Alex Lederhausen finished second on the women’s golf team with a stroke average of 76.18. The sophomore, whose sister Rebecca is also a member of the Wildcats, hails from Hinsdale, Ill. The DAILY sat down with her to talk about this and more.
Daily: What is it like to go to school so close to home?LEDERHAUSEN: It was a conscious choice. I don’t go home that often, but I always have the choice there if I want to. My parents sometimes drive up to Evanston for dinner or birthdays and it’s really nice to be able to go home when I want to. It’s nice to know Chicago well and be able to drive to all the clubs.
Daily: How do you get along with your sister?LEDERHAUSEN: We are really good friends. At first last year, it was a bit of transition. But right now we’re best friends. I treat her like a teammate and we have a sisterly bond.
Daily: How was living in Sweden?LEDERHAUSEN: It was good. My family’s from there and my dad got a job here and my parents always wanted to move to America and become an international family. When I was younger we moved to Chicago.
Daily: When did you decide to pick up golf?LEDERHAUSEN: My mom was a college golfer and played for the Swedish national team. She was a pro in Europe and she was a very competitive golfer. She wanted us to play and I’ve always been playing. I started competitively playing when I was 11 or 12.
Daily: Do you play any sports other than golf?LEDERHAUSEN: Not competitively any more. I mostly just run on my own and I’ll do pickup games of basketball and soccer. I really like squash, I play badminton and I’ve played tennis for a very long time.
Daily: What do you make of the Tiger Woods affair?LEDERHAUSEN: No comment … (laughs). I’ve always appreciated him as a golfer, and I’ve always admired him. I never knew any of his personal life besides that he was married and had kids. Obviously it was disappointing to hear that a role model of mine’s private life was less than perfect, but I still admire him as a golfer. I admire what he’s done at least. It’s very sad. I really don’t get involved in too much of that.
Daily: Who is your favorite golfer?LEDERHAUSEN: Tiger’s up there for sure. I really like Suzann Pettersen. She’s very headstrong and tough and I’ve always liked Tiger a lot. I love Luke Donald, of course.
Daily: Your score average has dropped by four points. You’ve also finished first once and twice four times this season. What has been the difference for you?LEDERHAUSEN: I’ve matured a lot in my golf game, coming to college and perfecting my fundamentals in my swing and in putting. My fundamentals have gotten better and under pressure I know my tendencies and I can self-correct a lot better than I used to. My misses are a lot better, so scoring becomes much easier and it’s a less dramatic effect when you hit a bad shot.
Daily: What is coach Emily Fletcher’s greatest strength as a coach?LEDERHAUSEN: She’s good at a lot of things. Besides being a lot of our swing coach, she’s really good at being able to share and voice her opinions about the team, our putting strokes and being able to tell us individually what we need to work on and are doing well. Emily relates to all of us and does a great job of getting us to understand what she wants from us.
