No Laying Up - Golf Podcast - 1060: LPGA Check-In + Megha Ganne

Episode Date: August 22, 2025

Randy, Cody and Jordan are back with a look ahead to the fall LPGA season and storylines from around the women's game including the Rookie of the Year race, Jeeno Thitikul as the new world number one, Lottie Woad's transition into the professional ranks, Nelly Korda's winless - to this point - 2025 and a look back at the US Women's Am at Bandon Dunes.  In part two of the pod, (46:30) we're joined by the champion of the US Women's Am, Megha Ganne to recap her week and her plans to continue at Stanford into the 2025-26 season.  Join us in our support of the Evans Scholars Foundation:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://nolayingup.com/esf⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support our Sponsors: Titleist If you enjoyed this episode, consider joining⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Nest⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: No Laying Up’s community of avid golfers. Nest members help us maintain our light commercial interruptions (3 minutes of ads per 90 minutes of content) and receive access to exclusive content, discounts in the pro shop, and an annual member gift. It’s a $90 annual membership, and you can sign up or learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠nolayingup.com/join⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to the No Laying Up Newsletter here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://newsletter.nolayingup.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe to the No Laying Up Podcast channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@NoLayingUpPodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Be the right club. Be the right club today. I mean, that's better than most. How about him? That is better than most. Better than most. Expect anything different? Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the No Laying Up podcast.

My name is Randy. This is an LPGA-focused episode. I should say women's golf, we have a great interview on the back half of this episode with U.S. women's amateur champion Megagonet, so be sure to stick around for that. As always, this episode is sponsored by our good friends at Titleist. And before we dive into the episode, I want to talk about Titleist's new T-Series irons lineup, and specifically tidalist's concept of three Ds that their iron fitting philosophy revolves around. That's distance control, dispersion, and angle of descent. The job of a tidalist

fitter is to optimize those three parameters for you, meaning you'll end up with a setup that helps you hit consistent and predictable yardages, tighten your left to right and front to back dispersion, and give you the right peak heights to stop the ball in the green easier. safe to say getting better in those three areas is going to lead to better golf and lower scores and the three ds aren't just a fitting philosophy they're also a north star for the r and d team titleless engineers designed to line up with offerings to help every player achieve those three ds easier one other thing t series models are built to be blended seamlessly in the set so when you reach the point where you're struggling to see five miles per hour of ball speed separation between irons

or when you can't maintain the same peak height, wherever that break point is in your set, you can move up to the next model and get a bit more help without disrupting your whole bag set up. In my bag, that is T-150s from 5-iron, no, excuse me, from 6-iron through pitching wedge. I have a T-250 5-iron because I need that little bit of help getting the ball up in the air and just that extra oomph behind it.

you can head to tidalist.com to find a T-series fitting near you and get your iron set up dialed in. As always, we thank Titleist. And let me bring in my co-host for today's episode. Of course, Cody McBride, first of all, and we also have Jordan Perez joining us. Cody, how are you this afternoon? Good, Big.

Nothing better than hearing you talk about your own golf game. I know that brings you nothing, but, you know, makes you giddy. That's right. That's right. I've been playing some pretty good golf so I'm happy to talk about it at the moment and obviously Jordan Perez bringing you in

big week with the US AM a couple weeks ago no better person to help us talk about that JP how are you great that's one of the most exciting weeks of the year so always stoked to talk about it and guys big developments doesn't look like much of an interrogation room anymore we're getting some decoration as you can see

well on the other side there is a big blanket there, decorative blanket. You'll see some stuff on the wall soon. So no more interrogation room jokes, guys. I'm coming in with the decor. Very, very impressive, Jordan. Of course, good reminder. If you're listening to our podcast, that's great. You can also watch the podcast on YouTube. Also, that's a joke. Jordan is joking. It's okay to joke every once in a while. Totally okay to joke. You have a billiards themed blanket. Are you? Are you? you a big billiards player i did i this is something i wasn't aware of i'm not guys it's just a cool stussy blanket honestly i'm not going down to the pool hall and and shooting a game of a

eight ball you know a few times a week or what no i'm really bad at pool actually i'm like the person that's like leaning on the table so it's it's it's not a it's not a pretty sight but no there was just a sick blanket honestly i i loved it so i'm a fake pool fan i guess all right that's fair guys quick run of episode here uh we have the canadian open this week on the lpGA tour that's one of the better stops i think one of the better annual stops year to year the three of us are going to get into some things that we're most excited to watch for this fall of course the lpj season we are through the majors but we still have quite a few events both domestically and then a second asian swing before the end of the year the november sprint to the cme globe so

we're going to go around the horn and talk about what's got us excited jp i think you got some uh just bows to tie on the u.s women's amateur some thoughts there and then the aforementioned mega gana interview at the end um that's a good one so i mentioned the Canadian open Lauren Coglin friend of the program young hitter she is your defending champion this week i think one thing i want to point out is the venue this year for the Canadian women's open is that Mississa Saga Golf and Country Club. And this is kind of cool. It's the first time the women are playing this for the Canadian Open.

The men have played it six times, but not since 1974. Kind of a past history here for the men's Canadian Open. But the first time the women get a crack at it, be interested to see how it looks on television. It's always well attended, well supported. As I mentioned, this is one of the better stops and venues, I think. that the women go to each year. So, Cody, one thing to note here, you know, similar to Porthcall, we were talking about how some of these women as amateurs see some of these courses.

Mississauga hosted the World Junior Girls Championship in 2016. So you had players such as Hadron Rue, Maya Stark, Esther Henslite, and Yucas Saso, who actually won that Junior Girls Championship. They have competitive reps at Mississauga. So don't have to spend a lot of time here. There's some morning golf Thursday, Friday on Golf Channel, and then just a note Sunday afternoon CBS. This is one of the CBS weeks.

We'll have final round afternoon coverage. So Cody, JP, anything, or should we move to other things? I just want to shout out Mississauga. So if people are interested in architecture or stuff like that, this is a club that Donald Ross has done work on. It's, of course, the king of Canadian golf course. The architecture, Stanley Thompson, has done work there. It should absolutely stunt.

