The Solheim Cup
Rich Harvest Farms
Sugar Grove, Ill.
Aug. 21, 2009

Friday afternoon Foursome interviews: Christina Kim, Natalie Gulbis, Paula Creamer & Juli Inkster | Gwladys Nocera, Becky Brewerton, Maria Hjorth, & Anna Nordqvist | European Captain: Alison Nicholas | U.S. Captain: Beth Daniel | Brittany Lincicome | Catriona Matthew

Four-Ball interviews: U.S. Team: Brittany Lang, Morgan Pressel, Michelle Wie | U.S. Team: Cristie Kerr | Paula Creamer/Cristie Kerr (USA) def. Sophie Gustafson/Suzann Pettersen (EUR), 1 up | Tania Elosegui/Helen Alfredsson (EUR) def. Angela Stanford/Juli Inkster (USA), 1 up | Brittany Lang/Brittany Lincicome (USA) def. Becky Brewerton/Laura Davies (EUR), 5 and 4 | Becky Brewerton/Laura Davies (EUR), def. by Brittany Lang/Brittany Lincicome (USA), 5 and 4 | Maria Hjorth/Catriona Matthew (EUR) vs. Morgan Pressel/Michelle Wie (USA), halved

Day One notes

U.S. Team holds slim lead at 2009 Solheim Cup. Sophie Gustafson's tee shot at 8:05 a.m. on Friday signaled the official start of the 2009 Solheim Cup at Rich Harvest Farms. In the 11th playing of the biennial, trans-Atlantic match-play competition, the U.S. Team holds a slim lead over the European Team 4 ½ to 3 ½.

The U.S. Team took a 2 ½ to 1 ½ lead following the morning Four-Ball matches and split the afternoon Foursome matches 2 to 2 with the European Team. Three of the four morning matches went to the 18th hole and included at least one lead change with Morgan Pressel and rookie Michelle Wie overcoming the largest deficit at 2 down to European Team veterans and new mothers Catriona Matthew and Maria Hjorth. Pressel and Wie were 1 up on the Europeans before halving the 18th hole to halve the match – the only halved point of the day.

None of the afternoon matches went beyond 17 holes, nor did they see a lead change.

By the numbers
11 – Laura Davies (EUR) appearances in The Solheim Cup – the most of any player in history
4&2 – the winning Foursomes score by Natalie Gulbis and Christina Kim (USA) over Suzann Pettersen and Sophie Gustafson (EUR), breaking Gustafson's undefeated 4-0-4 career Foursome's record
0 – number of matches played by European Team rookie Diana Luna during Friday's matches

Creamer goes 2-0, Inkster owns record. Paula Creamer has yet to miss a match in Solheim Cup competition and her 2-0 record during Friday's opening round of Four-Ball and Foursome matches proves why. Her second point in Foursome play with Juli Inkster over the European Team's Janice Moodie and Catriona Matthew not only broke Moodie's no-loss Foursomes record (3-0-1), but also gave Inkster the record for most points scored by a U.S. Team member – 17 ½ in eight appearances.

As the first player ever to outright qualify for the U.S. Team as a rookie, Creamer also broke up Suzann Pettersen's 4-0-1 Four-Ball record that she held coming into 2009 when Creamer and Kerr came from 1 down through 13 holes to defeat Pettersen and Sophie Gustafson 1 up in the first match of 2009.

Creamer has played in all five possible matches in the 2005 and 2007 Solheim Cup competitions. After two matches in 2009, Creamer's overall record now stands at 7-1-4. Her lone loss occurred during the Day One Four-Ball matches in 2005 when she and Inkster lost 4&3 to Laura Davies and Pettersen.

Rookies find early groove. If they were nervous, they did not show it as three team rookies at the 2009 Solheim Cup earned a win in their first-ever match at the biennial, trans-Atlantic match-play event. In the morning Four-Ball matches, rookie Brittany Lang and long-baller Brittany Lincicome defeated one of the European Team's longest duos in Laura Davies and second-year member Becky Brewerton 5&4 – the largest decision of the first-day matches. In the group ahead of them, rookie Tania Elosegui and 2007 European Solheim Cup team captain Helen Alfredsson defeated U.S. Team veterans Angela Stanford and Juli Inkster 1 up in the only outright victory of the morning for the European Team.

In the afternoon, it was time for 2009 McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola winner Anna Nordqvist, of the European Team, to contribute as she and Foursome partner Maria Hjorth kept U.S. Team rookie Kristy McPherson and Lincicome from adding any points to the U.S. Team tally with a 3&2 decision.

In the morning, U.S. rookie Michelle Wie joined with second-year team member Morgan Pressel in halving a match.

Lang, Lincicome strike first blow. It was the match made for the Rich Harvest Farms golf course: the drivers. Match three of the 2009 Solheim Cup featured Brittany Lincicome and team rookie Brittany Lang, of the United States, against Becky Brewerton and Laura Davies, who has competed in every Solheim Cup, representing Europe.

The course – set at 6,670 yards, which is the longest in The Solheim Cup history – gave Lincicome and Lang the advantage, as the duo has averaged drives of 269.7 yards (second on the LPGA) and 263.6 yards (ninth on the LPGA), respectively, this season. Regardless of their dominance in length off the tee (Davies has averaged 251.1 yards on the LPGA, Brewerton 260.6 yards on the Ladies European Tour), Lincicome and Lang never were in a deficit, winning the first hole, losing the second to be all square, then winning hole three and going on to rout Brewerton and Davies 5&4 on hole 14.

Solheim Cup course yardages
Year Venue Course length (yards)
2009 Rich Harvest Farms (Illinois) 6,670
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

Captains by the numbers. Nearly 20 years ago, U.S. Captain Beth Daniel and European Captain Alison Nicholas were competitors in the very first Solheim Cup in 1990. Today, they officially squared off as opposing captains in the 11th playing of the biennial, trans-Atlantic match-play event.

Alison Nicholas
Age: 47
Years on European Team: six (1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000) plus two as assistant captain (2003, 2005) and one as captain (2009)
Solheim Cup record: 7-8-3
Points scored: 8.5

Beth Daniel
Age: 52
Years on U.S. Team: seven (1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2003) plus one as assistant captain (2007) and one as captain (2009)
Solheim Cup record: 10-9-7
Points scored: 13.5

Friday afternoon Foursome interviews: Christina Kim, Natalie Gulbis, Paula Creamer & Juli Inkster | Gwladys Nocera, Becky Brewerton, Maria Hjorth, & Anna Nordqvist | European Captain: Alison Nicholas | U.S. Captain: Beth Daniel | Brittany Lincicome | Catriona Matthew

Four-Ball interviews: U.S. Team: Brittany Lang, Morgan Pressel, Michelle Wie | U.S. Team: Cristie Kerr | Paula Creamer/Cristie Kerr (USA) def. Sophie Gustafson/Suzann Pettersen (EUR), 1 up | Tania Elosegui/Helen Alfredsson (EUR) def. Angela Stanford/Juli Inkster (USA), 1 up | Brittany Lang/Brittany Lincicome (USA) def. Becky Brewerton/Laura Davies (EUR), 5 and 4 | Becky Brewerton/Laura Davies (EUR), def. by Brittany Lang/Brittany Lincicome (USA), 5 and 4| Maria Hjorth/Catriona Matthew (EUR) vs. Morgan Pressel/Michelle Wie (USA), halved

