GREENWOOD, S.C., May 6, 2016 - Madelene Sagstrom (Enkoping, Sweden) carded a 1-under 71 on Saturday and put a firm grip on the Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Women’s Health Classic heading into the final-round. She is at 12-under, 204, nine shots clear of Pavarisa Yoktuan (Thailand) and Wichanee Meechai (Thailand). Sagstrom’s cushion never dipped below six on Saturday and rose to nine after back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18.
The 24-player Legends Tour will also compete on Sunday at The Links at Stoney Point.
Sagstrom will go for her second win and fifth consecutive top five finish on Sunday. She currently leads the Volvik Race for the Card money list at $56,214. The winner’s payout of $37,500 would increase her season total to $93,714. Only two players in Tour history have eclipsed $90,000 in single-season earnings.
Sagstrom would also pull one win from a “Battlefield Promotion” to the LPGA.
The 23-year-old made two birdies and two bogeys on the front nine. She made bogey on 14 to drop to 10-under, but closed with birdies on the final two holes.
“I felt like my mindset turned around on 17,” said Sagstrom, who was indecisive on clubs and stuffed it to a foot. “I’ll take a birdie on 17 any day out here. I also gave myself a really good chance on 18 and walked away with birdie and I was really happy about that too.”
Sagstrom has no plans of letting off the gas pedal or playing defensive with her large lead.
“I just want to go out there and shoot as low as I can,” said Sagstrom, who won the Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial three weeks ago. “I’m just going to go out and commit and be free. I’m going to really, really challenge myself to not get defensive.”
Even with all her success to date, Sagstrom said that her confidence level has not always been there.
“I’ve overcome a lot this week and it has definitely been my best week,” said Sagstrom. “I feel so confident in many parts of my game, which I have been really fighting for a long time. I just really believe in my game at the moment and that makes me really happy.”
The largest margin of victory in Epson Tour history is ten shots and it has happened twice. The last time was 2009 when Mina Harigae won the Ladies Titan Tire Challenge in Marion, Iowa at 16-under.
Sagstrom will tee at 12:27 p.m. on Sunday with Yoktuan and Meechai. The final Legends Tour group of Barb Mucha, Nancy Lopez and Jan Stephenson will tee at 12:16 p.m.
ALLY MCDONALD OFFERS HIGH PRAISE FOR SAGSTROM: Ally McDonald (Fulton, Ms.) holed out for eagle on five and posted a 2-under 70 on Saturday to move to a tie for fourth.
“I was really, really hot on the front nine and had it to 5-under after a good putt on 13,” said McDonald. “I didn’t get up-and-down on 14 and 17 is a really tough hole, but all-in-all it was a good day.”
McDonald has a lot to play for Sunday, even if she can’t catch Sagstrom.
“Nobody is playing better than Madelene right now and it goes to show how great she is playing,” said McDonald. “It is hard to get in the mindset of chasing so you kind of just wipe out her score and there are 59 other players competing for second place.”
McDonald had 154-yards to the pin on the shot of the day.
“The way that green works everything kind of slopes away so we tried to fly something to the top,” explained McDonald. “I hit a knock down 6-iron and you can’t see the hole so I wasn’t sure it went in, but my grandfather was motioning that it went in. I wasn’t sure until I walked to the green.”
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING MAJOR POSTS 66: When Brittany Marchand (Orangeville, Ontario) was in college at North Carolina State, she was taking classes like Thermo Dynamics and Organic Chemistry.
“Thermo Dynamics was the death of me,” Marchand joked.
Her Thermo Dynamics professor actually worked at Golf Pride as a head chemical engineer on their golf grips. Although the Epson Tour rookie is focused on a long and successful career on the LPGA, Marchand said that when golf is over, she would like to go into performance material design to stay in golf.
On Saturday, Marchand posted a 66, her best round since Stage I of LPGA Qualifying Tournament in August of 2015, to move from T38 to solo eighth.
“Yesterday, I was 4-over through nine and then I shot 3-under on the back nine to make the cut and I squeezed in at 6-over,” said Marchand, who is 9-under over her last 27 holes. “I went off the momentum I had from the back nine yesterday and I just tried to let go. My biggest thing is not thinking too much and trying too much.”
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