Erica Blasberg

Erica Blasberg (born July 14, 1984) is an American golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. She was born in Orange, California and now lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Amateur career

As an amateur, she was a medalist at the 2000 U.S. Junior Girls' Amateur Championship, and in 2003 she reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Women's Amateur Championships. She attended the University of Arizona and was the country's #1 ranked player as a freshmen, compiling six victories before leaving in her sophomore year to turn pro. She was an All-America in 2003 and 2004, NCAA Freshman of the Year in 2003, Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2003 and won the Golfists Cup, awarded for the NCAA women's lowest stroke average, in 2003. In 2004 she was on the winning United States Curtis Cup team.

Professional career

Blasberg turned professional in June 2004 and played on the Futures Tour that season. She won the Laconia Savings Bank Futures Golf Classic and en route to her first professional win broke the Tour's 18 hole scoring record, shooting a 62. She earned non-exempt status for the LPGA Tour at the 2004 LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. Non-exempt status meant she was able to play on the Tour, but only when space was available in events.

Blasberg started 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 when she left the scoring tent without signing her card. cite web
last = Associated Press
first =
title = Sorenstam trying to start another win streak
publisher = "ESPN"
date = 2005-05-12
url = http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=2058894
accessdate = 2008-02-16 ] . Blasberg later told reporters that the rule infraction was poorly handled by the officials.Fact|date=February 2008 The next week she made a hole in one and won a Mercury SUV. 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.Fact|date=February 2008 She ended 2005 a disappointing 109th on the money list. She was chosen to play in the 2005 Lexus Cup, where she won two matches and halved another, including a 98 yard hole out on the 18th to win a match. In 2006, despite a late season rally she once again finshed just outside the top one hundred on the money list, but a successful visit to Qualifying School won her exempt status for the first time in her career for the 2007 season.

In 2007, she finished 104th on the money list. She chose not to return to Qualifying School, leaving her once-again as a non-exempt player for 2008.

Personal life

Blasberg is considered one of the LPGA's more photogenic players and Puma has made her their world wide marketing symbol for their golf line. ESPN radio has compared her to Natalie Gulbis, an LPGA golfer who did a swimsuit calendar. cite web
last = ESPN Radio
first =
title = Women of AllNight: Erica Blasberg
publisher = "ESPN"
date = 2005-06-15
url = http://espnradio.espn.go.com/espnradio/story?page=allnight/women/ericablasberg#
accessdate = 2008-02-16 ]

Professional wins (1)

Futures Tour (1)

*2004 (1) Laconia Savings Bank Golf Classic

Results in LPGA majors

DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

References

External links

* [http://www.ericablasberg.com/ Erica Blasberg official site ]
* [http://www.lpga.com/player_results.aspx?id=3453 LPGA.com profile]
* [http://www.lpga.com/entertainment_content.aspx?pid=3996&mid=3 Rookie blog on LPGA.com]
* [http://ericablasberg.ewestpost.com/ Erica Blasberg]