And you mentioned the CBS. I love it just because we get a different look, different voices, and sometimes that's definitely needed as we get into the dog days of summer here. And we're like, wow, you know, when's the season ever going to end? So I'm excited. And you mentioned LC, coming off in a top 10 last week, really fine and form. like everything seems to be pointing into a really good direction here as we get into some good fall golf yeah it should be a spirited title defense for elsie good to see her playing much better

putting some of those struggles earlier this summer behind her well guys let's let's get into it i tasked all of us uh the the main portion of this first part is things we're looking forward to this fall uh and it could be you know out of positive curiosity maybe Maybe it's like, hey, I'm curious if so-and-so is going to play better. I don't know what direction y'all are going to take it, but I think we just go around the horn here. And Jordan, would you mind leading us off? What is one thing that has you excited as the calendar as we turn to fall here with the LPGA tour? Ooh, I've got a couple things that are on my mind.

But I'm going to take this one because I know you guys are going to probably, we're all probably going to fish in the same pond this one. Craig Kessler. It feels like he is taking his job by the horns, the bull by the horns, and I'm just stoked. I don't think we'll see anything super significant until CME week with the schedule release, but I'm really interested to see what his larger plans are. I have to, that's a good one. I actually did not have that on my list, and I absolutely should have. I think that's a great one. Cody, I know he's somebody that we'd love. to effort, you know, just full transparency, would love to do a podcast here with them sooner rather than later. So hopefully we can get that done. Anything with Craig that

you're particularly taking note of or has anything stood out about his very short tenure thus far? I was going to say, we're 30 days into this. And I think a lot of people, weirdly, we're expecting like immediate changes literally 30 days since he he didn't have to change desks actually he's still working from his home in dallas but you know he's he's still figuring out the landscape and i think the biggest thing that he can tackle right now is that there is some contract renewals for sponsorships coming up for the 2026 season that need to be buttoned up i know there's some tournaments that are looking to bounce around and ultimately as he looks forward i don't think we're going to see any big calendar or schedule changes for next year just because he's

coming in pretty late to make anything drastic there. But I know that he is 100% efforting the 2027 calendar. And it's going to be an interesting year for 2027 as it is. And a lot of that has to do with the Olympics coming back up again. And this year, or excuse me, for the LA Olympics is going to be the first time that the mixed team event is going to be a part of that. Now, that's awesome for both men's golf. That's awesome for women's golf. But what it does on the LPGA tour, as well as the PGA tour is that throws a busy July already when you factor in major championships on both sides and global schedules kind of into disarray. So I know both tours are trying really hard to figure out what they can do with 2027. But I think that's when we'll see our first

couple of changes. And hopefully that means getting rid of one of these Asian swings and trying to figure out a little bit better flow as we going on. But I'm very excited for him to take the seat. I'm excited for him to come on the podcast. We're going to do everything we can to try to make that happen. But I think that's a great start, JP. Yeah, good, good call out there, JP. Cody, I'll go to you next. If you don't mind, what's, what's kind of top of your list here? Yeah, I think that we have a new number one in the world of women's professional golf, you know, titical. She definitely deserves that. she didn't have the run of majors that I think a lot of people wanted her to have

and the only reason why is because that didn't include a win you know it didn't include a win and I think it's one of those weird things where I guess we think that in order for somebody to be the number one player in the world they have to win one of these majors but I think it's one of those things we're like okay Gino you're you're dominant you're very very good get out there and run run the rest of the year figure out how many wins you can pick up and then let's regroup and figure out what we need to do to make 2026 a lot better major wise than this year was yeah i think you're exactly right in that

for gino now overtaking nellie it feels weird for her to do that without having one a major quite honestly um of course the the near miss at evion she she had some looks this year I was expecting a monster year. I don't think we're going to get that monster year just by result of her not winning a major, but she could certainly peel off a winner to the rest of the way. Cody, just to augment that. She has won twice this year.

I'll say that. Yeah, so it's not right. We got to couch everything. Like, again, we're talking about the number one ring player in the world. It's kind of a different standard, I guess, if you will. But I was going to say, and maybe this leads into, something that I would like to talk about is because of the parody going on this season on the women's tour, I'm sure you've heard the stat if you haven't. They've had 23 different

winners in 22 events played this year. The Dow being a two-person team event. So both of those winners are single winners this year. So 23 different winners and 22 events. What that has done, there's some trickle down into the player of the year race. specifically and gino currently finds herself leading the player of the year race the player of the year race is purely based on your finishes that there is a formula by which if you finish in the top 10 you earn x amount of points and at the end of the year whichever woman has the most points they are crowned player of the year it comes with a hall of fame point so it's it's a big deal gino is 104 points at this moment. She's three ahead of Minji Lee. She's eight ahead of Miyu Yamashita, Mal Saiga, Ria Takata. They all are

in shouting distance. So I think one of the things I'm just most curious about this fall is do we see anybody separate? Do we see anybody nab that second win, maybe a third win on the season, and really take control of the player of the year race? I think Gino is as good of candidate as any, but I'm also looking at all these Japanese women and just knowing what they've done this year already. We could be in for a real race throughout the end of the fall and the season. So, J.P., let me throw it back to you. What's another thing you're looking forward to? Bounce off of that a little bit.

I've been eyeing the rookie of the year race a lot. Four out of the five players are from Japan. Rio Takeda leads and Miyu Yamashda is literally. really right behind her, I think, just 10 points behind. And the EY sisters are at three and four. Once again, we're seeing a lot of parody in our rookies too. Part of that is a tremendously strong class that came from Q school last year. And yeah, it's interesting too because a lot of that is trickling into the Rolex rankings. If you look at the top 10, there's only two Americans in there. I mean, it is just as widespread and vast as ever. And it's so young. And I think that

really hypes me up. I'm just truly excited to watch these last few events of the year and just see who who grabs it because I think it feels like almost anyone could, right? But it's most likely going to be a player from Japan. I think we've established that. It's yes, I agree with you there. It's almost to the point now where just numbers wise based on how much of a gap that they've made those four. And even if you want to add in Mirabelle, uh, Wang, who's in the fifth spot from China, I don't think that there's anybody that possibly can pass any of the Japanese women. It's truly so impressive what they've been able to do. I am noticing a little bit of a hangover from you, Yamashita. I'm going to say Yamashita.

I can't do this anymore. As soon as you said Rio Takeda earlier, I immediately tried to correct, you know, thought about correcting and saying, talk about. I'm not doing it anymore. I got Yamash to, but I couldn't do doctor. I know. So that's difficult, and that's very much still rolling through my brain. The cool thing is, is that all of them have won. If you look at the rookie of your race like now, you mentioned Rio, Miyu, Chazato, and Akai, I said Mirabelle. Ingrid is six.