Friday afternoon Foursome interviews

U.S. Team
Christina Kim/Natalie Gulbis (USA) def. Sophie Gustafson/Suzann Pettersen, 4 & 2
Paula Creamer/Juli Inkster (USA) def. Catriona Matthew/Janice Moodie, 2 & 1

MIKE SCANLAN: We'd like to welcome the victorious members of the U.S. Team today. We'll start with Natalie and Christina, a 4 & 2 win earlier. Christina, we'll start with you. How did it feel to get that first win under your belt this year?
CHRISTINA KIM: Well, you know, this match and this point has been four years in the making for me, so it was pretty darn special out there. I had a wonderful time, and I had some great memories, having played with Natalie, both of us in our first Solheim together, and I couldn't have asked for a better partner. The energy out there was palpable. It was truly incredible.
NATALIE GULBIS: We were really looking forward to playing together. We had talked about it on the first tee, it's been four years since we first played together, and we had such a great time the last time we played together in the States. We were looking forward to the match and we had a great time out there and got off to a really good start and just kept going.

MIKE SCANLAN: Paula and Juli, a nice 2 & 1 win there to finish up the day. Juli, we'll start with you, we enjoyed your celebration on the final hole there.
JULI INKSTER: Yeah, it's about time my partner made a putt, I'll tell you. (Laughter).
No, it was good. I mean, we had some sloppy play in the middle, I did. But the thing with alternate shot, you've just got to try to ham-and-egg it and do the best you can, make some pars and grind it out, and we were fortunate enough to throw a few birdies in there and came away with a win. Paula made a phenomenal putt on 17, and no, I'm not going to spell phenomenal.

MIKE SCANLAN: Paula, you're the only person today to go 2-0. Just talk about how you played today and how it feels to be so successful.
PAULA CREAMER: You know, I played this morning with Kerr, and she played great. It kind of was a little wake-up call for myself going out there leaving my partner kind of hanging in the morning. But I came around on the back nine, and this afternoon I just wanted to come out and play good golf.
I love playing with Juli. We have a great chemistry together on the golf course. We know each other. We need to talk to each other and when we need to pump each other up, we just have that good connection. We went out, we played good, we got up early and we just stayed there.

Q. Can you kind of talk about, Christina, your interaction today with the fans? It looked like you were having just a little bit of fun since really the getgo.
CHRISTINA KIM: You know, like I said, every moment of this entire week has been four years in the making. I had suffered the tragedy in 2007 of not making my way onto the team and deservedly not being picked, so I have -- I was chomping at the bit since 8:05 this morning sending off the groups, and I've still got a little bit of voice left in me for tomorrow. Going to save up, taking a vow of silence, but I'm just -- how can you not?
They have so much faith in us and they're supporting us so much. They're putting in time, effort, money, all that stuff just to come watch us play golf and defend our country, defend the Cup. The least we can do is get into it with them. Paula has done a great job as well as Michelle and Morgan, all the girls really. It's been pretty phenomenal.

Q. Can any of you talk about the difficulty of this course? There seems to be some par-4s. One of the matches I was watching, one of the shorter players was having some trouble hitting some of the par-4s in regulation, and I'm guessing this is a pretty difficult track.
CHRISTINA KIM: Well, yeah, this golf course is a -- it's a damn good challenge. It really makes you hit every single shot out there. You have to be able to -- it puts a premium on hitting into the fairways, and you have to be able to get it onto the green from there, and that's not always easy. You've got rescues, fairway clubs; some people might have to go driver off the deck.
Especially with the cold weather, the wet weather, it's a damn good challenge, and I think we've come out really strongly today, though. We've made a statement coming out on top. But it's a beautiful golf course, and it's a great, great challenge.

Q. For Paula and Juli, you're now 3 & 0 in foursomes. What is it about that format that's so special for you two?
JULI INKSTER: I don't know, I just feel really comfortable with Paula. She's a hell of a player, so it's pretty easy to ride a stallion (laughter), so I just kind of go out there and say "giddy-up" and she goes. I don't know, I've always -- she reminds me a lot of me when I was her age.
CHRISTINA KIM: Young and hot.
JULI INKSTER: Well, golf-wise, I should say. I never wore the heels she wears. But I just really enjoyed playing with her. You know, I think it shows.
PAULA CREAMER: Same. You know, Juli has always been my partner, if you look back at it. We get along really well out on the golf course. We know how to talk to each other, like I said. I know Jules is trying just as hard as I am out there, but at the same time I know when she needs a little push, and I know when she's kind of trying to rein me back in. But at the same time, I've always looked up to Juli, and I never want to let her down as my team --
JULI INKSTER: Believe me, you will not ever let me down.
PAULA CREAMER: But on the same point, it's a lot of fun. I just truly enjoy going out there with her, and we've been lucky enough that we have been 3 & 0 in those matches, and we've played great.

Q. Juli, can you just talk about the length of the day? Did you know going in that you were going to play both matches?
JULI INKSTER: Yeah, I did.

Q. How did you prepare for such a long day?
PAULA CREAMER: She got 15 hours of sleep last night.
JULI INKSTER: I was in bed by 6:00. The girls put me in and then they went out (laughter).
No, you know, I knew I was going to play 36. As far as physically-wise, I'm fine. You know, I work out --
CHRISTINA KIM: She's fitter than nine of the other players on the team.
JULI INKSTER: I was not worried about that at all. If you can't play 36 holes, you need to get another job.

Q. Paula, could you talk about the putt you had to close out the match on 17 and get the U.S. out of the first day with a one-point lead?
PAULA CREAMER: Just the putt or the whole hole? Just the putt? It was about 25 feet.
JULI INKSTER: It was like five feet (laughter).
PAULA CREAMER: Trust me, it wasn't five feet. I think it was about 20 feet. Oh, because you hit it.
JULI INKSTER: She's a little slow.
PAULA CREAMER: There's not much break at all. I played it straight. The biggest thing for me was getting it to the hole. It was a really slow putt.
These greens, the last 10, 11 holes, they just kind of slowed up. I don't know if it was the heavy air. It seemed to me that I kept leaving putts just getting there, whereas in the morning they were going two-and-a-half, three feet by. We got a lot of dew on the greens. We talked about that out there. That was one putt I wasn't going to leave short, especially at that moment. I knew I had to make it.
JULI INKSTER: It was right in the heart.
PAULA CREAMER: It was right in the heart. It was a good putt. It was dead straight.

