersen | Christina Kim and Michelle Wie

Catriona Matthew/Diana Luna (EUR) halved with Brittany Lang/Angela Stanford (USA)

MIKE SCANLAN: Brittany, Angela, thanks for coming in. Earned a half point this morning in four-ball matches. If you would, we'll start with Brittany. Just take us through the match, how you feel you guys played.
BRITTANY LANG: Yeah. I think we played great. You know, we were just talking about it. We halved a lot of holes with birdies. We hung in there. You know, we did a lot of good things. Angela made a lot of putts. She had a lot of good saves, a lot of good wins.
We played a really solid round, we just didn't finish it off. We were up with 2-up with 2 to go. We had chances to close them out and get the full point. But you know, we played really solid the whole day.
ANGELA STANFORD: I agree. Brittany was a great partner. The putt she made on 9 was huge, and obviously the putt on 13. So I thought she hit the ball great, and you know, you like walking and playing along with somebody that's playing well, so it was a lot of fun. I wish we could have gotten the full point because it felt like we did.

Q. This thing's tightened up after the morning. Just your thoughts on, you know, now it's a pretty good horse race.
BRITTANY LANG: Yeah, I know. We were shocked yesterday. I know there's been some good matches, but we were all pretty shocked yesterday when it was so close. I guess we thought we were playing really well, but a lot of the matches came down to the wire and didn't turn out good on our end.
But yeah, I mean they're good players. They have a lot of good players, and we're going to have to play well, but I mean it's exciting for me, my first Solheim for it to be close because a lot of pressure on it, so it's good for me.
ANGELA STANFORD: I think it's just a classic case of you have a team that thinks they're underdogs and a team that has been told they're favorites, and we haven't shut the door on them, so the longer you let a team hang around that thinks that they're underdogs, you know, they just gain confidence.
And so you know, I think with every point they gain, they gain some confidence, and I think that's why I'm so frustrated with our match this afternoon because at some point we gotta start closing the door on them.

Q. Not to obsess over how long the matches are taking, but is six hours a comfortable pace for you guys or is it the Europeans who tend to be slowing stuff down, and is that a factor out here?
ANGELA STANFORD: I feel like I'm walking fast. This golf course is just -- I mean it's long. The walks in between are long. Then you have four golf balls in the air in the morning, so I think it's just all the different elements in play.

Q. I'm just curious what both of you think of Beth Daniel's decision to not have anyone play five matches.
ANGELA STANFORD: You know, I think it's a great decision. This golf course will wear you out. And I think, you know, I think that'll help us come tomorrow. I mean I know I was beat last night after two, so I can't imagine going back out there again.
I mean it's kind of nice to have a breather, so I think she knows what she's doing, and I think it's a great decision. It'll be good -- I mean we'll be able to tell tomorrow. You know, I think all 12 of us will be a lot fresher than them, I think.

Q. Brittany?
BRITTANY LANG: Yeah, sure. I definitely agree with Angela. When they told us about that, I thought it was a great idea. Yeah, just so people can get rest. It is a long week. You don't get a lot of rest or a lot of sleep. So I do think it's good. Our girls will be fresh tomorrow. I agree with her.

Q. Angela, you said that you have been told you're the favorites. Do you both feel like you're the favorites? Do you feel like you have the stronger team?
ANGELA STANFORD: Well, I mean personally, I feel like we have a stronger team, yes, but at the same time, I mean they have two major winners. They love match play. They love the idea of team.
So I didn't think that we were favorites in that, you know, they were never going to have a chance. And that's the way I felt like the media played it, and when I say media, I haven't read the paper, anything. I mean TV. Things I've seen on TV, it made it sound like we were just going to show up and win the Cup just by showing up. So I think that's frustrating, because you know, they're good. I mean obviously. It's tied. But yeah, I think we have the stronger team. Still gotta play, though.
BRITTANY LANG: Well, yeah. With match play, anything can happen, but I don't know where they got that from. Suzann Pettersen, Helen Alfredsson, they have so many good players. Becky Brewerton. Their team is stacked as good as our team is, so I have no idea where they got that from.

Q. Brittany, frustrating not to get the full point, but half a point is better than no point, so what sort of birthday has this been for you today?
BRITTANY LANG: Yeah. People keep telling me half point is better than a full point. I'm starting to believe it.
But yeah, it was fun with Angela. It was a great birthday. They sang to me almost every hole. But it was fun with Angela alongside.
Yeah, I would have obviously wanted the full point, but I'm just trying to be positive and have good thoughts on getting the half point and not losing any.

Catriona Matthew/Diana Luna (EUR) halved with Brittany Lang/Angela Stanford (USA)

Q. First of all, how does it feel to get a half point? I'll bet it feels like a whole point.
CATRIONA MATTHEW: Yeah, it does. We were kind of down most of the day, and just found it the last two holes really.

Q. The reason for the turnaround, you chipped in at 17, inspired golf?
CATRIONA MATTHEW: Yeah, we knew if we could get to 17 and 18, 17 is a par-4, and sometimes on 18 you know you can make birdie and you've got a chance, so just lucky.

Q. And your playing partner Diana came in with that birdie on 18. How does that feel in your first Solheim Cup?
DIANA LUNA: It's just amazing. Catriona said to me, "Come on, knock it in for the glory." I had a great partner today, we got really lucky, I think.

Q. What was it like playing with her? Did she inspire you, as well?
DIANA LUNA: Absolutely. She's a great player, and she holed the putt at 16 and a chip 17, and it was just amazing. She's a great player.

