Sophie Gustafson

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Sophie Gustafson
Personal Information
Birth December 27, 1973 (1973-12-27) (age 34)
Varberg, Sweden
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.77 m)
Nationality Flag of Sweden Sweden
Residence Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, U.S.
College Aranasskolan & Komvux University, Sweden
Career
Turned Pro 1992
Current tour LPGA Tour (joined 1998)
Other tour LET (Life Member)
Professional wins 22 (LPGA Tour: 4, LET Tour: 13, Other Tour: 3, Team event: 3)
Best Results in Major Championships
Kraft Nabisco T7: 2001
LPGA Championship T6: 2007
U.S. Women's Open T10: 2006
Women's British Open 2nd/T2: 2005, 2006
Awards
LET Players' Player of the Year 1998, 2000, 2003
LET Order of Merit 2000, 2003
Swedish Golfer of the Year 2000
LET Stroke Average trophy 2002, 2003

Sophie Gustafson (born December 27, 1973) is a Swedish professional golfer.

She is a member of U.S. based LPGA Tour and a life member of the Ladies European Tour.[1] She has four LPGA and 22 international wins in her career. She is a two time LET Order of Merit winner[2] and has represented Europe in the Solheim Cup in each match since 1998.[3][4]

Contents

[edit] Professional career

Sophie Gustafson turned professional in 1992 whilst studying marketing, economics and law at Aranasskolan & Komvux University in Sweden.[5] In the next three years she played 12 Telia Tour and four Ladies European Tour tournaments. On the Telia tour she had six top ten finishes. Her best finish on the LET was a 22nd at her home tournament in Sweden.[6][7][8]

1995 saw her join the Ladies European Tour gaining two top 10 finishes in 13 starts.[9] 1996 was her first full year on the Ladies European Tour. She gained her first professional wins, winning once on the Telia Tour at the Rörstrand Ladies Open[10] and once on the Ladies European Tour at the Déesse Ladies Swiss Open.[11] In 1997 she earned her first win on the Ladies Asian Tour at the Thailand Ladies Open[12] and finished T40th at LPGA Q School to earn non-exempt status for 1998.[5]

In 1998 Gustafson won twice on the LET at the Donegal Irish Ladies' Open and at the Marrakech Palmeraie Open, finish second on the Order of Merit and was voted Waterford Players' Player of the Year.[2] She also played four times on the LPGA tour, recording a second place finish at the co-sanctioned Women’s British Open.[5] She also won the Telia Tour Finale[13] and made her debut in the Solheim Cup, replacing the injured Trish Johnson at the last minute.[14] During 1999, Gustafson played on both the LPGA and LET Tours. Her best result was a tie for 2nd at the Ladies' German Open on the LET Tour.[2]

2000 was a breakthrough year for Gustafson. She got her maiden win on the LPGA at the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship,[15] and added a second LPGA title at the co-sanctioned Women’s British Open.[16] She had two other wins in Europe at the Ladies Italian Open and at the Waterford Crystal Ladies Irish Open [17] and partnered with Carin Koch to win the inaugural TSN Ladies World Cup Golf.[18] She also won 2 and a half out of a possible four points in Europe's Solheim Cup victory at Loch Lomond.[2] The year ended with Gustafson topping the Evian Order of Merit and official Evian moneylist, being voted Swedish Player of the Year by the Association of Swedish Golf Writers and becoming Players' Player of Year'.[17][19]

In 2001 Gustafson won once on both the LPGA Tour at the Subaru Memorial of Naples[20] and LET Tour at the Australian Open[21] crossing the LPGA Tour career $1million earnings mark. The defence of her LPGA title ended with her losing in a playoff to Annika Sörenstam.[22] In 2002 she played seven LET events, posting four top 10 finishes, ending the season with one victory at the Biarritz Ladies Classic[23] and 3rd place in the Order of Merit as well as winning the Vivien Saunders Stroke average trophy.[2] She made 15 of 20 cuts on the LPGA, with her best finish an 11th.

In 2003 she won three out of eight LET events[24][25][26] and secured another LET Order of Merit title. She also won her third LET Players' Player of the Year award and the Vivien Saunders Stroke Average trophy.[27] She won the Samsung World Championship on the LPGA tour,[28] her 4th LPGA win, crossing the $2million LPGA Tour career earnings mark. She became the first woman to compete in a men's Japan Golf Tour event.[29] and was part of the winning European Solheim Cup team in her native Sweden.

