No Laying Up - Golf Podcast - 833 - Maja Stark, Hannah Green is Queen of Wilshire, and Founders Week

Episode Date: May 9, 2024

Randy and Cody are back with another LPGA pod as we look back at Hannah Green's win at Wilshire, preview this week's Founders Cup and next week's Mizuho Americas Open with tournament host Michelle Wie West. We also catch up with Maja Stark (30:00) about her progression from college golf to the LPGA tour, growing up in the Sweden golf system, last year's Solheim Cup and a ton more. 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 Support our partners: Titleist.com - schedule your fitting today Yeti.com - presenting sponsor of our LPGA content Mizuho Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Be the right club. Be the right club today. That's better than most. How about in? That is better than most. Better than most. Expect anything different? better than most. Expect anything different. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back into the no laying up golf podcast. My name is Randy and I am joined by my associate, Mr. Cody McBride.

Sarge, how are we doing today down in the great state of Texas? It's finally starting to warm up, Mr. Big. I know that's something that you're looking forward to as well. I don't know if you still got snow up there or if it's lingering lurking, who knows, but it's a good day to be in Texas. And I'm excited, man, because we got a jam packed week at one of our favorite events of the year. Yeah, absolutely. Uh, founders cup this week. I think it's probably the best non major on the LPGA calendar. I don't even and I say

that because of its the history and the significance of the event and the way it really tries to honor the 13 original founders of the LPGA, which we talked about last year on an episode went through some quick bios for all those women. Extraordinary women, and I think it's an event that's important, and for that reason, it kind of sits apart from a lot of other week-to-week events. So we're going to dive into that at the end of the episode,

really the bulk of the episode. You and I are going to kind of quit talking, and we're going to bring in Maya Stark, who is on a great run of play the young Swede somebody that we got to know last year at the International Crown, we played a program with her. She's just fantastic. So we're gonna pick her brain about a lot of different things. And yeah, that will be the episode. So Cody, I know we, we have a

couple sponsors, let's thank them right off the top. And let's begin with our good friends at Yeti. Yeah, Yeti. Yeah, Yeti. Everybody knows Yeti by now. We are so thankful to have them as our title sponsor for this year's LPGA content here at No Laying Up. It doesn't matter if it's luggage, hard coolers, soft coolers, drinkware, you name it.

You can go to their website, yeti.com. They have some great Mother's Day stuff going on right now. Some expedited shipping options. If you have any procrastinators out there, specifically probably talking to our, okay, talking to you and talking to our audience. They have a great selection of items that we think any mom out there will love.

Different colors, different sizes, hard, soft, cups, you name it. And I'm excited because they just debuted something and they want everybody to take the plunge. And I'm not talking about cold plunges here. I'm talking about their new Rambler French Press looks really cool. I think we might add that to like our Yeti gear equipment pack out list. So, yeah, I'm excited for that.

You know, Yeti, their products perform when it matters most. Please head over to Yeti.com for their complete product line and more. We also want to thank our good friends at Titleist. A twofer advertisement off the top. I know, but you know, we love these guys. If you want to improve your game, a Titleist fitting experience is the fastest way to be better. A certified Titleist Fitter can help any player at any point in their journey find the clubs to unlock another level of play. Custom fittings are not just for better players. They are for any players who want to be better. Your Titleist Fitter will start by

getting to know you and your game. You and your specific needs drive the fitting experience. And every club you hit will be the exact club you will order. There is no guesswork or hoping that the recommendations will work out. You know, we've gone through this a couple different iterations. We've done our whole bags a couple of times now from drivers to fairway woods to hybrids. You know, I love my hybrids. Just like you big fella. I love to hear that.

I love to hear that our irons fittings. Most recently, I was down again and got re dialed in with some wedge fittings, but also it was the first time that we actually had a legitimate putter fitting done, and that was because of their new Phantom line. And that was just an awesome, awesome experience. I know you big, like it takes the guesswork out of everything. Every time I leave there, I'm so confident in the clubs

that I know where they're going. I know that they're fit exactly for me and they're actual tools that like I can work with now. Yeah, for somebody that is not a gear head, does not want to get deep in the weeds on specs and shafts and all of that rigmarole, it's nice to know that, hey, they're going to take care of me. They're going to give me exactly what I need.

And I can trust that it's the equipment that I need to play my best. So you're exactly right on that. Exactly. So if you want to play your best golf, the first step is so simple, go to Titleist.com and find the Titleist fitter or fitting event near you. The Titleist fitting experience is the fastest way to be better. Go do it. Everybody I highly encourage you this is an ad read but like go get fit. Everybody

out there shopping trying to find different clubs, going to big box stores, go get fit. It's gonna make a huge, huge difference. Amen. Thank you. Run a show, like we said, Big Maya Stark interview coming on the back of this. Yeah, start to do, do, do, do, do, do. She is off a couple back to back runner ups,

including the Chevron. A chip away. We have a special. A chip away from winning, really like getting yourself in a position to be in a playoff with Nelly Korda. And we're gonna get to Nelly Korda, but that close. In LA, it was a little bit different. And we talk about that in the interview with her,

but I think it was an awesome interview. And there's something about this first week in May big, you mentioned the international crown last year. That was the same exact week we recorded that podcast last week with her. She must just have something. Maybe she only wants to talk to us like the first week of May every year, but we'll take it because man, I'm like, I'm buying up all the my stock again, like we're right back in the same spot. Of course, last week at Wellshire, an excellent tournament as well. Awesome venue in Los Angeles. The JM Eagle LA Championship would be remiss not to shout out the efforts of Walter and Shirley Wang. They are the chairman and CEO of JM

Eagle and the CEO of Plaspro respectively. That's a wonderful event. We're going to get into Hannah Green winning that. As we said, Maya Stark was runner up there. We have the founders this week. Next week, they're going to Liberty National, the Mizuho, America's Open. That's a great new event. We actually have a surprise little pop in that that we'll get to as well. And then we take a week off and we're headed to Lancaster for the US Women's Open. So a wonderful stretch here, Cody, but let's go back to Wellshire. Hannah Green, the queen of Wellshire, going back to back. It's her fifth career LPGA Tour victory.

She breaks into the top 10 in the Rolex rankings for the first time in her career. She's currently ranked seventh. She's the highest ranked Australian woman now. She has passed Minji Lee. It's her second win of this 2024 season and if it weren't for Nellie Cordo just sucking up all the oxygen, I mean Hannah Green's right there as not only like the player of the year, but maybe the story of the year. Yeah, I agree with you on that.

And before I get away from it, if you're gonna continue to pronounce it Will Shire, then you have to pronounce it Lancaster. You can't pick one and give preferential treatment to the other. So far in my own head on like every pronunciation, it's, it's incredible. But you are right. It's a, it is a shocking time. And I think

that there's no one like Hannah Green kind of expected this. She's been putting in tons of hard work. She's really trying to like, just improve her overall game. There's a lot of changes that came with her in the off season, her longtime fiance and her finally got married. And I think she just finds herself at kind of a new spot in life where maturity and having like a solid team around her is just carrying her everywhere she goes. But there is something about this course.