She's won. Ina Yun is the first name that you're going to get to in seventh that hasn't won so far. Asaki Baba, an awesome rookie year, is in there an eighth. Ninth is Lottie. She's in there with 262 points, which is crazy because she's only played in, like, two events that actually count. And I think that's where I'm going to go with my next point is Lottie. Lottie is now playing full-time on the LPGA tour. She's teeing it up this week in Canada as a professional, and I'm so excited to see what Lottie is going to do.

and how she navigates this, you know, professional life that she has now. We should note that she has made six LPJ starts, but only two of them have counted toward the rookie of the year race. Yeah, very reminiscent of Rose, right? Like, Lottie's not going to win rookie of the year. This will be her rookie season. I agree, gosh, I had all of this. You guys are bang on with all of that.

Just to put a fine point on not only rookie winners, but first-time winners, we're currently at 10 first-time winners this year. You mentioned that the handful of rookies, Ingrid, the EY twins, Lottie. I mean, there's four rookies that have won already. You compare that to last year, and you only had three first-time winners, period, let alone rookies. now if you go back to 2023 it was a similar

season where you had what 12 first time winners and that group included names like Ronny Yen Rose Zang Ling Grant Hadron Rue Lily of Voo so like some names that have become

stalwarts out here and I feel like that's similar to what we're seeing this year just with some of these names that have won for the first time so Cody I'm like you I had what's Lottie going to do the rest of the year written down on my sheet i can't wait i specifically can't wait this week you know i think we last saw her at the aig women's open and it was just a whirlwind for her

and i hope she's been able to get a bit of rest and i i hope we see kind of lotty and more i'll just say like ready to go right full energy because i like i said i can't wait to see what she brings I will use this opportunity, though, to transition to somebody that has not won, and I think that's kind of the elephant in the room across this entire season, and that's Nellie Korda. You know, had we talked about, hey, 23 different women have won 22 events this year, and Nellie not being one of those people, I staggered to think, you know, the amount of money we would have lost jumping on that bet last year. I was curious about Nellie's stats.

And so if you guys don't mind, I'm just going to read some stats from her current 2025 season compared to last year at the 2024 season. And so at this point, she's played 13 events, right? So let's take this 13 events. Last year she had made 10 cuts. She had eight top 10, seven top fives. One of those was a runner up and, of course, the six victories. So the six victories obviously are amazing, okay? Five in a row. This year, 13 events played. She's made all 13 cuts. She has five top tens, four top fives, and two of those are runner-up finishes. And so then I decided, well, let's dig in a bit on some other statistics. So currently this year, she's plus 2.35 strokes gain total. If you compare that to her full 2024 strokes gain total. She was at plus 2.84. So a bit of a drop off. I think where this is showing up a little bit

last year, she was just over 76% of greens in regulation, which ranked third on tour. She slipped. She's just a little short of 73% this year, ranked 16th on tour. The putts per green in regulation are nearly identical. She was 1.76 last year, 1.77 this year. Her overall scoring average, pretty similar, 69.56 last year, 69.87. This year, both are good for second on tour. Where I found it curious, and this was the one that I think is like, if you can circle anything for Nellie, and I think putting, of course, ties into this. Her round four scoring average, last year it was 69.58.

this year it's 71.27. So she's nearly two strokes worse in the final round. And I think when you're looking at somebody that's obviously making cuts, putting herself in contention tournament after tournament, she just hasn't been able to quite play as well on Sundays as she did last year. And obviously has not had the win. So I don't think it's a bad season for Nellie.

I think if she does finish without a win this year, it's certainly going to be majorly disappointing. I think it will be very odd, quite frankly, for her to go an entire season without winning. But I don't see any, like, flashing huge danger signs in her underlying stats. Cody, we've talked about it a ton. Like, we love to see her get more comfortable with the putter, just looking free and easier over those.

four to 10 foot putts would go such a long way but yeah pretty similar statistical profile except for that round four scoring average was a pretty big outlier that makes sense I would say the only shocking thing is

is that even with a higher even with a higher round four scoring average which includes a couple high Sunday finishes that she didn't have last year like her scoring average is still just as good as it was last year.

Yeah. Like Nellie is playing better overall golf this year. She just continues to like get herself into really bad positions and make a mess of things. And the issue this year is that sometimes that happens to be on Sunday. And I don't know if it's because she's trying to force more things to make things happen or what it is. But it just hasn't been, there's been zero confidence

on any Sunday rounds from her so far this year. Yeah, I think that's right. I think we've seen her really raise her floor almost, right? Cut out those huge blow-up holes that we saw derail her and miscuts last year. She just hasn't gotten to the high highs that she was getting to last year. So we'll see. I fully expect her. I would be shocked if she went this whole season without a win. You know, she plays so well.

I'm thinking specifically the Pelican, the CME. I feel like she will get a win at some point, but we shall see. Well, it's going to be interesting, I think, to see how she puts her fall schedule together. We mentioned she is playing this week in Canada. She will play in Boston. There's a week off, and then we pick it up in the Cincinnati event. The true, who could tell if it's going to, you know, whether she chooses to play in Cincinnati or in Arkansas because everybody loves the Walmart event so much.

and then we get ready to go off for the fall swing and we know she'll eventually make her way over there because of the International Crown. I'm pretty sure she's still a BMW ambassador so I would assume that she's going to play in the BMW. But where does that leave, Buick, where does that leave the Malaysia event on the backside of International Crown?

Is she going to play in Japan? Who knows? We just never really know how much she's going to play as soon as the Asian swing kicks off. Yeah, I don't know if she'll play Japan, but it would be awesome if she did play Japan because with the success that the Japanese women are having this year on tour, that could be a really turned up event with all the Japanese fans there. So we'll see.

Jordan, anything else? Maybe go around the horn one more time. Yeah, this will probably tie into our next segment a little bit, but just to kind of sneak peek at, the new extension of the least, program, the LPGA elite amateur pathway. They came out with the L cap. I don't I can't think of a smoother way to say it. It's the LPGA collegiate advancement pathway. So while the leap was kind of inspired by the PGA tour accelerated program, the L cap kind of resembles that traditional PGA tour you program a little bit better. So the top 10 finishers for every collegiate year at the end

of their collegiate careers, they'll earn an Epsontor card. There's no old PGA card that goes to the top finisher of that list. But I think that's really nice because players don't have to make that hard decision now when they go to Q school in the fall of whether they've got to cut their college career short. So big, big one there. I'm really excited to see what that program looks like in its first year. Very good call. We mentioned Leap a couple times on the show so far this year.

