PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. – Madelen Sagstrom was just minutes away from finishing her first round at Women’s US Open when she had to stop, stand up straighter, look at her box and take a deep breath.
it sound as the perfect calming mechanism for dealing with the 6-foot par-saving that remained. Rather, it was her way of working through a precontract, also known as Braxton Hicks contractions – uncomfortable cramps in the abdomen or pelvis that may occur during the third trimester of pregnancy.
That’s right — Sagstrom is seven months pregnant and has been 18-holed Riviera Country Club Thursday morning, slowing down here and there during moments when her young son felt himself moving around. And he’s been on the move a lot lately, “reorganizing his bedroom” last night while she was trying to sleep before 7:29am.
“That was the first time I really could smelt like it’s getting bigger,” Sagstrom said, just moments after walking up the hill behind Riviera’s 18th green.
The 33-year-old is the 73rd-ranked player in the world and, as you can imagine, is highly motivated. She would have every reason to take it easy, but has found her golf to be a guiding goal during her pregnancy. Her husband, Jack Clarke, attends the PGA Tour, and Sagstrom often finds herself home alone.
“(Golf) gives me a reason to get up in the morning,” she says. “Going to the golf course, playing. I’ve been playing well beating my friends at home, so I’m like why not tryyou know?”
Why not try?
Only women could know. Every pregnancy is different. Sagstrom isn’t the first pro to compete while pregnant, and she won’t be the last. But she can be a bit more driven. Regardless of how this week goes, she will play next week, at the Dow Championship in Michigan. And she hasn’t ruled out the KPMG Women’s PGA at the end of the month, although she said Thursday’s round – the first time she’s played 18 this week – made her question whether that would be possible.
For professional players, even the smallest changes can throw everything out of whack. (For all golfers!) They’d rather be robots than humans, putting their body parts into repetitive motions and perfect positions. But what is perfect or repeatable or predictable about pregnancy? Over the past few months, Sagstrom’s coach realized that the angle of her spine had shifted four degrees forward, completely changing her angle of attack on the golf ball. Her arms got tired swinging the same clubs she’s been playing for years, so she switched to a whole new swing mid-tour in New Jersey, adding more wood to her bag than before. She regrets not changing sooner. She has lost at least 5 mph of swing speed and more than 10 mph of ball speed.
“Unless you’re pregnant or have kids yourself, you don’t understand how hard it is,” Sagstrom said. “And I don’t think I even realized it. I mean, the beginning of the year — when I found out I was pregnant — I’m like I will do this, this, this and this. And then it hits you hard.”
When she says this, Sagstrom smiles. This is how only hyper-competitive people act when they smell a challenge.
“But it’s kind of fun to test the limits,” she said. “Yeah, what can I do? Can I actually figure this out?”
Walk around with her band on the Riviera and hear the spectators whispering.
Wow, seven months pregnant!
See how she’s moving?
I can’t believe she’s doing this.
Inside the ropes, at least between pre-contracts, she seems to forget the message she is sending to the world. Her husband walked all 18 holes, proud, worried, impressed and smiling. But having just signed for a six-over 77, Sagstrom said she was kind of “upset.” She first noticed some limitations right after the hit and through the swing. Suddenly, she’s struggling with the occasional finger snap. She couldn’t make a birdie putt and is working with a strange mix of altered expectations. (When she teed up for eagle on the third hole during Wednesday’s practice round, she said, “Why today? Why not tomorrow?”)
“At the same time, I don’t want to stop my life,” she said. “I like my life. I like playing Riviera for fun. Or not fun. Whatever you want to call it.”
Her first thought, after signing the scorecard, was to go to practice. But then she would have to walk back up the mountain of stairs to Riv’s club. Lunch looked better.
“But once I sit down,” she said with a laugh, “I’ll try to get up.”