Q. This is for all of you. Can you talk a little bit about the competition? You came into this as the heavy favorites, and you now have a one-point lead going into day two, which is unusual for the American side, looking at history. How do you feel about this other team? You don't know a lot of those players as well as you have in the past. Are they the underdogs that everyone is saying, and what do you think about the upcoming two days?
JULI INKSTER: I mean, one point is nothing. It's very close. I mean, a lot of those matches could have gone one way or the other today with a putt here or a chip there.
The European team has a very long team, and this golf course really plays to their advantage.
CHRISTINA KIM: Absolutely.
JULI INKSTER: I think this is one of the best European teams they've had. We know all of them, and we have to play really great golf to win.
You know, you can say that we're heavily favored, but...
CHRISTINA KIM: The media says a lot of things, though.
JULI INKSTER: You guys are just sitting in here. Believe me, we know we're not heavy favorites and we know we have to play well to win. We're just trying to go out there and everybody is trying to win their match and do their thing, and hopefully by the end of the week --

Q. Were you surprised to see some of the European anchors like Sophie --
JULI INKSTER: But you know what, Sophie, it's truly who you run into. It's like Paula said, Cristie played great this morning, and Paula said Sophie played awesome.
It's not really -- just because they lost, it doesn't mean they really played bad; they just might have run into a buzz saw. In match play that's what it's all about. It's just getting the momentum, keeping up, and it's just a different game. I'm sure they're going to come out firing tomorrow, and we'll see.
CHRISTINA KIM: Two of their teammates are 2009 major champions. There's no way to say that they're the underdogs, in my opinion.
We've got a very strong team, but so do they. Like Juli said, they're very long. They've got a lot of experience if you look at the number of Solheim Cups that they've played. They know how to grind it out.
Like Juli said, a lot of these matches could have gone one way or another, and we're very fortunate to have a one-point lead going into day two. But again, anything can happen. We have to stay on our toes and play our best golf for the next 54 holes' worth of golf in order to come out on top.

Q. Juli, you are now the all-time leading point getter in American history. I know the team means most to you, but can you just --
JULI INKSTER: That just means I'm the oldest.
You know, it's a great honor. I mean, really, seriously, when I first started playing, I thought I'd play five years and quit, and here I am, I'm still here. See what you guys have to look forward to?
It's a great honor. The Solheim Cup to me is the ultimate golfing venue. I'm honored to be where I'm at. Records are made to be broken, and I'm sure some of these ladies up here will probably break it, and I will be here to see it, so I won't miss one.

Q. Just to follow up on that, to give us a little perspective, can you tell us about your first Solheim Cup, some of the memories that stick with you?
JULI INKSTER: I don't even know when my first one was.
I've had a lot of great memories, and the funny thing, it's not really golf memories, it's team memories. That's what this thing is all about.
CHRISTINA KIM: Nicely done, Jules. Well said.

Q. Any chance of playing a little faster in the fourballs tomorrow, please?

JULI INKSTER: Yeah, 8:00 o'clock in the morning, driver, 3-wood, hello. I mean, come on.
CHRISTINA KIM: You've got to talk to all 24 of us.
PAULA CREAMER: It's not like we want to be out there that long, trust me.
JULI INKSTER: Yeah, it was a long day.

EUROPEAN TEAM
Becky Brewerton/Gwladys Nocera (EUR) def. Angela Stanford/Nicole Castrale (USA)
Maria Hjorth/Anna Nordqvist (EUR) def. Kristy McPherson/Brittany Lincicom (USA)

BETHAN CUTLER: Perhaps we'll start with Anna. This is your first Solheim Cup and your first Solheim Cup match. How exciting was it to be out there today?
ANNA NORDQVIST: It was a lot of fun. I've been looking forward to doing this for a very long time, just having a good time with Mimi, and I felt very comfortable on the course today.

BETHAN CUTLER: And how about that chip-in?
ANNA NORDQVIST: Yeah, my chip-in on 13, that was great. We were close on a couple before, so obviously that gave us some momentum.

BETHAN CUTLER: And Maria, how did you feel the match went? What were the highlights?
MARIA HJORTH: In the foursomes? It was really good. It was a good match. I thought we played really solid. We hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens. Just didn't really make some putts when I finally got to putt.
This course sets up, if you tee off on the first tee, I putted on one and then all of a sudden I putt on nine. It's difficult to putt when you don't get a feel for the putts so much.
I thought we just played solid and then waited for our chances. It was nice that Anna made that chip-in on 13 to kind of get a few steps ahead.

BETHAN CUTLER: Becky and Gwladys, how important was your victory overall to the European team?
BECKY BREWERTON: Every victory is important. Obviously you need to get to that magic mark with the points. We played very well, paired up very well, and it couldn't have gone any better really.

BETHAN CUTLER: Gwladys, how do you feel about the way the afternoon went?
GWLADYS NOCERA: I guess it went well. For myself I think I could have played better on the beginning. I had some struggles with the distances, but you know, we are here. We won a point, so that's what matters.

Q. Maria, how difficult was it to go out so soon after that long fourball? You were out there for quite some time on the course. How did that feel to start over again?
MARIA HJORTH: Yeah, it's sometimes difficult because you're so into the match you're playing, and you have half an hour break and all of a sudden you have to make sure you really are focused again on the first tee so you don't drag up on the first tee and kind of a little bit out of it. But I thought it was good.
I teed off first. It was good for me because I could really get in and focus again.
It's hard, such long days, so you don't really have time to sit down, relax and have a peaceful lunch. You kind of just grab something real quick and then you're off going again. It's just really important to stay focused on every shot and not because you have a little break get a little sloppy and hit some bad shots.

Q. Why did the Four-Ball matches take so long?
BECKY BREWERTON: It's difficult because, I mean, the course is playing long and was also quite a lot of long walks between greens and tees on a fair few holes actually. It just takes a long time, and it's obviously straight out, straight back in. You feel like when you get to 10 and 11, you're really out in the sticks, and it takes a long time to get in from there as well.
My match finished obviously well early, and it still took forever to get in from the course. So just the combination of the big distances you have to walk between holes and maybe how difficult the course is as well.
MARIA HJORTH: Also, we had three matches that went on until the 18th hole, so that really drags out, as well. And because it's such tight matches, and everybody seems to be holing out. It doesn't seem to be just one or two players keeps on playing because if someone picks up, it's just going to be quicker, but it seems like everyone is playing very well and very solid, so everybody seems to be having to hole out.

Q. Maria, can you speak to Catriona's putt? At the end of the day, the difference between trailing by one point and two points, psychologically, how big a difference is that?
MARIA HJORTH: It was huge for us to get that half, I think. Like you say, it is a big difference getting a half point or not.
It was just really nice to – I know 18, and Michelle can get up easy on 18 as well as I can. We knew if she got a good drive away, and we really knew we had to make a birdie on the last to be able to get that half point. So Catriona's putt there on the last was really, really important. I think it gave us great momentum for the afternoon foursomes.

Q. How have you found the crowds? Have they been noisier than you expected or just about what you expected, Gwladys?
GWLADYS NOCERA: I don't know, I'm not paying too much attention to the crowd. I just enjoy playing the Solheim and having some noise. I can see there was quite a lot of Europeans cheering for us, and that's what I listened the most. Yeah, I mean, it's noisy, but we knew we had to expect that, so it's no big deal.
MARIA HJORTH: I think to start with of the day it was fairly quiet because apparently there was some traffic stopping out there and people couldn't really get into the course, and I was surprised it was as quiet as it was. But then we get to 11, 12, 13, and all of a sudden everybody has got themselves out there, and it started to get really noisy. We tried to do what we could to make putts to keep it as quiet as we can.