Now I will say this next year, they are not going to play this championship at Wilshire because of renovation that they're getting ready to, to do. And there's nobody that's going to be more disappointed about that than Hannah Green, because if you want to talk about horses for courses, like she loves that place and she, she mentioned it in her post around pressers that something about the turf, it's something about the city. It just really reminds her of being back home in Australia. And you kind of get that. Like it's the weather, it's the firm and fast conditions. Like I see, I understand everything that she's kind of picking up there. And it's just been so, so cool in a year that is all about

Nellie Korter so far that we finally have somebody to reach out there and for her to pick up to win so far on the streets, like it's truly incredible. And I guess we get to, you know, the age old question, is she a horse for course or will she be a monster for sponsor next year? You know? Right. Yeah. But yeah, she's, she's one back to back now. Uh, she's kind of got some boom and bust in her game though, which I, which I

find interesting and I don't know why that is, you know, I'm not smart enough to know the answer to that, but it seems like, you know, she, she's not a top 10 machine and the flip side of that though is like when she is in contention, she's not a top 10 machine. And the flip side of that though, is like when she is in contention, she seems to just win and we saw that at, you know, her maiden victory, her major victory at, at Hazel teen several years ago at the KPMG women's PGA, we saw her in her first victory this year out in Singapore with that stretch of birdies down the stretch on Sunday and even we saw her drop the hammer here and really run away from Maya Stark on the back nine. It's really impressive but I'm curious, I don't

know Cody, like why are some people like that when they get a sniff of being in contention? They just have a knack for winning the tournament. I'm always fascinated by that. I don't know. I don't know if it's maybe lack of scar tissue or they just look at it completely different than we would assume other people look at it because you're right. Some people get in contention and find themselves in those positions and it's just like, yeah, this is no sweat, man. It's just another hole. And for them to be able to process and truly just take it one hole at a time and not look at the overwhelming totality of the situation that they're in. It's truly impressive. I wish I say this,

there's a couple of my favorites that are out there. I wish I could give a little bit more of that skill to but for those who have it, what a hidden talent. Yeah, no doubt. No doubt. You talked about Hannah kind of coming into her own. I think that's very natural. She's 27 years old. I mean, I think that's just a time in everybody's life where you kind of start feeling, hopefully you start feeling just more comfortable with who you are

and you know, you grow into adulthood and your perspective and mindset changes. I know Hannah specifically, I had spoken to her last year and I know how big of a deal breaking into that top 10 in the Rolex rankings has been for her. And that's been a goal of hers for I'm sure several years now. And for that to come to fruition has to be a good feeling. And honestly, it makes me wonder, you know, like, hey, mission accomplished and now she can kind of set her sights on top five, top three, hell, number one, right? It's a big chore right now to run down Nellie,

but it's cool to see somebody who had vocalized a goal and to now see it come to fruition. That's just a nice thing, I think. Yeah. And if you think of the courses that we have like the rest of the year, her one major championship that she had, obviously we're not going back to that course, but I think between Sahale sets up kind of similar to that. She loves firm and fast. She likes playing the ball on the ground just like most Aussies do. I mean, the old course, if we're taking somebody whose name is not

Nellie Korda out of like who I could see thriving there loves playing in like tough conditions, I would say that's that's her. We joke about all the time. And maybe we don't put too much emphasis on it. But the fact that it is an Olympic year, what they have to have if they have four players in the top 15, I can't remember exactly how it breaks down. I think that's right. I think that's right. If you have, if a country has four in the top 15, they can send off four. Otherwise, I believe it's the top two. Yeah. So right now looking at, I mean, team Australia,

Hannah Green's name is definitely up there with of course, Minji., I mean, team Australia, Hannah green's name is definitely up there with of course, Minji. And I say, you know, it's kind of shocking that she is currently the highest ranked Australian player. But when I think of Minji Lee, and this isn't a complete segue, like this is when this is the time of year, usually when Minji like starts cooking, when you get on some old school really good golf courses. Uh, I know that's the, that this week up at, uh, upper Montclair. I know she, she enjoys being in the big city and I'm, I would surely think that the Mizzouho America's open fits that for her before we start this kind

of season of major championships where she can truly get on courses that she's comfortable with and can run. Oh, by the way, like he had the lowest score here last year for this tournament, the Founders Cup, and ended up losing to Jin Yong in a playoff. So it was a hell of a finish. We're going to see how long hand it can keep the low Aussie crown for. But I'm just excited. I'm excited for the next couple of weeks. The schedule is turning at an awesome spot.

And finally, not crazy amounts of travel. So hopefully that takes a little bit of the wear and tear out of it. But just really, really pumped to get going. Yeah. Quickly on Hannah Green, I was looking at the KPMG Performance Insights, just trying to see from last year to this year how her game might be changing a little bit. Last year, she was 35th on tour at 0.79 strokes gained total. So far this year, she's up to 1.34 strokes gained total, which is good for 10th among all qualifiers. And the big driver of that is her putting last year, she ranked 55th at 0.19 strokes gained

putting and so far she's at 0.71 strokes gained putting good for 17th. So she's she's better by you know, a half a shot per round on the greens. She's a little bit better around the greens too. So seems like just you know, tidier. Always nice when that ball's going in the hole. And I thought the same thing. I think Sahali is an interesting setup for her. I think she's somebody we have to pay attention to

at the U.S. Women's Open here in a few weeks. So yeah, Hannah Green, great start to 2024 for her. A couple other finishers, we mentioned Maya Stark, we'll get into that when we talk to her. A trio of Koreans finished tied for third, Haeran Ryu among them. She was kind of in contention there at the Chevron. Also, Jinhee Im, at the Chevron. Also, Jinhee Im. She's on an awesome stretch of really good golf here. She's just over from Korea. And then Jin Young-Ko coming into form right for the Founders' Cup. Can never count her out. I remember sitting here last year, Cody, talking about one about Minji Lee and just wondering, you know, when's she going to turn it on? It's been such a sleepy start.

And she answered the bell at Founders Cup last year. Same with Jin Young-Ko. I hope it's a sign of things to come for Jin Young-Ko that the tour's better when she is on top of her game. So hopefully that finish at Wilshire portends to good things for her. Well, she's gotta have good feelings at Upper Montclair because I mean, she's won three out of the last four there.

The Founders' Cup seems to be her time to really rise up and it's going to be very, very interesting because of course we have this incredible streak from Nelly that's still very, very active. She did not play in LA, took a week off there. Obviously, they all had a week off last week. And then we have Nellie pop up on already what is going to be a busy week for her. Back to the Founders' Cup that Jin Young, like, she owns this tournament.

Like, it is crazy. And if you look at Nellie and kind of her trying to continue the streak, the last time an American won the founder's cup was 2013 Stacey Lewis. The Korean players has absolutely dominated this only non-Korean that have won 2022 Minji Lee, of course, 2017 Anna Norquist. And then it basically starting in 2015 to current day, like the Koreans have have owned this place. So it's exciting. It's an awesome golf course. We're going to be there for a lot of the action because I'm excited to get back on the ESPN

plus airwaves this time with my guy Big Randy and dive into it. Let's get an official prediction. Nelly's going for six straight. Jen Young Co's won three of the last four. Minji Lee might awake. Uh, who, who is your official pick? Nelly Corder. You're Nelly. Come on.

I'm going with you. I mean, if you can't pick Nelly in this spot, like what are we even doing? Right. It's certainly who I'm rooting for. I want her to win freaking every tournament the rest of the year. I agree. I listen, if that happened, I, I'm right there, man. Let's go.

Yeah. I think this is such a cool moment. And I just wished that my excitement was like echoed across everything that I see in the golf world. And it's, it's not what sucks, but hell yeah. Nelly Korda. Let's go. All right. Well, there it is. Catch Cody and I, like we said, we're going to be popping into the ESPN Plus feature groups coverage. We will tweet out specific times and details when we have them.

Stay tuned. We have a very special guest talking about next week's tournament, the Mizuho Americas Open, and then we will move to an outstanding interview with Maya Stark. I beg that brings us to our next segment today. And of course, that's by our new partner, and that is Mizuho. Who is Mizuho? You might ask. They're a top global corporate and investment bank powerhouse in Japan on the retail space. The Americas is their fastest growing region for Mizuho globally. It's the only institutional business in the Americas.

If you're an avid golf watcher, you might have seen a few of their commercials featuring Michelle Lee West. They're the title sponsor of the Mizuho Americas Open. That's in a couple weeks. So excited. May 16th through 19th at Liberty National has amateurs playing with the pros, increased purse to $3 million.

