THE MODERATOR: We'll get started. Quick recap of your round today. 5-under par. What did you have going right out there today.
MADELENE SAGSTROM: I would say mostly short game was kind of my savior. I was striking the ball all right but not great, so having a strong short game and just giving myself the chances, like solid par chances was kind of the key of my round today.
THE MODERATOR: From your practice rounds did you like the course, when you first came out here, did you feel like this was a place you could play well?
MADELENE SAGSTROM: Yeah, this course is beautiful. The condition of it has been perfect from the start. I like long golf courses in general and it fits my game really well, so very excited with the layout, it suits my eye and the greens are rolling phenomenal which works with my putting too. So it's phenomenal.
THE MODERATOR: Take some questions.
Q. Pretty much asking everybody about the heat. Is it abnormally hot for you, what do you do to stay cool, how is it out there?
MADELENE SAGSTROM: It's hot. I'm not going to lie, it's very hot. But it's manageable. I know I mean most of us have been in Asia, played a lot of golf over here so we know kind of what to do, you drink a lot of water you have cooling towels, umbrellas, kind of just maintaining the energy and not go crazy. I think at this point it's harder for the caddies than it is for the players, so it's more about making sure they're staying upright.
Q. With that in mind like how much are you drinking? How much water are you consuming? Are you like doing anything maybe in the evening time watching what you consume so that you don't get dehydrated the next day, anything like that?
MADELENE SAGSTROM: Oh, yeah, I think hydration starts early. It starts the night before, it starts the weeks before I've been drinking water for weeks coming here. I probably drink a bottle if not every hole every other hole. I just, I keep adding like things to electrolytes and salt and stuff to make sure I absorb it and now, I mean, you take energy drinks and stuff to just trying to maintain. But I drink a lot at night too just preparing for tomorrow.
Q. When did you get here?
MADELENE SAGSTROM: I got here Saturday morning.
Q. How much of the, how much did you come out and did you watch the men play at all and I guess the reason I ask that is did it give you any type of expectation on what to expect from the golf course?
MADELENE SAGSTROM: I was lucky enough to spend Saturday in the Olympic village and kind of get that atmosphere and then we came out here all day Sunday and we watched both the finish of the men and also the playoff and a little bit we walked around with the Swedish guys. So it's nice to get a feel of the course if you're here, it's still hard to see from the side what it actually looks like but it was really nice to see how it was playing and you can kind of see how the greens were rolling and stuff like that.
Q. How were the greens today, were they fast or were they just, they're kind of yellow, were they just more firm?
MADELENE SAGSTROM: They're getting faster. I would say they're probably going to be about the men's speed soon. They're definitely drying out a bit more. They're still quite receptive, which is good because I think some of the holes we have pretty long clubs in and coming in from the rough it's hard to get spin. So they're still handling the course, I mean it's handling our shots very well. So I think the course setup today was really solid.
Q. What were some of the better shots that stood out to you today?
MADELENE SAGSTROM: I hit a really solid, I played 9 really solid, that was one of the holes that was going to be, I mean it's one of the tougher holes out there, would I say. I mean making a up-and-down on 18 kind of settled my round. I had a really hard flop shot. So that kind of sealed the deal for today.
Q. I think you said that the length of the course kind of favors you. Were there any holes today where your length you were able to take advantage of maybe over the field?
MADELENE SAGSTROM: I was able to reach hole No. 5, which I don't think -- I think that should be the par-5 -- which I don't think too many girls did today. I hit driver, driver up on the green. So some holes like that I can take advantage of and just some of these greens coming in with shorter irons helps and also even if you're in the rough having a short iron in will give you at least, if you can't get the spin it will at least give you the height of it.
