EVANS, Ga. — When Meja Ortengren is skiing double black diamonds in her home country of Sweden, she’s living a bit dangerously. Those are expert-level and difficult slopes to navigate. She prefers skiing red slopes, where she knows she won’t get out of control.
Ortengren, a Stanford sophomore, went home for almost three weeks on her winter break. She’s come back playing well and in full control of her game at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, making it look tame compared to skiing. She shot five-under 67 Thursday at Champions Retreat and is tied for second place at 10 under, one shot behind leader Asterisk Talley.
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“We only have double black diamonds in Sweden,” Ortengren said. “I’ve done it maybe once or twice, but I like the reds most of the time. You can go fast, and it’s not getting out of control.”
When Ortengren finished her round, she was atop the leaderboard, and Talley finished one better than her later in the day. Ortengren shot 67-67 to put herself in position to contend for the championship when the final round is played Saturday at Augusta National. She’ll have to overtake Talley, the amateur star who also shot five-under 67 and is the solo leader at 11 under.
Talley is the first player in tournament history to record four consecutive rounds in the 60s and she set a tournament record by playing 48 consecutive holes without a bogey. Talley shot a final-round 68 last year to finish runner-up to Carla Bernat Escuder. Her gameplan is to keep doing what she’s doing. Talley didn’t have her best ball-striking in the second round, but she was making putts, like a seven-footer on No. 17 for par. That would bode well at Augusta National.
“I think kind of just doing the same thing,” Talley said. “Obviously tomorrow is going to be a big step in trying to learn the course again and trying to see what’s going on at Augusta right now. I think doing the same thing and then kind of getting a feel for it tomorrow.”
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Arkansas junior Maria Jose Marin of Colombia is also one shot back along with Ortengren after shooting 65-69. Marin tied for the lead after the first round along with Soomin Oh. Stanford’s Andrea Reveulta and Mississippi State’s junior Avery Weed are both five shots back.
Talley, Ortengren, Marin and 2023 champion Rose Zhang are the only players in tournament history to reach double digits under par after the first two rounds.
Marin played well and birdied her last hole. Oh, a 17-year-old from Korea, shot a two-over 74 and is tied for sixth but is six shots back.
Talley will play in the final pairing Saturday with Ortengren. On Friday, everyone in the field, including those who missed the cut, will play a practice round at Augusta National.
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Augusta National
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“I think I’m just trying to try and enjoy tomorrow as much as I can,” Ortengren said of the practice round at Augusta. “I know that I’m going to be tense and nervous on Saturday, so I feel like I’m going to try and enjoy the experience of playing Augusta National completely empty and walking with my family inside the ropes. So that’s going to be my game plan for tomorrow.”
Ortengren believes she’ll be able to handle the greens at Augusta.
“I grew up on Swedish greens, which are very slow,” Ortengren said. “Coming to the United States and studying at Stanford this last like year and a half, I’ve really gotten the opportunity to practice every single day on fast greens. I think that has helped so much. The last year I think my speed control has been so much better than when I first got here.”
When she first got here, she ran into her fellow countrywoman and Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam, who is a member at Augusta National. Asked what it would mean to compete in front of her if Sorenstam attends the final round, Ortengren said: “It would mean a lot. I’ve met her a few times. I’ve played her tournaments, and I have also been part of the Annika Cup when I was very young, so I’ve kind of taken those steps with golf tournaments. So it would be great. The first time I was here walking up to the first tee I heard ‘hey, Meja,’ from Annika in the crowd. I was very surprised by her standing there next to the first tee.”
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It was no surprise that she and Talley played well and will surely have the biggest gallery in the last group on Saturday. Talley has played mistake-free golf without a blemish on her scorecard, which is tough to do. She’s the only golfer who hasn’t made a bogey through 36 holes.
“That’s pretty cool just to have that,” Talley said. “I mean, obviously that’s my goal trying to go into every round. I try and set at least one goal for myself, and usually it’s to go bogey-free.
“This golf course just seems to get easier every time you play it, the more experience you have. I think just being more aggressive every time you play it, the scores are going to get lower, and I think that’s just what’s happened to me through the years.”
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