They cover player accommodations. There's a full day leadership summit for young girls in partnership with Girls Inc. That's all about Mizuho. But do you know what? A couple weeks away, our new partner, I wanted to find somebody who could speak to us exactly about the details, not only about them, this awesome company that

they represent, but specifically the Mizzouho Americas Open. So big. I threw, I made the biggest Hail Mary that I possibly could. We have one of their brand ambassadors and that is Michelle Lee West. Hey, hi, guys. Michelle. I mean, yes. This time last year, we were getting ready for a big match. It's it's been a minute. I know. Hey, big Randy, guess how many times I played golf since Pebble Beach.

Can I count them on one hand? Unfortunately, you can't. Really? More than two? Lesson? More than two. Actually, I recently played, so more than two. All right. Wow. Well, I was gonna make a joke that you played more than me, but I've played a bit more golf since then as well.

What a day that was. And he's been playing a lot of golf. And he's gotten a lot better since that day. If people wanna go watch that video, it's gonna live on forever on the internet when Michelle absolutely dusted him at Pebble Beach, which we like to see. But Michelle, you gotta be excited.

You're going into year two of your event. I mean, what else did we miss from the intro that you listened to? Oh my gosh, I don't even know where to begin. When I got the call two years ago saying that I would be the host for the Mizuho Americas Open, it was just like, I was like, what, excuse me?

Like, it's something that I've always wanted to do. It's been a dream of mine. I didn't expect it to happen so fast. And the way that we run the event, the way that we have raised standards, it's just year one was such a success. You know, I think because I was a player so soon before, there were a lot of, you know, things that maybe I wasn't happy with the tournament or I felt like the standards could

have been raised. And I really took that upon ourselves and the team and the sponsor, Mizuho has been great in every step of the way. And, you know, we want to make the player experience great because my main thing is that, you know, especially, you know, us as women, you know, a lot of times I feel like, you know, we, we don't take things for granted and, you know, I don't mean that in a way of, you know know being cocky or whatever but sometimes there are things that we need to take for granted you know like eating in the clubhouse just higher purses iconic venues you know and I want this to become you know every time players come play in our tournament I want them to be like oh yeah this is what I need to take for granted. This is what our standard is. And the

first year in Mizuho, they paid for everyone's hotel room in New York City at the Conrad and we had the fairies like the President's Cup go back and forth. And it was just a world class treatment, you know, the chef at Liberty National, he was so excited. He cooked amazing meals for all the players we actually ate in the clubhouse. You know, the tea the chef at Liberty National. He was so excited. He cooked amazing meals for all the players. We actually ate in the clubhouse. You know, the tea gifts were amazing.

And it was really cool to hear since last year, a lot of tournaments have kind of followed our suit. You know, I've heard of a lot of travel stipends. I've heard of a lot of tournaments now, paying for hotel rooms. So I'm just extremely proud of, you know, how year one went, you know, the mentorship program with the 24 juniors and the pros. We're really excited to see who's gonna come back this year. But yeah, year two, I'm

absolutely stoked. There's so much to pull out of that. I think, first of all, huge congratulations and kudos to you because truly I think this is a prime example of all boats rise, right? You just need somebody to be out there and to be the leader in the space. And I think that's you putting your name to an event, you being an incredible ambassador to not just like women's professional golf, but golf all around. Like there's no, there's no men's or women's thing. It's like professional golf tournaments all around, uh, bringing the juniors and getting them involved. But ultimately, like, I could not imagine what it's like for

you to travel weekend and week out because we're on the road for like two weeks max. And I'm like, Oh my goodness, I just want to go home. And that's not even, that's, you talk about like staying at the Conrad and like having well cooked meals that have like nutrition and everything else that's the focus of it. It's just things that in the past, maybe tournaments haven't really thought of, and now you're putting that at the forefront

of everybody's mind, and it's making everybody just elevate their product. It's truly incredible to see it, and a big thank you to you for kind of leading the way on it. These are things as a player I would be really annoying about to like, you know, the staff, everyone's like, why don't we do this? Why do we do that? And you know, for me, I was just like recently thinking about it, you know, just like, just because I'm retired, that doesn't make it not my problem anymore. You know what I'm saying? Like, it's not like I'm, you know, just like, just because I'm retired, that doesn't make it not my problem anymore. You know what I'm saying?

Like, it's not like I'm retired now. It's like, okay, this is your problem to figure out. Like, I still find it like my responsibility and our generation's responsibility, no matter if we're playing on tour or not, to, you know, help kind of fix these problems. We have to be able to advocate for ourselves. I've never had a problem doing that when I was playing. So I

want to keep doing that. But yeah, we're really excited. You know, obviously, the players being the stay in New York City is a really exciting thing. This year, we added a really fun New York City eating guide for all the players where they you know, can have access to reservations to the top restaurants in New York City and you know, and maybe get a little bit of a discount as well. And we partnered with some really cool restaurants. So I love the city, I love New York, I love Liberty National. So it's just really fun to have players and

the juniors come and just get so excited about an event. Can you promise us, we were so spoiled, such an awesome ending last year. Rose Zhang winning her debut on the LPGA tour, defeating Jennifer Cupcho. Can you promise us, Michelle, as good of an ending this year? I don't know which golf gods we have to bribe to make that happen, but if you guys know of a golf god that can make that happen, we will bribe them. We will do whatever we can. But I was just with Rose at media day and I was like, yeah, you and Nellie in a playoff, right? Like we're scripting that for this for this week. Like perfect. Great. Like, there we go. Yeah. Speaking of media day, we saw the pictures and if anybody didn't see them, they're on the tournament social pages. You can go find them on Instagram or Twitter or the LPGA also

shared them. There are plenty of them out there. But you guys throw out a couple first pitches. Nerve-wracking experience. Was there practice included in this? Was somebody giving you guys pointers? Kind of how this whole thing set up? I am probably one of the most unathletic human beings to ever walk this planet. So like me throwing out baseball is like terrifying.

Especially Yankee Stadium. Like I feel it's a place where if you like mess up, they will boo you out of the stadium. I feel like New York fans are not gentle in that manner. They're not going to be like, oh, it's okay. They're like boo in that manner. They're not gonna be like, oh, it's okay. They're like, boo, get out. The tournament staff actually brought out gloves and baseballs and we were slinging them pretty good. As I told them, my strategy always in the first pitch

is to chicken out, lob it, early lob it, high lob, height is key, and you just get it there. You don't try to go for the low slinger. The last thing you want to do is 50 cent it and hold on to the ball and then it just go in the ground. And I just don't want to become a meme that was like my number one goal. So yeah, we were actually like, yeah, just hit it. And I was like, I felt feeling pretty good. And then I got there. And usually, I thought, you know, we were able to practice with a ball around

and we're just staying there for 40 minutes. And'm like, there's absolutely no way that I'm doing anything or attempting anything athletic right now. I'm just going to early release, early lob. I overestimated the softness of it. So it was a little bit short, but at least I didn't embarrass myself completely. So I think it looked great. Honestly, I thought it was better than Rose's poor Rose. I thought she was she was struggling a little bit. I went to the wrong catcher, but you know, we can just say that we all went to the same catcher. It's fine. Yeah. Yeah.

