Olympic golfer makes crazy side bet with dad – and WINS!

A lot of golf is about making little wagers with playing partners.

For us club golfers, it’s usually just a few quid here and there. For the Phil Mickelsons of the world, a few thousand.

For LET golfer Madelene Stavnar, it’s a way of getting her dad, Thor, to buy her things.

The rules are simple. If the 23-year-old makes five birdies or more in a round, Thor must reach for his credit card. If she makes a double bogey, she buys him a coffee.

But none of this compares to the bet the Norwegian pair made six years ago.

Then 17, Madelene wrote up a contract titled “Kontrakt for tatovering til OL”.

Or, in English, “Contract for a tattoo for the Olympics”.

“This contract,” it reads, “promises that Thor Stavnar will tattoo the Olympic rings when his daughter, Madelene Stavnar, represents Norway.

“It doesn’t matter what year this happens, but the first goal is 2024. Thor can choose the size and location of the tattoo himself. A breach of this contract will lead to a conflict between both parties. Therefore it is best to stick to the agreement.”

It is then signed by both parties.

Madelene, who turned pro at 16, hung the contract above her bedroom door.

That way, she explains, “it’s always been in the back of my mind”.

“I’ve seen it every day since the day we signed it.

“When we knew we were close this year, he was like, ‘F***ing hell, this is too close!’”

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How close?

Well, the top two from each country automatically qualifies for the Olympics – and being in or around the top 300 in the world is usually enough to convince your Olympic committee to send you.

Norway’s No 1 women’s golfer, Celine Borge, was comfortably in at 187, so it came down to Stavnar and Dorthea Forbrigd – both just outside that magic number.

But it was the former who edged it by just two world ranking spots, and for Thor it meant some new artwork, which he chose to have on his forearm.

And there is still more than just medals for Madelene to play for this week at Le Golf National. If she makes the podium, her fiancé Jonathan has promised her a puppy.

What more can you say? Girl knows how to hustle.

Alex Perry is the Associate Editor of bunkered. A journalist for more than 20 years, he has been a golf industry stalwart for the majority of his career and, in a five-year spell at ESPN, covered every sporting event you can think of. He completed his own Grand Slam at the 2023 Masters, having fallen in love with the sport at his hometown club of Okehampton and on the links of nearby Bude & North Cornwall.

Associate Editor