KEEPING himself “grounded” with memories of his daughter, bereaved Nashville golfer Hayden Springer battled his way to a fourth-place finish at Q-School on Monday (Tuesday in Manila) to earn a coveted US PGA Tour card.
Last month, Springer and his wife Emma mourned the death of three-year-old Sage, their first-born child who was diagnosed prenatally with a severe developmental disorder.
Sage was in Springer’s thoughts throughout the rain-delayed final round at TPC Sawgrass in Florida as the 26-year-old earned one of the PGA Tour cards awarded to the top five finishers.
“It’s kind of one of those things that I think about her, and I just think about her smile,” Springer said.
“Like that’s the thing that I can just close my eyes and think about her smiling, and it’s kind of a grounding, kind of gets you back to neutral.
“Not thinking about golf, not thinking about the last shot, the next shot, just thinking about her and her smile.”
Sage was never expected to make it out of hospital after her birth but was a “fighter”, Springer said. She survived major heart surgery at four months’ old and spent another two months in hospital before returning home for round-the-clock care.
“She was just a very joyful girl, and she really loved her life,” her mother Emma said, wiping away tears in video posted on PGA Tour website.
“I think she just inspired joy in a lot of people, really made a lot of people feel joy and smile just knowing her.”
Springer, who has made only four PGA Tour starts since turning professional in 2019, booked his place at Q-School after topping PGA Tour Canada’s season-long Fortinet Cup race.
