SAMMAMISH, Wash. — Finishing second stung for Madelene Sagstrom.
Just over a month ago at the Cognizant Founders Cup, despite blitzing the rest of the field by 13 shots with a 72-hole total of 22-under, the Swede came up just two shots short of her second career LPGA Tour victory after a final-round battle with eventual champion Rose Zhang.
Even though she played impeccable golf that week, carding rounds of 65-66-66-69, the loss was painful for Sagstrom, who hasn’t won on the LPGA Tour since the 2020 Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio. But the veteran gleaned plenty of positives from that disappointing result and is now working to capitalize on the lessons she learned in New Jersey at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
“Being in this position, this is what we are trying to do,” said an emotional Sagstrom on Sunday at the Cognizant Founders Cup. “We're trying to feel these nerves. I was nervous today. You're not going to learn by not being here. I played unbelievable golf this week. (Rose and I are) the only two that's been really low. I have to look at the positive. It sucks now. It hurts a bit. It hurts at this course because I really like this place. My time will come.”
And that time just might be knocking on Sagstrom’s door at Sahalee Country Club. She opened the week with a 2-under 70 in Sammamish, Wash., a solid start that saw her make two bogeys and five birdies at this challenging venue and an effort with which she was pleased considering how narrow Sahalee is off the tee.
“I think I was a bit nervous coming into this week because I knew it was narrow,” said Sagstrom after her first round in Washington. “If you look at my stats, I might not be the best narrow golf course player, but I think coming here and seeing how beautiful it is, and it's kind of straightforward. You can't bail out left or right or anything. You have to hit good golf shots. I think that it kind of makes it a little bit easier for me to try to commit.
“It's challenging. But at the same time, it's very rewarding when you hit good shots out there.”
Friday was a touch more difficult for the 31-year-old, who recorded four bogeys and four birdies in the second round, three of which came in a four-hole stretch from 15 to 18. While the bogeys were frustrating, Sagstrom knew they were bound to happen and hopes to tweak a few little things before Saturday’s third round so avoid those mistakes over the next 36 holes.
“I've been playing good. I hit the ball nice off the tee on the front nine, my front nine, which was the back nine,” said Sagstrom. “I’ve been putting very solid. I missed a few fairways on my back nine, which was the front nine, and you're just going to struggle then, so I made a few bogeys, which was obviously not ideal. But it’s this kind of golf course, so I'm gonna go to the range and hit some balls a little straighter off the tee.”
It's easy for a player to get down on herself when things aren’t going her way, particularly when the conditions are major-championship caliber. Sagstrom is an athlete who expects a lot out of her game, something that hasn’t always served her well in the past. But even though she still holds herself to high standards on the golf course, she seems to be getting faster at accepting mistakes and moving forward, knowing that those who love her will still be there for her whether she shoots 65 or 75.
“I don’t think you ever learn. I’m equally hard on myself now. I just might hide it a little better it looks like, but you let it go quicker,” said Sagstrom. “This is still such a huge part of my life, and it is what I do, and it’s really easy to live your golf. You’re happy when you play well, and you’re not happy when you play bad. It’s every day, trying to remind yourself that at the end of the day, I’m still going to be okay. I have great people around me that will keep me in the moment, and they appreciate me for who I am.”
There’s a lot on the line for Sagstrom over the next 36 holes. A win would be a game-changer for the 31-year-old, even more so if it was a major.
But at 38th in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, there is also still an outside chance that Sagstrom could qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. She currently sits 11 spots behind her fellow Swede Linn Grant in the world rankings, a gap that could rapidly close if she were to pull out a victory at Sahalee come Sunday afternoon.
It’s a lot of pressure, nerves that Sagstrom is hoping to block out as she works to move up the leaderboard over the next two rounds. It can be tough for an athlete to keep the emotions in check with a monumental accomplishment on the line, but that is exactly what the Swede will be working to do as she pursues her second LPGA Tour title at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
“I think everyone doubts their own game a lot of the time. I think I do, too,” Sagstrom admitted. “We have been trying to just go out and hit the best shots that I can do. It's easy to get into the future or be in the past, what you have just done. So, I think it's for me about trying to stay present, trying to embrace it. It is what it is.
“This week is about not getting frustrated because you're gonna hit bad shots. You're gonna be in trouble. it's more about staying present and just accepting that you're going to make bogeys, but you can also make birdies out there.”
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