Madelene Sagstrom is having one of the most dominant seasons in Epson Tour history. And we’re just five tournaments into the 2016 season.
Sagstrom ran away with the richest event on the schedule, the $250,000 Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Classic in Greenwood, S.C., last week. The 23-year-old Swedish rookie has finished T3, T2, win, T5 and win in five starts this season. She leads the LPGA in Scoring, Earnings, Birdies, Eagles, Rounds Under Par, Rounds in the 60s and Driving Distance. She has been in the final Sunday pairing in four of the five events and is a total of 31-under-par in 14 rounds.
“She will be on Solheim Cup next year and I guarantee she will be top 5 or 10 in the world,” said Jean Reynolds, a three-time Epson Tour winner who was paired with Sagstrom in the mid-April Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial. “It was a pleasure to play with her and she is just awesome.”
With earnings of $93,714, Sagstrom is just $864 short of the single-season earnings record of $94,578 set by Cindy LaCrosse in a full 2010 season. The 5-foot-9 Sagstrom was the 2015 SEC Player of the Year and a two-time All-American at LSU.
With another victory, Sagstrom will earn an immediate promotion to the LPGA. She is scheduled to play this week at the Epson Classic in Charlotte, N.C., and the following week at the Gosling’s Dark’n Stormy Classic in Atlanta.
Sagstrom’s hot start brings back memories of Laurel Kean’s 1987 season, where she recorded a Epson Tour record nine wins and 21 top-10 finishes.
Diverse Group
The top 10 on the Epson Tour money list shows the diverse group of players:
- Madelene Sagstrom (Sweden)
- Samantha Richdale (Canada)
- Wichanee Meechal (Thailand)
- Ally McDonald (U.S.)
- Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong (Thailand)
- Sophia Popov (Germany)
- Marissa Steen (U.S.)
- Augusta James (Canada)
- Kana Nagai (Japan)
- Erynne Lee (U.S.)
The winners are in the same boat: Lee (U.S.), Richdale (Canada), Sagstrom (Sweden) and Brittany Altomore (U.S.).
Young impression
Ya-Chun Chang of Chinese Taipei came to the United States to attend IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., in August 2014. Less than two years later, the 15-year-old has been impressive.
Chang led the Epson Tour’s Florida’s Natural Charity Classic one month ago entering the final round and finished T2, one stroke behind winner Samantha Richdale. Had she won, Chang would have been the youngest winner in Epson Tour history and the first amateur champion since 16-year-old Hannah O’Sullivan won in early 2015. She finished T39 at the Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial the following week and then jumped to the LPGA the week after that to place T75 at the Swinging Skirts in San Francisco.
Ironically, her nickname is “Money” even though as an amateur she cannot receive prize money.
Etc.
Before Sangstrom’s six-stroke victory last Sunday in Greenwood, S.C., Epson Tour finishes had been nail-biters, with three consecutive one-stroke wins to start the season before Brittany Altomare won in a five-hole playoff. … The Epson Tour is in the second week of playing for five consecutive weeks, stretching from Greenwood, S.C., to Charlotte, N.C., Atlanta, Brockton, Mass., and Albany, N.Y. … Brittany Altomare won three weeks ago at the Guardian Retirement Championship at Sara Bay in Sarasota, Fla., and that momentum carried over to the LPGA last week. She shot 69-66 in the second and third rounds – she was 7-under through 11 holes in the third round – and finished T22. … No one older than 23 has won on the LPGA this year. Epson Tour winners this season have been the following ages: 23, 31, 23, 25 and 23. Samantha Richdale is the 31-year-old winner. … Looking forward: Ariya Jutanugarn became the first LPGA winner from Thailand. Two Thai players, Wichanee Meechal, age 22, and Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong, age 19, are ranked third and fifth, respectively, in the current Epson Tour money rankings.
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