Laura Davies

Laura Davies

Born: October 5, 1963
Age: 61
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Biography

Dame Laura Jane Davies, DBE (born 5 October 1963), is an English female professional golfer who has achieved the status of her nation's most accomplished female golfer of modern times, being the first non-American to finish at the top of the LPGA money list as well as winning the Ladies European Tour (LET) Order of Merit a record seven times: in 1985, 1986, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2004 and 2006.

As of 2014, she has 85 professional wins worldwide, with 20 on the LPGA Tour, including four majors. From 1985 to 2010, she won at least one individual title somewhere in the world every season, except for 2005. She is a member of U.S.-based LPGA Tour and a life member of the Ladies European Tour. She was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2014 and was inducted in July 2015.

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Amateur career

A native of Coventry, Davies began as an amateur international player for Great Britain, compiling a notable record. She was the 1983 English Intermediate Champion, the 1984 Welsh Open Stroke Play Champion and the South Eastern Champion in both 1983 and 1984. She was also a member of the Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup Team in 1984. She turned professional in 1985.

Professional career

Davies started her professional career on the WPGET (now Ladies European Tour) in 1985 when she won both Rookie of the Year and Order of Merit titles. She subsequently won the Sports Journalists' Association Peter Wilson Trophy as International Newcomer of the Year 1985. She repeated the Order of Merit win in 1986 having won four titles, one of which was the British Women's Open (prior to it becoming a major).

In 1987 she went to the United States and won the U.S. Women's Open in an 18-hole playoff against Ayako Okamoto and JoAnne Carner. It was a victory that led the LPGA to amend its constitution. Davies was not a member of the LPGA Tour, so the LPGA changed its constitution to grant Davies automatic membership. Since 1988 Laura Davies has played on both the LPGA and Ladies European Tours. In 1988 Davies won twice as a rookie on the LPGA Tour, three times on the Ladies European Tour and once in Japan, becoming the first woman ever to win on all three major Tours in the same year.

In 1990 she was a member of the inaugural European Solheim Cup Team. She returned as part of every European team through 2011, the only player to do so. Davies is the all-time leader in points won in the Solheim Cup, breaking the record of Annika Sörenstam by winning a Saturday fourballs match partnered by Melissa Reid on 24 September 2011. Davies went on the increase her record point total to 25 by halving her singles match with Juli Inkster on 25 September 2011, as the Europeans captured the Solheim Cup for the fourth time.

In 1994 she was the first golfer, male or female, to win on five different golf tours in one calendar year: US, Europe, Asia, Japan and Australia. and became the first European player to be ranked unofficial number one in the world. She was named the Sports Journalists' Association Sportswoman of the Year 1995 and 1996.

Davies is the only player to participate in the first 12 Solheim Cup matches (1990-2011) on either the United States or European side.

Davies was part of the LPGA team at the Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge three times between 1994 and 1996.

Her four consecutive victories at the J Golf Phoenix LPGA International between 1994 and 1997 made Davies the first LPGA player to win the same tournament in four consecutive years.

She represented England at the Women's World Cup of Golf in 2005 (with Karen Stupples), 2006 (with Kirsty Taylor) and 2007 (with Trish Johnson). She was a Captain's pick for the International Team at the 2006 Lexus Cup.

In 2004 Davies was the first woman to compete in the men's European Tour, entering the ANZ Championship in Sydney, Australia. She failed to make the cut, finishing second to last. She currently holds the LPGA Tour record for most eagles in a season, scoring 19 during the 2004 season.

Other awards and honors

Davies was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1988, Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2000, and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2014 Birthday Honours, all for services to golf. In February 2015 she became one of the first female members of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.

Off-course activities

Davies published an autobiography in 1996.

Davies enjoys all sports and is an avid football fan and a Liverpool F.C. supporter. She organises the annual football match at the Evian Masters tournament in France and she has in the past been fined by the Ladies European Tour for watching an England versus Spain European Championship football match on a portable television during the final round of the 1996 Evian Masters in France, a tournament she nevertheless won.

She is also the captain of the Rest of the World team in the annual Rest of the World V Australia cricket match held during the ANZ Ladies Masters.

In 2001, Davies joined the BBC Sport commentary team member at The Open Championship. and has regularly appeared in the commentary box for major golfing events on the BBC.