EUROPEAN TEAM
Alison Nicholas, European Team captain

BETHAN CUTLER: We'd like to welcome Alison Nicholas, the 2009 European Solheim Cup captain. Alison, day one and you're just one point behind. How do you feel now about the position that you're in?
ALISON NICHOLAS: Pretty good, because after this morning, Alfie managed to grab a victory, which was a great putt on that last, and then the last match managed to get a half.
It was looking good early on. We were three ahead. After three matches we were three ahead early on, and then suddenly it just swung around. So I think from the morning's matches we managed to salvage some points there. So I'm pretty pleased, actually.
One point, you know, tough morning, but the girls hung in there and played hard and really stuck with it. I'm absolutely delighted. It's time for bed, really, isn't it? (Laughter). Oh, dear, a long day. Fantastic.

Q. Alison, Matthew's birdie putt at the end of the morning session, looking back, at the end of the day, how important psychologically, the difference between being down one point and two points?
ALISON NICHOLAS: Absolutely massive. I mean, that was just sensational. That just says everything about Catriona Matthew and what a great player she is and her mental strength, her guts and determination.

Q. Tell me what you think about Anna Nordqvist's ‘W' in the Solheim Cup.
ALISON NICHOLAS: She's awesome, isn't she? I have trouble talking to her because she's so tall (laughter). I have to stand on an ice box, one of those drink boxes, to actually get eye to eye. So that was entertainment.
Brilliant. She's a lovely girl, full of passion, great mental attitude, very strong. I was very impressed with her this afternoon.

Q. The fact that some of your bigger names like Suzann Pettersen, the team of Moodie and Matthew, Laura Davies, that they haven't fared well, is that a good or bad thing?
ALISON NICHOLAS: It just happens, doesn't it, sometimes? People are struggling a little bit with their games. But I think Suzann and Sophie actually played okay, it's just that the Americans have outplayed them a little bit and they've holed a few more putts.
You know, certainly from the stats, because I've got my helpers who do stats on their matches, and they both played okay.
We've been shaving the hole a little bit too much, not finding the middle of the cup. But that may change tomorrow hopefully.

Q. Looking at your lineup, you do not have Laura in tomorrow morning. Can you talk about that?
ALISON NICHOLAS: Sorry?

Q. Laura is not playing tomorrow morning. Can you talk about that?
ALISON NICHOLAS: Okay, yeah, yeah. She said she was struggling a little bit with her game, so you know, decided to sit her out because some of the other players are playing okay.
She's been absolutely brilliant. She says anything I can do for the team, I will. She was out there supporting this afternoon, and I can only give her all the credit that she deserves, because she's just still very passionate about this team. She's a good mate, and we've talked about it, and everything is fine.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about Helen, your former captain, her performance this morning, and the fact that she sat out this afternoon? Is she anxious to play tomorrow?
ALISON NICHOLAS: She will do anything for the team, Alfie. She's got to go and do 16 cartwheels down the first fairway, she will, because she's so passionate and she's just a great individual, and she's there for the team.
Being a captain, she understands that very much so. She says, ‘Anything you say, Al,' so tremendous performance this morning, and I'm sure she'll have had a nice little rest this afternoon so she can go out all guns blazing tomorrow morning.

Q. Are there certain players that you have in mind that will play all five matches, and if so, are you worried about fatigue at all on this demanding golf course?
ALISON NICHOLAS: Yeah, and that's why I've mixed it up a little bit, because I know in the past certainly we've had to rely on certain players playing five matches, and it's been very tricky then to carry that good performance through the singles.
I'm very aware that that's something that I've decided as a captain to do. There may be one or two, but on the whole, I need players to rest so that they can be ready to play in the singles.

Q. How pleased have you been with your rookies?
ALISON NICHOLAS: Well, Anna Nordqvist is very, very good, yeah. Who else have we got? Yeah, Tania, she was great. She loves playing with Alfie, they can speak Spanish together. I don't understand a word either of them say, so that's fantastic. Basically they get on really well, and she performed very well this morning. Absolutely delighted, and I'm hoping that Diana Luna will do the same tomorrow.

Beth Daniel, U.S. Team Captain

MIKE SCANLAN: Beth, thanks for coming in. End of the day, 4.5 to 3.5, a one-point lead over the Europeans. If you would, just talk about the day, some thoughts, how you feel it went.
BETH DANIEL: Well, I mean, I'm pleased. I'm pleased to have a one-point plead. There were some really good matches out there, some tough matches, particularly after the morning when we were behind and we kind of rallied on the back nine and pulled out a couple of those matches. I think that made a big difference for us.
But it's nice to have that one-point lead.

Q. Could you just talk about your decision to play Juli in both matches and also Cristie, to sit Cristie in the afternoon?
BETH DANIEL: Um, yeah. I didn't want to play Cristie five matches. I don't want to play anybody five matches. That's my goal. I'm trying to save their strength for Sunday. This is a very tough golf course to walk. There are a lot of big distances between greens and tees.
I feel like we have enough depth on this team that we don't have to play anybody five matches, and I know Cristie played extremely well this morning, but like I said, she'll still have her golf game tomorrow, too. You will see Cristie Kerr tomorrow.

Q. Can you talk about Michelle Wie's play this morning, and then also, the Euros, who came in as a huge underdog but played pretty well today.
BETH DANIEL: Yeah, according to you guys, the Euros were a huge underdog. I never felt that way from the getgo.
I mean, they have so many good players that are great match players. Suzann Pettersen, Sophie Gustafson, who started out the morning. Catriona Matthew is phenomenal. She played so well in '07, too.
They just have -- Mimi Hjorth seems to always play well in Solheim Cup and match play. They just have a lot of players that their games are made for match play.
You know, I knew they'd come in fired up and Alison would have them ready to go, and she definitely does. You know, my team knew that they had to play their best golf to -- if they expected to win this, and they know that now.
I mean, that was a long, tiring day for everybody with a lot of tough, tough matches, and I expect tomorrow will be much of the same.

Q. And Michelle?
BETH DANIEL: Michelle played great. I was so proud of her. She hit so many good shots under pressure and really hung in there and played very well. You know, I couldn't be more proud of what she did today.

Q. Could you just give us your reaction when Paula made that putt to close out play today and get you out of here with a one-point lead?
BETH DANIEL: Well, she got me out of my golf cart. I ran all the way to the green to give her a hug. I had to wait a while, but I finally gave her a hug.
She lives for those moments. She's one of those players that lives for those moments, and that's why you want her on your team.