Oh, that's fantastic. I as somebody that's thrown out a pitch, a first pitch at a spring training game where I was beyond nervous. I cannot imagine being in the middle of Yankee Stadium. So I actually can empathize with what you must have been feeling. You know, best of luck with the event, Michelle. Thank you again for hopping on with us again. The Mizuho America's Open is going to be played May 16th through 19th at Liberty National,

hosted by none other than Michelle Wee West. And we'll see. We'll hope for that playoff again. Who knows? But you know, the level of play that's out there right now on the LPGA Tour, either way, it's going to be a phenomenal champion. And I can't wait to see who the amateur is going to be this year, because I think you're

just like these ranks and the juniors that are coming up, they just keep getting better and better and better. So it's going to be cool. One of these years, I wonder how much longer down the road it's going to be before your amateur champion becomes your actual event champion. Yeah. I was just thinking that when you're saying that, it's going to be really cool to watch. Well, thank you, Michelle. Best of luck in year two. And also thank you sincerely for, like you said, trying to set the standard and raise the standard for the LPGA Tour and Professional Golf at Large. We really appreciate it. Thanks for having me on. And for everybody else,

you can check them out. And a big thank you to Mizuho. For more information, that is Mizuhoamericas.com. Well, without further ado, let's welcome into the show one of our favorites, Maya Stark, Sweden's own Maya Stark. She is currently, I believe, the 16th ranked player in the new Rolex rankings. She has six career LET victories, one career LPGA victory, and is on a great run of play, having finished runner-up at both the

Wilshire JM Eagle LA Championship, as well as the Chevron Championship. Before that, Maya, thank you so much for joining. And I failed to mention one thing, Maya. We have, I believe, another runner-up finish, the three of us at the International Crown Pro-Am at TPC Harding Park last year, which I think is probably the,

you know, I'm burying the lead there. That's probably the career highlight runner-up. I mean, probably, you know, I mean, when we made that eagle chip on the last, because we thought that we were winning it by chipping in, I mean, that was a new high for me. I've never experienced it since. Very nice of you.

By we, of course, she means when you made that chip, Maya, a phenomenal moment. You called your shot, and I think from then, we instantly, you know know we were big fans going in but we were instantly like on your side ride or die from that day on and it's it's incredible to see where your season is at now but big I think I mean there's so much that we can cover we got to get into where my is from, the upgrade of course, Swedish golf, hot in the streets. We can talk some college stuff.

Winning right away as a pro, Solheim Cup, I mean, there's so much to go through. I don't even know where you want to start today. Well, let's start at the present and then we'll work our way back. Maya, we are, the Founders Cup is coming up and I know you have not played Founders Cup, but what are your, what do you know about the course? What do you know about Upper Montclair?

And are you excited to get up to New Jersey? Tilda Hickman Honestly, I don't know anything. I don't do my research. I'm done studying things. So I'm just going to go there. I think it has been cool. I have watched it a couple of times, but not when it's been at that course and just having like the older players sitting there and waiting after the 18th hole. I think that could be really cool to just see them and talk to them. I talked a little bit with Nancy Lopez at Masters, at the Masters. And, and she's just so funny, just so great and it feels like she still loves golf just as much. What did you chat to her about if I can ask?

Did she give you any little insights or nuggets? Oh no, she has so many stories. She was talking about Armand Palmer and there was one year where she didn't have a single three putt. I could not believe that. Yeah, there was a season like one of her first seasons on tour she didn't have a single three putt and I'm like how? I mean no, that doesn't work. I could not believe it. I'm not calling her a liar but like sometimes you forget a three putt here and there. Yeah, yeah. That's incredible. Well, you're going into Founders on a really nice run of play. I mentioned your last two starts, you finished runner up, and then even going back to the Ford Championship a few weeks prior to Chevron, you finished tied for third. Is there anything different? Do you feel like something has clicked in your game?

Talk to me about your mental state and where your golf game is right now. So in Singapore, I played so bad. I didn't even look at the leaderboard, but I could just imagine that I was DFL for most of that week. But my coach was there, the Swedish coach, Patrick was there. And we just kind of started dissecting the game and what was going on and what we could do. So then I started working on a couple of things. I talked to my coach that I have at home, Fredrik. He saw a couple of other things and then I worked pretty hard on those. I had

two off weeks after that. I worked pretty hard on those. And then obviously, I you have to like find a little key because you can't or at least me, I can't think about my technique stuff. Like, oh, don't roll your hands. Like that's such a small thought that I can't do that when I'm at tournaments. So I found a technique thought that works for me that maybe my coaches didn't tell me about, but it works so well on the course. And that's, yeah, so that's what I've been doing. And just trying to be confident that everything else is fine. I just have to focus on this little thing

and then check my putter. My putter was way off in like the specs. I didn't even know you had to check the loft and lie on putters, but apparently you do. And it's pretty damn important. So I did that. And now had to check the loft and lie on potters, but apparently you do and it's pretty damn important. So I did that and now I can start the ball online and my mental things as well. Now I trust it. I trust myself in hitting straight shots and that's just, I mean, that makes it a bit easier

to play. Cody and I are chuckling about getting the loft and lie. Truly though, that's something, you guys travel so often and your clubs are in travel bags and they're being handled by airport staff and so many other people that the tiniest little knock and bend can really affect that. I'm curious though, you were talking about, you know, that key. Is this like a state secret or can you tell us what that key is that you found really works for you out on the course right now? I can tell you, but it sounds pretty stupid. But it is to have relaxed knees.

Really? I don't think any coach has ever said to have, yeah, because then I focus. So with my coaches, we've been like trying to get my balance to go like from right to left and not rotate because when I rotate too much, then my body ends up like too far behind and I just like chunk or thin. But when I have relaxed knees, then I kind of take a pause on the top and just like move forward naturally. And it was funny, we realized that in Chevron, one of the first days there, I think it was on a Tuesday or Wednesday, and me and my caddie were walking in the clubhouse and they have all these pictures of from the ANA from like the 80s and 90s. And I just saw those pictures and I was like, they're so limber. These players like, their hips are just like going left

and like rotated and it's so far out. And I was like, I'm going to try to be as relaxed as this lady on that picture. And then I tried it and I was like I'm gonna try to be as relaxed as this lady on that picture and then I tried it and I was like this is great. All of a sudden I'm loose, I can do yeah whatever and I trust it and that's crazy because I let go of all the control that I had of my swing and just focused on relaxing but like a specific part, and that really works. I'm gonna add that to my bank, Randi. If you see me staring at people's knees from here on out, that's what I'm doing.

I don't wanna be called out by it, but I'm gonna throw that tip away, Maya. I love that. It is a fascinating thing to think through though. I think, you know, if we look at older people's golf swings, just like you're you're talking about my and like, watching them, it was a lot more fluid. I guess you could say like, romanticized golf swing versus everything now

is is built on power. And I know that's something that if I put, like, I could stack your golf swing, I could stack Lynn's golf swing, I could put Ingrid's, I could put Ludwig's, you guys are all coming out of the same developmental path. And there's so many similarities in your swing, and they're built for power, but ultimately, they're built to keep the cubfaces square as long as possible. And you don't see like, you know, when you go back and look at male or female

swings, where there's the reverse C or anything and it just looks like there's a lot more finesse. I totally see what you're talking about. It's just fascinating because I've never thought about the knees like that. I guess you only think about like driving from the ground to create more power. When you guys realize this and you're making a conscious effort to try to work more power. When you guys realize this and you're making a conscious effort to try to work on it, are you guys just looking at normal swing videos? Are you guys using force plates?

Like, is this just from the data that you guys are getting from TrackMan or something, or where did this come from? That's a good question. I feel like it's a little bit different. I think Ingrid and her coach, I think they're big fans of the force plates. I haven't used those a lot. I think it's mostly just swing videos for me. I feel like I get a better grasp of what I'm doing. Trackman is fine. I don't use it a lot, but I do use it just to check some stuff. But

then it feels like it tells you what's wrong, but then not really how to fix it. So that's why I prefer swing videos for me, at least. Maya, if we can, and Cody, maybe we should talk about Solheim Cup experience last year, because I'm really curious. You know, we were in Spain and I just loved, one, I loved you and Lynn playing together.

