DOW GREAT LAKES BAY INVITATIONAL

July 16, 2022

Matilda Castren

Kelly Tan

Midland Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Here with Matilda Castren, Kelly Tan, the runners-up of the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational. Kelly, we were talking earlier with Kay about how this is your best finish. Can you just tell me what that means to you and to be able to do it alongside your best friend, Matilda?

KELLY TAN: Yeah, it's been an unbelievable week. It's just so awesome that I got to do it with my best friend, Matilda, and, yeah, to have my best finish on the LPGA Tour and being able to have so much fun on the week as well. That was amazing. I can't ask for anything else.

Q. Matilda, you were also saying with Kay that you wanted a solo second finish. You figured out you were tied at one point during the round, and so what did you sort of say to Kelly, say to yourself, to just turn it around get that solo second that you wanted?

MATILDA CASTREN: I just tried to like keep the spirits up like we've been doing all week. I mean, we've both been doing that to each other, so just kind of keep it going and give ourselves some opportunities.

We had a lot of close calls. Both of our birdie putts were close on 17. I actually told my caddie that I wanted a solo second. He just told me, better stick it close on 18 and don't have to worry about it. I did.

I mean, it was a really good shot I hit. It was a perfect number for my 9-iron. It was close to going in, and it was just a very cool experience and cool moment for us.

Just to finish second with Kelly, it was such a good week. We had so much fun.

Of course, we wanted to win today, but Lizette and Jennifer, they just played unbelievable all week. Yeah, I think we can be very happy with ourselves.

Q. Let's talk about that last shot right here on 18. Like you said, you hit it really close to the pin; got that last birdie. How does it sort of make you feel to end the tournament on such a high note, and with this amazing environment out here?

MATILDA CASTREN: It's just a huge adrenaline rush. I hit the shot and knew it had a chance of being close, and just landed actually behind the pin and spun back a little bit. I was kind of looking, looking hoping that it would go all the way in, and the crowd, they were all cheering for it to go in as well. It was just a little tap-in.

You just can't ask for anything better on your last hole. We didn't have to be nervous about a putt or hope for a birdie. We knew we had a birdie just walking up to the green. We had our walk-up song. It was just a great feeling that we'll remember forever.

Q. I want to ask. I know Matilda is your maid of honor. You guys talk a lot about the wedding out there? What do you guys talk about when you are having a fun, good round like this? Is it just golf or are you chatting and enjoying each other's company?

KELLY TAN: A lot of the time Matilda is like, I smell food. I want some burgers. It's really nothing serious about my wedding at all, though we do have a few tasks that I have to do for my wedding for the next couple weeks here.

Yeah, we'll get those things wrapped up. It's just been an unbelievable week and so much fun.

Q. How does sort of this week, this event, prepare you guys going across the pond, Evian, majors, summer swing in Europe. Just how does this environment and this competition format help you to prepare for that?

KELLY TAN: I'll go. I think it gives us a lot of confidence boost going to play over in Europe. Yeah, there's two majors, and I'm playing Evian, Scottish, and British, so I really look forward to it.

Just knowing that the game is in the bag and just super excited.

Q. Do you get a lot of rest sort of in this format, too? Sort of laid back.

KELLY TAN: We were just talking about that. Well, we have four or five weeks on the road, but then really this is a half week, but also, playing in the final group it does take a lot of energy out of us.

So we're going to fly tomorrow. Hopefully we get some rest and get adjusted when we get to Evian.

Q. What was the best part of your game specifically, Matilda, this week that you hope to carry with you into the next couple of events you're in?

MATILDA CASTREN: Well, I think I'm hitting my irons really well. I'm giving myself a lot of opportunities. The past couple of days I wasn't that happy with my putting. I missed quite a few putts.

Today it kind of turned around, and I managed to make a lot of putts when it mattered.

I think that's what I'm going to take with me into the next few weeks. I'm really happy about that for kind of being able to make some birdies, some putts, and hit good shots under pressure.

Q. Last question for you, Kelly. You said out there with Kay that you guys sort of formed this relationship when you were maybe not playing as well as you wanted to be on the Epson Tour. How does it feel now to just be at a really great point in your game, second place, like I said, best finish knowing that your relationship formed maybe at a time you both weren't playing so great?

KELLY TAN: I feel like if you would wind back the clock and stop us there and literally tell us in a few years you guys are going to be playing this tournament and you're going to finish second, I think it was going to be really hard for both of us to believe because we both were really just -- I just feel like at the lowest point of our career.

It just feels really good that we got out of the hole, and being able to compete at such high level and finish second this week proving to us that we could do it.

And yeah, just being able to -- the fact that we went through adversity and now that we have a good finish, you can could taste the bittersweet feeling. Yeah, I'm super glad.

There's nobody else I would choose to share that with but her.

Q. Thank you both so much.