AUGUSTA NATIONAL WOMEN'S AMATEUR

April 4, 2024

Megha Ganne

Quick Quotes

Q. 2-over, some birdies, some bogeys. Overall you pretty happy with how you played?

MEGHA GANNE: That made my round seem so much more dull than it was. (Laughter.)

Q. How were the conditions out there?

MEGHA GANNE: It was insane. Like one the most insane rounds I've played in the last few years. Can't really describe it. It was a different wind than yesterday because it was so consistent.

The gusts were stronger. Had to step off like at least a shot a hole. It's like you make one birdie and you're like, oh, my God, I'm almost in the lead, and you make one bogey and you're like, I might miss the cut.

So it was so volatile the whole way through. We know how intense this day is, so it was just crazy.

Q. So at the end of the day how do you feel about it?

MEGHA GANNE: I feel good, I felt like 2-over was super solid today. Hit a lot of great knock-down shots. Really good two-putt in the wind.

Obviously wish I saved a few here and there, but it easily could have gone the other way as well. Solid round.

Q. What do you most look forward to about Saturday based on how you thought you played last year finishing top 10?

MEGHA GANNE: I mean, I think a chance to be in the hunt for it. The scores look pretty tight and Augusta is a different golf course and two days until then and I think anything can happen.

Excited to be in the mix.

Q. Way better than having -- I guess it's not like Rose's five shots clear of everyone else.

MEGHA GANNE: Yeah, keeps it exciting for Saturday.

Q. I wanted to ask you, too, I guess Chris Zambri with the USGA came up and tested all you guys. I don't know how long ago. What did you learn from that about your game?

MEGHA GANNE: Oh, yeah. Chris was super fun to work with. I'm excited to see how the program unfolds under him so that's exciting.

He did like an iron game test that tests your knowledge of your distances and your ball striking basically. He said our whole team was in like some of the top percentile of men's and women's in teams in the country.

So that was pretty cool.

And he seemed impressed so that was good enough for me, so I didn't think it was anything crazy. He said they were good numbers.

Q. So I guess one of them is a straight line drill. You hit 20 shots and you were like dead online on almost everything. Did that give you any more confidence about your game than maybe you had before that?

MEGHA GANNE: I mean, not really. I feel like a lot easier said than done on a driving range than on the real golf course, so that's how I have -- try to have most of my practice sessions end up, good target practice.

Q. Just as a player that's played in some LPGA majors and has had some success, Olympic was awesome, obviously the winner gets those exemptions. How cool is it to play against the world's best professional players as well as amateurs?

MEGHA GANNE: Yeah, they're both really special in their own way. I think when you have an event like this that's a little bit more uncommon that we play in front of these types of crowds, and that you can feel the love for the game and the excitement more than you would at a professional event because we don't have all of these -- we don't have events that are like this high level that feel like a major as much as the pros do.

So I love the atmosphere of these high-level amateur events because you just know everyone wants it so bad and everyone loves the sport so much. That's why I like it.

Q. Some of those experiences on the biggest stages, have they helped you?

MEGHA GANNE: Yeah, for sure. I think playing in a few U.S. Opens, like those are the hardest conditions you're going to play in. Having course setups that intimidate you are really good because you learn to deal with that intimidation. That helps me any time I have a golf course that I'm like not the super comfortable at.

Q. When did you start getting amend up for this tournament? Like how far out?

MEGHA GANNE: Like a week after it ends looking forward to next year.

Q. What's the feeling like on Saturday morning getting to the course, going through your routine pre-round? What's that feeling like?

MEGHA GANNE: It was just super nice. It was super nice to have my family and my friends there watching, know that everyone is in a good mood. You've made the cut, so just happy to be there and just a surreal day.

Q. Does it change now that you could go into Saturday just three shots back?

MEGHA GANNE: A little bit. I think last year being in contention was out of reach a little bit, but not this year. So we'll see how that is different on Saturday.

Q. Can you contrast the Friday round at Augusta when you haven't made the cut and a Friday round when you have?

MEGHA GANNE: Oh, it's night and day. It makes all the difference for sure.

Q. You're an alum of LPGA USGA Girls Golf. The mantra is little girls, big dreams. Maybe talk about what your dreams were when you were younger and how that compares to your dreams now?

MEGHA GANNE: Yeah, my biggest dreams were to play at Stanford. That was like top of mind. I think the rest of my dreams and goals got filled in of how do I get there.

And now that I've done that, I definitely have aspirations to play professionally; winning a major is up there; and, yeah, doing as well as I can along the way.

I feel like dreams and goals get intermixed at this stage in my life, so it's good spot to be in.

Q. You're so driven. For other girls out there that have similar dreams what advice would you give them?

MEGHA GANNE: That nothing is really out of reach and if you're consistent in your habits and how you go about becoming the person you want to become. It will manifest one day. Just be consistent with it.

Q. You mentioned yesterday that you realized maybe halfway through the first round just how gettable Champions Retreat was. How long did it take you today to realize that you were in for a pretty stiff battle?

MEGHA GANNE: Yeah, it was not like yesterday at all. It was just insane. Like I don't know how else to describe it. It was so -- I couldn't tell if I was like struggling to make the cut on my back nine or if I was about to be in the lead. Like I didn't know how to feel or how things were panning out because it just depends like what order you hit in your group.

You were gusting and then there was no wind and then it was 35 miles per hour. So there was definitely a little bit of luck out there. It's just staying present and accepting what the golf course gave you. That was the key today. Definitely did not go for anything really at all throughout the day.

Q. What are the conversations like with your caddie when you realize just how (indiscernible) it is? What are the extra steps to work through numbers or looking at what your partners are doing?

MEGHA GANNE: I love playing in the wind because I think it's win of my strong suits and I know how to hit the ball low. So we just kind of took it as an opportunity to showcase that and be like, all right, this is cool. Let's hit some cool shots.

Didn't really think about it like this is hard.

Q. Did you adjust your equipment or something of the sort through this tournament?

MEGHA GANNE: Yeah. After the first two years I switched my equipment throughout my bag pretty much. I play TaylorMade now because I just really needed to hit it higher and land it softer and have more control with mid-to long irons.

I've definitely seen a difference in the last two years, swing and equipment changes.

Q. Did you make some of those changes with Augusta National in mind?

MEGHA GANNE: Yeah, this tournament triggered it for me.

Q. After your second year playing it?

MEGHA GANNE: Yeah.