"Golf story of the year" – Fans react to Hayden Springer overcoming recent tragedy to earn his first PGA Tour card

Fans were delighted to see Hayden Springer earn a PGA Tour card after fighting against all odds in his life. The American golfer participated in the PGA Tour Q-School and finished in the top five to earn a spot on the Tour for the upcoming season.

Springer lost his three-year-old daughter last month. But despite all the hardships, he played well and finished in a tie for fourth place.

Prior to the competition, the 26-year-old exuded confidence in his skills and delivered a fantastic performance. On the last tee hole of the 72-hole tournament, Springer hugged his caddie with tears in his eyes.

The PGA Tour shared an emotional video of Hayden Springer on its X account, with the caption:

"What a moment for Hayden Springer. On Nov. 13, his 3-year-old daughter, Sage, passed away after battling Trisomy 18. Just a month later, Springer is headed to the PGA TOUR."

In light of Springer's story, fans praised the golfer and sent well-wishes in the PGA Tour post's comments section. One user commented:

"Golf story of the year!"

"What a story and what an end to a year that must have been so difficult! Will look forward to routing him on in 2024," wrote another fan.

"Heartwarming story for sure," commented another user.

Here are a few more fan reactions:

---

"Just thinking about her and her smile"- Emotional Hayden Springer talks about his daughter

Hayden Springer's elder daughter Sage was born with the genetic disorder Trisomy 18. Despite being critical, the baby battled the illness for three years before she died on Nov. 13, 2023.

For Springer and his wife Emma, it was unbearably difficult, but despite everything, they remained strong. The 26-year-old golfer participated in the PGA Tour Q-School and earned A PGA Tour card.

After the competition, Springer broke down in tears and hugged his caddie. While addressing the media, he was incredibly emotional. Springer spoke about his daughter on Monday, saying (via NBC):

"I thought of her a handful of times. It's an interesting kind of thing mentally, thinking about her when you're trying to play and there's pressure and all of that because it is emotional. But it's happy thoughts. It's kind of one of those things that I think about her, and I just think about her smile."

"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," he added.

Hayden Springer will compete in the 2024 PGA Tour season, which will start in January. He is likely to compete at the 2024 Sony Open in Hawaii.