Davies has built a nine-hole golf course (one full size green and greenside bunker plus nine tees) in the garden of her house. In 2004 she hosted a celebrity fourball tournament for the charity Sport Relief.

Davies has always had an interest in gambling, having formerly been a bookmaker's assistant, and this interest led to her becoming a racehorse owner.

In 2006 Davies completed a 56-mile charity walk along the Great Wall of China to raise funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital. In 2012, she was named by the Golf Club Managers' Association's Golf Club Management magazine as the 32nd most powerful person in British golf due to her ability to inspire girls and women to play the game.

In January 2013, the Golf Writers Association of America announced that Davies would be the year's recipient of the ASAPSports/Jim Murray Award, which recognizes a golfer for "cooperation, quotability and accommodation with the media." The other finalists were Luke Donald and Greg Norman. The award will be presented at the annual GWAA dinner at Augusta, Georgia, on 10 April.

Football career

In 1997, 33-year-old Davies signed a four-year contract worth $1 as part of a publicity stunt for newly established American soccer team Myrtle Beach Seadawgs in the USISL D-3 Pro League. She played in one league game for the club, a six-minute cameo in a 4-1 loss against New Jersey Imperials on 18 April 1997. The future United States national soccer team international Tim Howard made his away debut in the game. Howard wrote in his book that the Seadawgs had offered a bonus of $500 to any player who could assist Davies score a goal.

Professional wins (84)

LPGA Tour (20)

Legend
LPGA Tour major championships (4)
Other LPGA Tour (16)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of victory Runner(s)-up
1 26 Jul 1987 U.S. Women's Open −3 (72-70-72-71=285) Playoff JoAnne Carner
Ayako Okamoto
2 20 Mar 1988 Circle K LPGA Tucson Open −10 (64-74-69-72=278) 1 stroke Robin Walton
3 5 Jun 1988 Jamie Farr Toledo Classic −11 (69-70-69-69=277) 3 strokes Nancy Lopez
4 18 Jun 1989 Lady Keystone Open −9 (67-73-67=207) 1 stroke Pat Bradley
5 10 Mar 1991 Inamori Classic −11 (70-68-72-67=277) 4 strokes Lynn Connelly
Judy Dickinson
6 16 May 1993 McDonald's Championship −7 (66-69-73-69=277) 1 stroke Sherri Steinhauer
7 20 Mar 1994 Standard Register PING −15 (69-72-66-70=277) 4 strokes Elaine Crosby
Beth Daniel
8 8 May 1994 Sara Lee Classic −13 (65-70-68=203) 1 stroke Meg Mallon
9 15 May 1994 McDonald's LPGA Championship −5 (70-72-69-68-279) 3 strokes Alice Ritzman
10 19 Mar 1995 Standard Register PING −12 (69-68-70-73=280) 1 stroke Beth Daniel
11 23 Apr 1995 Chick-fil-A Charity Championship −15 (67-67-67=201) 4 strokes Kelly Robbins
12 24 Mar 1996 Standard Register PING −8 (71-73-69-71=284) 1 stroke Kristal Parker-Manzo
13 12 May 1996 McDonald's LPGA Championship E (72-71-70=213) 1 stroke Julie Piers
14 4 Aug 1996 du Maurier Classic −11 (71-70-70-66=277) 2 strokes Nancy Lopez
Karrie Webb
15 25 Aug 1996 Star Bank LPGA Classic −12 (68-66-70=204) 3 strokes Pat Hurst
Maggie Will
16 23 Mar 1997 Standard Register PING −15 (70-69-70-68=277) Playoff Kelly Robbins
17 22 Nov 1998 PageNet Tour Championship −11 (66-67-75-69=277) 4 strokes Brandie Burton
Pat Hurst
Karrie Webb
18 13 Feb 2000 Los Angeles Women's Championship −5 (67-71-73=211) 3 strokes Carin Koch
Janice Moodie
Michele Redman
19 7 May 2000 The Philips Invitational −5 (68-67-68-72=275) 2 strokes Dottie Pepper
20 10 Jun 2001 Wegmans Rochester International −9 (68-68-69-74=279) 3 strokes Maria Hjorth
Wendy Ward