I imagine that was such a awesome experience, you know, as a outside viewer. I could just see, you know, you guys, not only enjoying each other and the competitiveness and the moment. But it seemed like truly Solheim Cup for you, and I know you spoke to this in your press conferences too, it seemed like a true career highlight. And being around Captain Pedersen and some of the older players, I'm wondering, you know, as we've moved into 2024 and you're reflecting

back on Solheim Cup, is there anything that you kind of keep in the back of your mind or anything that you draw upon that has helped you this year, whether that's, you know, a little piece of advice or just, you know, that feeling under pressure I'm wondering how Solheim has kind of influenced you moving forward into this season. So at the Solheim my best part of my game was my putting because I feel like something just clicks in match play where like I have to make this putt there's nothing else it's not fine to too putt this. And that just made me like, something clicked in my brain. I changed my setup a little bit to just what was natural for me. That's what I've been trying to do as well this

year. Obviously didn't work very well earlier this year. But now I have tried to just like put my focus on the hole and nothing else like no technique thoughts, nothing like that. But then I also think I learned a lot about my nerves because that first on Friday morning, me and Lynn were playing first. And I was so nervous the first three holes, I didn't know what what to do. And then I just thought, I can't do this for three days. This would be exhausting if I was this nervous. I just said, get a grip, let's just keep playing

and let's just have fun. And then we lost that match on the 17th hole, but we lost the first three holes because of, well, like I didn't play great those first three holes, Lynn didn't play great those first three holes because of, well, like I didn't play great those first three holes, Lynn didn't play great those first three holes. But I feel like since we played better after those first three, like that was just nerves for me at least. So now I'm like, okay, I'm super nervous, but screw it. Let's

just go. Nothing's gonna get better for me trying to control stuff. And I'm still struggling with that. I mean, at Wilshire, the front line, both on Saturday and Sunday, I was really nervous and I was trying to control stuff all the time. And I was hitting really poor shots. And that's not a coincidence that happened then.

Can I ask you when you say trying to control stuff, can I ask you what to maybe expand on that? What do you mean by that? So I feel a lot with like tee shots and stuff where you know that you can't go here, you can't go there and then my hands just get super tense. And I try to so if, if I know that like my miss is a high push fade, then I try to control and like turn, turn the blade, like turn the clubface over. Obviously, that doesn't work. Like, that's

gonna be a straight hook or whatever. And oftentimes, like the timing just gets off. I'm a little bit too quick from the top. I don't have relaxed knees anymore when I try to do that so that doesn't work. Like my balance is all off. That's kind of what happens. How did you pull yourself out of that? How did you, you know, make that change in your mindset and attitude within the round? I don't really remember what I did at Solheim. I think I was just trying to enjoy it. But at Wilshire, I said, well, I had been talking to Peter Hansen before that and he had said, instead of saying, be patient, let's just say, just keep playing. And then you actually

focus on like what to do next. So that just kind of got me out of it. And one thing that Lin said, at one of our first LAT events when we had turned pro, we had a little Q&A with some younger girls. And she said, you can only mess up one shot at a time, so let's just go. And that's really helped me. I think it wasn't good, but I think she made it, so I won that one competition and got the LAT status where she came second. So I feel a little bit bad about that.

She helped me by saying that. But then also just think of there will be a million other moments like this in my career. So let's just enjoy this and try to swing as freely. Take this as a Saturday afternoon round with the boys and be relaxed with it. I love that. Kody, you can only mess up one shot at a time.

Maybe more so than relaxed knees. That's going into my mindset this golf season. I do the exact same thing. It's crazy to think about it. You get a little bit nervous and you start thinking about where you cannot miss it at, and you just start guiding it. You know mentally, this is the worst thing that you can possibly do. I don't know why I'm doing this, but you're telling yourself this is the only option that you have at the moment. I know you and Lynn have teamed up a ton. From junior days to high level amateur competitions,

you guys are really close friends. It's a very comfy pairing. Did you, number one, did you think you were gonna go off first at the Solheim Cup? Did you ask to go out first? the Solheim Cup? Did you ask to go out first? Or kinda how did the pairings and startings come to be? Susanna told us earlier in the week that she was like, we're gonna be really transparent. We know what it's like to not know when you're playing and whatever. So they had said from

maybe the Wednesday, Tuesday or Wednesday, that we were going to go out she's she didn't say what order we were going to play in. But she said Mylin, you're playing Friday morning. So we knew that we were playing and then since Suzanne is at she like loves testing people. She put us out first. I think she wanted the energy, but it's also very much a Suzanne thing to do. Just send out the rookies into the deep waters. And then after the time went on, she was like, no, this isn't working. I'm just gonna like, you're gonna hear it after your round when you're playing the next one. So, and that was more Suzanne for us. That was, it was kind of weird. She tried to be very like democratic in the beginning of the week. And then I know Carlotta had talked to her and been like, this isn't you. We're not used to this. Just be yourself and we'll love it. And then obviously, we completely turn it around when we saw that fire raises and who didn't give a crap about what we wanted. She just, because she knew what was best for us.

That's kind of our mind, at least my mindset. I was like, I mean, obviously, I didn't love hearing from there was a Swedish journalist on the Saturday after mine and Lynn's foursome match. He was like, okay, Maya, you're not playing this afternoon. How do you feel about that? I was like, I'm not playing? I didn't know that. So, it was, I mean, didn't need to tell the journalist

before she told the players, but whatever. Yeah, it was a fascinating event. You ended up going to one and one, which is awesome for your first Solheim Cup. You partnered up with Lynn, as you said, up against Lexi and Megan for the opening round that Friday morning. You were there, Your teammates with Emily, when she, of course, made a hole in one in the afternoon, four ball sessions. Incredible moments you got back with on Saturday morning. You and Lynn again get a point there against Andrea. And I can't even remember who it was.

Danielle. Yeah, Danielle. Then, of course, you sit out. I remember I was shocked when I was like, oh, Maya's gonna sit. Like it seems kind of weird because she seems like she's got a really hot putter right now and is riding a ton of momentum. And then of course, easy cleaned up your singles match

against the reigning US Women's Open Champion Alison Corpuz. There's no big deal there. Big takeaways from Solheim, because we're of course, back to back years, we got another Solheim coming up, this time in the United States. I'm sure it's gonna be a little bit different,

but it seems like you guys have the same captains. You guys have this incredible tight team. There's, it seems like you guys love being with each other, playing with each other and playing for your captain. I mean, it seems to be that you guys definitely have momentum and that you're kind of expecting this year to just go out and win the Cup outright. I mean, we hope so. With the form that the European players are showing, I mean, So with the form that the European players are showing, I mean, it seems more than possible. And I don't know how the US team is feeling about it. We've never won four in a row, so to do it with Suzanne as captain. She just loves it so much.

It feels like the energy is just rubbing off to everyone else in the team. And if we were to win that fourth one, I think she would love every single one of us forever as special little children. Can you talk about Captain Pettersen? Did you know her growing up? Or when's the first time you really

met her, spoke to her? I know she's quite intimidating. I imagine was that your feeling that that first time you did meet her? Oh yeah. So when I was like 16, we were playing the European Championships in Oslo. One of the Swedish golf team coaches is Norwegian and he had been working with Susanne. I won a glove and a ball signed by her in a little potting competition that we had. That's when I first was like, Whoa, like the connections right here. I think she started following me on Instagram and started messaging me after I won an LLT in Australia. And then she would just she would just be like, whenever I was in contention, she would send me a little message like, go win this, take it home, whatever, like no pressure, like just pressure there. And so I

just, she is intimidating, but I love it. And I feel like it's, for me, I'm not used to it. But I have so much respect for her. And she's so cool. Like, I don't even know what to say around her. Still, I get starstruck because she is just cooler than everyone else that I know. Yeah, it was just great to see her. On the course, I don't feel like she would talk to us that much. After a hole when she was sitting there waiting, she would just give you a look and you're like, oh, shoot, I've got to win this next hole. Like, first to Sam. Is there anybody else that you've come across in the game of golf that gives you that same

nervousness and you... I just feel like she's such a unique character. Gosh. Like, are you starstruck? I don't know. I imagine you've... Not really. I imagine you've spent plenty of time around like Annika, for instance.

