DANA OPEN PRESENTED BY MARATHON

July 14, 2023

Linnea Strom

Highland Meadows Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Another nice day here at the Dana Open. Just what was working so well on this day two for you?

LINNEA STROM: I think I actually saved a few pars today, which is kind of nice to kind of get that confidence. Like even if I missed a few shots, like I putted pretty well. So I was just talking to my caddie about that, where yesterday I was 5-under and the game felt a little bit better. But those kind of runs are pretty nice too. I mean, I was bogey-free today, which is always very fun.

So, yeah, I think there's a few things that I want to continue to work on, but overall pretty steady and I think my putter was working well both yesterday and today.

Q. What were some of those impressive par saves you talked about?

LINNEA STROM: Well, some like pretty good like up-and-downs from, like I was both in the fairway bunker here on No. 9 and also on number 15 and got tricky lies like close to the lips. I couldn't get it on the green. So then I managed to make up-and-down from 40, 50 meters. Which is kind of nice.

So, yeah, and I mean it just, it was -- but other than those holes, like I still also had a lot of birdie opportunities out there that I didn't really hole. But then it just kind of feels like it evens it out because I did some good par saves too.

Q. To be able to have a bogey-free round like today, what have you been working on heading into a tournament like Toledo?

LINNEA STROM: I didn't play last week, so I was in Sweden for the last two weeks and I saw my swing coach. So I've been working a little bit on my swing. Just getting a little bit more control over the ball. I think that's been working very well those two days and I'm still pushing it a little bit on the driving range and then to try and make sure that I'm comfortable enough to use the same swing thoughts out on the course. I think it's getting better and better. It's always a work in progress, but so far it feels pretty good. Then obviously pretty much it comes down to putting too.

Q. How crucial was that week, those two weeks in Sweden for you as you think about the rest of the summer as we head back to Europe and how crucial is -- as much as I bet you wanted to be at Pebble Beach -- how much do you think that those two weeks in Sweden will pay off for the rest of the summer?

LINNEA STROM: I think for me I've always said it's very important to both come to Sweden, see my family, my friends. But also to make sure I see my coach pretty regularly. So I think to be able to be home for two weeks rather than one week it gives a little bit more time to work on some things that I want to work on. So I always had that in the back of my head to make sure that I do take some time and go back to Sweden to see him.

Obviously, I love playing in Europe, so I really look forward to this summer and the next stretch. It makes me feel a little bit more close to home, which is always nice. It's a little bit of a different style of golf as well, especially like Scotland, England. So, yeah, I look forward to that.

Q. What will you take away from a round like this as you head into the week?

LINNEA STROM: I mean, just enjoy it. I really like this golf course. This is actually the course I played the most because I played here as an amateur in 2017, I think. So this is the course I played the most out of all of the events that we play at. So I just enjoy coming back here. I like the venue, I like the spectators, a lot of people out there. So just going to continue to enjoy it and there is a lot of birdie opportunities out there so I think it's just continue to stay patient and just trust the process.

Q. What's it like for you, six, seven years later after first appearing here as an amateur to also see so many other amateurs come up here and be able to play here at the Dana Open? I know that's always been a very special treat when it comes to that exemption.

LINNEA STROM: I think that's what so special about this tournament because they always have that exemption for the national champions and some invites to some amateurs, too. So I think that's pretty special and it's just the perfect week to get the chance to see how it is on the LPGA Tour. And, I mean, this is a great one for it. So it's fun to see that they always have that kind of tradition.