Both Sagstrom and Zhang would pick up LPGA victory No. 2 with a win Sunday.
It’s a two-horse race coming to the finish line.
Madelene Sagstrom leads by one shot over Rose Zhang with 18 holes to play at the 2024 Cognizant Founders Cup at Upper Montclair Country Club, and the next closest players, including Nelly Korda, are 10 shots behind Zhang.
Sagstrom shot a bogey-free 6-under 66 on moving day to pull a shot ahead of Zhang, who was a part of the 18- and 36-hole leads. Zhang had seven birdies on Saturday but matched it with two bogeys to enter the final round a shot back.
Nelly Korda, who entered the week searching for her sixth consecutive win, is not playing bad golf, entering the final round at 8 under and tied with Gabriela Ruffels and Sei Young Kim, but being 11 shots behind Sagstrom means the chase for six is probably finished.
Korda shot 1-over 73 in the third round, piling up four bogeys in her first nine holes.
Both Sagstrom and Zhang would pick up LPGA victory No. 2 with a win Sunday.
For the first time since 2021, Tavatanakit has carded three straight rounds in the 60s
For the second time in as many weeks, Patty Tavatanakit has a three-shot lead heading into the final round. Déjà vu?
Playing in her home country, the 24-year-old shot 6-under 66 on Saturday at Siam Country Club Old Course in Chonburi, Thailand, to move three clear of the field with 18 holes to play. Last week, she did the same at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International on the Ladies European Tour en route to her first victory in more than three years.
This week, for the first time since 2021, Tavatanakit has carded three straight rounds in the 60s and sits at 16 under, three shots clear of Madelene Sagstrom.
“I’m really proud of my performance today,” Tavatanakit said. “It’s getting very tiring, exhausting in the heat. I’m just going to conserve my energy and take on the challenge tomorrow.”
Tavatanakit had about as strong a start as she could’ve hoped, carding four birdies and an eagle in the first seven holes. She bogeyed the par-4 11th but bounced back with a birdie on the 15th and cruised to the clubhouse for a 66.
“There is a lot of obligations so far this week,” Tavatanakit said. “I feel like I didn’t really have time to prepare, but I came into this week with an open mindset of like learning this position that I’m in coming into a home event, being last week’s champion. There is a lot of pressure, but I can look at it as an encouragement for me to feel happy to play in front of my fans.”
Sagstrom, a 36-hole co-leader, was even on her first nine holes but went 3 under on the back nine, including a closing eagle to pull her within three of Tavatanakit.
“Patty is playing beautifully,” Sagstrom said. “She it hitting the ball lovely, and she is putting even better. She left a few putts short today and she could have gone really low today. I think you kind of know that to really have a chance for tomorrow, you have to play good golf. You don’t really do that by comparing yourself to somebody else or trying to react on their games. All I need to do is get my own zone and out of my own way.”
Hye-Jin Choi, Emily Kristine Pederson and Hyo Joo Kim are tied for third at 12 under. There’s a big group at 11 under, including Brooke Henderson, Albane Valenzuela and amateur Suvichaya Vinijchaitham.
NAPLES, Fla. – There was a time when Madelene Sagstrom had a picture of Ludvig Aberg’s swing as the wallpaper background on her phone. She coveted Aberg’s impact position.
“I was like, I need this in my life,” said Sagstrom with a laugh.
This week Sagstrom, 31, gets to see plenty of that impact position as the Swedish duo teams up for the inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational.
They’ve known each other for nearly a decade, with both sharing the same swing coach in Hans Larsson, who oversaw their instruction at Sweden’s prestigious sport school, Riksidrottsgymnasium.
There are 16 teams at the Grant Thornton, the first team event between the PGA Tour and LPGA since John Daly and Laura Davies won the final JCPenney Classic in 1999. Teams played a scramble format on the first day at Tiburon Golf Club and alternate shot in the second. The final round will feature a modified fourball format
While the event is unofficial, the purse of $4 million is among the highest all season on the LPGA outside the majors. The winning team will receive $1 million or $500,000 each. Sagstrom and Aberg enter the final round eight strokes back of Lydia Ko and Jason Day.
Aberg, 24, turned professional in June and won the Omega European Masters in September and the RSM Classic on the PGA Tour in November. At the 2024 Masters, he will make his first major championship appearance.
Before Aberg made his debut at the Ryder Cup in Rome, he first flew to Spain to watch Sagstrom and two other Swedes he went to school with, Linn Grant and Maja Stark, compete in the Solheim Cup.
It was Ludvig’s first time attending a Solheim Cup or Ryder Cup.
“The way that Madelene hits the ball is different from other women I’ve played with,” said Ludvig. “It’s the compression, the height, the distance. It’s a combination of everything.”
