SOLHEIM CUP

September 4, 2021

Madelene Sagstrom

Nanna Koerstz Madsen

Inverness Club

Team Europe

Quick Quotes

Q. Here are Madelene and Nanna. Just talk us through from your side of things what happened.

MADELENE SAGSTROM: Obviously I wasn't following the rules about leaving the ball for 10 seconds, but I do believe in integrity and honor of the game of golf, and I would never pick up a putt that had a chance to go in.

I personally don't agree with the decision with the ball being on the edge, but I didn't follow the 10-second rule, so it sucks right now because I feel like I let my team down.

Q. Give us a sense of how tough it was for you to finish that given your feelings on it.

MADELENE SAGSTROM: It's hard because we're on American soil. I was going to wait for this for the locker room, but that's okay. It's tough, we're giving our all out there. We're fighting so hard. It's just sad that the game is going to be on that position really. We put up a strong fight. We played great, both of us. It's tough out there.

The golf course is a beast. I'm happy all the girls are doing good, so I'm just going to go back, recoup, and get ready for tomorrow.

Q. What things will you take from today in your game that you're looking forward to getting back out there with tomorrow?

MADELENE SAGSTROM: We had such a great time. Nanna is a rookie and I know that she was nervous in the beginning and she embraced it. We had an amazing time. I think we were both sad that we didn't come out with a win, but we fought hard until the end.

Q. Nanna, talk about how much you enjoyed playing alongside Madelene and obviously your first day under your belt as a rookie here.

NANNA KOERSTZ MADSEN: Well, I really enjoyed it. It was amazing. Madelene was so supportive like the whole front nine where obviously I was overwhelmed with all the crowd and stuff.

I just want to give a shout out to Madelene for handling it to perfect on, what was it, 14 or something. I know it was so tough. People were starting yelling terrible stuff. I mean, I would say the crowd has been amazing these couple of days.

It was just not fun for Madelene to be in that position. I think she felt bad, and she really shouldn't. Golf shouldn't be -- go down to a putt that would never have gone in. She didn't do anything.

Q. Obviously everything that went down on the 13th hole, Madelene, you've talked about it, but how is it something you can recover from and regroup from with still two days to play at Inverness?

MADELENE SAGSTROM: Well, I was in the wrong in one sense, but in my own heart I didn't feel like I did anything wrong, so I'm just going to break down and come back together.

No, I think it hurts because you're playing a team event. If it was me on my own I think I would handle it better, but I fought hard all the way to the end. I don't think we could have really done anything else.

Q. You had mentioned that you were on the clock and you felt like you were trying to rush things. How long had you been on the clock?

MADELENE SAGSTROM: We got on the clock two holes, and Madelene even was really generous on 12 -- yeah, I'll say a few holes, but it wasn't really the clock. I wasn't -- we talked about it in the rules meeting. You have to wait 10 seconds or the ball wasn't -- if it didn't have a chance you could pick it up.

In my view I could pick it up, but from theirs apparently not. That's what kind of hurts, and I'm going to leave all the balls for 10 seconds tomorrow.

Q. What did you hear from the gallery after that?

MADELENE SAGSTROM: It was more just giving me a little bit of stuff from doing that, for picking up the ball and stuff. It's just not -- it's already tough on U.S. soil with all the fans not really cheering for you, and when you hear like yourself being in the wrong more, it's hard.

Q. Did you have an opportunity to talk to the rules official and tell her that you were sure that the ball wasn't overhanging?

MADELENE SAGSTROM: Yeah, we did. Catriona was there and they had a very pixillated picture where they were thinking the ball was over the edge, but we didn't think so. They looked at it on TV, but they ruled that it was -- that I picked it up too early.

Q. When did they tell you that they finally decided that that was the case?

MADELENE SAGSTROM: On the next tee box. We didn't hit the tee shots before they decided.

Q. How much did it affect your play?

MADELENE SAGSTROM: It's hard. It made me frustrated, angry, sad. I was just trying to keep my composure and trying to be there for Nanna. She was very encouraging and walking with me, so it was tough. It's not the first time and the last time those things are going to happen out here, unfortunately, but I was just trying to get into a groove and hit good golf shots again.