Q. Paula has never sat out a match. When did you tell her that she wasn't going to be playing tomorrow morning, and how did she take it?
BETH DANIEL: She knew the other day -- the other night -- I'm trying to think of what night it was. It's all blending in together. But she knew, and she's like, "I want to play five." I just sat her down, and I said, "Paula, I want you to have some legs left on Sunday."
And she understands that. Paula is a team player; she understands that. Hopefully she'll get a little rest tomorrow morning and be ready to go in the afternoon.

Q. Can you just talk about your pairings for tomorrow?
BETH DANIEL: Yeah, if I can remember them. Michelle Wie is going out with Christina Kim. Christina has played very well throughout the practice rounds and had a good foursome match today with Natalie. And you know, they're friends. They're really good friends. Michelle can handle Christina (laughing). Need I say more?
Angela Stanford and Brittany Lang. Brittany makes a lot of birdies; Angela potentially makes a lot of birdies. So that's a really good team, you know. Angela has the experience to be with a rookie.
Cristie Kerr/Nicole Castrale, they played together in Sweden. They really enjoyed playing together. They have the same kind of intensity level, so it's a good match.
Lincicome, McPherson, geez, they played really well this afternoon in the foursomes. Do you guys realize that Nordqvist and -- who was she playing with? They shot 7-under through 16 holes, and they bogeyed the 16th hole. So Lincicome and McPherson played really well today in foursomes and lost to a team that shot 7-under with a bogey. That's just -- I mean, that's awesome golf on this golf course.
But these two are friends. Kristy keeps Brittany loose, and they play well together. They both make a lot of birdies. That's kind of how I came up with those pairings.

Q. It seems like your pairings are set almost well in advance and that you're sticking to them no matter what's happening during the day here. Is that true?
BETH DANIEL: That's not true.

Q. No?
BETH DANIEL: No, I changed the afternoon pairings based on some of the stuff that I saw this morning.
You know, like one of my philosophies in life is over-prepare and then go with the flow. So I'm an over-preparer. I know pretty much every stat and everything on everybody. And then you've got to be able to change if something doesn't happen right. It's not a perfect world, as we know, and in a perfect world, the people who make the most birdies will make the most birdies. That doesn't always happen.
Meg and Kelly and I made a couple changes. As a matter of fact, we were out there, and I'm like, I called them, and I said, we need to discuss something, I want to make a change. Meet me wherever.
So as soon as I called them and they were heading there, a Golf Channel camera comes over and is shadowing me, so I'm like, okay, I'm not going to sit here and pull out my pairings like this so they can get it on camera. So we actually drove off the golf course property in our carts to do it, to have this discussion about whether we should make this change or not.
You know, I ended up making the change, which I think was a good decision. But yeah, you have to be able to kind of change on the fly a little bit.

Q. I just asked that because you're not playing Paula in the morning and you didn't play Cristie this afternoon.
BETH DANIEL: Well, I'm sticking with -- my philosophy is not to play anybody five matches, and there's a perfect rotation that would have to occur to not play everybody five matches. That's why we kind of set this whole thing out, to do that, and hopefully it's going to work out. It may not. It may not. But hopefully it will work out because I want to save everybody for Sunday. It basically boils down to the singles.

Q. Following up on that, the decision to give everybody a rest, was that an easy one, or did you have to think about that knowing the nature of players and that some players just aren't going to want to sit down?
BETH DANIEL: Yeah, I mean, there are players that don't -- they want to play five matches, absolutely. You know, I explained to this team that that's my philosophy, and they're going with it.
So we'll see what happens. I mean, I want them strong for Sunday. I don't want them tired, and we'll see if it works out.

Maria Hjorth/Anna Nordqvist (EUR) def. Brittany Lincicome/Kristy McPherson (USA), 3 & 2

Q. What didn't work for you today?
BRITTANY LINCICOME: I just think I got a little tired this afternoon. I was playing well. I mean she shot 7- or 8-under today, so there's really nothing you can do about that. They were chipping in from everywhere, making long putts, which is fun to watch, but I was on the wrong side of it.
I was playing well. We both -- I think I got a little tired there. And they were chipping in and making putts.

Q. Does this fire you up for tomorrow?
BRITTANY LINCICOME: Absolutely. I'm ready to go get some dinner and go to bed before maybe 8:00 and get some good sleep.

Paula Creamer/Juli Inkster (USA) def. Catriona Matthew/Janice Moodie, 2 & 1

Q. You guys put up a good fight today. What exactly in the match didn't go your way?
CATRIONA MATTHEW:They made a few good up-and-downs. Juli hit a couple of bad shots and then holed a couple good putts. That kind of kept them in it, and we just kind of hung in there. They probably made a good birdie on 15. We were just coming back. We got them back to 1, and then they made a good birdie at 15 to go back to 2. I thought we had a chance there, but can't do much about that.

Q. How will this loss affect your play tomorrow and your team's?
CATRIONA MATTHEW: I think they probably finished this session 2-all, so we're one-and-a-half behind, so we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Four-ball Interviews

U.S. Team: Brittany Lang, Morgan Pressel, Michelle Wie

MIKE SCANLAN: We'd like to welcome Brittany Lang, Michelle Wie and Morgan Pressel, who played this morning. We'll start with Brittany, who alongside Brittany Lincicome, had a 5 and 4 win. Brittany Lang, your first-ever Solheim Cup match, you're now 1 and 0 as a rookie. If you would, just take us through the match and how exciting it was to be out there.
BRITTANY LANG: Yeah, starting on the first tee was very electrifying. I was pretty amped up on the first hole, but I calmed down toward the second and third hole, and Brittany Lincicome helped me out a bunch, just calming me down, helping me through it.
It took me probably five or six holes to get comfortable out there, and once I birdied hole 7, I felt very comfortable and confident, and we just played pretty solid. We played, you know, ideally when I wasn't in the hole, Brittany was putting for birdie and vice versa, so it was pretty good.

MIKE SCANLAN: Michelle and Morgan, you halved your match this morning. If you would, just take us through it. We'll start with Michelle. In your first-ever Solheim Cup match how do you feel you played?
MICHELLE WIE: I think this is the most fun I've ever had playing golf. It was just unbelievable, the crowds, the cheers, the pressure, everything about it. It was the most fun I've ever had on the golf course, and it was nothing like I've ever experienced before.
I think Morgan played great, I played great. We work really well as a team. Catriona and Maria played excellent. They played really well. I was just so pumped up. I'm still pumped up. I'm still shaking from the round, it was just so much fun.

MIKE SCANLAN: Morgan, I know you're disappointed, but what can you take from today and what can you take moving forward from it?
MORGAN PRESSEL: Yeah, you know, it didn't look too good there for us for a while. It looked like we might lose pretty bad. But we hung in there. Michelle had a great birdie on 13, and I birdied 14 to put us back at 1-up, and we hung in there.
I didn't play so great down the stretch, but we got a half point out of it, and we've got to go cheer on our teammates this afternoon.