LPGA Tour playoff record (2-8)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1987 U.S. Women's Open JoAnne Carner
Ayako Okamoto
Won 18-hole playoff (Davies:71, Okamoto:73, Carner:74)
2 1992 ShopRite LPGA Classic Anne Marie Palli Lost to birdie on first extra hole
3 1992 Rail Charity Golf Classic Nancy Lopez Last to par on first extra hole
4 1994 JAL Big Apple Classic Beth Daniel Lost to birdie on first extra hole
5 1995 Samsung World Championship of Women's Golf Annika Sörenstam Lost to birdie on first extra hole
6 1996 State Farm Rail Classic Michelle McGann
Barb Whitehead
McGann won with birdie on third extra hole
7 1996 Toray Japan Queens Cup Mayumi Hirase Lost to par on third extra hole
8 1997 Standard Register PING Kelly Robbins Won with par on first extra hole
9 1997 Giant Eagle LPGA Classic Tammie Green Lost to eagle on fifth extra hole
10 1999 PageNet Championship Se Ri Pak
Karrie Webb
Pak won with birdie on first extra hole

Ladies European Tour (45)

  • 1985 (1) Belgian Ladies' Open
  • 1986 (4) McEwans Wirral Classic, Greater Manchester Tournament, Ladies' British Open, La Manga Spanish Open
  • 1987 (1) Italian Ladies' Open
  • 1988 (3) Ford Ladies' Classic, Italian Ladies' Open, Biarritz Ladies' Open
  • 1989 (1) Laing Charity Ladies' Classic
  • 1990 (1) AGF Biarritz Ladies' Open
  • 1991 (1) Valextra Classic
  • 1992 (3) The European Ladies' Open, The Ladies' English Open, BMW Italian Ladies' Open
  • 1993 (1) Waterford Dairies Ladies' English Open
  • 1994 (2) Holiday Ireland Women's Open, The New Skoda Women's Scottish Open
  • 1995 (4) Evian Masters, Guardian Irish Holidays Open, Woodpecker Women's Welsh Open, Wilkinson Sword Ladies' English Open
  • 1996 (3) Evian Masters, Wilkinson Sword Ladies' English Open, Italian Ladies' Open di Sicilia
  • 1997 (2) Ford-Stimorol Danish Open, Hennessy Cup
  • 1998 (1) Chrysler Open
  • 1999 (3) Chrysler Open, McDonald's WPGA Championship, Compaq Open
  • 2000 (1) TSN Ladies World Cup Golf (individual event)
  • 2001 (1) WPGA International Matchplay
  • 2002 (1) P4 Norwegian Masters
  • 2003 (1) ANZ Ladies Masters (co-sanctioned by ALPG Tour)
  • 2004 (1) AAMI Women's Australian Open (co-sanctioned by ALPG Tour)
  • 2006 (1) SAS Masters
  • 2007 (1) UNIQA Ladies Golf Open
  • 2008 (1) UNIQA Ladies Golf Open
  • 2009 (1) Women's Australian Open (co-sanctioned by ALPG Tour)
  • 2010 (5) Pegasus New Zealand Women's Open (co-sanctioned by ALPG Tour), UniCredit Ladies German Open, UNIQA Ladies Golf Open, Open De España Femenino, Hero Honda Women's Indian Open
Note: Davies won the Women's British Open before it became a major championship on the LPGA Tour.

LPGA of Japan Tour (7)

  • 1988 (1) Itoki Classic
  • 1994 (1) Itoen Ladies Open
  • 1995 (1) Itoen Ladies Open
  • 1996 (2) Satake Japan Classic, Itoen Ladies Open
  • 1999 (1) Takara World Invitational
  • 2001 (1) Itoen Ladies Open

ALPG Tour (8)

  • 1993 (1) Australian Ladies Masters
  • 1994 (1) Australian Ladies Masters
  • 2003 (1) ANZ Ladies Masters (co-sanctioned by Ladies European Tour)
  • 2004 (1) AAMI Women's Australian Open (co-sanctioned by Ladies European Tour)
  • 2008 (1) LG/Bing Lee NSW Women's Open
  • 2009 (1) Women's Australian Open (co-sanctioned by Ladies European Tour)
  • 2010 (2) Pegasus New Zealand Women's Open (co-sanctioned by Ladies European Tour), Kangaroo Valley Resort Classic

Ladies Asian Golf Tour (2)

  • 1993 (1) Thailand Ladies Open
  • 1994 (1) Thailand Ladies Open

Other (5)

