THE AMUNDI EVIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 20, 2021

Matilda Castren

Evian Resort Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Congratulations on the big win last week. It had to be special to get that win at home. What was that like?

MATILDA CASTREN: Yeah, it was awesome to see all the people there. I had a lot of like family members and relatives come out and watch and a lot of them I hadn't seen for a long time. It was kind of like a big event that brought everyone together, so it was really nice in that sense.

Like also playing in Finland, I haven't done that in years, so it was really special. There were a lot of people following us Thursday, Friday and especially on Saturday in the last round. It was really could cool to see all the people there.

I mean, I have to say it was a little bit stressful and I definitely felt the pressure because I know the crowds wanted a Finnish winner and everyone who worked for the federation and all that, they were hoping for a Finnish winner.

So I'm just very happy that I was able to pull it off. I kind of surprised myself there, too. I knew I had my four opportunities, and it's definitely a weight off the shoulders to do it on the first one.

Yeah, I'm just super excited and very grateful that I was able to do it, and to do it at home was just the icing on the cake.

Q. You mentioned the four opportunities to get LET status. What would it mean to represent Finland and Europe if you get selected to the Solheim Cup team?

MATILDA CASTREN: Well, I would be the first Fin to play in the Solheim Cup, and I think there is a pretty good chance that there might be two of us because Sanna is doing well in the LET rankings, so that would just be history for Finland.

It would be a huge honor to represent my home country and also Europe. It's a tournament that I been following and watching since I was a little girl and I always wanted to be a part of it. I loved the team events we play in Europe growing up, and Solheim Cup is just like the biggest one for us women.

Yeah, it would mean everything to be a part of the team.

Q. You've had such a great year after your win earlier this year, get your spot here the at the Evia Championship, your first time here. What's it like here on the practice range, looking out over Lake Geneva, all the sights here?

MATILDA CASTREN: It's gorgeous. I knew it was going to be beautiful, but this is beyond my expectations. The course is spectacular. It's in such good shape. I know there was some rain the past couple weeks but I think it just made the course a lot better.

It's just so green and you can see the lake from almost every hole. It's just gorgeous. Yeah, I feel very lucky to be here and be a part of this event. Yeah, I'm excited.

Q. And this is such a long stretch of golf for us. You got some of that weight off last week, but the major this week, the Olympics coming up, another major in a few weeks, whatever events you might play in between, how are you maintaining your stability mentally, physically throughout all the weeks of golf?

MATILDA CASTREN: Well, it's been a lot of golf definitely, but actually in Toledo we only played three rounds and last week we only played three days, so I feel like those are little things but they help.

Like just being ready mentally and getting one more day of rest here and there and not have to like go straight to the golf course after playing, like finishing on a Sunday.

But I can feel it's been five weeks, or this is my fifth week, so next week is going to be great to go home for a couple days and relax.

We're going Tokyo a little bit early and I know we can't do much there, so it's going to be a great opportunity forest. But it's just I been playing well so it's been kind of easy to just keep going. Yeah, just try to play well and have a good finish.

Q. You said going home. Do you mean Finland home --

MATILDA CASTREN: Yes.

Q. -- or San Diego home? Okay.

MATILDA CASTREN: Yeah, I have two homes.

Q. That's got to help though, I would think, two home bases to call home and rest and relax.

MATILDA CASTREN: Yeah, definitely helps, especially with the Olympics and this stretch in Europe. I know some of the American girls are debating whether to go home in between or not. So it's really nice to have a base in Europe too. We have a direct flight this Helsinki to Tokyo, so that will be super nice.

Q. Yeah. I'm going home for four days and I don't have a direct flight to Tokyo. We'll see how awake I am when I get there.

MATILDA CASTREN: Yeah, that's going to be a long trip for you.

Q. For all of us of, but it's a trip I'm never going to pass up.

MATILDA CASTREN: Yeah. I think it's going to be interesting Olympics. I didn't play in Rio so I really don't know what to expect. I think it's still going to be amazing and they're going to make the best out of it, and I'm going to try to make the best out of it.

Q. Still the Olympics.

MATILDA CASTREN: Yes, exactly.