Another one-stroke heartbreak won’t stop Boise’s Madeleine Sheils from pursuing dream

One hundred eighty holes and two stinkin’ strokes. Golf can sting.

That’s the margin that has separated Madeleine Sheils from full-time status on the LPGA Tour over the last two years at The LPGA Qualifying Tournament.

She has come up a single shot short of a playoff for the final tour spot at final stage each of the last two years.

Of 165 players this year, she finished a very respectable tied for 23rd, but that’s still not the top 20.

Sheils estimates that her T23 finish will guarantee her seven starts in 2018 while a top-20 finish would have positioned her for 18 to 20 guaranteed starts.

“With full status, you actually have a set schedule,” said Sheils, who made 13 starts on the LPGA in 2017 and finished 144th on the money list with $30,699 in earnings. “I won’t get into anything until Hawaii (April). It’s a comfort thing when you know your schedule, and I really won’t.”

A day after heartbreak, Sheils took to Twitter (@m_sheils) on Dec. 4 to express her honest feelings. She was laying in bed and wanted to explain her mixed feelings to her family, friends and fans who probably were a bit torn as to whether they should congratulate her or not. Partial status is really impressive, but full status is what everyone strives for.

Read the rest of this story at LPGA.com or in Tuesday’s print edition of the Idaho Statesman.

This story was originally published December 11, 2017 at 2:32 PM with the headline "Another one-stroke heartbreak won’t stop Boise’s Madeleine Sheils from pursuing dream."