Sagstrom’s fiancé Jack Clarke, has caddied for Aberg since he turned professional. While many of the teams in the field at the Grant Thornton met for the first time this week, few have the kind of shared history that this team enjoys.
Sagstrom, who won the 2020 Gainbridge LPGA event at Boca Rio, said she has plenty of swing videos on her phone of Aberg, but it’s his short game that she finds particularly inspiring.
“For me, obviously, he can hit shots that I can’t hit,” said Sagstrom. “But, in general, his short game is just unbelievable. He’s really good around the greens and that part I feel like I’m really lacking in my own game.”
“I’m a good driver of the ball, so you’re driving is impressive, but it’s not that impressive,” Sagstrom added with a laugh. “Whatever you’re lacking yourself, is kind of what impresses you the most.”
Three players went unbeaten over the three days but only one earned 4 points over the five sessions.
CASARES, Spain — The 2023 Solheim Cup couldn’t have been closer.
The 18th edition of the biennial bash between the United States and Europe was all square at 8-8 entering Sunday singles, and after the final 12 matches – five won by the both teams and two ties – the competition ended in a 14-14 tie, and the Europeans retained the Cup.
In the event’s 23-year history, the Americans have taken home the trophy on 10 occasions, with the Europeans earning the other eight. Team Europe hasn’t lost since 2017 in Iowa.
Spain’s Carlota Ciganda was the only player to score four points this week (4-0-0) and was one of four players who went unbeaten, joining Gemma Dryburgh (0-0-2), Megan Khang (3-0-1) and Cheyenne Knight (2-0-1). Two players went winless for each team, but only one failed to earn a point.
Here’s a breakdown of how each player fared this week by event at the 2023 Solheim Cup.
Cheyenne Knight (2-0-0) is undefeated so far in Spain.
Solheim Cup captains are always judged in part by their captain’s picks. The composition of the two 12-person teams are different in that Suzann Pettersen selects four players for Europe compared to Stacy Lewis’ three picks for Team USA.
So far, the European captain’s picks have combined for 4½ points to Team USA’s four points. While Pettersen has practically hidden two of her picks with Caroline Hedwall and Gemma Dryburgh only playing in one match apiece, she has leaned heavily on one pick: Emily Pedersen. The Dane is one of three European players to tee it up in all four matches. No American, however, will play every session.
Through two days at TPC Harding Park, Sweden and Thailand have yet to lose.
Through two days at TPC Harding Park, Sweden and Thailand have yet to lose.
The Swedish teams of Madelene Sagstrom/Maja Stark and Anna Nordqvist/Caroline Hedwall won their matches early Friday in the second round of the 2023 Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown, giving them a sterling 4-0-0 mark in San Francisco.
Sweden has already earned a spot in Sunday’s semifinals, regardless of how things shake out during Saturday’s third round. Thailand will join the Scandinavians after closing out Korea in the final matches of the day on Friday to also secure a perfect start.
Patty Tavatanakit/Atthaya Thitikul defeated Jin Young Ko/Hyo Joo Kim while the sister squad of Ariya Jutanugarn/Moriya Jutanugarn took down Hye Jin Choi/In Gee Chun.
“I love this course. I feel like it is a really tight course, but it doesn’t seem tight for me just because I really love this course and I feel like I can really get it going with a lot of confidence,” Tavatanakit said. “That really helped with my flow, too. That’s why I really hit it well.”
Atthaya Thitikul of Team Thailand plays her shot from the third tee during day two of the 2023 Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. (Photo: Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
Team USA, the top-seed in the eight-team event and the only team with all four members having won a major championship, was 1-1-0 after Day 1 after splitting its matches with China.
On Friday, the Lilia Vu/Nelly Korda duo knocked out Liz Young/Alice Hewson, while the Danielle Kang/Lexi Thompson team beat Bronte Law/Jodi Ewart Shadoff, which sent the English squad to its fourth loss in two days. The U.S. has 3 points out of a possible 4.
The Americans are fourth after two days, however, as Team Australia, with 3 ½ points, has also yet to lose a match. The teams dealt with chilly temperatures throughout the day and Saturday’s forecast is expected to bring rain.
“I’m a Florida girl and I get cold pretty easily, but I think making sure you adjust to the weather, clubbing up, talking to your caddie a little more with club selections, and staying warm is key,” said Korda. “Everyone is kind of dealing with it, so you’re just trying to stay as patient as possible.
“The golf course is tough. It’s tough weather and the fairways aren’t very wide, and it gets tricky out here, especially if the wind picks up. Trying to stay warm and patient is the key this week.”
The No. 2-seeded Korean squad and the fifth-seeded English team will return to play Friday but will do so having both been eliminated from advancing.
Madelene Sagstrom and Maja Stark of Team Sweden played together for the first time in a team event as professionals.
