After Playing Through Pregnancy, Madelene Sagstrom Finally Presses Pause on Her LPGA Season
Sep 13, 2024; Gainesville, Virginia, USA; Madelene Sagstrom of Team Europe plays her shot from the first tee during Foursomes matches against Team USA during the first round of the Solheim Cup 2024 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
Sep 13, 2024; Gainesville, Virginia, USA; Madelene Sagstrom of Team Europe plays her shot from the first tee during Foursomes matches against Team USA during the first round of the Solheim Cup 2024 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
After competing on the LPGA Tour throughout her pregnancy, LPGA golfer Madelene Sagstrom has decided to begin her maternity leave after acknowledging that her stamina was no longer where it needed to be.
The Swede recently competed at the Dow Championship and the U.S. Women's Open while seven months pregnant before opting to take a break.
"When the low left starting coming on the front nine today I was like, yeah, you know, it's time," said Sagstrom, a two-time winner on the LPGA. "But I'm playing decent golf still, but just the stamina is not there."
The break comes earlier than Sagstrom had planned. She was set to compete in the KPMG Women's PGA later this month at Hazeltine, but recent developments have prompted the 33-year-old to take maternity leave.
Sagstrom and her husband, Jack Clarke, are expecting their first child, a boy, in September. The Swede will target a return to the tour following the 2027 Asian swing.
"The most fun has actually been all the adjustments I've had to make," said Sagstrom of playing pregnant. "I changed all my clubs. Even this morning I did make a little bit of an adjustment on the putting. I was like, do I go a little bit more on top of the belly now or go around it?"
The Dow Championship was the seventh event in which Sagstrom featured while pregnant.
Despite pregnancy-related health issues, Sagstrom finished strongly at Midland Country Club alongside Holmqvist.
The duo registered a closing-round 64 on Sunday to finish at 10-under par and secure a T9 finish, seven strokes behind Americans Gina Kim and Yana Wilson, who lifted the title.
First LPGA Wins for Kim and Wilson
Kim and Wilson both registered their first LPGA Tour win at the Dow Championship.
"This has been the most fun week," Gina Kim said after the win. "It's been tough, and it's nice to have a really good friend to be able to do this by."
The partnership proved decisive in their first tour victory.
They closed with an impressive 8-under 62 on Sunday and finished at 17-under 263 overall. They secured a two-stroke victory over South Korea's Hyo Joo Kim and Hye-Jin Choi.
It was Kim’s 64th and Wilson’s ninth start on the LPGA Tour as they lifted their first LPGA title and also earned around $800,000 combined from the win.
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Written by
Avishek Sarkar
Edited by
Pulkit Prabhav