Madelene Sagstrom ended an over five-year LPGA Tour drought, overcoming the loss of a four-hole lead in victory over Lauren Coughlin in the T-Mobile Match Play final.
Sagstrom went the distance, finishing off her quarter-final match before prevailing in the semi-finals and defeating Coughlin one up in the finals.
“I’m exhausted and I bet Lauren is exhausted,” said Sagstrom, who’s other win came in 2020 at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio. “I’m so tired and I think it really kind of hit my swing there in the middle. I said to (caddie Shane Codd), ‘I can do this. I just need to find some sort of feeling it hit some good golf shots again’.”
Sagstrom’s quarter-final match against France’s Celine Boutier was suspended due to darkness on Saturday with the pair tied through 17 holes. They went to a 19th hole, where Sagstrom converted a birdie to put Boutier away.
The 46th-seeded Sagstrom then beat No 10 seed Angel Yin 4 and 2 to set up a showdown with No 13 seed Coughlin, who edged 32nd seed Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand 1 up in the semis.
Sagstrom won four of her first six holes against Coughlin before committing a double-bogey 7 at No 7 Coughlin won that hole and added birdies at her next two, wresting away the momentum.
Coughlin went ahead by winning the 11th and 12th holes, where Sagstrom recorded another double and a bogey, respectively. Sagstrom got back in the game by parring the par-3 13th while Coughlin bogeyed.
Sagstrom, who was seeking her first victory since the Scottish Open in August, then went ahead for good at No 16 when Coughlin carded a double.
“It was kind of sitting up and there was some grass behind it and it just hit like a pillow off my ball, off my club face,” Coughlin said of the shot that did her in at No. 16.
“Just kind of unfortunate. “I thought I hit a really good shot in there. It just caught this slope at the end. I thought I stuffed it, really. I wish I could have that one back a little bit and maybe play a little bit more out to the left than I did.”
Despite her own miscues, Sagstrom has plenty of reason to be confident in her game.
“I feel so comfortable standing over the ball at the moment, and most the times it comes out nice,” Sagstrom said. “It’s just such a nice feeling.”
When is The Masters live on Sky Sports?
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As Rory McIlroy attempts to complete a career grand slam by winning The Masters, take a look at some of his best and worst moments at Augusta National
Sky Sports Golf will be showing record hours of live coverage from the 2025 contest, where Scottie Scheffler returns as defending champion, including more action over the final two rounds than previous years.
Wall-to-wall coverage from the tournament begins at 2pm on Thursday, with Featured Group action and regular updates from around the course available to enjoy on Sky Sports Golf until the global broadcast window begins at 8pm.
The same timings will apply on Friday, while a new addition to this year’s coverage sees a Masters build-up show live from 3pm over the weekend ahead of full coverage starting at 5pm, covering all the action until after the close of play.
On Sky+, Sky Q and Sky Glass there will be lots of extra action via the red button on the Sky Sports Golf channel, providing plenty of bonus feeds and allowing you to follow players’ progress through various parts of Augusta’s famous layout.
Watch the LPGA Tour live on Sky Sports, as the season continues with the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro – El Caballero Country Club in Los Angeles, California, on Sky Sports Golf from April 17. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.