During 2004 Gustafson struggled with illness due to deep vein thrombosis in her leg.[2] Her best finish of the year was a tie for third on the LPGA tour where she led the tour in driving distance at 270.2 yards. At the start of 2005, Gustafson represented Sweden with Carin Koch in the 2005 Women's World Cup of Golf in SA.[30] Three LET events in 2005 yielded a second place finish at the Weetabix Women's British Open and 3rd place on the LET Money List. On the LPGA Tour she had seven top 10 finishes and tied her career low round of 64 at the Wendy's Championship for Children.[2] Gustafson made her 5th appearance in the Solheim Cup.[31] and was a member of the International Team in the inaugural Lexus Cup.[32]

In 2006 Gustafson played in just three LET events but finished fourth on the New Star Money List after claiming her first victory in almost three years at the Siemens Ladies Golf Open at Golfclub Fohrenwald in Wiener Neustadt in Austria.[33] This win gave her the point she needed to become a Life Member of the LET.[1] She earned her thirteenth LET win in 2007 at the De Vere Ladies Scottish Open.

Gustafson was a member of Europe's Solheim Cup team in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007. Gustafson is married to former LPGA commissioner Ty Votaw,[34] who left his post following the 2005 Solheim Cup.

[edit] Professional wins (22)

[edit] LPGA Tour (4)

Note: The Women's British Open did not become an LPGA major until 2001

[edit] Ladies European Tour (13)

  • 1996 (1) Deesse Ladies' Swiss Open
  • 1998 (2) Donegal Irish Ladies Open, Marrakech Palmeraie Open
  • 2000 (3) Ladies Italian Open, Waterford Crystal Irish Open, Women's British Open (see note 1)
  • 2001 (1) AAMI Women's Australian Open (co-sanctioned with the ALPG Tour)
  • 2002 (1) Biarritz Ladies Classic
  • 2003 (3) Ladies Irish Open, HP Open, BT Ladies Open
  • 2006 (1) Austrian Ladies Open
  • 2007 (1): De Vere Ladies Scottish Open

Notes:
1: Gustafson Women's British Open win is also listed in the LPGA Tour section as it was co-sanctioned by the two tours.

[edit] Other (5)

  • 1996 (1) Rörstrand Ladies Open (Telia Tour)
  • 1997 (1) Thailand Open (Ladies Asian Tour)
  • 1998 (1) Telia Ladies Finale (Telia Tour), Praia d'El Rey European Cup (team event)
  • 1999 (1) Praia d'El Rey European Cup (Ladies European Tour team event)
  • 2000 (1) TSN Ladies World Cup Golf (team event)

[edit] Results in LPGA majors

Tournament 1998 1999 2000
Kraft Nabisco Championship DNP T79 DNP
LPGA Championship DNP T54 T40
U.S. Women's Open DNP T20 T31
du Maurier Classic DNP DNP T33
Tournament 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Kraft Nabisco Championship T7 T25 T51 T48 T66 CUT T44 T42
LPGA Championship CUT CUT CUT T74 CUT T44 T6 CUT
U.S. Women's Open 11 CUT CUT CUT T58 T10 CUT
Women's British Open ^ T42 T11 8 CUT 2 T2 T33

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

[edit] LPGA Tour record

Year # events Cuts
made		 Wins 2nds 3rds Top
10s		 Best
finish		 Earnings ($) Rank Scoring
average
1994 1 1 0 0 0 0 T75 612 N/A 77.25
1995 1 0 0 0 0 0 MC N/A N/A 82.00
1996 1 1 0 0 0 0 MC N/A N/A 75.00
1997 2 2 0 0 0 1 5 30,154 N/A 72.50
1998 4 2 0 1 0 1 T12 81,915 83 74.58
1999 21 11 0 0 0 1 T6 80,800 96 73.27
2000 21 18 2 1 0 4 1 544,390 13 71.93
2001 25 23 1 1 0 7 1 617,327 15 71.55
2002 20 15 0 0 0 0 T11 165,093 57 72.4
2003 22 17 1 1 0 6 1 635,372 18 71.11
2004 21 11 0 0 1 3 T3 167,843 65 73.48
2005 26 21 0 1 1 7 2 484,839 28 72.59
2006 25 21 0 1 1 6 T2 655,548 17 71.57
2007 19 16 0 1 0 6 T2 469,748 30 71.84
2008

