After recording her first top-10 finish of the 2024 LPGA Tour season last week at the Honda LPGA Thailand, Madelene Sagstrom is once again in the mix at the HSBC Women’s World Championship. She opened her week in Singapore with a bogey-free, 1-under 71 and then jumped from T10 to solo third with a bogey-free, 4-under 68 on Friday to sit two back of 36-hole leader Celine Boutier.
The Swede began her round with six consecutive pars before picking up her first birdie of the day on the par-3 7th hole. She parred the eighth and made another birdie on the par-4 ninth hole to turn in 34, quickly grabbing another birdie on the par-4 10th hole to move to 4-under overall.
Sagstrom hopped on the par train from holes 11 to 15, finally breaking through again with a birdie on the par-5 16th hole before parring 17 and 18 to post her second mistake-free round of the week at Sentosa Golf Club’s Tanjong Course and her third bogey-free round of the season.
“I played smart. I think that's been the key to not making bogeys,” said Sagstrom, who hit 10 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens on day two. “Yesterday, (there were) not a lot of birdie chances, so we had to play smart and let the putter do the talking. Today, I tried to give myself some chances, and I've been playing good golf, and that takes bogeys out of play sometimes.”
This is Sagstrom’s third start of the 2024 season, and after a T42 result at the LPGA Drive On Championship, she righted the ship in Thailand with a T9 finish, a performance that saw her play in the final group on both Saturday and Sunday. She will have another opportunity to do so on Saturday at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, and after a refresher course in what it’s like to be in the last group out last week, the 31-year-old is feeling much more confident this time around in Singapore.
“It was a long time ago since I played in the final group two days in a row,” Sagstrom said. “It definitely hit some different emotions than I was used to doing. It's a little different when you play for 54th or are trying to get a top 10. It was a very good place for me to be. I wasn't ready to pull it out yet, but I feel comfortable now.
“I feel like those two rounds showed me that my game is in a good place, and I also figured out what I needed to work on mentally last weekend to give myself chances and not hit the brake button and keep pushing. I feel like that's easy for me to do. I can get a little timid and scared and hold on for dear life rather than keep pushing. The girls are so good. You can't stop.”
Sagstrom is an LPGA Tour winner, having picked up her first and only career victory at the 2020 Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio, but she hasn’t won worldwide in nearly 1,500 days on any major tour. As she works to track down that elusive second title over the weekend, the LPGA Tour veteran is looking forward to the challenge that the conditions at the Tanjong Course at Sentosa Golf Club will present for the 66-player field, particularly as she’s playing some really consistent golf at the moment.
“I prefer a grind. It suits my game quite well when it gets tough for everyone,” said Sagstrom, whose best result since her victory is a T2 at the 2021 AIG Women’s Open. “I do like to make birdies, also, but at the same time, the course is so pure. The greens are firm. So, it does get tricky.
“It's funny, you have to be a little more creative, and you have to also take your medicine from time to time. You can't just hit at the pins all the time. The golf course is in such great shape. It's going to be fun to see what happens over the weekend.”
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