I'm just wondering if you've ever felt that same kind of like nervous starstruck energy. I don't think so because Annika is like too nice for that. She talks to too many people, whereas it feels like with Suzanne, you gotta be like... Obviously she respects everyone and she's a very nice person, but it feels like she doesn't say anything that doesn't need to be said. But I don't know. I feel like I have massive respect for Lexi. She's a great player, obviously. And I feel like she is super nice and not as reserved as I thought that she was going to be.

And I just have so much respect for that. She's been in the spotlight since she was, I don't know, 14 years old. And I would expect her to like, I don't know, be a little bit more just like by herself a little bit more, but she is the nicest person out there. So I get starstruck by that. And I get so impressed by that since she's had like smoke blown up her ass all like since she was so little. But yeah. You'd expect her to be like extremely closed off guarded both like extra externally but also to everyone around her and I've noticed the same thing with Lexi is

once you kind of like penetrate and get inside and she understands who you are, she's like could not be any nicer. Phenomenal person will talk about anything, will answer questions. I think the cool thing about Suzanne is you're right, there's like this aura of like, you know, she's like, she's tough and she's a fierce competitor.

And even like when you see her off the golf course, she's still kind of carries herself that way. And you're just like, Ooh, there's, there's an intimidating fact, like intimidation factor there that that'll, it'll get you. It's kind of, maybe this, uh, doesn't register with you, but I have like nothing but the, the utmost respect for everything that Dame Laura Davies has done in her career and From media and from the outside looking in she always seems so intimidating and you're just like, oh my goodness

like she's got a title and like you don't want to mess with her and then You start talking to her. She's like, oh my God, come here, give me a hug. What do you guys want? I'll answer whatever, how much time do you need? Oh cool, cool. Well, I'll tell you some stories. You want to know some funny stories of life on tour? Well, back in 1982, we were drunk here and this happened.

And I'm like, whoa, I did not expect you at all to have this personality or anything else like that. But it's crazy how you can kind of judge people from the outside without having a clue what they're actually like. Cody, you're exactly right. I, you know, we obviously sat down with with the dame in Spain and I don't get nervous very often anymore, but I was nervous just like introducing myself with like, hey, Laura, thank you for doing this. Can we ask you just a few questions? I promise I won't take much of your time.

But anyway, Maya, we've spent a lot of time on Solheim. I think the other area we wanted to explore with you while we have you, just your upbringing and how much Swedish golf has meant to you and done for you. We've talked about Lynn, but I guess that's a good thing to hear. I think people know you and Lynn are friends, but how far back do you go with Lynn Grant and how much has golf, I imagine you met her through golf, but you guys are very good friends away from the game too. I think we met maybe in 2013, 2014, but we didn't like each other very much.

That's kind of the funny thing that me and them were so different. It's actually crazy how different we are. But we still get along and we have so much fun together. But then our friend groups would not mix outside of the course. Then, yeah, we were just very different. I don't really remember because she was just like... I remember one time, one of the first times I saw her play was at a regional final to get into the national championships in Sweden

because you were playing in each age group. Me and my playing partner were waiting on the 10th hole and I was just behind the green and I saw Lynn putting out on nine and she hit this putt like a ten-footer and it was going straight at the hole and then a leaf just comes and hits her ball and stops it and she just goes crazy and I'm like that was pretty sick. Like how the hell did that happen? So I was like oh she's mad. She is one of those angry players. I mean, if that happened to me, I would be pissed too. But I just saw her, I was like this angry player, like, who was just

mad all the time after that. How did that friendship form then, going from, you know, maybe not liking her that much initially? Was it just time and getting to know her? Is that kind of the basis then for the friendship? Yeah, so we started high school. We were at the same high school. I don't know, we were just in very different friend groups from the beginning and then started on the national team together.

Always had fun on the national team. And it was nice there because you had this person that you're close to at home too. And then having her at the national team and we still didn't hang out much. And then it just felt like when we went on and played on the girls national team, women's national team, turned pro at the same time, it just like, we got closer and closer. And yeah, I don't know. What is it about this? The Swedes, we always joke, you know, both both on the women's side, obviously, and with Ludvig kind of leading the way on the men's side. Now, what is it

about Swedish golf? Seems seems like you guys are having a moment. Can you talk about, you know, the Swedish national team and I guess what's in the water? What's going on in Sweden? Yeah, I think we have very good coaches who base like everything they do in like science. So I think that's been the strongest part for my coach, Frederick, who I've had. He was part of the Girls' Future national team when I was younger, and then the Girls' national team, and then the Ladies' national team. He thinks about stuff very logically.

He says, I don't care if you have nerves, because it's not the nerves that are messing you up. It's how you react to the nerves. Like if you speed up, that's how you react to it. So whereas it feels like a lot of other people or a lot of other coaches say just don't be nervous or they say, like they say calm down, which that never helps. But the Swedish team actually gives us tools to deal with the nerves. And then obviously, I think that they, they know that since we can't play all year round, we have to make the most out of it. And it has to be our training has to be

really like analytical. We learn a lot about how to learn. So it's about the feedback, the whole feedback loop and all that good stuff. So it feels like when we go out into tour life and we don't have a coach with us there every day. Like you maybe do when you're in high school or college. It feels like we can handle a lot more stuff on our own and we can keep getting better when we're out there.

Which I think is a little bit unique maybe because it feels like a lot of other people need their coach there all the time. Whereas I don't think that we do. I don't think that's very common for us to have our coaches out there all the time. Not just coaches, but I think there's a level of maturity that's been passed down to every Swedish player. And it's like when they're when they turn professional and they're out there, they're they have everything under control. It seems like you know I understand that other countries have

their national programs but specifically like even some of the young women that we see coming up in the United States like they can't go anywhere without mom and dad, swing coach, physio, psych, like everything there to take care of everything. And I think it speaks so highly to the Swedish national team that you guys are, I mean, you have friendships and you have your squad around there, but you don't need all this other stuff to make it through your life. And as crazy as multiple weeks on the road are, and you guys all living a long ways away from home, it's fascinating to see and watch.

And I don't know, I mean, I know you don't want me to say this, but it's like other countries should be paying attention to this. I mean, like, this is the template that you need to use to develop your young players because it is working. And it's not just on the men's or the women's side, it's both. And whatever they got going, just on the men's or the women's side, it's both.

And whatever they got going, I would say it's in the water, but it's very, very fresh Swedish snow melt water. So I don't think we can get anything that pure in the United States, but it's working. It's really cool to see. Yeah, we had a camp during Thanksgiving where one of the people from the USGA who was starting, I think he was going to be the coach of the national team.

He was there to see what we do. It was funny, he was sitting in on a couple of lectures where we were obviously speaking Swedish so I don't know how much he understood of what we were talking about. But he was there. And so like, we have crazy challenges sometimes, usually by the end of camps, it kind of tests every part of you. So usually it can start with like a ball stacking competition. So you're, you have to like stack the balls when you have three piles of balls stacked, then you can go and do

other stuff. It can be like reach into this box and tell me what's in it. And you don't see what's in the box. So you just have to reach in and like challenge yourself like that. It's like, eat this club of garlic or play until you make a birdie on the course. Just weird stuff that I mean, I think they put those things in there for a reason. I haven't talked to my coach about why, but it definitely makes camp more fun.

