Erica Blasberg
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Erica Blasberg is a golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. She was born July 14, 1984 in Orange, California and now lives in Corona, California. She did well as an amateur. She was a medalist at the 2000 U.S. Junior Girls' Amateur Championship, and in 2003 she reached the quarter finals of the U.S. Women's Amateur Championships. She was at the University of Arizona, but she left after her sophomore year to turn pro. She was an All-American in 2003 and 2004, NCAA Freshman of the Year in 2003, and Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2003. In 2004 she was on the winning United States Curtis Cup team.
Blasberg turned professional in June 2004 and played on the Futures Tour that season. She won the Laconia Savings Bank Futures Golf Classic. She won "non-exempt" status for the main LPGA Tour at the 2004 LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. (Non-exempt status means she gets to play on the tour, but doesn't get into all the best events; because of this, Blasberg still plays on the Futures Tour occasionally.)
Blasberg made a decent start on the LPGA tour in 2005, making the cut in most of her early events but not contending for top positions. She was disqualified from the Chick-fil-A- Charity Championship in May 2005 over a mix-up about handing in her card, and she told ESPN that the rule she broke was unfair and cruel. The next week, though, she made a hole in one and won a Toyota. At mid-season she fired her caddie, which she says was a tough thing to do, but she wasn't satisfied with her results and wanted to do something about it. Her results didn't improve, however, and she ended 2005 a disappointing 109th on the money list.
Blasberg is one of the LPGA's more photogenic players, and Tour has given her a role in its marketing by asking her to write a "Rookie Blog" for the 2005 season. ESPN radio has compared her to Natalie Gulbis, the golfer who did a swimsuit calendar.
