Madelene Sagstrom has been the story of the 2016 season. She has two wins, five top 5 finishes and leads the Volvik Race for the Card money list by $63,238. She has already become just the third player in Tour history to crack $90,000 in single-season earnings.
This is a big week for Sagstrom in Charlotte. She has a chance to get her third win of the season, which would result in a “Battlefield Promotion” to the LPGA in category 13 on the priority list for the remainder of the season. After this week, there are eight full field non-majors left on the LPGA that she would have a chance to get into if she can get the third win. Marissa Steen used her “Battlefield Promotion” in 2014 after her third win and got into the Cambia Portland Classic, but Annie Park wasn’t able to use the promotion after her third win in 2015 because the LPGA was already playing limited field events in Asia.
The rookie also has a chance to break the single-season earnings record in just six events. Cindy LaCrosse owns the mark of $94,578 (15 events) in 2010 so Sagstrom is just $864 shy of tying the mark. If she finishes 42nd or better at the Epson Classic, she will break the record.
With 18 events remaining and nearly $2.5 million still available in prize money, it is still early to claim Sagstrom has assured herself an LPGA Tour card. However, ten players would have to break the all-time single-season earnings record for her to fall short.
Sagstrom also has a unique connection to Charlotte. Her mentor Robert Karlsson, an 11-time winner on the European Tour, lives in Charlotte and that’s where Sagstrom will stay this week. Karlsson and Sagstrom met about a year and a half ago and have practiced and played together ever since.
“We met at a Swedish National Team camp and then I was asked if I wanted him at Q-School and of course I said yes because he has played in over 500 events on the European Tour and has great experience,” said Sagstrom. “He teaches me everything he can. We’ve become really close friends because he has tried to help me become a better person and a better golfer.”
Karlsson just flew back from a European Tour event in Morocco on Sunday.
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