Obviously, Lottie Wogue, everybody's following there, probably the, the first, what I thought was going to be the first graduate in a long time, but then all of a sudden you look at it and you're like, wow, Char Romero is already at 13 points coming off of last week in Portland. She made one or got two points there for making the cut. She's playing this week again in Canada. Like, she's not going to be that far off. And she's only a junior.

Yeah. And good for her. She's playing Canada because she top 10 in Portland. You know, that's a relatively new thing for the LPGA tour where, you know, if you, if you top 10 the week prior, it gets you in the next week, even if you weren't already in the field. So, yeah, good call out there, JP. A lot of good amateurs still coming. I mentioned, you know, KRA playing this week in Canada, but you also are going to have Anna Davis up there. Carlo Burnett, Ecuador.

You have, I mean, it seems like this event always does such a good job with sponsors. exemptions majority of the time for Canadian professionals but this time if you look at the actual field there are so many Canadian amateurs that are in this event it's it's going to be really cool to see shout out Aphrodite dang US girls junior champ so on the LPGA website for anybody that that cares at the very top under pathways you can click down and see the leap and the LCAP for instance they also have the Epson tour in the Q series um and you can click in through the standings. I was curious about that.

Yeah, the L cap standings are updated yet, but the leap standings are updated through this week. Okay, all right. Cody, did you have any others that you wanted to shout out? Yeah, I just want to talk a little bit about course selection. I think this is something that we've seen, specifically it kind of bubbles up every year in Portland, just because it seems like it's a true, like, sprint.

and it's to see how far under par you can possibly get the winner there being Aki UI ended up winning at 24 under incredible rounds of golf. And I understand you got to make a lot of putts and golf your ball really dang good to do that. The issue with it, and I'll go back to the second point that you made big of just like the complete disparity and kind of like where are our superstars at, but also, oh my goodness, like you could also play the other side of this and say look at the depth. depth that's here on the LPGA tour. I just don't think that's really the case right now. I think what it is is that these setups and a little bit of course selection that the LPGA tour is going on, I think we're at a point where it's like not really

providing the best playing opportunities or the best competitive environment for your best players to actually succeed. And it's very, very difficult when you're expected to shoot 20 to 29 under par every single week, and people's games just aren't really built like that all the time. And I think I don't want to turn this into a, you know, a Nelly excuse train or a Lydia excuse train or anything else like that. But I think there's something that you need to look at here. And I know in the past justifications has always been like birdies are always more exciting, but I don't know if we're at that point anymore it's a it's a great point i this is all speculation for me

of course i don't you know i'm sure there's math i'm sure there's a lot of factors that i don't consider honestly i think this would be a fascinating thing to ask craig if if and when we get him on the podcast about setups but i i do subscribe to the notion i think we see it with i'll make the comparison to the Ferry Tour, for instance, on the men's side, right? And how that is a birdie fest, really week after week after week. And so the players that do well, their game is suited to play in those conditions, right? And I'm like you where, you know, I grew up with a kid, Will Grimmer, who's qualified for two U.S. opens, made the cut at Shinnecock, has given it a go on the Corn Ferry Tour, but just does not have the length.

cannot, to this point, has not been able to go as low as he needs to week after week after week. But you put him on a U.S. Open type setup where PAR is a very good score and he can make the cut at Chinnecock, you know? And so I do think drawing that back to the women's game is just I would like to hear some type of discussion or at least a top level philosophy around how do we think about testing these women week in and week out, is there kind of an overall philosophy? Because I'm like you, I think the more we can challenge, the more that par becomes a good number, I just think

that usually makes for more interesting golf. And I feel like it allows the better world-class players to separate a bit more. So I think that's, yeah, Portland has become kind of the poster child for just the true birdie fest. It is. it is a very easy set up year after year. Big, I got one more thing for you before we start talking some true amateur golf here with JP. So obviously we're a year away from the next Solheim Cup. But if we were there right now,

do you know who the number one ranking player on Team USA would be points-wise as it sits? Is it... Can I guess? Oh, yeah, go ahead, JP. No, I was going to say the exact same thing as you. You were going to say Angel Ian, yeah. Correct. Angel, currently, and I know we got a long way to go,

but we're halfway there, people, all right? So this stuff matters. Of course, seven players come from the U.S. Solheim points cup list. Two come from the Rolex rankings that are not in that top seven on the Solheim Cup's point list, and then Captain gets three picks. Right now, it would be Angel Yin, Nellie Korda, Yelimi, no. So, Lauren Coughlin, Jennifer Cupsow, Austin, Kim, and Megan Kang, would be the seven from that points list. Now, you have a lot of familiar names percolating right there below number seven.

Eight would be Andrea Lee, Sarah Smezzell at nine. Lindy Duncan, who's having a heck of a year. Great performances and stuff to, like, keep building off of in 10th. Allison Corpus in 11th, Lucy Lee in 12th. And then we get to the number one, don't call me a retired player ever in 13th, Lexi Thompson. Now, I am a firm belief. It doesn't matter if we're recording this now in the year 2025

or this time in the year 2026 when we do it. Lexi will be on this team, one way or the other. What I didn't, names left out, Rose, who I think is very interesting where she's at Now I think she's finally feeling better. She's been able to practice a lot more and put together a pretty decent tournament in Portland when Rose isn't necessarily known for going out there and just making birdies and buckets. She did, even with the like shaky opening round.

So it's great to see where she's at. She's 15th on the list. And then you, I have to scroll all the way down into the 20s, 23rd, Liliavu. And Jordan, you mentioned only two in the top 10. from America right now on the Rolex list. Lilia Voo's not only outside of the top 10, she's outside of the top 20 right now. It's crazy.

You know, thinking back to where we were at the end of 2023, this time two years ago, even last year. So this dovetails perfectly with what was on my list. And it was specifically around Lilia and Rose, both are on the outside looking in of the CME top 60. Lillia's 63rd. A lot of that is because she, She had a runner-up finish very early in the year.

I think it was the Ford Championship. She did make the cut in Portland. She ended up finishing tied for 57th. It's the first cut she had made since Chevron. She hasn't shot in the 60s since early April, which is just, it really sucks. And I don't know. I have not heard,

obviously she went through some big-time back injury stuff last year. And I think to the point where she didn't know if she was going to play golf anymore, if I put my just prognosticator hat on, this is completely uninformed. But I would guess she just either doesn't trust the back to hold up. And maybe subconsciously it's causing some type of swing change or she just, to see her kind of completely fall apart like this while she's still playing, you know, it's not like she's sitting out with injury. It just is really sad.

