COGNIZANT FOUNDERS CUP

May 12, 2022

Madelene Sagstrom

Upper Montclair Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. All right, here with the clubhouse leader, Madelene Sagstrom. You fired a 9-under 63, your lowest round since the second round in your win at the 2020 Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio. How are you feeling coming off the course today?

MADELENE SAGSTROM: Very good. It was one of those days. Like everything was easy. It's like I was hitting the fairways, hitting the greens, and I was making all the putts. The hole just kept growing.

I was like -- I told my caddie, Shane, I was like, you know, everything feels like tap-ins today. It's one of those days. You just trying to hold on to momentum and just keep it going.

Q. Was there anything in your preparation or in your previous weeks that led you to think this was coming?

MADELENE SAGSTROM: I mean, I've been playing very steadily and just steadily well over time. I think that I've kind of changed my mindset a little bit about tournament golf. I try not to practice as much when I'm on site anymore. I kind of do my work at home and just come here, look at the course, and kind of just go chill.

So I think putting myself in situations, playing well, having top 10s, it just really brings confidence. I think that's kind of what my game was lacking. Struggling a bit with confidence. I mean, I would even say every since COVID it's just like when you start coming back you are always searching for that next thing.

I'm striking it very solid. Putting has been really good over time, but it's extra good now, and I'm actually having the chance to putt well.

Q. Anything mechanical in your putting that you've done to get to that point?

MADELENE SAGSTROM: No. I haven't done anything mechanics in my putting probably for the last seven years. I did start AimPoint in the middle of last year. That has been my -- I mean, I don't know what I would do without it now.

It works so well for me and I'm making so many putts. Literally just going out, do, do, and poof, poof, and go.

Q. It was looking like even on the last putt that had a chance.

MADELENE SAGSTROM: Yeah. I think days like this you want to try to give everything. I knew I had the speed. For me it was just going up, trusting my read, and just trying to put a good stroke on it, which did I. I thought that was looking really solid.

I think when you play really well it's just trying to stop controlling as much as you can and just go with the flow.

Q. I said to somebody, what's something you should know about Madelene? She said, she's going to tell you, I haven't missed a cut since last year; is that true?

MADELENE SAGSTROM: Yeah, I haven't missed a cut since last May. The thing is the more I talk about it the more the pressure comes with it.

But at the same time, it's one of those things that I'm really proud of. I been searching for consistency my entire career. I been one of these like players a lot. I can hit it really far and straight and also very far and crooked.

So it's one of those things that I been really searching. I want to be one of those Jin Young Kos, Minjee Lees. They're always up there and always fighting for it. I think that's kind of what I been finding with my game.

Q. Anything about the greens that made them particularly receptive to your iron shots? A lot of the putts you had were pretty makable distance.

MADELENE SAGSTROM: Yeah, no, I think -- well, the greens are actually quite firm. This course sets up quite well for my game in general. I hit it high and a lot of spin, so I think I can get to some pins that other players might not be able to.

And, I mean, I can see the breaks. I can feel the breaks. The pace is perfect. So it was one of those like perfect storms. Everything looks good.

Q. It looked like you were making birdies in batches. The first four holes, and then I think three in a row on the back nine. Did you just -- I think you said it earlier, everything felt it was going in.

MADELENE SAGSTROM: Yeah, I think I'm one of those -- I think most people are one of those momentum players. It's kind of once it starts going it's kind of one of those, (making noise), like it feels a bit like that. I mean, I always have -- starting off like that feels really good. You're trying to get it going for as long as possible. Then I am like, well, this ball ran out of birdies, so I need the next ball. Just trying to get on all the birdie trains when you can.

Q. Madelene, a lot of players have put up good numbers, don't realize where they stand until it's over. Did you know where you stood throughout the course of the round?

MADELENE SAGSTROM: Well, there is plenty of leaderboards, and I'm like I'm not going to look, but then I always look. I knew that I had a good round going. I mean, I knew I birdied the first four. It's kind of hard to ignore that.

So it's -- I had a good idea where I was standing, yeah.

Q. On hole 14 you hit your tee shot to the left and had to punch out through the trees. What was the creativity behind that second shot that gave you a good shot to get close to the green?

MADELENE SAGSTROM: Yeah, I was striking it well off the tee all day, and then I kind of tried a little bit too hard on that one and got it in the trees.

It was one of those things. Just trying get it back in play and give myself a chance because I knew I was striking the ball well off the fairway.

So I was just trying to find the gap that I could see and found one and hit a good shot, and was able to make a birdie from there.

Q. After going 9-under today, how do you carry that into tomorrow's round?

MADELENE SAGSTROM: Well, I mean, I have a late to early tee time, so I think momentum is going to be quite good now. I'm going to go for some food and then just go back at it again. I think it's one of those days though that you really want to linger, feels good. You're not always going to shoot 9-under.

You can play well and not shoot 9-under par. Feels good to have that in the back of my mind.

Q. You birdied the first four out of the chute. Anything special about your warmup that you noticed, felt good about? Something for lunch? I don't know.

MADELENE SAGSTROM: It was funny actually. I stood on the range. I was struggling a little bit with my ball striking both in the pro-am and the practice round, and then I stood on the range and I was striping it and I was like, it's crazy. I felt really good about it. So I was more kind of just focused on having good tempo and giving myself the chance to hit good shots.

Some of first few holes are quite tricky, so just trying to give myself a good chance. There was 90% of air on the tree on 3 too, so that worked out well in my favor.

Q. When you look back on your career, what do you consider the biggest accomplishment? Winning on tour? Finishing runner up in the British Open? Being a Solheim Cup player, Olympian?

MADELENE SAGSTROM: I think it's everything added up together. For me, it's always been -- the successes that I've had is just kind of the result that I'm doing good things.

For me, it's days like this, being able to keep making birdies when I know I'm playing well. It's kind of really getting out of my own way. My whole goal so to reach my full potential, which I don't think I have done yet.

So it's just finding that freedom in my game, being able to play the game fully without holding back. I think it's -- and then the results are just a result of that feeling.

So that's kind of really what all I'm trying to do. Get out of my way every day.

Q. You birdie the first four in a row. You know you're playing well. How do you stay calm?

MADELENE SAGSTROM: I been actually doing a lot of breathing lately, so that I think -- I was like, this might actually work. (Laughter.)

It's kind of one of those things. It's like you know the game can change really quickly, but just trying to take some deep breaths, stay in the present, focus on the shot in front of me, and not worry too much about everything else.

It's a tricky course. It's set up short today. So I took advantage of it when I had the chance.

Q. Do you meditate? It can't be as simple as just breathing.

MADELENE SAGSTROM: No, it's a company that I work with now. It's works on your diaphragm. I haven't done it for long enough so I'm like, this is it. It's really working so far. I think it just helps me kind of stay present and finding that when -- it's easy to get ahead of yourself, and to think about, okay, what's going to happen now, or, oh, this is going really well.

Just figure out those ways of I like to look at the trees and the leaves blow and stuff like that. Talk to my caddie. I think I any kind of those hints. My mental coach tells me to figure out things and you just try a bunch of things to figure out what works for you. I think that every day I think about different things.

But it's a lot of thinks. But it's hard. I think it's so individual and I think every day, but breathing has really been working lately.

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