There’s something about California that brings out the easiness in everybody. Soft breezes. Beautiful beaches. The Eagles playing through speakers at every turn. It’s a place to exhale and relax.
Just ask Madelene Sagstrom and Maja Stark of Team Sweden, who played together for the first time in a team event as professionals on Thursday as part of the Hanwha International Crown at TPC Harding Park.
In her debut at the event, Stark admitted she was nervous and a birdie on the first hole didn’t settle her down. But things just rolled from there as she and Sagstrom battled the English duo of Liz Young and Alice Hewson.
Since Sagstrom had experience with the format, she felt the need to ease her talented teammate into the tournament.
“I kind of felt like I knew what I was doing today and it was more trying to get her in a good place,” Sagstrom said. “It was a really good matchup. We played really well together. Our games are fairly similar, so it’s fun. We’ve never played team events before because I’m a lot older than her, so it’s cool. It’s awesome.
“But I think at the same time my experience also kind of helps me being out there. I talked a little bit about how I felt in previous Solheims and stuff, so it was good.”
The pair got to 4 under through the first three holes and had little trouble dispatching the English side 5 and 4. Their teammates, Anna Nordquist and Caroline Hedwall, also had little trouble with the Brits, winning 4 and 3 to put the Swedish team on the top of Pool A.
The winning semifinal countries will compete in the final match on Sunday afternoon, and a third-place match will take place between the two losing semifinal countries. Both matches will be in the same format as the semifinals.
Anna Nordqvist of Team Sweden plays her shot from the 12th tee during day one of the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown at TPC Harding Park on May 04, 2023, in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
As for Stark, she thinks she’s ready for whatever comes next, thanks to a relaxing opening day with Sagstrom.
“It was mostly nice to see (Sagstrom) was not frustrated with me, that she knows what it’s like and can relate to it,” Stark said. “It was very nice because it made me more calm and I could focus on what I was doing wrong like technically in the shots, which was that I was thinking about technique and not the pins because I was trying to be perfect.
“Hopefully we can provide a sense of happiness for them for a few days.”
NAPLES, Fla. — Perhaps it was the piles of concrete washed away by the powerful storm surge that now sit on the side of the road.
Or the massive mounds of debris, mostly downed trees and limbs, some so tall they block the view of the beachfront condos from the street.
Or those towering condos sitting directly on the Gulf of Mexico, still abandoned, residents replaced by construction crews and heavy equipment working to make their homes relivable once again.
Madelene Sagstrom, who owns a home in Orlando and has lived through her share of storms, was overwhelmed when she drove along the beach Tuesday and saw the destruction from Hurricane Ian.
“All the destruction,” she said. “It’s just mind-blowing how local it can be. You’re out here and you don’t realize anything.”
Sagstrom is part of the 60-woman field for the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club, the final event of the LPGA season that starts Thursday. Tiburon sits about four miles from the Gulf of Mexico and 42 miles south of where Hurricane Ian came ashore with 150 mph winds seven weeks ago.
Madelene Sagstrom lines up a putt on the 11th green during the first round of the 2022 LPGA Cognizant Founders Cup in Clifton, New Jersey (Photo: Seth Wenig/Associated Press)
Tiburon, which has 36 holes, including the Gold Course where this week’s event is being held, received little damage outside of 350-400 trees being uprooted, and some flooding.
After crews worked tirelessly to remove and replant trees and repair the turf, the Gold Course reopened four days after Ian made landfall. Work then started on cleaning up the areas outside of play.
That work assured the LPGA this event would go on as scheduled.
“It was very devastating what happened here and it’s nice to see everything rebuilding and everything getting more back to normal,” said Brooke Henderson, No. 6 in the women’s rankings. “Hopefully we can continue to recover and just grow stronger from all of this.”
Brooke Henderson hits off the 13th tee during the final round of the 2022 ShopRite LPGA Classic in Galloway, New Jersey. (Photo: Matt Rourke/Associated Press)
Henderson was born and raised in Canada but also lives in Naples. Her home survived the storm.
Tiburon general manager Kevin DeDonato was relieved when he saw the impact the storm had on the property. Irma, which hit in September 2017, toppled about 1,000 trees.
“I kind of knew what to expect,” DeDonato said. “The damage we had from Irma … 400 is impactful but it was almost a relief.
“The thing that was so unique about this one was how long it was. It was 12 hours of just hurricane winds. It just felt like it was never going to end.”
The challenge at Tiburon was putting the finishing touches on the course for this week when so much time was dedicated to clean up.
“As you get closer to this time it’s more detail stuff, outside of play, edging cart path and bunkers,” DeDonato said. “After opening the course we spent two weeks cleaning up outside of play. That takes away from us prepping for a lot of the detail stuff.”
Now, all the work is up to the best women golfers in the world to decide their season-ending champion, much to the delight – and relief – of LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan.