Q. You said you stayed in the village. What was the highlight of that for you, did anything stand out?
MADELENE SAGSTROM: Yeah, I mean just walking around and seeing everybody. Seeing all the athletes and just getting the atmosphere of like this is what people practice for four years to do and it just and just knowing what it's like. I mean on TV you see everybody doing their sports but you actually don't see where they're staying, what they're doing, I mean dining hall was really cool and just getting the feel of what Olympics really is.
Q. Is it right that Robert Karlsson has had a big influence on you and if so can you just explain a little bit about that?
MADELENE SAGSTROM: Yeah, no he was a very big part of my team when I turned pro. Probably end of 15, '16, '17 and '18. I called him my glue he was kind of the thing that kept everything together. I asked him -- I mean he's got I don't even know how many years now of experience on Tour -- and just asking him for advice, what can I do to simplify and make the transition turning pro easier and just how can I handle this life. Because it's a very different life than most people live. So I think just having that knowledge from somebody with experience was very useful for me. So I called him day and night just asking questions, he came to tournaments and watched me play and so he's been a huge influence in my game.
Q. Still in touch now and did he speak, did you speak to him before coming here?
MADELENE SAGSTROM: We're still in touch. We don't speak as much. He's a busy man, trying to play some solid golf still. So he's focusing on his career a lot. But we still, we work with the same coach, so we still spend some time together for sure.
Q. Did that opening up, did that have any bearing do you think on your golf?
MADELENE SAGSTROM: I think every time we talk about struggle, I'm assuming you're talking about the me going out with my sexual abuse story and just being, for me being free and has meant a lot both for my game and for myself and just accepting myself as a person and who I am has been a huge part of me enjoying this life and enjoying myself mostly, just being comfortable with who I am. I think that talking about things, trying to make it more not generalize it, but try to make it more common, try to make it more easy to talk about is, we can't do it enough. I think that just, being there for somebody else is what I'm hoping to do by going out and talking about my story because I know that I wished that somebody would have done that for me, so it's been, I mean the message has been so well received over all tours and still to this day and like it's just, it's something that I'm always going to fight for and be there for and call me a spokesperson or not, but it's something that I'm just really want people to be fine with who they are, no matter what they go through.
Q. Certain topics, mental health has been kind of a big one for the games and recently. Were topics that were taboo that are uncomfortable to talk about, was that mainly because people are athletes?
MADELENE SAGSTROM: No --
Q. Was it harder on athletes, I guess, to be able to share stuff like that?
MADELENE SAGSTROM: I don't particularly -- I think being in more in the spotlight it's more the fact that it's -- I mean everything was, we're do or focused on our scores and our results and it's more that's what we really talk about. So I think more the fact that when I say this, I mean, on my social channels I'm telling it to 20,000 people instead of 500. I think it's just the amount of people that you can reach and the fact that I -- and I mean you can reach a broader audience and I think that's when things get bigger, like when somebody decides to speak up it's not just for themselves anymore it's so many other people that can relate to that.
Q. Off topic, but what is the hottest LPGA Tour event on the schedule?
MADELENE SAGSTROM: The hottest? As in temperature?
Q. Yes. Like when you use it as like a measurement, oh my gosh the hottest place is, in general? Singapore?
MADELENE SAGSTROM: This year it was Thailand and Singapore. That was worse than this, for sure.
Q. Was worse than this?
MADELENE SAGSTROM: Yes. More humid.
Q. So no one should have anything to complain about, right?
MADELENE SAGSTROM: No, we do, we still have things to complain about, but that was worse.
THE MODERATOR: You mentioned Robert Karlsson but you also I believe interacted with Annika on the first tee today. Just her impact on your career and what it was like to see her out there on No. 1 as you went out to the first tee.
MADELENE SAGSTROM: No, I mean I've been closer to Annika for over the years, I played for her in Solheim in 2017, so having her as a resource and being able to call her a friend is, it's quite incredible since I grew up playing golf watching her and like she's like untouchable, you know, so it's pretty cool to have that person there and we keep in touch and she's keeping an eye on my journey, so she's really amazing.
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