Q. Michelle, as well as you played this morning, which was very well, as did Cristie Kerr, were you both slightly surprised to be not playing this afternoon?
MICHELLE WIE: You know, I think we all had an agreement that we were all trying not to play five matches.
You know, I leave that decision up to Beth. I obviously want to play as much as I can, but I think we have such a strong team, and I think that the players that are playing this afternoon are going to do so well.
I think I'm going to use this as a time off and practice and cheer on my teammates. I think this is also the fun part of it, as well, not playing and going out there and cheering for my teammates. That's part of the experience, as well. You know, I can't wait to go out there and start the chants and really root on my teammates. I think it's going to be a great experience.

Q. Michelle and Morgan, can you talk about the emotion in your match when you were 2-down? You guys won three straight holes, and right in front of you, you saw the first point won. It was pretty emotional there. And then when you left, it looked like you had lost because of the way it ended. Can you talk about the range of emotions you guys went through in the last four or five holes?
MORGAN PRESSEL: Yeah, we got to watch Brittany Squared play some pretty good golf in front of us there, and we were clapping for them quite a bit. It was great to watch them win on 14 there. I had told Michelle on the tee, this is my turn for a birdie, and I finally made one.
But you know, it was -- we never really got too down on ourselves. We knew there was a lot of golf left to play. I mean, half points are important. But for a while there it looked like we were going to pull out the full point, so that was definitely a downer at the end. But a half point is a half point, and we'll see how big of a deal that is come Sunday.

Q. Michelle, what was the story with the drop on 18, and did that delay bother you at all?
MICHELLE WIE: Well, you know, it was just a -- it was, I guess the rules official had gone out before, and they thought it was ground under repair, but they didn't think anyone was going to hit it there, so they didn't mark it. And my ball got there, and I was like wondering if it was ground under repair or not.
So then I guess they were just talking about why it wasn't marked, and they just wanted an explanation. So it was a tough shot. I didn't hit it as well as I wanted to. But it just kind of happened, I guess.

Q. Just two quick ones for Michelle. How far were you from the green on 18 at that moment there? How far did you have left on that shot?
MICHELLE WIE: I had about like 155.

Q. You said it was the most fun you've had playing golf. Can you talk about why, what made it so fun?
MORGAN PRESSEL: Her teammate, of course.
MICHELLE WIE: I mean, obviously playing with Morgan was fun. But it's just the crowds were unbelievable. You know, they're making songs for you. You've got our Junior Solheim Cup team, which was just so awesome. They started singing.
Walking down each tee box to each green felt like you were walking down 18 in contention in a Major, and you times that by 100, and that's what it felt like. It was unbelievable. The first tee box, it was like nothing I could experience. I was very nervous.

Q. Brittany, can we get your thoughts on the first tee? I know it was your first experience, as well.
BRITTANY LANG: Yeah, it was like Michelle said, unlike anything I had ever experienced. It was nothing like a Major, a U.S. Open. That's the biggest arena I've ever been in right there, and I was very nervous, very excited, anxious to get started, and once I saw the tee shot in the air, I was pretty calm.

Q. Morgan and Michelle, and Brittany, could you weigh in on this question, too? Three or four years ago it would have seemed hard to imagine you two paired together. You were kind of portrayed as adversaries. Now you're friends. Can you talk about the evolution of your relationship? And Brittany, can you please weigh in on observing that?
MORGAN PRESSEL: How about if Brittany starts answering that one.
BRITTANY LANG: That's a pretty easy one. I didn't know you were enemies.
MORGAN PRESSEL: That's how the media portrayed us.
BRITTANY LANG: But I know they're pretty good friends now. They got past their differences. I'm just kidding. I didn't know they were ever enemies. We all get along great. I don't know what you want me to say.

Q. Brittany, can you talk a little bit, is momentum tangible? You guys played so well. Do you feel that, or is it really the shot-by-shot thing?
BRITTANY LANG: In match play, definitely, especially in something like this, it is definitely momentum has everything to do with it.
Every time Brittany and I would win a hole, we wouldn't get too excited. We just kept saying, okay, birdie the next hole, keep pressing, keep pressing. We never let up all day, because we knew, even if we won a hole here or there, as long as we kept winning holes, they'd get worn out. It's all about momentum in this, absolutely.

Q. Brittany, golfers have the reputation of not wanting distractions, wanting peace and quiet. Was there ever a point at all during the round today that kind of the extra boisterousness felt like a distraction or maybe was a challenge to your game?
BRITTANY LANG: You mean the crowd?

Q. Yeah.
BRITTANY LANG: No, not at all. I mean, I enjoyed every second of it. I took it all in, I was very focused and I tried to get my job done. But I took everything in. It was an unbelievable experience, and I think the crowds make the event. Without the crowds, it probably wouldn't be that much fun. It just was -- definitely the crowds make it more fun.

Q. For anybody, is it strange to be wearing all that blue, considering that's the color that we identify with Europe?
MORGAN PRESSEL: We're red, white and blue, too. We have blue.
BRITTANY LANG: It's Duke blue, too, and we all look good in blue.

Q. When you guys went to the last hole knowing that you only needed to half it, what was the emotion of that like and how did you guys kind of keep yourselves in control knowing that you needed just to get through that one?
BRITTANY LANG: On our last hole? I had absolutely no idea that we needed to half that hole. I was so out to lunch. I was so -- I mean, I had no clue.
I mean, when they got done and they started shaking hands, I was like, oh, my gosh, that's it? Honestly, I had no idea. Brittany knew, though. She's an experienced veteran.
MORGAN PRESSEL: That's okay. Michelle didn't know, either.
MICHELLE WIE: It was pure confusion.
BRITTANY LANG: You were so focused.
MICHELLE WIE: I know, it was just like --
MORGAN PRESSEL: You knew that putt on 17 was to win the match.
MICHELLE WIE: Oh, yeah, I knew that.
MORGAN PRESSEL: I can't believe that putt didn't go in. That was amazing.

Q. Michelle, were you at all surprised about the atmosphere and just how it was out there?
MICHELLE WIE: I mean, everyone has been hyping it up, but I mean, I don't think I was surprised. It was just the coolest thing I've ever done.
I mean, it was unbelievable. You just get the fire -- every putt and every shot you're thinking, God, let's make this crowd erupt. They're ready to explode, and let's do it. I mean, that was all I was thinking. They just really motivated me into making some putts, hitting some shots. It was unbelievable.
MORGAN PRESSEL: It was pretty cool this morning, I was putting on my shoes in our room, and the door was open, and I could already hear the chants coming from the first tee, already the USA cheers.
I heard it the whole time I was on the driving range. There's nothing quite like that.

Q. Michelle, the hole that -- I think it was the 15th hole where your tee shot went right and you were tucked back and you had to hit the fairway wood and you hit the green in two, can you tell us what your yardage was and what club you used and what your thoughts are about how that particular shot played into the next few holes?
MICHELLE WIE: Well, I was glad there were so many people because they walked down the line and it was not that bad. But I had a 210-yard shot with a 5-wood. I thought I hit a pretty good shot, I won't lie.
MORGAN PRESSEL: Me, too.
MICHELLE WIE: Thank you.

