CLIFTON, N.J. — This one stings for Madelene Sagstrom. The 31-year-old came up just two shots short of her second career LPGA Tour victory on Sunday at the Cognizant Founders Cup, losing to Rose Zhang after carding a four-day total of 22-under.
But she didn’t lose it. Sagstrom just got beat.
The Swede opened her week at Upper Montclair Country Club with a 7-under 65 and then backed that up with an impressive 6-under 66 in the most difficult conditions of the week in Clifton, N.J. on Friday, ultimately sharing the lead with Zhang through 36 holes. Sagstrom then went bogey-free on Moving Day, carding another 66 to take a one-shot lead into the final round.
Sunday saw Sagstrom start slow, with a bogey on the first hole, recovering immediately with a birdie on No. 2 to erase her early mistake. She settled in after that, picking up a pair of back-to-back birdies on holes five and six and grabbing another birdie on the par-3 8th hole to make the turn at 22-under and hold a two-shot lead with nine holes to play.
Sagstrom extended her advantage to three with another birdie on the par-5 12th hole, but when Zhang made a late run, carding four birdies in her last five holes, Sagstrom just couldn’t keep up, bogeying the par-4 16th hole and then parring out to ultimately finish two shots shy of her first LPGA Tour title since the 2020 Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio, a disappointing end to a spectacular week at Upper Montclair Country Club.
“I felt like I gave myself a lot of good chances today. I played some pretty good golf,” said Sagstrom. “And then, it's kind of like everyone. You get nervous and want to hit good shots. I wasn't really pulling it off. Rose had a fantastic finish. I couldn't have done too much more. I felt like I gave it my all. I can't be disappointed, but at the same time, I am.
“I've done a lot of really good things this week and my game is in a really, really nice spot, so I will look back, and I will be very proud of it. For now, it hurts a little bit.”
And those positives are what Sagstrom will work to glean from the frustrating final result in the Garden State. According to KPMG Performance Insights, the Epson Tour graduate made 384 feet of putts this week at the Cognizant Founders Cup, the most of any event she’s played this season. Sagstrom also gained 23.1 strokes total at Upper Montclair, the third-most of any player at any event in the last three LPGA Tour seasons, behind Zhang this week and Minjee Lee at the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open.
But maybe most importantly, Sagstrom now understands exactly what recent improvements led to her stellar stretch of golf in New Jersey and will be looking to copy and paste those things not just to next week’s Mizuho Americas Open but also to the rest of her tournaments this season.
“I think I've built up a bit of a playbook the last few weeks – really my whole career,” said Sagstrom. “We have started really nitpicking what drills work, what thoughts work and what feelings work. When you play well, it's easy to forget about it, and you kind of just go with the flow. You really have to sit down and be like, ‘What is the reason? What are we doing that makes me play well?’
“I think me and my team – they're still here – we are going to sit down, and we are going to talk about it, and keep doing good things. Golf has to still go your way out there. Just keep doing good things is going to be the key, and hope for momentum along the way.”
Despite failing to convert, Sagstrom still had the support of her LPGA Tour counterparts to lean on after Sunday’s challenging loss. While it was a given that her fiancé Jack Clarke was going to be waiting for her greenside after the final round, what maybe surprised Sagstrom a little bit was how many of her friends on Tour came to watch her finish.
Swedes Anna Nordqvist and Pernilla Lindberg were there, as were her European Solheim Cup teammates Gemma Dryburgh and Leona Maguire, something that made the usually stoic Sagstrom a bit emotional walking off the 18th green.
“It made me tear up probably more,” admitted Sagstrom. "Today felt like my time. Like I said, I played well here before. I think that's why it stings more. I was up fighting for it our first time here in '22. I played really well in the final group on Sunday. Watched Minjee win that week. It kind of felt a little bit the same. I felt like I kept giving myself good chances. I wish I could have pulled it off for myself and my team. That shall come.”
If this week’s performance is any indication, Sagstrom is more than correct that a second LPGA Tour victory is surely in her near future, as the Swede has proven that she’s got what it takes to win again on the biggest stage in women’s golf.
And while she might have to wait a bit longer for that moment than she would like, Sagstrom can take solace in the fact that she’s definitely figured out how to play Upper Montclair Country Club over the past three years and will likely be a contender at the Cognizant Founders Cup for many more years to come.
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