Q. Catriona, do you prefer winning majors or Solheim Cup points?
CATRIONA MATTHEW: Solheim Cup is fantastic, can't beat it. The crowd atmosphere and obviously playing with your partner is just great fun. Can't beat that.

Suzann Pettersen/Anna Nordqvist (EUR) def. Nicole Castrale/Cristie Kerr (USA), 2 up

Q. Talk about your match.
SUZANN PETTERSEN: This was a great match, again. All my matches seem to go to 18.
I don't know. It was just -- I think we played very steady and gave ourselves little chances. It was very close. I mean it was 1-up, level, 1-up to them. We got it back, and we never really gave them a leash too far ahead of us, so I mean we kind of got it going.
And then Anna makes her putt on 16, which was huge, and then I make a great birdie on 17. I think they both had 3-woods into that green, and again, Anna pulled it off again on 18.

Q. After the U.S. made a move on the 17th, how did you guys maintain your composure to come back on the 18th to finish strong?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I mean Anna hit a great putt on 17. It just hooked the edge and went out. All you can do is try to give yourself two good chances in four-ball and see what that can give you, because that definitely puts the pressure on the opponents.

Q. And how will this match set you up for later on today or tomorrow?
SUZANN PETTERSEN: I think we're both going out later on in the foursomes. I think I'm playing with Alfie. I think Anna is playing with -- I'm not quite sure. But well, we're going to take this with us and bring it out to the afternoon.

Christina Kim/Michelle Wie (USA) def. Helen Alfredsson/Tania Elosegui (EUR), 5 & 4

Q. Very convincing win today. How exciting was it out there?
CHRISTINA KIM: It was an absolute thrill. I love to play both foursomes as well as fourball, and I love the atmosphere. It's what Solheim Cup is all about, and I really enjoyed myself, had a phenomenal partner out there, and we were able to just feed off each other, you know?

Q. Talk about today. How much momentum do you think it gave the team for you guys to win like that?
CHRISTINA KIM: Oh, for us to win the first team out, I thought it was huge. We started off two down through two, and to show the team that we were able to go from being two down through two after Helen and Tania played some fantastic golf yesterday. After watching the two of them play so well on television yesterday, it was great to be able to say that Michelle and I made a great enough team we were able to beat such two great players, and it was pretty impressive.

Q. Your first win as a member. How did it feel?
MICHELLE WIE: It felt great. I mean, I played with Christina today. It was just so exciting. You know, I'm proud of her, I'm proud of our team, and hopefully the 5 & 4 will motivate everyone else, and I need to go out there and win that second point.

Q. Talk a little bit about the bond you and Christina had.
MICHELLE WIE: We had so much fun out there. We had a lot of fun out there, and that was our goal. We gave it our best.

Q. Talk about playing two matches today. You're going to go out last this afternoon. The fatigue, the mental pressure, anything?
MICHELLE WIE: I'm just so amped up. I'm ready to play, and I'm ready to go out there again. It's just so much fun. I love being in front of that crowd, and it's going to be fun.

Q. Christina, this was a little bit lopsided. Are you surprised?
CHRISTINA KIM: Yeah, well, anything can happen in match play. Tania and Helen were an amazing pairing yesterday. They played some fantastic golf, and they were 3-under through two holes. I said, all right, if that's how they want to play, that's how we're going to have to win. We're going to have to win with birdies.
Michelle played such fan phenomenal golf out there, it was great. I was able to bink my drive out there and kind of cozy it up with a 4-iron up to the front of the green and just two-putt from 80 feet. She's all like, oh, I'm 180, I'll stick it to a foot and a half. I'm saving the pars.
Bottom line, we're a team, and we had some fantastic chemistry out there, and I'm just so damn proud of her right now.

Q. You were trying to get her to dance to celebrate, but you couldn't quite get her to.
CHRISTINA KIM: I'll get her dancing, don't you worry.

Q. Michelle, this has got to be a lot of fun. You're hitting your stride, second day, still some golf to play. How do you feel about today?
MICHELLE WIE: I feel great. You can see the sun out here today. When I heard I was getting paired with Christina, you should have heard my scream. It was so loud in the players' room last night. I'm just so excited. I have fun with her. I think we have great chemistry. It was a lot of fun today. She's a great partner. She hit the ball so well today and putted so fantastically, I was just so glad to be along for the ride.
CHRISTINA KIM: Anything can happen in match play. All you need is a little momentum. There were a lot of chances that were missed early on in the matches. There were a lot of chances that were made. We squeaked by on a couple of holes, we're not going to lie. We were very fortunate to have won some of the holes that we did and to have halved some of the holes that we did. But that's the beauty of match play and the magic of Solheim.

Q. Are you guys also a great pairing because you can bring out -- get her out of her shell a little bit?
CHRISTINA KIM: There is no "shell" in Michelle. It's with a c-h. This is Michelle.

Q. She's not as outgoing as you, though.
CHRISTINA KIM: Who is? We have great chemistry. We're both Korean-Americans and damn proud of it. We're going out and enjoying ourselves and trying to play some fantastic golf and doing our best to bring that Cup home.

Q. Were you surprised at the bogeys? The Europeans had a couple of bogeys out there. Were you surprised at that?
CHRISTINA KIM: No, this golf course is so challenging that anything can happen.
MICHELLE WIE: They tuck these pins. They're not much. We're all playing really aggressively.
CHRISTINA KIM: That's what match play is all about. You can go ahead and explode on one hole and you're only one down or whatever. It's a very challenging golf course. Mr. Rich should be proud of the fact that we're not completely tearing it up.