So, yeah, Cody, that was the last thing I was just going to touch on is some of the big names that, quite honestly, are not having good seasons, and we'll see if they can turn it around. And I think Lillia Rose are at the top of that list. I also had Amy Yang, who won the CME two years ago, won the KPMG last year. She's currently outside the top 60.

It's not having a good year. And then Yuka Saso has completely, completely lost her game. I mean, two-time major champion. We joke like she only shows up in the U.S. Open. She's not showing up anywhere right now. It's bad.

So, yeah, we'll see if any, which of those women can maybe find something here coming down the stretch. One last thing. So this week on the ladies European tour, they're in Sweden. And, you know, there's not a lot of professional golf tournaments

that happen in Sweden. So I'm happy to shout that out. The Hills Open. Very, very small price, fun, but I will say making her professional debut and missing out on a much larger person field in Canada is Ingrid. Ingrid's going back to play Ladies European Tour this week and not the Canadian Open. And then they're going to have a week off. And when there's this gap in the LPGA tour season.

So we're playing Canada this week. Then they go to Boston. then they have a week off and then they pick up again. During that week off is actually the Aramco Houston Championship. So another Aramco event on U.S. soil at Golf Crest Country Club. They don't have the entries actually listed in here yet, but it's going to be very interesting to see who decides to go play for, I think they're playing for two, three million bucks or something like that down in Houston

during that off week. I wonder if Ingrid's doing that for Solheim reasons. I mean, obviously getting home to Sweden, great. But I know those women have to play a certain number, I believe, LET events. I wonder if she's kind of using that as a, hey, it's in Sweden. I might as well go play. Yep. But that's what I was thinking as well.

Yeah. Well, before we get to Megagana, JP, I know there were just a few takes you needed to get out about the U.S. women's AM. So let's start here with, first of all, I think you want to talk about how did, how did, what effects did we see of the Curtis Cup from a couple weeks back at Bandon? Yeah, I think it was very, very telling in the sense of A, our champion, Megagon A, may or may not be in the Curtis Cup next year. She isn't quite said whether she will be playing yet, but she was a major factor in their win at Marion, a couple years ago in 2022. So, you know, as a fan, I hope Mega is back and has one last go as the Curtis Cup

and that being her amateur golf swan song, but we'll see. Yeah, it's, it really reaffirms the take also that why in the world was Keira Romero ever left off the team last year. I will be banging that drum as loudly as possible for the next year. so I'm sorry to everybody as if I haven't enough. Yeah, how is now the world number one player in the world

who wasn't that far off to begin with left off? Had a great week there. I really think she's just inevitable. What's interesting is there's a few Americans that stand out, but there's also some names in there that we may not even be seeing after next year, but they're also just getting younger. We have this conversation a lot about how the best players in the world, especially from the states are only getting younger.

And as it stands right now, Kiara would be on that list, someone like Jasmine Koo would be on that list again to come back and play a Curtis Cup. Astros Talley would be someone else, Gianna Clement. Again, names that didn't really, we didn't really see get too far in match play outside of Kiara,

but there will be this really young, fun team, I think, come Bel Air in June, and I'm really excited. I will say I'm a little concerned about the GBI and I side. They lost Lottie, who was a big part of that win last year. Mimi Rhodes also turned professional. And I think they're in good hands with Katrina Matthews' captain. I just did a phenomenal job in her captaincy, but I'll be interested to see how that roster takes shape.

on the USA side i am a little concerned with bringing megan stasi back um but i hope she's learned from 2024 uh she just had a couple interesting decisions in some of those uh matches last year but yeah i think bell air is going to be really interesting the next few months will uh will have a major major impact uh be interested to see who plays in the practice session in january that's always very very telling that's basically your roster more or less because there aren't many opportunities after that. But once we get to ANW, I think we'll, I think we'll have a pretty good idea of who's going to make that team.

Very good. Yeah. Come on, Ireland. I'm looking at you, Ireland. We need to, we need to produce some more, some high level amateurs and high level pros. Jordan, what did you think with a little bit of time to reflect? How'd you like Banden as a venue for this? I thought it was really interesting.

The Boys Jr. was there a few years ago. so I was interested to see how it would be in the women's amateur format, but I thought it struck a really nice balance between just a great stroke play venue and a great match play venue. I always feel kind of one way or another between some of these USGA venues for the amateur championships. I'm like, oh, that was a really great match play venue or, oh, that was just a really good stroke play venue.

I don't know if this is quite the place for match play. I always feel lopsided between one way or another, and I think Bandon just was right in the middle. I think it was the perfect balance. I think also, especially with regard to our champion Megagone, it did a really great job at identifying a really complete player as opposed to maybe someone who just caught lightning in a bottle. And that's the best way to walk away from a U.S. Women's Am. It looked fantastic. I mean, Bannon, yeah, not much more to say about Bandon just as a place as a destination as a venue i i'm glad the it seemed like really good weather you know some wind uh not like the driving sideways rain i i was very impressed with it so i i think

as much abandoned as we can get especially on the amateur side of the game that's that's the best were there any like broadcast or schedule effects next year that that you want to shout Shout out. I see in our agenda. Those are two items you had mentioned. Do I start with a negative or do I start with a positive? Which way do we want to go? That's a personal choice. That's totally up to you. Okay. Well, we'll end it with a positive. So I'll start with the negative. The broadcast striking visuals. I really liked Amelia on the course this year. So I'll shout that out to her. I'll give her credit there. I just, I don't, I understand the broadcast windows. I understand why. we can't show an entire 36-hole match,

even though that really makes me upset. However, you capture the latter half of the championship where the championship is basically gone, and it was basically Megas at that point. I mean, Brooke had won a few holes, but it was pretty much a foregone conclusion. The bulk of their back and forth was basically on the first nine and the front nine.

And by the time they got to the lunch break, Mega was already three up. one, four, and three. And, you know, again, maybe that's just how the match goes, right? That's just the nature of the championship match. But I do wish there was a way where we could stream the first 18 in some way, shape, or form. I know it's a lot of work. I know, you know, the resources maybe aren't there.

I'm trying to give the benefit of the doubt, guys. This stuff really makes me mad. It actually makes me so furious. But is there a world where we can do that? Is there, you know, is a format change necessary? I think the Marathon 36 is awesome, and it would be really hard for me to advocate otherwise. But if it means seeing the entire narrative of the championship, I might have to lean that way. Yeah, I wish there was a way for the sickos to tune in, like you said, with a stream or something.

