AUGUSTA NATIONAL WOMEN'S AMATEUR

April 6, 2024

Ingrid Lindblad

Quick Quotes

Q. Take us through your thoughts.

INGRID LINDBLAD: Overall it was a pretty good round. Hit a ton of good shots out there. Obviously started birdie-birdie, which was a really nice start out here.

I don't think I missed a putt under eight or nine feet. Good putting day.

Q. Talk about 1; you've always said that's kind of your nemesis here.

INGRID LINDBLAD: Yeah, exactly. I think people sitting behind the tee box didn't realize it carried the bunkers. They're like, oh, no, it's too far right, it's in the bunker, but I was like, no, it's fine, it carried the bunker on the right side. We're all good.

Yeah, I mean, I was just trying to hit a little fade, kind of start it at the left edge of the bunker, and it did.

Q. Talk about the par-3, the 12th.

INGRID LINDBLAD: Yeah, we've kind of talked about you only play to the left side of the green because that green gets -- that's the longest part of the green. I was trying to play it basically the left edge of the back bunker because that's where the green is the longest, so it's easiest to hit that part.

I was a little in between clubs, so I hit the longer one but knocked it down a little bit, and I thought I took it too far right at first and it would be in the bunker. But I come up there, and it's a 23-, 25-footer, and it just -- 12 is the green that breaks the least on this course, but it's also the slowest. It's still a lot of break in that putt, actually, that I had. I held it up quite a bit, and it just dropped in from the left side.

Q. You kind of talked it in at the end?

INGRID LINDBLAD: Yeah, that was the longest putt I made today, and it was a good hole to do it on.

Q. Talk about 15 where you birdied.

INGRID LINDBLAD: Yeah, so I hit a good tee shot, and I was kind of in between clubs, so I was standing there with a 4-iron at first because we thought it was more into. So we were already on the clock. We were on the clock for the whole back nine basically or from 13, I think. So I was already a little stressed.

Me and my 4-iron right now, we're not the best buddies, so I was already like, I don't like this club, so I backed off it and grabbed my 5-iron instead.

Hit a really good shot in there. I saw it in there, and I was like, if this is not good, it's not fair.

Kind of bumped a chip, made a four- or five-footer for birdie, which was a nice birdie.

Yeah, then the rules official came up to me after -- I don't know, somewhere in there, and he was like, you got a bad time, just because I backed off it. So then the rest of the round I felt kind of stressed. But we made it through.

Q. 18 you were in the bunker --

INGRID LINDBLAD: Yeah, I was trying to start a fade on the right edge of the bunker, but I started it too far left, so it kind of -- I thought first, it's not going to take a right bounce on that fairway, but it had a little fade in it, so I thought it might be able to stay up. But I didn't hit it great. Didn't fade it as much as I wanted.

Q. How would you describe the impact of this event on women's amateur golf?

INGRID LINDBLAD: I think it's a big milestone for a lot of people. Getting here shows that you've played well for a couple years. You get to compete on the biggest stage. I think having everyone out here today, I see a lot of younger kids thinking it's really fun to be here. I think it's amazing, and it's such a nice atmosphere out here today.

I said when I came into the scoring area, it's so quiet in here. It was pretty quiet on the 18th green, but it was pretty nice in the scoring area, too.

Q. Has it changed people's perspective about women's amateur golf do you think, just general golf fans?

INGRID LINDBLAD: I think so because we don't get a lot of coverage on TV, and then they put an event here, and everyone knows Augusta National, so I guess everyone wants to watch it, and you can even see today it doesn't matter if it's men or women playing here. People want to get in here, and they want to watch good golf.

Q. How have you matured to the point where you are now, just when you think about your career here?

INGRID LINDBLAD: I think a lot mentally and also a lot -- on this course, some pins you can't attack them. You have to use the slope or you have to hit it -- for example, like on 1, they usually put the pin kind of in the dead middle of the green, so we thought today that we would play to that middle spot because that's the spot that would hold the ball on the green, but then we see the pin, and we're like, you can really attack this.

So I think a lot of -- it's a little bit similar to like a U.S. Women's Open, for example. You come out there, and some pins you get, you just can't attack them. You've got to play out right, play out left or land it 10 short. It's a lot of discipline I would say.

Q. Did you see a 66 out there?

INGRID LINDBLAD: Definitely. The pin on 1 is a birdie pin, 2 is a birdie hole. 3 is a tough hole, but it's definitely doable. The greens aren't too firm. You can make some balls stop by the pin, and you can make some birdies.

Q. How will you remember your experience at this tournament?

INGRID LINDBLAD: I mean, I feel every time I come in here, I just have a smile on my face. It doesn't matter how it goes. You're happy to be here. It's such an amazing experience and a test for your golf game for sure.

Q. You've prepared now a couple of times, competed here a couple of times. Do you have any advice for first-time players at the Masters as to what --

INGRID LINDBLAD: Know where 12 is, first thing. Be patient because you can make bogeys out here, but you can make birdies, too, especially our pins today are probably similar to Sunday pins, so you can be patient and know where 12 is.

I don't really know. Our advice from Peter Hanson, he was here this week with Ludvig Aberg -- last week or two weeks ago. He said hold out the putts 20 or 30 percent more than you think.

Q. Do what with the putts?

INGRID LINDBLAD: You hold up a putt, the break, like 20, 30 percent more, especially if they're going towards 12.