BOCA RATON, Fla. – Last week Madelene Sagstrom was out spectating at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions at her home course. She fielded more than a few questions from members who wanted to know why she wasn’t in the field. The answer, of course, was frustratingly obvious: She hadn’t won yet.
One week later, Sagstrom is an early favorite for next year’s TOC.
“I’m still mind blown,” she said, moments after stepping onto the dais at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio.
GAINBRIDGE LPGA: Scores | Photos
Sagstrom, 27, drained an 8-foot putt for par on the 72nd hole and avoided a playoff when Nasa Hataoka three-putted for bogey to finish second for a second consecutive week.
The statuesque Swede earned $300,000 for her victory and crossed the $1 million mark in official career earnings with $1,132,568. The Gainbridge marked her 69th start on the LPGA. A three-time winner on the Symetra Tour in 2016, she holds the developmental tour’s record for single-season earnings.
Sagstrom began the week with a career-low 62 and entered the final round with a two-stroke lead over Hataoka, who is ranked fifth in the world. The 2017 Solheim Cup player said she was physically shaky from the start but proved her mettle time and again with clutch shots.
“I had already won in my head today,” she said. “I had beaten my own demons.”
She got help from an unlikely source, too.
A couple of weeks ago, Sagstrom called her boyfriend’s father and asked if he could fill in as her caddie while he was visiting on vacation in Florida. Sagstrom’s regular caddie, David Buhai, husband of LPGA player Ashleigh Buhai, was unavailable for the week.
“He’s like, sure. Maybe,” said Sagstrom. “I don’t know. I don’t know.”
Alan Clarke, who retired from a career in data communications, certainly rose to the occasion. Sagstrom said she was proud of him for fighting through the fatigue the first couple of days. The near 68-year-old looked like he was still in shock when it was over. His son, Jack, was in tears.
“Who could imagine this?” asked Alan.
Madelene first met Jack Clarke at the UL International Crown two years ago and the pair have been dating for 18 months. Jack’s boss, Caroline Hedwall, missed the cut this week so he’s been agonizing outside the ropes for the past two days.
Alan’s main job for the week was to double-check Madelene’s math. Otherwise, she was on her own.
“He’s making her laugh,” said Jack of his father’s biggest assist, “keeping her free and easy.”
After making the turn in 1 over, Sagstrom holed a bunker shot on the 10th hole and then followed it with birdie on the 11th. She was knotted with Hataoka at 16 under until the Japanese star birdied the par-5 16th to take a one-shot lead.
How did Sagstrom respond? She stuffed an 8-iron on the par-3 17th to 3 feet. It wasn’t exactly where she was aimed, but turned out to be the perfect miss. Sagstrom drained the putt to square with Hataoka once more as they headed up the final hole.
With Hataoka on the green in regulation and Sagstrom left in the rough, the events that followed came as a surprise to everyone. After Hataoka missed her par putt, Sagstrom turned around and looked at the leaderboard, unsure of what that meant.
She had yet to realize that Danielle Kang finished two shots back in solo third. When it finally sank in, the tears flowed as much as the champagne.
“This is what we all dream about,” said Sagstrom. “This is what I have dreamed about my entire career, since I started playing golf. So it really hit me hard.”
When it was over, Alan abruptly retired from caddying. He’d reached the pinnacle.
“You couldn’t write it,” said Jack, smiling.
A working vacation they’ll never forget.
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