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Sorenstam's take

Annika Sorenstam is sitting in the interview room with her winner's medal around her neck, next to her brand-new championship trophy, and her words are as measured and unemotional as they've been all week. The only subject she appears somewhat uncomfortable addressing is her legacy; she may go down as the best women's golfer ever, but she doesn't have any interest in talking about that.

She did talk about a lot of other things. For example, walking up to the 18th green today alongside Pat Hurst -- Annika waited for Hurst to hit her approach so that they could walk together.

"We walked up to 18 and she said, 'I'm getting gooesebumps.' And I said, 'I agree, this is pretty cool.' "

She was asked about Hurst's 18th-green request for an autograph ball.

"I said, 'God you can ask for anything at any time; why do you have to ask at the 18th hole of the U.S. Open?' "

Sorenstam says this week has been one of the most draining of her career. She says she couldn't practice on Monday because of a sore neck. Then her practice was curtailed on Wednesday because of the poor weather. The best thing that happened to her may have been the fog on Thursday, which gave her the chance to get some extra sleep with a late tee time on Friday. She then got an early tee on Saturday, so she could get some extra rest again before going 36 holes on Sunday.

Still, she said: "I've never grinded so hard in my life. Every shot had a purpose, and every shot had a thought to it."

Annika says she also received encouragement from Tiger Woods, who has called her every day during the tournament.

"He's on vacation, so for him to be watching women's golf says something," Sorenstam said.

-Mike McDermott

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 1:50 PM | Permalink

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