AUGUSTA NATIONAL WOMEN'S AMATEUR

April 5, 2024

Ingrid Lindblad

Quick Quotes

Q. Did you learn anything new out there today?

INGRID LINDBLAD: I chipped a few around the greens, kind of a lot of them kind of to just bump it into the fringe and let it trickle on the green. So I did a little bit of that.

I mean, nothing crazy really. I think I had a pretty good idea of the course overall.

Q. Stats from yesterday, anything stand out?

INGRID LINDBLAD: I haven't done my stats (laughter). Sorry.

Q. Do you think with the difficulty of the conditions yesterday that today was kind of a much needed breather to get reset?

INGRID LINDBLAD: A little bit. It was so much just trying to focus yesterday. Just the whole round was either hauling downwind, hauling crosswind, or hauling into the wind. Today was tee off on 10, it was blowing a little bit, but it was like this is nothing, nothing compared to yesterday.

We came down Amen Corner for the early, because I was off at 9:00, and I was like it's pretty calm down here.

Q. Specifically for you, a little reset a little bit?

INGRID LINDBLAD: Yes, exactly. It's almost like a rest day. It's a pretty nice walk today. Well, hilly walk, but a very beautiful walk.

Q. Is tomorrow, are you treating it like a bonus, just considering a year ago you didn't think you'd be back here for this?

INGRID LINDBLAD: I obviously want to go out and just go low, but yeah, it's certainly a bonus to be here. But trying to shoot as low as possible too.

Q. Have you ever gotten emotional after winning or losing a golf tournament in your life?

INGRID LINDBLAD: I think my first college win was probably the last real big one. That was fall '19. It was a while ago.

Q. You cried?

INGRID LINDBLAD: I think, yeah, I did. But it was also because I was 8-under and made a quad on the last hole and still won by two or three.

Q. Why did that mean so much to you to break through there? You had one before that on the international stage.

INGRID LINDBLAD: It was just two pretty long days. I think we played -- we didn't play 36, 18. We played 18, 36. So it was just a long day. It was just like I'm done.

Q. You've talked a lot about how much you love college golf. That's why you wanted to stay. I guess, conversely, what are you looking forward to for turning pro and what life is going to be like?

INGRID LINDBLAD: In college golf, everything is so set up for you. It's a little bit more freedom, when do I want to go to the tournament? For us it's like travel day, practice round, and then we play.

Then in pro golf, you can head out a few days early, a little bit more freedom. But it's also more planning on your own.

Q. Is freedom a good thing or a bad thing?

INGRID LINDBLAD: Probably a little bit of both.

Q. Did you bring the jewels at all, rhinestones or anything? Your little like paint by numbers thing?

INGRID LINDBLAD: Yeah, it's at the hotel.

Q. Have you been doing that this week?

INGRID LINDBLAD: No, I haven't had time for that.

Q. What are you working on right now, what image?

INGRID LINDBLAD: It's a big like lion head. I kind of wish it was a Tiger, but they only had like two options. So it's a big like lion head in every color possible.

Q. So the closest thing to a Tiger?

INGRID LINDBLAD: Probably.

Q. Do you wish it was a Tiger for good luck around here?

INGRID LINDBLAD: Yeah.

Q. Are you superstitious at all?

INGRID LINDBLAD: I usually carry two tees in my pocket for the round. And whenever I break one, I'm like I need a new one. But nothing, no.

Q. The players who are ahead of you on the leaderboard, they haven't been in these positions like you have. What do you think they're going to be feeling tomorrow, and how do you think that could benefit you?

INGRID LINDBLAD: I think everyone's going to be nervous. It's wrong if someone's not nervous tomorrow. But I think everyone's going to have the same thought, just try to go and shoot as low as possible.

I think everyone should be nervous. It doesn't matter what position on the leaderboard you are, that first tee shot on No. 1 with all the people around it, it's not an easy tee shot either.

Q. But just the newness of it, having that experience for the very first time, can that benefit you knowing you have been there and you have handled it?

INGRID LINDBLAD: I think a little bit. You know the course a little bit better. You know where to miss, where to not miss it, versus if it's your first time around here, it's -- especially if you -- you know, all the caddies out here are good, but if you get one that's either new or not helpful, that might give you trouble tomorrow as well.

Q. Asterisk Talley is 15 years old, and she made the cut this week. Are you surprised at that? What does that say about a player like that at such a young age being able to make the cut at this big of an event?

INGRID LINDBLAD: I said on Monday anyone at this field can win this. Out at Champions Retreat that course was playing a lot different than '21 and '22. The greens were a lot more receptive than they were a couple years ago.