This is probably stupid. Would it be crazy to split the 36 up between two days? I know that's probably just a logistical nightmare but for the sake of like televising 18 holes next day coming back and televising the remaining 18 holes I don't know but

we're theoretically already doing it so yeah I know yeah I think some of it's just luck too like you said it wasn't a super exciting match over the final 18 some years it will be some years it won't yeah

anyway what's uh and what's what's the positive note you want to you want to throw in all right so we'll end it with a positive there has been a schedule change so starting next year uh when players are coming back from the aig women's open uh the us women's amateur will start on a tuesday which will give players enough time to travel um we didn't see the aig women's open low am and the british women's am champion paula martin san pedro in the field for that reason um the number one amateur in the world no big deal number two

well number two good good call out there number two but definitely somebody who's missing close enough and third ranked amateur also not there Andrea Ravelta we almost had I think I think I did the numbers it was about almost 25% of the top 20 wasn't there um and someone can correct me on that if I'm wrong but that's too much and that doesn't happen at the Augustin national women's amateur that's appointment attendance U.S. Women's Amateur should also be appointment attendance for these players. So I'm glad they try to accommodate them in some way. The days get a little bit longer. The schedule gets a little bit tighter.

So I'm curious to see how it pans out. But I think it's a good change overall. Yeah. All right. Anything else? Empty the clip now, Jordan, before we get to Mega. Nothing. Just mad as hell about Kiar Romero.

Still mad as hell. Still mad as hell. as hell about the broadcast window and that's that it's a great interview with mega she's a great champion great deserving champion and i'm excited to see how the final year of her amateur career pans out beautiful well without further ado i believe jordan and cody got to chat with mega and here's that interview all right i'd like to welcome in the 2025 u.s women's amateur champion megagani Megan, how's everything going today? Everything's going good. How are you guys?

Very good. So it's been a couple days. No, I didn't want to push the request in too close because I know there's travel and everything else going on, but kind of describe what's happened to you since you've had this incredible victory, abandoned dunes. It's been a week of some celebrating and then some resting and travel back home. My trophy just arrived this morning in the mail, so that's pretty exciting. Yeah, this weekend, I'm going to have some friends and family over to see all of them and celebrate with them. So, yeah, I'm just trying to enjoy this week after as much as possible. Are you having like an official U.S. Women's Amm, like celebration party?

Well, you know, it was an official, my sister's 18th birthday party. And she also, she's going to Harvard. She'll be a freshman this fall. but I've hijacked the party and now it's also a trophy celebration. So I didn't mean to crash her function, but it's got to happen. She's got to understand that, though, right? I've got to understand. Definitely. Well, good. And I'm happy to hear that the trophy made its way back there.

I didn't, I had no clue. Of course, I'm sure they told you this, but the telecast did a great job describing what the Robert Cox trophy is and the symbolism behind it because it's always, you always see and you're like, wow, it's something. a pretty big looking and it has flowers all over it but the history and everything behind it's like the longest trophy that the usGA has yeah yeah it's pretty cool it's very beautiful in person does it make you feel nervous at all like what what am i going to do with this thing i got to protect i can't believe i'm trusted to to have it but i'll do my best i'll do my best are you bringing it with you to stanford no i don't think my mom would let me do that i think I think it's going to stay in New Jersey. Well, we got here because it was a very long and exciting week for you, Abandon Dunes.

Had you been to Banded Dunes before? No, I've never even been to the state of Oregon, so great introduction. Well, you got kind of a little bit of everything. There was wind, there's conditions, there was nice days, but that's kind of what Bandan Dunes is made for. So what did you know about the course going into it? you know my caddy did all of the all the heavy lifting on the on the recon and um finding out you know just numbers to bunkers and stuff like that and what how people have had success around that golf course and he watched some of the uh when of the when there were other tournaments that

banned in and how the players are playing it so i kind of let him come up with the game plan and showed up week of and just took in the views and and took instructions well so i can't say that I personally did a lot of research going in. It worked out well either way. He'd caddied for you previously, right, at the Carmel Cup? Yes. The Carmel Cup twice and one U.S. Open. Safe to say he's staying on the bag?

Yeah. I hope so. Well, that's good. Yeah. It's been a great run. And I think, you know, the telecast did a really good job of talking about that this potentially could be your last USGA. event and kind of the cherry on top to that. I don't know if this is going to be your last USGA event.

I don't know what your plans are next summer, but it's been a long road. And I don't know if you've had a chance to think back or, you know, all the way to US girls to drive chiff and putts to everything to where you're at now. What is that kind of feeling that comes over you when you think back to it? Yeah, definitely not my last year. USGA event. Maybe as an amateur, but hopefully many U.S. Great caveat. Yeah, great caveat. I think one thing that I actually been thinking of, because my coach Katie, who I've been working with since I was seven, sent me a video of me when I was, I think, maybe 12. And it was right after I came back

from what I believe was either my first USDA or a, or maybe the second one, it was a US junior. And I had missed a five-footer in the playoff to make it to match play. And I was so devastated. like beyond devastated just texting her crying and she was in new jersey and i was wherever it was and um she's like why don't you fly back home like we'll have a nice day like come to camp because she used to run summer camps and i was like okay that sounds that sounds pretty good i'm landing in newark in a bit like i'll come to camp i guess and so i come to camp and then she rounds up all the kids in camp and she says if our best player can't make a five-footer when it matters we're not working hard enough and she makes us squat around a track like squat around a track i think eight times

as like a 12 year old to remember that she's like yeah you don't you don't like missing cuts so don't do it again and you know in the moment i don't think i was very happy with her but looking back that's i thought it was a hilarious story and she has a video of me squatting around which i don't think i'll ever share but but i've never seen the video until until this week so that's that's what i was thinking about And then, you know, since then I've played. I think they said it was my 15th. They're the best championships in golf. Everyone absolutely loves having them on the calendar.

