Still Recovering From 3YO Daughter’s Tragic Passing, Hayden Springer Makes a Painful Confession: ‘Feels Like a Blur”

Hayden Springer will make his 10th PGA Tour start this year. But only five months ago, the 27-year-old was not so sure if he would ever make it. Barely a month before PGA Tour Q-School, Springer lost his firstborn, Sage. 

Springer’s daughter had trisomy, a genetic disorder resulting in three copies of one chromosome, which means Sage had 47 chromosomes instead of 46. Most babies with trisomy don’t live beyond a year. Sage was three years old when she passed away last November. Five months later, the PGA Tour rookie recounts how those days before Q-School passed.

Hayden Springer can’t exactly recall how everything went by 

A stellar season on the PGA Tour Canada took Springer to the doorstep of his longtime dream. The 27-year-old had already raked in the Fortinet Cup. The TCU alum was also the Canadian Tour’s player of the year. But barely weeks before the final moment, Springer was shattered. How did he cope with the loss? “It kind of feels like a blur,” Springer admits while talking to SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio.

So, when he headed to TPC Sawgrass in December, it was more about keeping his head down and marching on without the burden of expectations. “On top of that, Q-School already is, it’s heightened pressure. You gotta kind of make it happen that week. You know, I just, I don’t know exactly what, but I was kind of able to play well and persevere. So, at the end of the day, if it didn’t happen I was gonna be okay.”

With Sage in his thoughts, Hayden Springer claimed the fourth spot in the PGA Tour Q-School. “Not thinking about golf, not thinking about the last shot, the next shot, just thinking about her and her smile,” Springer said at that time.

Since then, the Nashville native has played nine tournaments, netting at the Puerto Rico Open. On his debut at American Express, Springer revealed how he remembers his daughter, on course. 

Sage is with Springer all the time

Springer’s American Express debut was all about his late daughter. The PGA Tour Pro arrived with the wedges stamped with Sage’s name. The 27-year-old revealed he would keep honoring his daughter’s memory throughout the season. “And, at some point, I’ll probably wear a pink shirt too, because that was her favorite color,” the PGA Tour rookie said after missing the cut at La Quinta. 

Like Camilo Villegas, who lost his daughter to cancer, Springer and his wife, Emma, a nurse, and fellow TCU golfer, have started a non-profit. Named ‘Extra to Love’, the couple wants to raise awareness about the rare genetic syndrome that took their daughter’s life. “We have a renewed sense of importance to support families like ours, as we are eternally grateful for the time we got with her,” the PGA Tour Pro told Star-Telegram. Springer will next play at the CJ Cup at Byron Nelson, a tournament he attended as a child with his father.