Q. This goes to all three of you guys. Pretty much every round exceeded five hours and 20 minutes. Pace of play was pretty slow. Were you guys familiar with how slow pace was going out there and what would you attribute it to?
MORGAN PRESSEL: We don't play foursomes in a normal round. We normally play threesomes, and it takes us just under five hours usually to play in threesomes, which is very slow. So we're used to being out there forever.
BRITTANY LANG: Yes, we are.
MORGAN PRESSEL: But at first I thought we were playing really slow the first couple holes, and we caught up, so I guess we weren't as slow as I thought we were.
We were all so focused on our match and so into it that it didn't really matter. At one point I looked at my watch and I was like, wow, it's already after 1:00. It just didn't feel like we had been out there that long because we were enjoying it so much.

U.S. Team: Cristie Kerr

Q. Pretty good way to start off the day. I was just talking to Paula Creamer earlier, and she said Cristie played "lights out." Talk about your day and as a team.
CRISTIE KERR: I did. I hit it really good, and I was just making a lot of putts. Kind of when I get on a roll, that's kind of what happens. Especially Paula was struggling a little bit because she had a lot of long clubs into greens, and it was great that I had some shorter clubs into greens to kind of take some of the pressure off her.
I just made some putts at the right time, and they kept coming back and kept making birdies.
I made a huge putt on 14, and then she made a huge putt on 16 to get us up. And then I had to answer Suzann's shot on 17 and made a great birdie there.
Then I just knew that I didn't want to have it come down to the last putt, so I wanted to go ahead and make a putt on 18. I played amazing today. I was probably 4- or 5-under, you know, on a very long golf course.

Q. There were a lot of solid putts made by you guys. Was there a turning point, or was it kind of just a collective effort?
CRISTIE KERR: I think we were 1-down going into 14, and I think my birdie putt on 14 was absolutely huge. 15, they missed, which kind of kept our momentum going, and then her putt on 16, you kind of started to believe it was going to be our match.
And then 17, when I hit it in there stiff right alongside Suzann, made that putt, we had the match in hand, and we just had to go ahead and birdie 18.

Q. It's been a long week. There's a lot of stuff that goes on.
CRISTIE KERR: Yeah.

Q. Are you happy to be playing finally?
CRISTIE KERR: Yeah, definitely.

QUICK QUOTES
Paula Creamer/Cristie Kerr (USA) def. Sophie Gustafson/Suzann Pettersen (EUR), 1 up

Q. Paula, that was one heck of a match.
PAULA CREAMER: It was awesome. She played that front nine so well.
I left her hanging a couple of times, but we closed really well. We finished strong, and a win is a win and my hands go down to Kerr today.

Q. What about your putt on 16, though?
PAULA CREAMER: That was nice. It was good timing for us. It was a big putt. I saw Kerr's read, and I kind of went for it; and it went in.

Q. Cristie, you played great all day, but I noticed on the 12th it seems like you guys got the crowd involved.
CRISTIE KERR: Yeah. The 9th hole is so far out there, people don't want to walk out there. And as we got more near the clubhouse, we got more of a crowd. And that's what a team is all about. The holes I wasn't there, Paula was there. I was fortunate to make a lot of birdie putts today.

Q. You girls were great. Well done.
PAULA CREAMER: Thank you.
CRISTIE KERR: Thank you.

Q. Cristie, how does it feel to come out on top of such an incredible match?
CRISTIE KERR: Yeah. It was an amazing match. I could just kind of feel the momentum switching, and I told Paula, if we could hang in there, hang in there, make a putt at the right time, and then at 12 I made a great putt, and then they fought back at 13. And from there on in it was all us, so we played great.

Q. There always is a turning point and a key putt. It's got to be yours at 16.
PAULA CREAMER: Yes and no. Kerr made some great putts out there that really helped us.
You know, that front nine I kept on telling Kerr, "This is all you, baby, this is all you." And then we finished strong. She made some good birdies, and I think the biggest thing was that birdie on 17, and just the momentum going into 18. It's a birdie hole, reachable for the long hitters; and we made birdie.

Q. How big a buzz is it to play in front of that sort of atmosphere?
CRISTIE KERR: It's amazing. The crowds out here, I think they need to get a whole lot louder, but they were definitely in support of us, and it was great.
Paula's putt on 16 was amazing. I walked up to her saying, "I've seen you make some of these long putts," and damned if she did. So, that kind of got me fired up.
She hit it close on 17, and I knew I was going to hit it right there. I just knew it. I got really within myself and hit a great shot, and then we were right there on 18.

Q. Congratulations. Great effort.
PAULA CREAMER: Thank you.
CRISTIE KERR: Thanks.

Q. The crowds have been a little bit subdued so far?
PAULA CREAMER: Yeah. I think so. A little bit for the size of them. Maybe it's all the open spaces. But I think they'll get a little more fired up as the week goes on.

Q. How did you handle Suzann Pettersen's slow play today? Does that drive you nuts?
PAULA CREAMER: She was a little bit slow today. But you know, it's four-ball. It's going to be slow, and they tucked every pin, which probably took us five hours and 40 minutes to play, which is not going to help the afternoon matches.
But that's just kind of the nature of it, especially when it's 25, 30-mile-an-hour wind, and they're tucking pins and you got four people on the golf course. We're all slow at times. It's just how it goes.

Q. On 16 what did you see on the putt at 16?
PAULA CREAMER: I got a good read from Cristie. I practiced it a lot in the practice rounds, but I hit a good putt and saw it going in.
Cristie was walking this way, I was walking this way. It was just a big putt at a big moment for us. It was huge.

Q. How much break were you playing in that?
PAULA CREAMER: 25 feet.

Q. Was there 25 feet of break? Wow. Did you hit through the fringe?
PAULA CREAMER: Just inside.

Q. Your target was just inside the fringe? What do you think, maybe a 50-foot putt?
PAULA CREAMER: Probably about 45 feet.

QUICK QUOTES
Tania Elosegui/Helen Alfredsson (EUR) def. Angela Stanford/Juli Inkster (USA), 1 up

TANIA ELOSEGUI: I was going to say to my coach, it was 225 to the start of the downslope, and I thought the wind was crossing left to right. I was not hitting longer than 220 carry today, the driver. So I thought, ‘Okay, if I lay back with a 3-wood I can have a lay-up here.' But it was in the rough.

Q. Quickly go back to that 12th hole, that long putt you made.
TANIA ELOSEGUI: Yeah, that was important.

Q. It was a crazy hole.
TANIA ELOSEGUI: Yeah, it was a crazy hole, yeah. It's a difficult hole, really. You have to place the ball right in the middle of the trees.

Q. You were under the tree, right? You had really no shot?
TANIA ELOSEGUI: Well, I was right of the tree, so I caught the tree on the line. But I had a shot. It was just that I didn't hit it good and it went into the bunker.

Q. Do you feel like resting?
TANIA ELOSEGUI: Yes, I feel like resting, yes.

Q. Were you aware of the other matches out there?
TANIA ELOSEGUI: Yeah, well – yeah, I was looking at the leaderboard.

Q. How did it make you feel to see the matches start to turn?
TANIA ELOSEGUI: Which ones? I don't know, I mean, anything can happen.