And that's what we definitely work all year for. So, I mean, I think that story shows how much it does matter to us. And to have this ending, maybe ending to buy my amateur run in USGA events is like, it's like picture perfect. I can't believe it. Was there an additional pressure kind of knowing your timeline and lowing. last year you withdrew? Not an additional pressure. I think I didn't really feel like I had to make anything happen. I think I've proved a lot to myself and I knew who I am as a player like with or without a win and golf's a long road and it's nice to get wins but they don't necessarily mean

anything. I think there's there's other goals that I had in mind that that weren't necessarily winning i mean obviously winning is is is the cherry on top and when everything goes right and and things align it happens for you but that's not the only measure of measure of a good journey and improvement so i i didn't feel pressure to win this week i just uh it's it's something you think about always but not not not the only thing that matters you've put yourself in the ring so many times and i think the the one thing that you've talked pretty openly about is that it's never really a concern getting through stroke pay it's for a long time it kind of when you got to match play and you taught yourself how to be really good at match play how did you go about doing that because it is

difficult that's not how at least for us in the states that's not how we play golf yeah i do think the europeans have a good advantage is what i've seen because the the euros and my team are great match play players um because they do it growing up but we really don't have that much of it other than a few tournaments in the summer but it's very different because like for the first time you're playing, you have a literal opponent that's not just your own thoughts and head and golf course. So I think once you wrap your head around trying to make it as similar to stroke play as possible, because you are playing the same game, it's like at the end of the day, if you're, if you're confident that your golf game is better than the person you're playing

against, it should work out in the end that you win, like more times than not. Obviously, there's exceptions to that. So I think teaching myself to not get caught up in whatever, the other person's shooting, what the status of the match is until it actually ends up mattering, um, is, is, is, it was the key. And that's harder said and done, but, uh, I guess I can say that I've, I've conquered that a little bit this year, this year. Yeah, you have. And I mean, even we could think back to national championship last year and people are like, wow, Megan, Megan knows how to play match plate now. I mean, took out number one player in the world. Curtis Cup. Obviously, yeah, in Curtis Cup, too. It's, it's crazy.

to see the evolution in match play. And I was just curious if where that came from, because you're right, you can beat yourself up or get way ahead of yourself so much, so much faster than you would in stroke play. Yeah. I don't know. It's crazy.

I mentioned, you know, the national championship. Obviously, Stanford's having a heck of a summer. You girls individually, it's, I think you guys are all bringing back, like basically every amateur trophy that matters. back to the team room and it's crazy to think about you guys already being defending champions what next year is going to bring and i don't want to get to that part of it yet because i think there's so much more that people are now super interested in you about a lot of people remember what you were like as a 17 year old girl at the u.s women's open and then all of a sudden you see

them come back now and you're holding this beautiful trophy winning you know the u.s women's am And a lot of people, unless they follow, you know, women's college golf, they're like, well, where did she kind of go? And she's been there the whole time. Yeah. I've got my Olympic clubs that are on today. I'm supporting the USAM. I'm excited to watch the men this weekend. But, yeah, I mean, I guess so.

I mean, that's kind of a funny question to answer because from my perspective, like, nothing really, like, changed since then and now. And I've been here from my perspective. but I've honestly been living my best life at Stanford. It's been like, you know, obviously maybe there's not been as many times where that spotlight has been on me, but I've been playing really big events, a competitive college schedule, won a national championship, trying to take classes and do school all at the same time and figuring out what it's like to be a college student. And all of that's really important. And yeah, I think maybe it seems more mellow to other people,

but I feel like I've had a really busy last three years. But yeah, I don't really know how to answer that question. I knew you dealt with some injury issues over the past few years. And kind of going back to what we were talking about earlier, the timeline for amateur careers is often so short. I mean, how frustrating was it in this period of time knowing how good you are at golf, but not really being able to overcome something. like that. Yeah, I first started hurting kind of in the middle of our spring season during my

junior year and was super, it was still playable, but then right after that, flew to the British amateur, flew all the way to Ireland and like could not move, like could not walk, could not do anything like totally my back and my hip gave out. And that was the first time I had ever been injured at all. So it was like very shocking. I think. think like I think just having my my parents and coaches at the time around me keep reiterating the narrative that you know like your career is super long like this is always going to happen at some point and learning how to get through it and learning more about like my own my own body and like what its weaknesses and strengths are and how to work on that

prevent something like this in the future was really a blessing in disguise and you know there's a lot of ups and downs with all sports and athletes and injuries. So it's not a linear line. And it was really frustrating at the time. Like I would say that I was not optimistic at all. And I was not fun to be around. But like that was a time that I could lean on the people around me. And having coaches that understood my parents, you know, keeping me positive. And my friends, like, I had one of the best summers of my entire life because I wasn't playing golf. I went to Spain for two weeks. I was on vacation like what felt like the entire time. I was like I just was hanging out and being a kid. So total blessing in disguise. I didn't pick up the clubs, but it didn't feel like my life was on

pause, but it felt like a fun little intermission from golf. So I think, I think, I just think the people around me is what made it possible to not, you know, dig too deep into a break from golf. And And my ranking fell a bit and all that happened. But, you know, none of the thought stuff really matters as long as you keep the bigger picture in mind. Yeah, very well said there. I think the one thing is you think about it is it's so hard not to sit there and look at rankings and try to be like, oh, my goodness, what is happening? I'm trying to keep up and trying to maintain and do all this stuff. And we've seen that happen to people in the past.

It's so good to hear that probably for the first time in a long time when you were able to have a summer away and you'll learn so much about yourself as a person. And I'm sure that's added to your competitive nature and really how you came back into your golf game. Yeah. No, 100%. I think right after I had come back, one of the first, well, we played, I played two events right after I came back and I was going in with no practice, actually, because I hadn't practiced the whole summer and hadn't really been practicing in the fall, was able to make the lineup through qualifying, but like didn't have any reps in my body or my system. So I went in just so grateful to be competing because I love playing tournament golf that I think I like played some of the freest golf that I have and almost won

the Stanford intercollegiate. I finished third there and then won the week after that in Hawaii at the Nenea Invitational and that was only my second wind ever and I probably went in as like unprepared as I had ever been. So I think sometimes a break is really good. And I've always taken pretty long breaks throughout my career, even without a reason to in the winter. Growing up in New Jersey would never really play November, December, January. So it wasn't new to me to like take a step away from the game.

I try to just make it as fun as possible and like live as much as my non-golf life as possible in that time because I was like when do I really have a chance to do that meg i remember a couple years back you talked about rose and how she was the heartbeat of the team at the time when she was on there what do you think you represent now as a leader of the stanford women's golf team oh i i i can't say that our team needs a leader at all so i mean when people when people say that to me i don't really see it but um everyone's really driven on their own i think the only thing that I offer is, I try to offer is non-golf stuff. I think Stanford's hard to navigate off the golf course and finding that balance of classes, what to take, scheduling, all that stuff

is really complicated and there's right and wrong ways to go about it. So I just try to be there for them in terms of questions, but I mean, on the golf course, they don't need any assistance from me. So I learned from them more than the other way around. Our four freshmen this year were we're really cool. When you decided to go to Stanford, did you automatically have in your mind, I'm going to go to college. I'm going to do this college experience. Of course, I'm going to play a college golf, but I want to finish with my degree. Yeah, 100%. Yeah. No, never a doubt about that. Is that something from your parents or is that something, just your self-belief that no matter what, whatever this experience is going to provide for me being a student athlete, the degree is so much more in

the grand scheme of things, you know, that's what my number one goal is. I think so. I think going to Stanford and graduating from Stanford was like such a big childhood dream of mine that it like outweighs most of the other things that most people would think are my goals. But I just think it's pretty special to go to a school like that. And to say you graduated with a degree is like, I don't know. That's like the sickest thing for me. So that was there was never. a debate about whether I would do that or not. I'd love to look back a little bit at, you know, earlier 2025, you kind of finding your groove again.

