THE MODERATOR: All right, joining me here today before The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican is Annika sponsor invite Anne-Sterre den Dunnen. Anne, is this going to be your first appearance in an LPGA event?
ANNE-STERRE DEN DUNNEN: Yes, it is going to be. I've been fortunate enough to play a couple LET and LET Access events at home, which has been a lot of fun, but I definitely feel like there is a slightly different vibe around here. There is a lot more stuff going on, which is a lot of fun, but it's also trying to adjust. I'm sure it's going to be an amazing week.
Q. What are you looking forward to most this week in your first real LPGA event?
ANNE-STERRE DEN DUNNEN: I think being able to play with all these people that I've grown up watching on TV. When I was young, if LPGA there was on a channel somewhere I would always turn it on and like it would be in the background while I was doing my homework.
Being able to see all these people in real life has been a little bit surreal, but it's also very, very fun.
Q. Has there been anybody that you've met so far that's maybe given you a piece or an interaction that's stood out at all this week?
ANNE-STERRE DEN DUNNEN: I was able to play nine holes with Allisen Corpuz and Saki Baba yesterday and it was a little bit intimidating on the first see I would say.
But it was a lot of fun. Seeing them play, how they play their practice round, it's also very interesting and you can learn a lot from that.
I think it was just amazing to watch them play and watch how they approach the course. I was able to talk to them a little bit as well, which was also very, very nice.
Q. What does it mean to you to be invited by Annika Sorenstam to this event?
ANNE-STERRE DEN DUNNEN: I mean, it's an amazing feeling. Like the idea of like even Annika knowing who you are is also -- especially as a European, it's very amazing. Like Annika is somebody that you grew up hearing about all the time, and to just walk around here and see her and be able to say hi and take a picture, like that's been so amazing.
To be here and being given this opportunity by my coaches as well has been amazing.
Q. (No microphone.)
ANNE-STERRE DEN DUNNEN: So my caddie this week is actually my swing coach from home. He flew in. It's actually a little bit of an inside joke almost because I've been with him for over ten years now. This might even be like around our 10th year anniversary. We always used to joke around that when I play on the LPGA he would come over and caddie for me.
So after I got the invite and I was able to give him the call, like, hey, do you want to come and caddie for me, that was just very like full circle moment.
And he'd actually already texted me the moment he found out, like, hey, get me tickets. So then this was just an extra cherry on top.
Q. So you have your swing coach here?
ANNE-STERRE DEN DUNNEN: Yes. It's very nice for him to be able to see me playing in these events as well, because obviously been able to see me at home and not really in the U.S.
So that's been very helpful.
Q. How do you find the golf course when you played?
ANNE-STERRE DEN DUNNEN: I really like it, yeah. I heard that rough is a little tougher this year than the years before, so that's going to be a little challenging and I think definitely one of the things you have to do is keep it on the fairway and keep it on the greens, even with how tough the greens are and the slopes in them.
But, yeah, I think that's going to be important to watch out for.
Q. Good luck. Play well. Enjoy.
ANNE-STERRE DEN DUNNEN: Thank you.
Q. What do you think you'll spend your first prize check on on the professional tour?
ANNE-STERRE DEN DUNNEN: My first prize check? I don't know. Maybe I'll buy something for my parents. They've definitely supported me a lot. Like I'm an only child and my parents have been with me every single step of the way. From the moment that I decided that I wanted to play golf, like at least very competitively, my parents have been driving me around all over and spending weekends in places that probably aren't very fun to be at.
So, yeah, maybe something for them.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you so much, Anne.
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