Q. Did you get real nervous at the first hole?
TANIA ELOSEGUI: I was nervous, yes, but I think –

Q. You got into it?
TANIA ELOSEGUI: Yeah. I think the Europeans were feeling less nervous than the Americans because we don't have anything to lose.

Q. Pretty loose to play with Helen?
TANIA ELOSEGUI: Yeah, it was just perfect.

Q. Make you laugh?
TANIA ELOSEGUI: Yeah.

Helen Alfredsson
Q. How do you feel about your match?
HELEN ALFREDSSON: I feel great that we walked away with a win. It's very crucial that we get some blue on the board.
And I had a great time playing with Tania. I think she withstood the pressure very well for being her first match. And it was nice. We handled it very nicely.

Q. You guys started off pretty strong. How did you maintain the momentum or was there a point that you thought it was going to change out of your favor?
HELEN ALFREDSSON: Knowing the Americans so well, I knew that they were – obviously they were behind, and I knew that they were going to pick up, and Juli is such a great competitor, and so is Angela, so I knew that they were going to come on strong the last few holes; and they did. It was nice that we were able to pull it off.

Q. How does this prepare you for your next match?
HELEN ALFREDSSON: Well, you know, it's nice to come off with a high, and you know, make some putts. So I'm very happy with that.

QUICK QUOTES
Brittany Lang/Brittany Lincicome (USA) def. Becky Brewerton/Laura Davies (EUR), 5 and 4

Q. That was -- with all of this wind, and you guys really started to play great.
BRITTANY LINCICOME: Thank you. It was a great round out there.

Q. And then you come back and get a 3 on the next hole, and after that?
BRITTANY LINCICOME: Yeah. That was a big turning point. We were excited, Brittany.

Q. Did you enjoy playing with Brittany Lincicome?
BRITTANY LANG: Very much so, very much so. Brittany was very good today.

Q. Okay, you guys. Go get some rest, get some food. First Solheim Cup point goes to the United States. How does that sound?
BRITTANY LINCICOME: It's great. We couldn't have pictured it to go any better than it did today. We were playing so great, and just happy to come out on top.

Q. What kind of message does that send to the rest of the team?
BRITTANY LANG: That we're just playing hard, playing well and playing hard and just trying to battle.

Q. The first point of the Solheim Cup. Does that feel good?
BRITTANY LANG: It really does, yeah. It puts me at ease a little bit.

Q. How did you guys keep the momentum going?
BRITTANY LINCICOME: I don't know. Making some really good putts and hitting some good shots, and we were just feeding off each other.
I tried to help her, but it made me feel a little calmer trying to help her out there, and made me relaxed and hit some good shots.

Q. How did it feel to have the fans cheering for you?
BRITTANY LANG: Oh, my God, yeah. Every time I hear them, I smile and it pumps you up and it excites you. It's unlike anything I've ever experienced.

Q. How was it playing with Brittany Lang?
BRITTANY LINCICOME: She's one of my best friends on Tour, so it's really cool that we get to play together on a team competition like this. It should be a pretty good couple days out there.

Q. Great job today.
BRITTANY LINCICOME: Thank you.

QUICK QUOTES
Brittany Lang/Brittany Lincicome (USA) def. Becky Brewerton/Laura Davies (EUR), 5 and 4

Q. How do you feel about the way it went today?
LAURA DAVIES: Obviously disappointed. I've let Becky down today. I didn't hit enough fairways really. I hit two really poor tee shots, and apart from that the good ones were going in the rough, and you can't play this golf course in the rough, and she had no backup.
On the other side of it, Brittany Lincicome played great. Sometimes you get beaten.

Q. How do you feel about the way you played, Becky?
BECKY BREWERTON: Yeah, I feel the same. Brittany played fantastic. She put us under pressure from early on, and we just weren't able to do the same thing and get in close enough really and get inside them.
It's always frustrating. They just put the pressure on us.

Q. How can you use this match to help you going forward?
BECKY BREWERTON: Well, it's just one of those things. You take each match as it comes. You forget about it and get on with it. We know how much it could change. We could both play great tomorrow. You just never know.

QUICK QUOTES
Maria Hjorth/Catriona Matthew (EUR) vs. Morgan Pressel/Michelle Wie (USA), halved

MARIA HJORTH: We were up most of the way until about 11, 12, until we let them in, and then they got a couple of holes back and then they made a couple of good birdies. I think overall we probably deserved a halve.

Q. You say that extremely positively. You say there was a turn in the round around 11 and 12. What exactly happened, Maria?
MARIA HJORTH: Yeah, on 12 I hit a good tee shot. I was just absolutely snookered behind the one tree that is in the middle of the fairway, so I just had to chip out, and unfortunately Catriona pulled her second shot a little bit left and went down in kind of the valley of sin there where you can't really be where the pin is.
We lost that one, but then they made two great birdies on 13 and 14 and I didn't make my putts. That's how it is.

Q. Were you looking at the leaderboard and aware of what you had to do?
CATRIONA MATTHEW: Yeah, you're looking around and you hear the cheers. We knew for us to get something out of our game was probably something really important.

Q. Just talk about the atmosphere out there and how intense it is.
MARIA HJORTH: It is intense. You know that everything they do they're going to cheer for. All we're trying to do is make putts so we don't hear the cheers that much. But it is intense, and it's going to get worse and worse throughout the weekend.

Q. Maria, after the ball that went behind the tree, it seemed like you got kind of down. Were you frustrated out there?
MARIA HJORTH: Just a little frustrated because it was a good tee shot. You aim for the tree and you know you're not going to get stuck behind it and then you get stuck right behind it. I hit two really good shots on 12 and 13 and just didn't make the putts there.

Q. This match was nip and tuck. You had the lead and then they came back and got two quick points. What did you and Catriona say to each other to get back into this match?
MARIA HJORTH: We just kind of tried to encourage each other to make sure that we just -- made sure we tried to make birdies. If you lose a hole and birdie, there's not much you can do about it. 12 we lost on a bogey, which is not very good, but other than that we just lost on birdies. So we just have to keep on making birdies, and hopefully that will win the hole.

Q. Catriona, you were steady out there. When you had the little hiccup out there where you lost a couple of holes, what did you and your partner say to sort of get it back together again and to stay steady?
CATRIONA MATTHEW: Yeah, I mean, it was really just 12 that we lost. The other ones they made good birdies on. You can't really do much about that. We were just saying we wanted to try to get two balls on every green and try and have two putts at birdie everywhere.

Q. Which holes would you say were the most critical for you guys?
CATRIONA MATTHEW: I think probably 15. Michelle hit it on in two. She was kind of lucky with her drive, hit it on in two, and then we made a good birdie just to keep that one?

Q. That shot was pretty incredible, wasn't it, considering where she was?
CATRIONA MATTHEW: Yeah, I suppose with Michelle you just never know. She's capable of those kind of shots.

Q. Do you have any idea what kind of yardage that was? I have no idea where she was. Like 200?
CATRIONA MATTHEW: You know what, I have no idea. It was probably about 200.

2009 Solheim Cup - Day One Notes and Interviews

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