By: Max Bechtoldt
Madelene Sagström followed up her excellent opening round with a great Friday to tie Rose Zhang for the lead heading into the weekend.
Sagström went out in the difficult morning wave yesterday, and led the field at -7 until Zhang surpassed her. She followed it up with a chaotic -6 second round.
This wasn’t as clean as Zhang’s performance, as Sagström carded seven birdies, one eagle, one bogey and one double bogey. Sagström hit only seven fairways, which should be a tough sentence on Upper Montclair Country Club, but she made the best of her circumstances. She did hit 15 greens and for the second day in a row had less than 30 putts.
The signature moment of the round was undoubtedly the par 5 hole 12, where she mishit a fairway metal that worked out just fine, landing within 10 feet of the hole. She nailed the putt for eagle.
Sagström has had an interesting season, with two top-10s and only one missed stroke play cut. She is fighting to make another Solheim Cup team after a disappointing performance in the event in 2023. A win here would go a long way.