  • 1996 (1) JCPenney/LPGA Skins Game
  • 1998 (1) JCPenney/LPGA Skins Game
  • 1999 (2) Praia d'El Rey European Cup (Ladies European Tour team event), JCPenney Classic (with John Daly)
  • 2008 (1) Lalla Meryem Cup

Legends Tour (1)

  • 2012 (1) ISPS Handa Legends Tour Open Championship

Major championships

Wins (4)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner(s)-up
1987 U.S. Women's Open 1 shot deficit −3 (72-70-72-71=285) Playoff 1 JoAnne Carner, Ayako Okamoto
1994 McDonald's LPGA Championship 1 shot lead −5 (70-72-69-68=279) 3 strokes Alice Ritzman
1996 McDonald's LPGA Championship 2 shot deficit E (72-71-70=213) 1 stroke Julie Piers
1996 du Maurier Classic 5 shot deficit −11 (71-70-70-66=277) 2 strokes Nancy Lopez

1 In an 18-hole playoff: Davies 71, Okamoto 73, Carner 74.

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2015.

Tournament 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991
ANA Inspiration CUT T33 T21 T42 T44 T23
Women's PGA Championship DNP DNP CUT T65 CUT T51
U.S. Women's Open T11 1 T50 T7 T26 T44
du Maurier Classic DNP DNP 2 T17 CUT T3
Tournament 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
ANA Inspiration CUT T12 2 T3 T15 T16 T3 T70 T35
Women's PGA Championship T52 T45 1 2 1 T4 T44 T7 T6
U.S. Women's Open CUT T11 T12 T24 6 CUT T11 CUT T9
du Maurier Classic T20 DNP T38 CUT 1 T16 T22 2 73
Tournament 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
ANA Inspiration T11 T21 4 T16 T23 CUT T20 T55 DNP
Women's PGA Championship T6 CUT CUT T42 T3 T65 T30 CUT WD
U.S. Women's Open CUT T32 CUT CUT CUT CUT T32 CUT T17
Women's British Open ^ T25 CUT T19 T8 T29 T16 CUT 77 T46
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
ANA Inspiration T48 T57 CUT DNP DNP CUT
Women's PGA Championship T47 T57 CUT T64 T25 T53
U.S. Women's Open DNP CUT DNP DNP CUT T47
Women's British Open ^ T69 CUT WD CUT T9 CUT
The Evian Championship ^^ CUT T41 T55

^ The Women's British Open replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major in 2001.
^^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013.
DNP = did not play.
CUT = missed the half-way cut.
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
ANA Inspiration 0 1 2 4 4 14 27 22
Women's PGA Championship 2 1 1 5 8 9 28 21
U.S. Women's Open 1 0 0 1 4 10 27 16
Women's British Open 0 0 0 0 2 5 15 9
The Evian Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2
du Maurier Classic 1 2 1 4 4 8 12 10
Totals 4 4 4 14 22 46 112 80
  • Most consecutive cuts made - 11 (1992 du Maurier - 1994 U.S. Open)
  • Longest streak of top-10s - 3 (1996 PGA - 1996 du Maurier)

LPGA Tour career summary

Year Events
played
Cuts
made*
Wins 2nds 3rds Top
tens
Best
finish
Earnings ($) Rank Scoring
average
Scoring
rank
1988 2 1 160,382 15 72.98
1989 1 1 181,874 13 71.87
1990 0 64,863 64 73.72
1991 1 1 200,831 20 73.16
1992 21 14 0 2 0 4 2 150,163 39 72.94
1993 16 15 1 0 0 3 1 240,643 20 72.00
1994 22 21 3 3 2 12 1 687,201 1 70.91
1995 17 16 2 3 1 9 1 530,349 2 71.37
1996 19 18 4 3 1 13 1 927,302 2 70.32
1997 21 19 1 1 2 7 1 483,571 8 70.86
1998 22 16 1 1 2 6 1 516,547 11 71.76
1999 24 22 0 3 1 9 2 501,798 14 71.33
2000 22 22 2 0 1 8 1 557,158 11 71.91
2001 19 14 1 1 0 6 1 492,143 18 71.84
2002 18 15 0 1 0 6 2 344,232 29 71.68
2003 22 19 0 2 1 5 2 525,902 19 71.27
2004 23 18 0 0 1 6 T3 351,961 36 71.04 T14
2005 22 18 0 0 2 3 T3 434,589 31 72.52 42
2006 19 12 0 1 0 1 T2 364,531 34 72.94 87
2007 24 22 0 1 2 6 2 692,010 21 71.71 13
2008 19 13 0 0 0 1 T9 112,914 95 73.16 100
2009 18 12 0 0 0 0 T17 97,681 87 73.56 114
2010 15 10 0 0 0 2 T6 88,2111 78 72.55 55
2011 12 6 0 0 0 0 T37 26,499 111 73.74 98
2012 15 7 0 0 0 0 T18 42,161 107 74.07 112
2013 14 5 0 0 0 0 T42 23,803 119 73.74 128
2014 18 12 0 0 0 2 T4 200,515 68 72.48 86
2015 14 4 0 0 0 0 T47 39,359 119 73.86 133