I think my benefit the first few years there was my high ball flight. So I didn't have to worry too much about the rollout.

This week, if you were being smart and missed it in the right spots at Champions Retreat, you don't have any problems getting around there.

Q. Just the fact that a 15-year-old competing against somebody that's a college player.

INGRID LINDBLAD: Yeah, I realized I'm nine years older than her.

Q. Could you have imagined making a cut in this event when you were 15?

INGRID LINDBLAD: No. The year when I was 15, I started the year off shooting 88 and 87 in an event, so no.

Q. That was in Sweden, though, right?

INGRID LINDBLAD: Probably, but I think it was frost and probably windy and rainy and everything possible with bad weather.

Q. What number do you need to shoot tomorrow to have a chance, do you think?

INGRID LINDBLAD: I don't think you need a number. Garrett, our head coach, he always says, It's not what you shoot, it's who you beat. So it's not a number.

A good score tomorrow could be 5-under, it could be even-par. It's hard to know because someone's going to shoot low.

Q. How early do you know tomorrow what that is?

INGRID LINDBLAD: I have no idea.

Q. It's not what you shoot, it's who you beat?

INGRID LINDBLAD: Yeah.

Q. What does that mean?

INGRID LINDBLAD: Well, it's basically you don't have to shoot a certain number. I can go out and shoot one number, but the person I beat, maybe they're five shots worse off, and then I'll beat them. So I don't think it's a number. It's whatever how the course is playing.

Q. If you got off to a strong start tomorrow, given your experience, given your ranking, do you feel like that might worry a few of them, people ahead of you on the leaderboard?

INGRID LINDBLAD: Yeah, Alexis Rather, our assistant coach, yesterday she texted me and said, If I were them, I don't think I want to have her in that position that she's in right now. In '22, I don't know how many shots off the lead I was, but it was a lot, and I shot 4-under that last round.

Anything can happen out there. It can swing really fast. It can swing really quick out there.

Q. Did you get crystal for your eagles?

INGRID LINDBLAD: I did, yes.

Q. Where are those?

INGRID LINDBLAD: They're at home in Sweden.

Q. Do you ever use them?

INGRID LINDBLAD: Use them? No, I don't think I would use them (laughter).

Q. It's not like the claret jug.

Q. You could probably put something in it, right? Swedish fish maybe?

INGRID LINDBLAD: Maybe I could. I haven't thought that far.

Q. Speaking of your parents how cool is it to have them and your brother walking with you?

INGRID LINDBLAD: I didn't think much of it today. I had so many conversations with my coach, who will be on the bag tomorrow, and with my caddie. I didn't think much of it. I'll ask them at lunch.

Q. You played your practice round with Kisa?

INGRID LINDBLAD: I did, Kajsa and Meja.

Q. Did she caddie for you in the British Am last year?

INGRID LINDBLAD: Yeah, she did. We played the quarterfinals against each other so we said whoever -- because obviously we would both stay in the afternoon. So we said whoever loses caddies for the other one. That seemed fair.

Q. What's that relationship like?

INGRID LINDBLAD: We've known each other since 2016 or '17. I think we played the first time -- it was a while ago. Then European Girls, the team championship in '18, we played three foursomes together, which our coach doesn't usually do that. But we played all three foursomes together, and we won all three of them. So we've known each other since before college.

Q. I guess you don't get to see her as much now?

INGRID LINDBLAD: No, we don't play the same tournaments as them most of the time.

Q. You guys are still pretty close?

INGRID LINDBLAD: Yes.

Q. Ingrid, of the gazillion tournaments you've won, what's the largest final round deficit you've had that you've overcome?

INGRID LINDBLAD: I have no idea.

Q. I'm assuming you have a couple that have been four?

INGRID LINDBLAD: Like the largest I've been behind and then catching up?

Q. Yeah.

INGRID LINDBLAD: I don't know. Maybe Kent knows that better.

Q. Did you win Moon Golf two years ago?

INGRID LINDBLAD: I won it in '22, yeah.

Q. I think that might have been a come from behind.

INGRID LINDBLAD: It could have been.

Q. You had a tournament last year early on, you opened with like 75 or 76 and came back.

INGRID LINDBLAD: Clemson last year, I started off with a 75 or 76. I was 3 or 4-over the first round. Then I shot 67 and something else under par the last round.

Q. So that one?

INGRID LINDBLAD: It might be that one.

Q. Is that a position you enjoy? Is that a position --

INGRID LINDBLAD: I mean, it's going out and hunting tomorrow. There's no holding back. You can be aggressive.

The people in the lead, they're more how do I play to not make a bogey? But for us that are a little behind, we can just go out and how can I make a birdie here? That's what we're going to have to do.