Laura Davies facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dame Laura Davies DBE
Davies at the 2009 Women's British Open
Personal information
Full name	Laura Jane Davies
Born	(1963-10-05) 5 October 1963 (age 61) Coventry, Warwickshire, England
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Nationality	England
Residence	Ottershaw, Surrey, England
Career
Turned professional	1985
Current tour(s)	LPGA Tour (joined 1988) Ladies European Tour (joined 1985)
Professional wins	86
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour	20
Ladies European Tour	45 (1st all-time)
LPGA of Japan Tour	7
Ladies Asian Golf Tour	2
ALPG Tour	8
Other	4 (regular) 4 (senior)
Best results in LPGA Major Championships (Wins: 4)
Kraft Nabisco C'ship	2nd: 1994
LPGA Championship	Won: 1994, 1996
U.S. Women's Open	Won: 1987
du Maurier Classic	Won: 1996
Women's British Open	T8: 2004
The Evian Championship	T41: 2014
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	2015
Ladies European Tour Player of the Year	1996, 1999
Ladies European Tour Rookie of the Year	1985
Ladies European Tour Order of Merit	1985, 1986, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2004, 2006
LPGA Tour Money Winner	1994
LPGA Tour Player of the Year	1996
GWAA Female Player of the Year	1994, 1996
Best Female Golfer ESPY Award	1995
Commander of the Order of the British Empire	2000
GWAA ASAPSports /Jim Murray Award	2013
Middle East Golf Awards Ultimate Recognition	2014

Dame Laura Jane Davies (born 5 October 1963) is a famous English professional golfer. She is known as one of the best female golfers from her country in modern times. Laura was the second non-American to top the LPGA money list. She also won the Ladies European Tour (LET) Order of Merit a record seven times. These wins were in 1985, 1986, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2004, and 2006.

By 2018, Laura Davies had won 86 professional golf tournaments around the world. This included 20 wins on the LPGA Tour and four major championships. From 1985 to 2010, she won at least one title every year, except for 2005. She was the first golfer, male or female, to win tournaments on five different continents in one year. Laura is a member of both the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour. She was added to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2015.

Early Golf Career

Amateur Beginnings

Laura Davies grew up in Coventry, England. She started playing golf as an amateur and quickly became a strong international player for Great Britain. In 1983, she was the English Intermediate Champion. She also won the Welsh Ladies Open Stroke Play Championship in 1984. Laura was part of the Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup Team in 1984. She became a professional golfer in 1985.

Turning Professional

Laura began her professional journey on the WPGET, which is now called the Ladies European Tour, in 1985. In her first year, she won both the LET Rookie of the Year and LET Order of Merit awards. She also won the Peter Wilson Trophy as the International Newcomer of the Year. In 1986, she won the Order of Merit again, with four tournament victories. One of these wins was the Women's British Open, before it became a major championship.

Global Success in Golf

Winning in the United States

In 1987, Laura traveled to the United States. She won the U.S. Women's Open after a special 18-hole playoff. She beat two other great golfers, Ayako Okamoto and JoAnne Carner. This win was so important that the LPGA changed its rules to give Laura automatic membership. She was only the third non-U.S. player to win the U.S. Women's Open. For a short time, Laura held both the U.S. and British Open titles.

Playing Around the World

From 1988 onwards, Laura played on both the LPGA and Ladies European Tours. In 1988, she won two times on the LPGA Tour, three times on the Ladies European Tour, and once in Japan. This made her the first woman to win on all three major tours in the same year.

She won the J Golf Phoenix LPGA International four times in a row, from 1994 to 1997. This was a first for an LPGA player. In 1994, she also became the first golfer, male or female, to win on five different golf tours in one year. These tours were in the US, Europe, Asia, Japan, and Australia.

In 2004, Laura made history again. She was the first woman to play in a men's European Tour event, the ANZ Championship in Australia. She played from the same starting points as the men. She also set an LPGA Tour record by scoring 19 eagles in the 2004 season.

Team Competitions

Laura Davies was a key player in the Solheim Cup, a team competition between Europe and the United States. She was part of the very first European Solheim Cup Team in 1990. She played in every European team until 2011, making her the only player to be in the first 12 Solheim Cup matches. Laura holds the record for the most points won in the Solheim Cup, with 25 points. She later became an assistant captain for the European teams in 2019, 2021, and 2023.

She also played in other team events, like the Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge and the JCPenney Classic. In 1999, she won the JCPenney Classic with golfer John Daly. Laura represented England at the Women's World Cup of Golf several times.

Later Career and Achievements

Senior Golf Success

When she was 49 years old in 2012, Laura won her first senior tour event. This was the ISPS Handa Legends Tour Open Championship. In 2018, she became the first woman to play in a men's European Senior Tour event. She competed in the Shipco Masters in Denmark.

At 55, Laura finished second at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup on the LPGA Tour in 2018. On July 15, 2018, she won the first-ever U.S. Senior Women's Open. She won by a large margin of 10 shots. Later that year, she won her second senior major, the Senior LPGA Championship. This completed her "senior slam."

Awards and Recognition

Laura Davies has received many awards and honors throughout her career.

• In 1993, she became an Honorary Lifetime Member of the Ladies European Tour.
• She was named the Sports Journalists' Association Sportswoman of the Year in both 1995 and 1996.
• In 1996, she also won the Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year Award.
• The LPGA recognized her as one of the top 50 players in its history in 2000.
• She received honors from the British Empire for her services to women's golf. She was made a Member (MBE) in 1988, a Commander (CBE) in 2000, and a Dame Commander (DBE) in 2014.
• In 2013, she won the ASAP Sports/Jim Murray Award for being cooperative and friendly with the media.
• In 2015, Laura was one of the first seven women to become an honorary member of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
• She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2015.
• In 2016, she became the first honorary president of the Parliamentary Golf Group. She also received the "Spirit of Golf" Award from the Golf Foundation.

Life Outside Golf

Laura Davies on the practice range during the Women's British Open 2004 at Sunningdale Golf Club

Laura Davies wrote her autobiography in 1996. She loves all kinds of sports and is a big fan of Liverpool F.C. football team. She even organizes an annual football match at the Evian Masters golf tournament. She was once fined by the Ladies European Tour for watching a football match during a tournament, which she still won!

She also enjoys cricket and is the captain of the Rest of the World team in a yearly match against Australia. Since 2001, Laura has worked as a golf commentator for BBC Sport. She even built a nine-hole golf course in her own garden!

Laura has always been interested in gambling and used to work as a bookmaker's assistant. This led her to become a racehorse owner. In 2006, she walked 56 miles along the Great Wall of China to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Football Career

In 1997, when she was 33, Laura Davies signed a special contract with an American soccer team called Myrtle Beach Seadawgs. This was mostly a publicity stunt. She played in one league game for six minutes. The team's goalkeeper, Tim Howard, who later became a famous U.S. national team player, even wrote in his book that the team offered a bonus to anyone who could help Laura score a goal!

Images for kids

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  Laura Davies on the practice range during the Women's British Open 2004 at Sunningdale Golf Club