After she received assurance the course pulled through the storm, she started working on how to help out any partners and others in the area that were impacted.
Ian caused about $40 billion in property damage in Florida, about $2 billion of that was in Collier County.
“We were really looking to see if there were ways to see if we could help this specific area,” said Marcoux, who lives in Orlando. “And will continue to support those efforts.”
The tour made a donation to the red cross and with each purchase of a limited-edition CME Group or LPGA-Florida T-shirt, $10 will be donated to the Collier Relief Fund.
For the golfers, part of the joy will be seeing those whose lives were upended two months ago enjoying a couple of normal days on a golf course.
“It’s sad to think about the people who have been displaced,” said Ally Ewing. “Hopefully we can provide a sense of happiness for them for a few days.”
Sagstrom, a Swede, believes this weekend is a snapshot of how sports can help heal in times of adversity.
“Coming back to some kind of normalcy, getting the community back together and going to watch some golf, I think people will like that,” she said. “I know people lost a lot. But it’s kind of what sports did during COVID, brought everyone together. That’s what we’re hoping.”
Who’s going to capture the final women’s major of the year?
Whoever wins this week’s AIG Women’s British Open will forever hold a special place in women’s golf history. Three years ago, Muirfield, host of 16 men’s British Opens, invited its first female members in the club’s 275-year history.
The club was actually removed from the R&A’s rota of British Open host venues after a 2016 membership vote failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed to change the rule to admit women.
The membership voted again in 2017 and pushed it through. Needless to say, the final major of 2022 carries great significance.
Jennifer Kupcho, winner of the first female event ever hosted at Augusta National, won the final Chevron Championship at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course to kick off major season. Minjee Lee’s dominant performance at the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles followed.
Then, In Gee Chun nabbed her third different major at the KPMG Women’s PGA, and two weeks ago, the Amundi Evian saw Brooke Henderson snap a six-year drought between her first and second major titles.
Here’s a look at 10 players to keep an eye on at Muirfield:
While it may look like a bit of a flashback, this is real time: Annika Sorenstam leads the LPGA.
While it may look like a bit of a flashback, this is real time: Annika Sorenstam leads the LPGA.
Of course, the LPGA and World Golf Hall of Famer is partnered this week with Madelene Sagstrom, a talented young Swede who was one of Sorenstam’s captain’s picks in the 2017 Solheim Cup.
Together, they co-lead the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational after an opening 5-under 65 in the alternate-shot format that included only one late bogey. Pauline Roussin and Dewi Weber share the lead with the Swedes at Midland Country Club, where morning rain delayed tee times by 2 hours and 40 minutes.
It was after 4 p.m. local time by the time Sorenstam and Sagstrom teed off.
“I was excited to be here,” said Sorenstam, “and I told that to Madelene on the range. I was really kind of pumped and looking forward to playing.”
Annika Sorenstam and teammate Madelene Sagstrom on the eighth hole during the first round of the 2022 Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational at Midland Country Club in Midland, Michigan. (Photo: Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Sagstrom, who is currently No. 31 in the world, is a beautiful driver of the golf ball, and the pair knew they could use her length to an advantage, given Sorenstam’s wedge game.
“I think, like we mentioned yesterday, giving Annika as many wedges as possible,” Sagstrom, “and my strategy is always to get on the green as fast as possible. If I get it going, I can make a lot of putts, which I did today. It worked out really well.”
Sorenstam, a 51-year-old mother of two, retired from the LPGA in 2008 but began competing in several events last year in the run-up to her debut in the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, which she won. The 72-time winner last won on the LPGA on May 11, 2008, at the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill. Should Sorenstam win on Saturday, it would be 5,179 days since her last LPGA title.
She’s currently in the midst of a three-week stretch, having played in the American Century Championship last week in Lake Tahoe. Next week she’ll make her debut in the Senior LPGA Championship in Kansas.
This marked Sorenstam’s first time playing a competitive foursomes format since the 2007 Solheim Cup. Sorenstam compiled a career 22-11-4 record at the Solheim Cup, including 11-3-1 in foursomes.
Sorenstam and Sagstrom both live in the Orlando area and spent time practicing together ahead of this week.
“It’s a tough format,” said Sorenstam. “I think the key here today is we have spent a little time together, so it wasn’t just, okay, let’s hook up and play.
“I’m comfortable with her game. I know what she’s capable of doing, and I think she’s also gotten to know me a little bit. It’s not a surprise what comes out of my game, and I’m not super surprised, even though I’m super glad what you did.”
This week also marks the first time that Sorenstam and Karrie Webb have been in the same field since 2008. Webb and partner Marina Alex shot 1-under 69 in their opening round and are tied with a host of players, including sisters Nelly Korda and Jessica Korda.
