Golf had long been a men’s game, but recently great strides have been made in growing the game for female athletes and fans.
In honor of the start of the Solheim Cup, here are 10 of golf’s leading ladies that are doing their part to inspire the next generation of female golfers.
Belen Mozo
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Belen Mozo is a former player on the University of Southern California women’s golf team and has found her way onto the LPGA Tour in 2011. She now resides in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida and is still searching for her first professional win at age 29.
She is not complete stranger to winning however, as she won the British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship in 2006.
Maria Verchenova
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Maria Verchenova is a professional golfer as well as the playing editor for Golf Digest Russia. Her Instagram features hilarious pictures of her golfing on frozen and snowy courses in the heart of Russian winters. She is also the first Russian to become a full-time member of the Ladies European Tour, and she is proud of her background as she decided to study in Russia as well at Moscow State University. In 2016 she competed in the Rio Olympic games, and while she did not medal, she ended the 4th round with a course record 62!
Lexi Thompson
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Lexi Thompson is a current golfer on the LPGA Tour. She became the youngest golfer ever to qualify to play in the U.S. Women’s open at only 12 years old. Lexi became the youngest winner of an LPGA Tour event at age 16 and she went on to win her first major championship at the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship.
Michelle Wie
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Michelle Wie has been household name in golf for last 20 years and the Hawaii native and Stanford grad has taken the LPGA by storm. She was the youngest player to eve qualify for a USGA amateur event at the shocking age of 10 years old. She’s gone on to become one of the most famous female golfers of all time, and is looking to recover from a wrist injury this season to get back to her winning form.
Paula Creamer
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Paula Creamer is a current pro on the LPGA Tour. Nicknamed the Pink Panther, she turned pro in 2005 and was runner up in winnings and won rookie of the year. She is a seasoned veteran on tour right now with 10 career wins on the LPGA Tour and two more wins on the LPGA of Japan.
Blair O’Neal
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Blair O’Neal is an accomplished professional golfer and model. She has competed and won on the Symetra Tour (equivalent to the PGA Tour’s Web.com Tour) and is a TV host on the Golf Channel. In fact, she actually won their former hit show The Big Break: Dominican Republic. Ms. O’Neal is a triple threat and is not afraid to show it.
Natalie Gulbis
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Natalie Gulbis has been on the LPGA Tour for the last 17 years. She recently pursued a career in television with her venture onto the show “18 Holes” on FOX. She is a proud University of Arizona alumna where she won a national championship in 2000.
Paige Spiranac
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Paige Spiranac is probably one of the most well-known female golfers. She burst onto the social media scene after being discovered by major golf websites and she blew up. She is still seriously pursuing a professional golf career after a successful tenure at San Diego State University where she helped bring the school their first Mountain West title.
Veronica Felibert
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Veronica Felibert is a Venezuelan professional golfer and University of Southern California alumna. She also swims and does yoga and is in better shape than pretty much anyone on this planet. She trains extremely hard to prepare for tournaments and her results will soon follow as her career is just five years old.
Jessica Korda
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Jessica Korda is an American professional golfer with a Czech background. She did not play golf in college and turned pro in 2010. She has four Tour wins on the LPGA Tour and is gunning for many more at only 25 years old, though her younger sister Nelly is now nipping at her heels. She lives in Florida where she can practice as much as humanly possible while balancing photo shoots for her endorsements and her personal life.