Well, I think the biggest thing is that it makes you think about other things outside of like the shot that's in front of you. So you're putting, you know, it might be a clove of garlic, but they're inserting a little bit of adversity into something that you don't like. It's not making you uncomfortable, but it's eating that much garlic's a lot.

So it's still making you think extremely hard through your process and everything else. It's funny, I'm not gonna eat cloves of garlic like that. But I think from your guys's, you talked about being on the same, you know, the national team, you guys go into high school together, which I couldn't even imagine what it was like, all you guys being in the same class. And then, you know, you and Lynn, I don't know if this was planned or not, but you guys decided to turn professional like

almost the exact same time. And before we get there, like your decision to come to the United States, and I know Oklahoma State has a very long Swedish lineage of players. Like, I'm sure a lot of people are like, why Oklahoma State? Why would you go there? But there is, like, there's clear lines from not just the national team, but players that came before you of going there and excelling there. So it makes sense. But did COVID cut college short for you? Did turning professional cut it short? Was a combination of all of it? Or were you just like, I'm ready to go. Let's just go play. No, my plan was to come back to college.

But then I talked to my college coaches about it and obviously it's tough for the college coaches because they don't really want a player who won't play the full year who's on a scholarship, which I was. So they said, would you mind turning pro now that we have a scholarship? Yeah, which is, I was fine with that. It was a little bit scary and I could come back if I wanted to but I was like no, let's let's do this now I turned pro in August and immediately I got some

invites to LAT tournaments and I think that Lynn Lynn turned pro because of kovat. We got some really good opportunities. I mean, there were a couple of Swedish LAT tournaments that we got invited to and that could kind of kickstart or like, yeah, kickstart our careers. Yeah, you guys came out and started winning quick, but you know, we talk about majors.

We just talked about Chevron to open up and you literally being, you know, I saw you made that chip, a phenomenal solo second finish there. But I always think back to the 2021 US Women's Open, and I know that Meghna Ghani, like on the low amp side stole all the highlights there because she was in contention literally till the very end. But if you go back and look at the leaderboard, there's a Maya Stark that's also like top 10 the entire week. And everybody is kind of like, I have no clue who this person is, but let's

just continue to focus on Mega. Did that experience and you being there playing on the biggest stage at an extremely difficult golf course add to the decision to be like, okay, I think I'm ready to go do this full time. Oh yeah. And it helped, so I played that one. Actually the year before that, I had also been runner-up amateur. So I'm just used to being second, I guess.

But yeah, so when I did that, and I thought now I have two good finishes in US Open, which is the hardest thing out there, let's just go for it. I can do this. And then the next week I play the Scandi Mix at home and I think I had a top 20 there. And I just thought I am ready. I was still an amateur then. And then the week after I talked to my college coaches.

I was still an amateur then. And then the week after I talked to my college coaches. So I missed out on a little bit of money there, which it was very hard back then because I was like, this could be a great just financial situation. If they, we've talked about it two weeks prior, but it worked out fine anyway. Was the goal to always make it to the LPGA Tour and not trying to like rack and stack LET versus LPGA?

But I think that just like sure money and opportunity wise right now that's on the LPGA Tour. Yeah. I mean, I want to play against the best players. Obviously, LET has some fantastic players, but it's not as broad as the LPJ, where it feels like anyone can win. So yeah, that's why I wanted to come out here. This is a little bit more luxurious too.

It's a little bit easier to travel between the places because on the LAT schedule, you know, you have South Africa to Thailand to Australia, back to Europe, like just, yeah, just you're racking up those miles. That's not really what I wanted. Well, Maya, speaking of US Opens, you obviously have a very good history both as an amateur and you top 10'd last year out at Pebble Beach. You got the runner up at Chevron, which is now your best finish in a major championship. We go from Founders to Mizuho, which is a great event at Liberty National, and then

to the US Open at Lancaster. One, I think it's about time Maya Stark wins on American soil. We're still waiting on that. But my actual question is, I have to imagine you really like when the golf gets difficult. Is that the case for you? Do you enjoy it when the course and the conditions get very tough? I do. I think it just brings out a whole new patience for me because I know that everyone's going to be struggling.

I used to think that I wasn't good when it was birdie competition because I didn't have the patience to like, oh, I've gone five holes without a birdie, everyone else is running away from me. So I've always liked when you have to be a little bit more creative and you have to just take your medicine, just chip out into the fairway. Like at Olympic Club in 21, you would have to just chip it out into the fairway from the normal seminar. So, and I love that, just nitty gritty grind.

It's so weird, you make so many birdies. It's weird to think and hear you say that you get nervous when you've gone through a couple holes of not making them. You hold like school records for most birdies made. You are in like top 10 on the LPGA tour for most birdies. Like it's just weird to sit there and think through it all. But it does make sense. When I think of like gritty, gritty players right now,

you're at the top of the list for people who's, it doesn't matter what condition it is, like it could be raining completely sideways with a course that's still super firm and fast. And we know that like, yep, this is Maya. And like, I know that she's gonna go out there, like, she's got that dog in her and she's gonna be able to go hunt. I think of Charlie the exact same way. I always think of

Leona that exact same way. And now all of a sudden, I didn't use to think of Nellie that way. But now I kind of do. And it's crazy to think that we're this far into a LPGA podcast and Not to like compare you verse her but could you kind of shed some light on like? What Nellie's like got going on because it's truly an historic run right now And you've had a front row seat to you know almost every single one of these wins Yeah, I haven't I've never played with her, but just from watching her on TV,

like in the players lounge and stuff, they always show it. She's just so good at staying calm. I mean, she hit it into, I remember at hole number 14 at Chevron, it's super thick, rough. So she missed this, this drive like far right. It looked like the ball was gone. It like, yeah, it was it was about Tisha, but she it felt like she stayed calm. She

found the ball. She managed to just hack it out. It's a fair way. And then just up to a really difficult pin made a 15 footer for par. And then she was just, okay, let's move on. So I think she's just got that, that quiet confidence about her that I can mess up, but I'm going to make two birdies within whatever amount of time anyway, as long as I just give myself chances, it's going to come to me. And I think that's what she does so well. And that's why I'm kind of looking at like, Scotty, he messed this up too. But it just feels like he never gets mad or outwardly mad. And he just keeps on going. Same with Ludwig, who laughs

at his own mistakes. Like in the last nine at a major at the freaking masters. Yeah. Yeah. And like the level of confidence you have to do that and just know that I'm going to be in this situation several more times and I can turn this around anyway. That's just crazy to me. And that's, I think that's what makes them so much better. Does the run that Nellie's on and we kind of see her separating in the Rolex rankings and whatnot, does that help bring out the competitive drive in you? Do you enjoy having somebody that you can kind of in your mind go chase and work towards like,

hey, I want to get there. Yeah, I love a good chase. Also, it feels like, I don't know, I think we're all kind of sick of just having one person whenever it's tournament. So I think everyone is getting a little bit more. I don't know, everyone's trying a little bit more. I don't know, everyone's trying a little bit more. Because it's not like it's tiger who was like dominant, like would win by 15 shots. She wins by a couple, she's won in two playoffs. Like, she's just a little bit better. So it feels like it's so easy,

so easy to catch her. She's right there. But then she always just manages to stay cool and just inch past you a little bit. Yeah, it feels like it's definitely within reach. You know, you talked about having that cool calm demeanor and there's a ton of examples out of it. And I know this is something that you guys have been working on this year and you used to say that you used to probably run a little bit too hot on the golf course at times. And I don't know if you could talk about it, but having a caddy like you have, like hads

on the bag and somebody that you have 100% trust and confidence in, like what does that do for you? I think it's super nice that he's not doing too much. He's not doing too little. He doesn't, I don't know, step up, I guess, because I feel like maybe some caddies want to do way more when they're in contention and they, yeah, just, I like that he trusts me enough and he knows that so I didn't have a caddy before him because I was waiting for the perfect one or I like doing things myself. So he knows what I can do myself. So he doesn't get in the way or anything like that. And it's just great to have someone that I can have fun with. He can take the piss out of me. I can take the piss out of him. We had this one tee shot in Arizona where we were talking about, should we hit a three-wood

or a driver? And how it goes, well, it's 250 meters, leaves us 137 to the pin. And I go, OK. Then we hit three-wood. And I skied it. It went almost straight up in the air. Like it was fine.

