Sarah Sasse, 23, of Lincoln, Neb., is in a three-way tie for the lead among the early finishers at the U.S. Women’s Amateur. She birdied four consecutive holes during her round Monday. Sasse is planning to go to the LPGA Tour’s qualifying school later this month.
Talk a little bit around your round today.
This has been one of the weirdest rounds of golf that I have ever played. I had 25 putts.
The first day I got here, I was playing a practice round, I literally was crying when I got off the golf course, because I probably am one of the shortest hitters in this field and I was thinking, “this is my fourth Am, and I’ve never played a golf course that is going to play as long as this one."
I called my dad and told him I couldn’t score on this golf course, and he told me, you know what, you just go out there and do what you need to do. Hit your drives down the fairway, and if you need to, turn all the par 4s into par 5s.
So that was my plan today, was just to come out here and try to break 80. I literally thought if I shot anything under 80 that I would have played pretty well because there’s only seven or eight holes out here where I don’t have a wood into the green. It’s difficult to score. I maybe hit only six greens today, but when I had a hole I could reach, I took advantage.
All day, I was thinking about the U.S. Women’s Open, and how Hilary Lunke was getting up and down like a mad crazy woman. That was pretty inspiring, her being one of the shorter hitters, winning the biggest tournament in women’s golf. I thought, if she can do it, I can do it.
I’m kind of disoriented right now because of what I just did. Maybe I’ll shoot 80 tomorrow, or maybe I’ll shoot 85. I’m feeling pretty good, because I proved something to myself. I’m going to Q school later this month, and some of the courses are going to be long. I think I needed to give myself that confidence that I can still score on these lengthy golf courses.
Normally a real good putter?
My short game is usually pretty good, but that’s not how I typically score. I don’t really make mental mistakes. I usually hit it pretty straight. My irons are fairly accurate, so when I do have a short iron into the green, I tend to have birdie opportunities.
Every time it’s not a long hole, you’re going straight up hill. It was difficult. I haven’t had a display of short game like that in a long time.
What’s the difference today?
I usually grind a lot out there on the golf course. I decided I’m not going to grind. I want to go out and enjoy my last go at amateur golf, and just have a good time. I think that attitude, and not putting pressure on myself, really helped me relax over my putts today. I haven’t been this relaxed putting in a long time, and that’s probably why I was hitting my lines and not tensing up.
Best finish in the Women’s Amateur?
This is the monkey-on-my-back tournament. I’ve never made it past the first round.
Being one of the short hitters in the game?
You always see the long hitters winning. The longer hitters tend to dominate. It’s a lot easier when you’re hitting wedges instead of 4-irons.
I think it really helped today having the Women’s Open in my mind. Knowing that someone has done it really was inspiring.