The veteran Swede, who captains Team International in the matchplay event at the Singapore Island Country Club from Friday, is playing her penultimate tournament before retiring from a game she dominated for so long.

With 90 career victories to her name, losing is not something she takes lightly and last year's devastating 15-9 hammering by Asia still rankles.

'I don't like finishing second,' she declared.

'Having said that Asia played well last year and there were some tough matches, but we are very determined to bring the cup back.'

The tournament starts with foursomes on Friday and Sorenstam believes her team is more than capable of pulling off a victory.

'It is a great team. We've had a little gathering and hopefully I've got the message out to them that this is my last year and I'd like to see the trophy back in our hands again.'

Joining Sorenstam is American world number four Paula Creamer, her vice-captain, fifth-ranked Suzann Pettersen of Norway and experienced Americans Cristie Kerr, Angela Stanford, Nicole Castrale and Natalie Gulbis.

Also in the team are England's Karen Stupples, Sweden's Helen Alfredsson and Australia's Katherine Hull.

'It is a very aggressive team and this should suit us well in matchplay,' added Sorenstam.

'You are going to need a lot of birdies here. These players also hit long and you'll need that as well here because it is a long golf course.'

While the drive to win remains with Sorenstam, she is also determined to have fun as she winds down her professional career, an attribute she has tried to impress on her team.

'It is all about having fun out there because when you are having fun, you play well,' she said.

Team Asia is skippered by Korean icon Pak Se-Ri, heading a strong line-up including Yani Tseng from Taiwan, her compatriot Candie Kung, Koreans Jang Jeong, Lee Seon-Hwa and Sarah Lee, and Japan's Mayumi Shimomura.

Four players make their Lexus Cup debuts and they are all South Korean - Park In-Bee, Choi Na-Yeon, Ji Eun-Hee and Kim Song-Hee. -- AFP