Madelene Sagstrom capped off the greatest season in Tour history on Sunday at the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout with a two-shot win. She picked up her third win and 11th top 10 finish in just 14 starts. How does it stack up?
Sagstrom continues to increase her Tour single-season earnings record, which is now up to $156,184. Keep in mind that she still has the Epson Tour Championship left on her schedule and that carries a winner’s payout of $30,000.
It’s not so much the wins or the top 10 finishes this year, it’s more the dominance. Since Sagstrom won the third event of the season, she has not relinquished the top spot on the Volvik Race for the Card money list. She currently has a $61,038 cushion on second. If you need perspective on that, only 12 players have earned over $61,000 this year.
Sagstrom was in the final group on the final day for a tenth time yesterday. Remember, 14 starts.
It’s not fair to start comparing Sagstrom to some of the game’s all-time greats, but it sure makes for interesting fodder. We can at least compare apples-to-apples and see what some of the greats did on the Epson Tour. It’s apples-to-apples, but it might be more like apples-to-oranges with how much the Tour has grown since Lorena and Inbee dominated.
In 2002, Lorena Ochoa won three times in ten starts and had eight top 10 finishes (seven of which were either first or second). Certainly impressive, but you’d have to assume that the depth of talent was just not the same 14 years ago. In 2006, Inbee Park didn’t win but had 11 top 10 finishes in 17 starts. In 2011, Mo Martin compiled a win and 11 top 10 finishes.
From my seat, the only argument for Sagstrom’s season not being the greatest in Tour history can come from Grace Park, who won half of her starts in 1999. Yes, she won five times in ten starts and had a ridiculous nine top 10 finishes. You maybe throw Vicky Hurst’s 2008 season in the mix too. She won four times and had nine top 10’s in 13 starts.
No player in the history of the Epson Tour has ever recorded 12 top 10 finishes in a single-season. Sagstrom has a chance to accomplish that in two weeks in Daytona Beach.
Sagstrom is the 11th player since 1999 (when the Tour started awarding LPGA cards) to win three times in a single-season. The last player to win at least four times in season was Vicky Hurst in 2008.
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