It was on, it was on the fairway. It was fine. I could reach it too, but then I could just see him smirking when we were walking off the tee. I'm like, just freaking say it. Say what you want to say. And he goes, one 37 leaves us two 15. 27 leaves us 215. And I'm like, dude, it's just this Saturday

of me actually coming back to my good playing. And you say that? Of course, yeah. So it's just so funny to have someone that I can laugh with the whole round. He doesn't make anything special of the big moments. He's not, yeah. He's just himself and that's great.

Yeah, he's awesome. And like a good podcast host, I of course reached out to him and said, hey, we're gonna have Mai on, is there anything? And he just said, yeah, just have her talk about how good of a caddy she is and that I don't need to be there. But in all joking aside, he knows that,

and he's told me this, that like, he's had to elevate his skill as a caddy so much because of not only the positions that you guys have found yourselves in competitively, but everything else, just because he's like, this is something that once in a lifetime bag that I know that I like, I don't want to give up He's like this is it's awesome. He talks about how much fun you guys have

and how like this is You know something that he never really expected to have and it just kind of it came about and he's super appreciative and and Like there's this eating inner burning desire for more from him. Which is funny because you gave him a couple weeks off and you had Jack who's a great friend of us but Madeline's fiance Jack Clark on the bag for Wilshire and you guys were in contention. Was it different having him there?

Were there things that how he operates are different than how HADS operates? And like, did that change anything for you? Or you're just like, nope, give me the number. This is a shot, I'm going. I think we changed it a little bit. It was fun to see how a caddy who's been out here for longer, how he works.

Cause I could tell that he, he wants to be more involved which is like good and bad depending on, because I'm tell that he wanted to be more involved, which is like good and bad depending on because I'm not used to it. So I had, I just recognized one time where I disagreed on something that he said and then I went with what he wanted anyway. I said I was fine with it. I wasn't, I thought that's never gonna work, but I did it anyway. And obviously, he thought it was gonna be fine from his experience. But I like it was with my wedges, my wedges live their own lives. I'm not very good at them. So obviously, he doesn't know that about me that I can mess up pretty easy shots like that. So it was

fun to see how he works. And then there's one thing where I feel like he works for very different players than compared to what I am. So like, if I hit the shot that may have rolled into the bunker and may have stayed on top, it can be fine. Like when we're walking up to the ball, he could go, I think that might have stayed up, might have rolled down, but I think he stayed up. And I'm like, okay. Like when I asked, had did it stay up? He's going, I don't freaking know. You didn't see it. I didn't see it. How am I supposed to know that? You know, so it's just, it's funny to see how different players shape their caddies in different ways, but he was great. Yeah, it was cool to see how he talks to the player. And yeah, he is a little bit more active than Had,

but he doesn't overpower at all, I didn't think. So that was great. I'm really happy for Anna that she has such a great caddy like him and he's a great guy. I think we had a lot of fun too. I know, now you can get heads off of his island hopping tour and put him back to work because number one, he doesn't need that much sunshine as it is.

You need to bury him somewhere in his rain suit and he'll be good to go. Well, so he was at a bachelor party. Now he's going to a wedding during Mizzou. So I am having Lauren Coughlin's husband, John. John's on the back. Whoa, no way. Keep taking him back.

John's on the back. Yeah, John, yeah. I love it. My goodness, good luck with that. Well, Cody, what else do we have to cover? Or should we let Maya enjoy her Friday morning here? I know, a week off, we appreciate you lending your time to us. And I think about this, obviously,

that there's things in tour life that a lot of people don't think of. But what does a week off for Maya look like? Like, are you out there grinding on the range every day? You taking time off? You finally getting your your accounting done? What what is this week kind of you know how does the rollout work leading up to another big event? This week has been kind of special. I usually try to get two weeks off but the schedule this year has hasn't really allowed for that.

I think that the LPJ has done a good job of having mini breaks. So this week has been a lot of media. What else have I done? I went out to putt and chip a little bit yesterday. I'm going to play 18, I think, today. I'm trying to be, yeah, just chill with it. Kind of practice when I need to, but I felt I was so tired during Wilshire because the Chevron was such a big thing.

So I gave myself three days off just to calm down, be hungry for it again. That's usually what happens. I take three or four days off, depending on how much time I have between the tournaments. But I feel like I'm also so confident in my game right now that I feel like I can do that. What else do I do? Play pickleball, freaking love pickleball.

Oh, watch those knees. You gotta keep those knees relaxed, Maya. You can't be out there. I don't like to do that. Your Achilles, I know you're young, but Maya. You can't be out there. I don't like your Achilles. I know you're young, but watch out. A lot of injuries out there. The only sport that's injured me is golf.

So I like I should stop playing golf then. No, you can't do that. I will. I play everything else. Well, that's what Randy says all the time, too. That's why Randy tries to play golf. I have to play golf because I have to. No, I, Cody, Maya, very, very good table tennis player.

How did pickleball compare to table tennis? And Maya, I got to ask, why aren't we just out there playing tennis? You're young, you're fit. You can just go play tennis. You don't have to waste your time with pickleball. My cardio is, I'm a golfer. My cardio is just not there. Tennis is so much running a golfer, my cardio's just not there.

Tennis is so much running, whereas pickleball, you can just stand there. I mean, 80 year olds play pickleball, they don't really play tennis that much because it's too much running. I play an old person's sport, and I feel like I should be consistent. Okay, that's fair.

I was gonna ask about this. You talked about cardio. Are you a person that goes to the gym? I am, yes. Okay, but you're going to the gym, I'm sure doing things specifically to either strengthen or maintain something that's specific for the craft that you're doing. Most of the time. Does cardio fit into that anywhere?

Because I got a new trainer and he's trying to, you know, I've been running a lot this year, I'm proud of myself, I lost a lot of weight but I absolutely hate it, I hate it, I hate everything about it. Is there anything that I can do to tell him, hey, maybe we can lay off this or substitute it with something else? Well, running does.

I know, she's like, no, you're stupid. You could swim. Yeah. Or bike. Running is so good for swim. You could swim. Yeah. Or bike. Running is so good for you, though. I know. Yeah. So I have a physio out there on tour.

And he's a big runner. But he also says that go out running before a tournament, or before your round during the day, just to get some stress out. So that's what I've been doing these past two weeks. And I think that that's helped. So you can just do little short runs, but slim bike. There's nothing much better than running.

You don't get the runner's high like after a while. I hate it. I'm angry the entire time. You know how people are like, oh, it gives me endorphins and it gets me to think about things and decompress. I'm angry the entire time. Like it doesn't matter how far or how long, I'm just like, God, this is the worst decision I ever made.

Just gotta put one foot in front of the other. That's all you're thinking about. I know it's horrible. There is a technique where you're like, you run and you have like a tennis ball and you can just, and you just like do a little steady jog and just, yeah, distractions, you need that. Okay, I'll do some more research on that.

It's actually a really good idea. All right, Maya, thank you so much for giving us an hour of your time during your week off. Continue whatever prep that you got going on, I'm excited. I am worried seriously though about the pickleball. I don't wanna hear about a pickleball injury. When we see you in a couple of weeks, the US Women's Open, just make sure that everything's still intact.

Yes, we'll be. Thank you guys. Thank you, Maya. Good luck at Founders. Be the right club. Be the right club today. Yes! Johnny, that's better than most. club be the right club today.