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BROOKLINE, Mass. — Admit it, you’re jealous of Stewart Hagestad. Two weeks ago, the world’s best middle-aged amateur successfully defended his title at Anderson, a prestigious two-man event at Winged Foot. (“He had a good partner.”) This week, thanks to his second win at the US Mid-Amateur last fall, he put himself to the test at the US Open.
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It wasn’t the first time either. Hagestad played the 2017 US Open thanks to his first Mid-Am win, then managed to qualify in each of the next two years. He has played the Masters twice and was a low amateur in 2017. Last month, he won the Coleman Invitational mid-morning event at Seminole. Last year he won the Crump Cup, another big mid-morning event at Pine Valley. He has been the only am-half on three straight US Walker Cup teams. This week, he made the cut at The Country Club. It has been an incredible race.
“I have achieved more than I ever thought possible in the amateur game,” says the 31-year-old Hagestad, optimistic despite hitting a 79 in the third round that left him far down the rankings. He plays in the first matchup with Harris English on Sunday at 8:49am
He is optimistic because he ignores the chatter on social media. Hagestad is an easy target. Tall, handsome, polished, well-spoken, a member of several exclusive clubs (Los Angeles Country Club, host of next year’s US Open, and Deepdale on Long Island) and, according to the keyboard warriors, a professional golfer disguised as a golfer. average fan.
“I’m at a point where I don’t even look at Twitter,” Hagestad says. “I really try not to. If 100 comments are made on social media, 99 of them could be great and supportive, and even if there’s one negative, it still hurts.”
It is true that Hagestad has not worked a traditional schedule for the last half dozen years. But that doesn’t mean it hasn’t worked at all. After graduating from USC in 2013, where he was a solid but unspectacular college player, Hagestad moved to New York to work as an investment analyst at KTR Capital Partners. He moved to Oak Tree Residential, then returned to California, where he worked at Merrill Lynch, Crescent Capital, and Houlihan Lokey. He has been in the MBA program at the USC Marshall School of Business for the past two years and has interned at Platinum Equity in the summers.
However, there are gaps in the chronology of his resume; Hagestad has had the luxury of taking breaks from work to focus on his golf. That’s possible thanks to a financial safety net that most don’t have. Hagestad knows it. It’s not a secret. He doesn’t pretend to have been chained to a desk all year, looking for an hour here or there to hit balls. However, he insists that his focus changes seasonally.
“I don’t really play much between October and March,” he says. “The last two years I was in school. Before that, I worked for eight months and then played for four. I gave up promotions and raises. I made the dean’s list in two out of four semesters in business school and passed the SIE exam after graduation.
“All of February was 7-10am doing interviews, then classes until 2-3. I understand that’s a lot different than working 8-6, but I like to think I was pretty good at balancing it all. I had a unique opportunity and I took it.”
Therein lies the shorthand explanation for Hagestad’s remarkable amateur career: he knows how lucky he is to have the flexibility he does. Do you blame him for taking advantage of it?
As for what’s next: Hagestad will head to Chicago in July for a 30-day training for a new job at BDT Capital Partners, then return to New York City while BDT builds its Florida office. The plan is to move to South Florida when that happens. As for golf, he has one ultimate goal: to play for his fourth consecutive Walker Cup team next year at St. Andrews.
“So, I’d like to ride off into the metaphorical sunset. I put a lot of effort and energy into golf, and will always have a passion for the game. I don’t expect my game to stay at the same level in the future; that would not be realistic. But I am excited for the chapters to come in the future.”