Team appearances

Amateur

  • Curtis Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1984

Professional

  • Solheim Cup (representing Europe): 1990, 1992 (winners), 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000 (winners), 2002, 2003 (winners), 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 (winners)
  • World Cup (representing England): 2005, 2006, 2007
  • Lexus Cup (representing International team): 2006
  • Handa Cup (representing World team): 2013 (winners), 2014, 2015
  • The Queens (representing Europe): 2015

Solheim Cup record

Year Total
matches
Total
W-L-H
Singles
W-L-H
Foursomes
W-L-H
Fourballs
W-L-H
Points
won
Points
%
Career 46 22-18-6 5-5-2 8-6-1 9-7-3 25 54.35%
1990 3 2-1-0 1-0-0 def. R. Jones 3&2 1-0-0 won w/ A. Nicholas 2&1 0-1-0 lost w/ A. Nicholas 4&3 2 66.7%
1992 3 3-0-0 1-0-0 def. B. Burton 4&2 1-0-0 won w/ A. Nicholas 1 up 1-0-0 won w/ A. Nicholas 1 up 3 100%
1994 3 1-2-0 0-1-0 lost to B. Burton 1 dn 1-0-0 won w/ A. Nicholas 2&1 0-1-0 lost w/ A. Nicholas 2&1 1 33.3%
1996 5 3-2-0 0-1-0 lost to M. McGann 3&2 1-1-0 lost w/ A. Nicholas 1 dn,
won w/ T. Johnson 4&3
2-0-0 won w/ T. Johnson 6&5,
won w/ L. Hackney 6&5
3 60%
1998 5 3-1-1 1-0-0 def. P. Hurst 1 up 1-1-0 lost w/ T. Johnson 3&1,
won w/ C. Sörenstam, 3&2
1-0-1 halved w/ C. Sörenstam,
won w/ L. Hackney 2up
3.5 70%
2000 4 1-2-1 0-1-0 lost to K. Robbins 3&2 1-1-0 won w/ A. Nicholas 4&3,
lost w/ A. Nicholas 6&5
0-0-1 halved w/ R. Carriedo 1.5 37.5%
2002 5 2-3-0 0-1-0 lost to M. Mallon 3&2 1-1-0 won w/ P. Martí 2 up,
lost w/ P. Martí 2&1
1-1-0 lost w/ P. Martí 1 dn,
won w/ S. Gustafson 1up
2 40%
2003 4 1-2-1 1-0-0 def. M. Mallon,
conceded on 15
0-0-1 halved w/ C. Koch 0-2-0 lost w/ C. Matthew 2&1,
lost w/ S.Gustafson 2&1
1.5 37.5%
2005 5 3-2-0 0-1-0 lost to P. Creamer 7&5 1-1-0 won w/ M. Hjorth 2&1,
lost w/ M. Hjorth 3&2
2-0-0 won w/ S. Pettersen 4&3,
won w/ A. Sörenstam 4&2
3 60%
2007 4 2-1-1 1-0-0 def B. Lincicome 4&3 0-1-0 lost w/ B. Brewerton 2&1 1-0-1 halved w/ T. Johnson,
won w/ B. Brewerton 2 up
2.5 62.5%
2009 2 0-1-1 0-0-1 halved with B. Lang 0-1-0 lost w/ B. Brewerton 5&4 0.5 25%
2011 3 1-1-1 0-0-1 halved with J. Inkster 1-1-0 lost w/ M. Reid 1 dn,
won w/ M. Reid 4&3
1.5 50%

[ Source: Wikipedia ]


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