That opening round at Anwa earlier this year was a pretty big deal. I'm curious if that started reinstating even more confidence into you and how you carried that momentum into a week like this. Yeah, for sure. I think some of the wave of confidence coming back started in that fall season that I was talking about where I was, I won a college event and was contending and some others. But to do it on, to do it on like that international stage at one of the really big events is a whole other thing. And it reinforces the idea that you can, you can perform under pressure

in the biggest weeks, which is a whole different game than, you know, like week to week events. So I think, you know, knowing that you're playing the absolute best in the world and being able to go out and shoot a first round like that where I you know of course it was an unbelievable round but you know I told myself like yeah you did that there was every best player in the world here and you you beat them all by two by shooting nine under so I think it's really important to celebrate like smaller smaller victories like that because that's what stays in your memory bank and you you get shot down in golf so many more times and it lifts you up so like if you don't highlight those and make them a big deal in your own head like no one else will so

I tried to hang on to that. I definitely hung out into my match play performance at Nationals. And I think those are definitely big things that led to me feeling really collected this week at Abandon. Were you celebrating those smaller wins at Bandon? Or was it sort of like the magnitude of everything setting in after? Smaller wins, like you mean each of the matches? Yeah, yeah, because it's such a marathon week. Yeah.

I mean, yes and no. Definitely celebrate the smaller wins. Be proud of yourself. And then just carry on to the next, but like reset and know that, you know, there's still more to come. It's a hard balance. You want to get really excited, but you got to remember that there's, there's, there's, there's more golf to be played. Yeah, more golf to be played. I think one thing that'll stand out and, and sticks out to me still is like your semi-final match.

You came back from, from being down, you fought like heck, to get yourself in the right positions, you and your caddy masterfully plotting. yourselves around and taking advantage of opportunities when you had them. I don't want to say if there's any doubt there, but it seemed to feel like there was something that switched in you and you're like, I'm just, I'm not going to lose this. And you did whatever you needed to do to get the win there, which you did. Yeah. I mean, it probably looked like that just because I hung in there the whole time, but I honestly didn't even let myself feel down even when I was four down. I think Logan, my caddies, I don't know what hole. Maybe it was eight or nine. He started to give me like a motivational talk and I was like, don't give me that. I think he was the ninth hole. He was like,

he was like, you got this. And I'm like, don't do that to me. Like, I'm fine. Like, just give me some time. Let me get this under control. Like don't, don't give me a speech right now. So I think like that mentality, like not not hitting the panic button ever and just sticking to it is what got me through. And, you know, at some point, usually, especially on a core setup like that, with the conditions being hard, no one's going to play perfect golf for 18 holes. So make sure you just patiently stay in it, wait for a door to open and then put your foot on the gas when it does open for you, which is what I was able to do. But, yeah, I think, I think just, you know, having the patience to wait it out on that match helped. Was being tied going into the 18th hole in that match? probably the most nerving part of your week.

Yeah, I can agree with that. I would say good nervous, though. I was like, I think that's like when I get really under pressure like that, I usually enter like a state of mind that's like slightly, slightly like just more locked in. So I like feeling that feeling. And I definitely felt it on the 19th hole too and stuck one close. So it's a good type of pressure for sure.

Yeah, incredible, incredible performance, not just semi-final match. Your final match, you know, was all square for, excuse me, tied. I'm sorry, USJ, tied for a bit. And then it seemed like, you know, you work yourself up to a three-up lead and you never really turned back there. I'll say, obviously, leaving Band and Dunes there with the trophy, but if there's some way to encapsulate everything about that week, what would you say that it is?

I mean, I think just, I think the moment from when I made the winning put to that night when I went to bed, like, it just, it's like so many emotions, so many people that I love and being at that venue and, you know, just being able to hold the trophy for all those hours and celebrate it with my parents. Yeah, it's just like pure joy. There's a quote you have, I think it was in your winning press conference, you're talking about how. how you practiced that winning putt so many times in your basement. I mean, in retrospect, what are you telling that girl who's practicing that winning put that many times? I don't know. Keep practicing them because you're going to have more of those puts to make. Yeah, I'm, I mean, I'm just really proud of myself.

I'm really proud of, like, I'm proud of how it wasn't a surprise when I was in that position because I feel like I have, like, put myself in a place where I really believe that I could eventually do it and be in a spot to make the winning putt. And so when I got there, it didn't feel crazy. It felt right where I was supposed to be. So I think getting that feeling takes a lot of work. And regardless of what the outcome was, I think being comfortable in that spot is what I'm most proud of. Very well said. Well, you got one more year left at Stanford. What goals we're looking at as we go through this final little sprint that we have of your amateur golf career?

um having the best senior year ever on golf related that's my number one goal and then uh real life's not fun all the time i'll say that so enjoy uh your college experience while you can that's what i've heard that's what i've heard no one's telling me really good things about what comes next so enjoy enjoying enjoying this year um definitely winning a national title with my team i think that's just that's going to be winning last year was one of my favorite memories from from my experience so far far. So that's top of list. Um, and you know, like put myself in the spot for maybe some of those accolades that I haven't gotten to yet, like, uh, Anika Award, Julie Inster Award and all that stuff, which just takes good golf through the year. So, um, yeah, lots to look forward to.

Mega, do you have a non-golf like Stanford bucket list going before you graduate? I've done a lot of good things. I mean, there's, it's just so pretty in California. There's so many, like, easy day and weekend trips to make, but I try to make, like, a trip to Tahoe and Santa Cruz every year and all that stuff. So maybe a few more of those before I leave the area. Well, great. Congratulations again, Megha. We appreciate you taking the time to talk to us. And of course, good luck with your senior year, not only to you, but the rest of the team as well. Thanks so much. Thanks for having me on. Good talking to you guys.