I did hit a few really good golf shots, so I'm happy that I did that. Unfortunately I couldn't pull a halve out at the last, but we fought hard for it. Nanna was a really good supporter. I was supposed to be there for her today being a rookie and she was there for me. We had a good team today. We fought hard.

Q. I was curious how it was between you and the Americans the rest of the way. Was it awkward or did you feel like it was you versus the rules official?

MADELENE SAGSTROM: No, I felt like it was awkward. From my point of view it was awkward.

Yeah, we had a good cozy match before 14. We come in and got in that little argument with Nelly on that tee box, because she obviously knew that it was not going to go in, but the rules are rules, so that's what she wants to follow.

So yeah, it was a little awkward afterwards.

Q. In your discussions with Nelly did she tell that she was clear that she thought it wasn't going in either?

MADELENE SAGSTROM: I believe it was her caddie that told the rules official. I don't know. I found out when the rules official came up to us.

Q. Nanna, take us through the whole, from your perspective, the situation, and to have her back in a situation as a rookie, what that was like, but also to have Captain Catriona Matthew right there encouraging you guys and making sure everything was kind of taken care of; what was that all like from your perspective?

NANNA KOERSTZ MADSEN: I mean, I've seen Solheim before. I've seen situations like this, and I'm just so far away from those stuff. I don't think golf should be handled this way. I did not expect it to happen in my first match as a rookie in Solheim. Yeah, it's a welcome here. That's how the rules are here and that's how we play apparently.

But that's just --

MADELENE SAGSTROM: It is what it is really. At the end of the day we're going to go recoup. We had a really strong team performance, and it's been so encouraging. All the girls have been awesome, so we're going to go recoup and go fight hard tomorrow.

NANNA KOERSTZ MADSEN: A lot of the girls came out cheering for us for the last five holes or something trying to encourage us.

Q. Madelene, can you take us through the situation on 13 from your standpoint, what you saw with the ball?

MADELENE SAGSTROM: Well, obviously I didn't follow the 10-second -- leave the ball for 10 seconds. Nelly hit a phenomenal putt that we all -- I mean, we all thought it was in.

The ball was laying still and I decided to pick it up. I do believe in integrity and I do value myself high in that aspect, so I would never, ever pick up a ball that had the chance to go in.

It was obviously a shock when I walked up to the next tee box to hear that position. I didn't agree with it myself, but at the end of the day it wasn't my decision in the end. I'm a little disappointed, sad, feel a little bit bad for the rest of the team now, but we're going to recoup.

Q. Madelene said earlier, Nanna, that you helped her through the remainder of the match. What were you saying to her?

NANNA KOERSTZ MADSEN: I was just trying to say to her it wasn't her fault. She didn't do anything wrong. If they want to win on something like that, that's on them. I think Madelene was not trying to do anything wrong at all, so I was just trying to stay positive for her, good energy, we can still do this, those kind of stuff.

Q. Madelene, what would you have done differently?

MADELENE SAGSTROM: Obviously not picked the ball up. I think that was the obvious answer. You learn from your mistake. Everything happens for a reason. Obviously there's some reason behind that. So I think it's going to fuel a little bit of fire upstairs, so they'd better watch out tomorrow.

Q. What sort of impact do you feel like that had over the remainder of your match and going forward over the next few days?

MADELENE SAGSTROM: Obviously it affects it. It affects the energy of the group. We felt like we had a good match going. We were going back and forth. It was fun, and then it just -- it hits you hard. It hit me probably harder than the other girls.

It's just trying to get back into the grind and just trying to get it done. Probably affected us with not being able to pull the match completely off, but we gave ourselves chances in the last few holes. It's a tough golf course. It's hard to get close to the pins, so you really have to start draining some putts.

We obviously had chances but just couldn't pull it through.

Q. Was there anything more that the Americans said to you over the remainder of the match about what happened on 13?

MADELENE SAGSTROM: No, there was not --

NANNA KOERSTZ MADSEN: I don't think we talked much.

MADELENE SAGSTROM: Not even thank you for the match, so no.