[edit] 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 23 8-9-6 2-3-1 4-0-4 2-6-1 11 47.8%
1998 2 0-1-1 0-0-1 halved w/ M. Mallon 0-1-0 lost w/ L.Hackney 7&5 0.5 25%
2000 4 2-1-1 0-1-0 lost to B. Burton 4&3 1-0-1 won w/ T. Johnson 3&2, halved w/ T. Johnson 1-0-0 won w/ T. Johnson 3&2 2.5 62.5%
2002 3 2-1-0 1-0-0 def C. Kerr 3&2 1-1-0 lost w/ K. Icher 4&3, won w/ Laura Davies|L. Davies]] 1up 2 66.7%
2003 5 3-2-0 1-0-0 def H. Bowie 5&4 2-0-0 won w/ E. Esterl 3&2, won w/ S. Pettersen 3&1 0-2-0 lost w/ I. Tinning] 2Dn, lost w/ L. Davies 2&1 3 60%
2005 5 1-2-2 0-1-0 lost to J.Inkster 2&1 1-0-1 halved w/ T. Johnson, won w/ C. Koch 5&3 0-1-1 lost w/ K Stupples 2&1, halved w/ S. Pettersen 2 40%
2007 4 0-2-2 0-1-0 lost to P.Hurst 2&1 0-0-2 halved w/ S. Pettersen, halved w/ S. Pettersen 0-1-0 lost w/ G. Nocera 3&2 1 20%

[edit] Notes and References

  1. ^ a b Gustafson named Life Member of the Ladies European Tour. LPGA. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Sophie Gustafson Player Profile. LET. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  3. ^ 1990-2003 Solheim Cup Teams. LPGA. Retrieved on 2007-03-10.
  4. ^ 2005 European Solheim Cup Team. LPGA. Retrieved on 2007-03-07.
  5. ^ a b c Full Career Biography. LPGA. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  6. ^ 1992 Results. Golfdata from golf.se. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  7. ^ 1993 Results. Golfdata from golf.se. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  8. ^ 1994 Results. Golfdata from golf.se. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  9. ^ 1995 Results. Golfdata from golf.se. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  10. ^ Rörstrand Ladies Open. Golfdata from golf.se. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  11. ^ Déesse Ladies Swiss Open. Golfdata from golf.se. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  12. ^ Thailand Ladies Open. Golfdata from golf.se. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  13. ^ Telia Ladies Finale Johannesberg. Golfdata from golf.se. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  14. ^ Tough play being the reserve. BBC (2002-09-17). Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  15. ^ Chick-fil-A Charity Championship 2000. GolfWeek Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  16. ^ Gustafson hangs on for victory. BBC (2000-08-20). Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  17. ^ a b Gustafson voted LET player of the year. Golf Today (2000-08-20). Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  18. ^ Swedes hold off English pair. BBC News (2000-09-17). Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  19. ^ Gustafson gets gong. BBC News (2001-02-01). Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  20. ^ Gustafson bags Naples title. BBC News (2001-01-21). Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  21. ^ Gustafson holds off Webb. BBC News (2001-03-11). Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  22. ^ Sorenstam eyes Tiger showdown. BBC News (2001-05-07). Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  23. ^ Gustafson wins Biarritz thriller. LET (2002-10-05). Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  24. ^ Gustafson cruises to third Irish victory. LET (2003-06-15). Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  25. ^ Sophie snaps up HP Open. LET (2003-08-10). Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  26. ^ Gustafson completes Irish double. BBC (2003-08-17). Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  27. ^ Evian Tour 2003 Awards. LET (2003-10-13). Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  28. ^ Gustafson on top of the World. LET (2003-10-13). Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  29. ^ Gustafson out in Japan. BBC (2003-11-29). Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  30. ^ Australia, England and Sweden favourites. LET (2005-02-10). Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  31. ^ Meet the 2005 European Solheim Cup Team. LET (2005-09-02). Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  32. ^ Annika Sorenstam heads Lexus Cup field. Golf Today (2005-12-07). Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  33. ^ Gustafson back in the winner's circle again. LPGA. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  34. ^ Sophie Gustafson weds Ty Votaw. LET (2006-07-08). Retrieved on 2007-03-17.

[edit] External links

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v • d • e
2007 European Solheim Cup Team
Persondata
NAME Gustafson, Sophie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Professional Golfer
DATE OF BIRTH December 27, 1973
PLACE OF BIRTH Varberg, Sweden
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH