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see also: Stewart Hagestad

Hagestad will achieve one of his lifelong dreams next April when he tees it up at the 2017 Masters
Congrats to @s_hag
esta
d
a> for the W! Phenomenal birdies on back 9!
Wish it
was me but fun to watch! 6 of last 9 is awesome!
#niceputt 👍👍
— Scott
Harvey (@ScottHarvey78) September 15, 2016
"If you go back to some of the earlier holes, I
actually
felt better then you would have expected for
someone
that was down," Hagestad explained.
"Throughout
the
course of the day I kept telling myself that if I
could
just
chip away throughout the course of the day
maybe
the
momentum would start to swing."
And swing it did, as Hagestad won four of the
final
five
holes and then won the match with a birdie on
the
first
extra hole, the 37th hole of the match. Before
striking
his 14-foot birdie putt on the 169-yard par-3
ninth
hole
Hagestad lost his focus momentarily, as thoughts
of
Augusta National crept into his subconscious but
he
quickly returned to the task at hand.
"My first thought after my adrenaline came down
was is this
real? Did this really happen? This is crazy," a still
slightly shocked sounding Hagestad said, "Then
the
phone call after with my parents (John and
Merry)
was
probably the most special that I have ever had
with
them for sure."
Recapping the top moments
from
the 36th #USMidAm Final. pic.twitter.com
/fR1
pN
snWIE
— USGA (@USGA) September 16, 2016
Hagestad, originally from Newport Beach, CA,
now
lives
in New York City where he works in finance at
Oak
Tree
Residential. The move came following his senior
year
at
USC and for the lifelong Southern California
resident
it
was his chance to experience something new.
"I wanted an opportunity to go live in another
big
city
but when I moved to New York I kind of had a
second
awakening and realized how much I love
competitive
golf," said Hagestad who has found a creative
way to
keep his game sharp while living in the city that
doesn't
sleep.
Nearly two years ago Hagestad joined Golf &
Body,
located on 6th Avenue in the heart of Manhattan
and
since joining his game has thrived. Members of
Golf
&
Body receive a full golf
evaluation and then are put on a training
program
that
fits their needs from a golf, fitness and wellness
standpoint.
"(Stewart) will often come in at the end of a long
day
after most other members have gone home,
setup
his
exercises throughout the gym and crank up his
music
before grinding through another tough workout,"
trainer
Kirk Adams
said of is client. "His work ethic in the gym has
allowed
him to have the season he just had and is a
model
for
amateur golfers everywhere."
The state-of-the-art facility also afforded
Hagestad
an
opportunity to hone his wedge game and putting
stroke.
Hagestad spends hours at the facility with his
head
phones in working to perfect the putting stroke
that
carried him to his U.S. Mid-Amateur triumph and
will
be
much needed on the lightening quick greens of
Augusta
National come April.
Speaking of April, Hagestad still finds it hard to
describe his upcoming trip to Magnolia Lane.
"Saying that my dream was to play in the
Masters
would be an example of something that you say
and
you dream of it happening but now that it has
happened
it is unfathomable that it came true. I remember
there
were a couple
nights where I was talking to some people that I
am
still
very close with from high school and I told them
my
goal was to play in the Masters but I'm still
pinching
myself thinking about it and that first tee ball on
Thursday (in the first round). It is something
that
you
dream about as a kid and I just want to put forth
all
the
effort and all the energy and effort I have into
playing
well."
As a 2013 graduate of USC, Hagestad is friends
with
some of the younger players on the PGA Tour
and
shortly after his U.S. Mid-Amateur triumph he
said
he
would love to play a practice round with
Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. "I won’t be
intimidated to call them up and say hey guys
when
can
we go," said Hagestad who would also like to
play a
practice round with the likes of Phil Mickelson
and
Adam
Scott.
However, for Hagestad the objective isn't to just go down to Augusta for a couple of practice rounds and a pair of competitive rounds, "I want to legitimately contend at Augusta. You are given a pretty unique opportunity and I want to go down there and play great." The victory at the U.S. Mid-Amateur wasn't the first taste of success that Hagestad has had in his amateur career. While at USC he competed in the NCAA Championships as a senior and the Pac-12 Championships three-times. For Hagestad, going to USC was more then getting a chance to play for the schools golf team. He also got a chance to follow in his father's footsteps and attend USC and now he watches as his younger brother Richard competes as a walk-on for the resurgent Trojan football program. With that said the college golfing experience was a little different for Hagestad, a member of the USC business school, "I loved golf, I loved competitive golf but it became pretty clear after my sophomore year that I was going to do something else with my career professionally. What I found out in college was just how good these kids are."
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