Madelene Sagstrom emerges from marathon week victorious after playing 100 holes and winning all 7 matches

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[PHOTO: David Becker]

Madelene Sagstrom built a big lead, lost it and then battled down the stretch in the championship match of the T-Mobile Match Play to secure a 1-up victory over Lauren Coughlin for her second win on the LPGA Tour.

Both Sagstrom and Coughlin were competing in their first championship match at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas. Each had to play seven matches in five days. The 32-year-old Swede was 7-0 throughout the tournament, long odds anywhere but especially in Nevada.

It had been five years since her last win – 1,897 days to be exact – at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio in 2020.

“It feels amazing,” Sagstrom said. “You kind of forget what it feels like… It’s probably going to feel very rewarding, eventually. Right now, I’m just very tired. It’s been such hard work for such a long time. It’s so hard to win out here. Everyone is so good. It’s so incredible.”

Sagrstrom led for 17 of the 18 holes against Coughlin but that’s certainly misleading for the nerve-rattling match. Sagstrom was 4 up after six holes, then she started spraying her tee shots, and Coughlin won five of the next six holes. They staged a great battle and Sagstrom executed a key chip shot out of the rough and hit it close on the 17th to go up by one with one hole left. She won the $US300,000 top prize after playing more than 100 holes all week.

World No.1 Nelly Korda – the defending champion – lost to Ariya Jutanugarn on the final day of round-robin play and didn’t advance to the weekend’s knockout stage of 16 golfers. Jutanugarn defeated Korda 1 up, ending her bid to win back-to-back titles. Neither Lydia Ko nor Charley Hull advanced to the weekend, either, while Australia’s best performer was Steph Kyriacou, who lost a close quarter-final encounter with Coughlin on the 18th.

Sagstrom’s mother, Lena, was in attendance. Lena Sagstrom hadn’t been on hand for one of her daughter’s wins since her amateur days. They enjoyed the food and people watching in Vegas. And not long after a long week, Sagstrom was the subject of people watching on the 18th green. She made an emotional call with her husband, Jack Clarke, who is also a professional golfer. That call was at 3am local time in Sweden.

“A win is a win but having a win to share with people is the best feeling in the world,” Sagstrom said. “My husband called and cried and then I cried more. It’s just the best feeling to share it with the people you love.”

Sagstrom got up at 4:15am local time for her busy Sunday. She finished her quarter-final match against Celine Boutier, then topped Angel Yin in the semi-finals before taking on Coughlin. Sagstrom was set to take a redeye flight back home to Sweden late in the day. As she sat for her news conference, she talked about how tired she was and leaned against the trophy and smiled.

Coughlin needed to make a long putt on 18 to send the match to extra holes but she wasn’t able to extend the match this time, and Sagstrom shared a hug with caddie Shane Codd. She was all smiles and happy tears.

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A day earlier, Sagstrom beat Carlota Ciganda in 19 holes. Later on Saturday, Celine Boutier was 1 up with three holes remaining over Sagstrom in their quarter-final. That match was suspended due to darkness with the golfers tied with one hole to play, and they finished the match early on Sunday with Sagstrom winning in 19 holes. She then went on to beat Angel Yin 4&2 in the semi-final.

The LPGA is off for a week and returns for a crucial stretch with the JM Eagle LA Championship at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, California, just north of Los Angeles and then the first major of the year, the Chevron Championship at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas, outside Houston.