California brings out the ease in everyone. Soft breezes. Beautiful beaches. Eagles music is heard everywhere. This is a great place to relax and exhale.
Ask Madelene Sagstrom or Maja Stark from Team Sweden. They played together as professionals for the first-time in a team competition on Thursday at TPC Harding park as part of Hanwha International Crown.
Stark, who was making her debut in the event at the time, admitted that she was nervous. A birdie on her first hole did not calm her down. The rest was smooth sailing as Stark and Sagstrom took on the English duo Liz Young and Alice Hewson.
Sagstrom, who was familiar with the format of the tournament, felt it necessary to help her talented teammate ease into the event.
Sagstrom stated, “I felt like I did know what I was doing and I was trying to put her in a better place.” It was a great matchup. We played well together. It’s fun because our games are similar. It’s fun because we’ve never done team events before. I’m older than her and it’s a new experience. It’s awesome.
“But at the same time, I think my experience also helps me to be out there.” It was good that I spoke a bit about my previous Solheims.
The English team was easily defeated by the pair, who were 4 under par through the first 3 holes. The Swedish team, led by Anna Nordquist, Caroline Hedwall and their teammates, had no trouble beating the Brits. They won 4 and 3.
Upsets
Long Putts
Day one @HopeBarnett_ recaps @Intl_Crown in Thursday’s episode of LPGA Now https://t.co/n5Sh9uGtEjLPGA (@LPGA May 5, 2020
The format is . For the first three rounds, four-ball matches are played. The top two nations from each pool advance to the semifinals on Sunday morning. Each semifinal match this year will be made up of two singles and one foursomes.
On Sunday afternoon, the winning semi-final countries will play in the final game. The losing semifinal countries will then compete for third place. Both matches will follow the same format of the semifinals.
Anna Nordqvist, Team Sweden, plays her shot at the 12th hole during the first day of the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown on May 04 2023 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images).
Stark is ready for what’s next after a relaxing first day with Sagstrom.
Stark stated that it was nice to see that Sagstrom was not angry with her. She understood what I was going through and could relate. It was nice because it calmed me down and allowed me to focus on the things I was doing incorrectly, like my technique in the shots. I was trying too hard because I wanted to be perfect.
“So yeah… I thought it was just relaxing.”
