Karen Davies (born 19 June 1965) is a

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

from

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

who formerly played on the

LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekl ...

Amateur career

Davies was born in

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

, Wales. She gained her first recognition as an amateur golfer when she won the Welsh Girls Championship in 1980 and 1982. She was runner-up in the 1984

Welsh Ladies' Amateur Championship The Welsh Ladies' Amateur Championship is the women's national amateur match play golf championship of Wales. It was first played in 1905 and is currently organised by Wales Golf. The Welsh Ladies' Amateur Championship is contested in two phases ...

. Davies attended the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in Gainesville, Florida, United States, where she played for coach Mimi Ryan's

Florida Gators women's golf The Florida Gators women's golf team represents the University of Florida in the sport of golf. The Lady Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They play their ...

team in

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) competition from 1985 to 1988. While playing for Florida, she was the individual

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) champion in 1986, led her Gators team to back-to-back NCAA championships in 1985 and 1986, and set the team record for most collegiate events won with nine. Davies was honored as the SEC Freshman of the Year in 1985, the SEC Player of the Year in 1987, and was a four-time first-team All-SEC selection (1985–1988) and a three-time first-team All-American (1986–1988). In between college golf seasons, she played on the winning Great Britain and Ireland

Curtis Cup The Curtis Cup is the best known team trophy for women amateur golfers, awarded in the biennial Curtis Cup Match. It is co-organised by the United States Golf Association and The R&A and is contested by teams representing the United States and " ...

teams in 1986 and 1988. Davies was inducted into the

University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame The University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame includes over 300 former Florida Gators athletes who represented the University of Florida in one or more intercollegiate sports and were recognized as "Gator Greats" for their athletic excellence ...

as a "Gator Great" in 2000.

Professional career

Davies qualified for the LPGA Tour in 1990.LPGA Tour profile
/ref> Her best results on tour were a trio of sixth-place finishes: 1991

Ping-Cellular One LPGA Golf Championship The Portland Classic is a women's professional golf tournament in Oregon on the LPGA Tour. Founded in 1972, the annual event in the Portland area is the oldest continuous event on the LPGA Tour. Tournament Golf Foundation has owned the tourna ...

, 1992 Itoki Hawaiian Ladies Open, and 1996

Sara Lee Classic The Sara Lee Classic was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1988 to 2002. It was played at Hermitage Golf Course in Old Hickory, Tennessee from 1988 to 1999. In 2000, the tournament moved to the Legends Club of Tennessee in Franklin, Tennessee ...

Amateur wins

*1980 Welsh Girls Championship *1982 Welsh Girls Championship

Team appearances

Amateur *

(representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1986 (winners), 1988 (winners) *

Vagliano Trophy The Vagliano Trophy is a biennial women's amateur golf tournament. It is co-organised by The R&A and the European Golf Association and is contested by teams representing "Great Britain and Ireland" and the "Continent of Europe". It is played in od ...

(representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1987 (winners) *

European Ladies' Team Championship The European Ladies' Team Championship is a European amateur team golf championship for women organised by the European Golf Association. The inaugural event was held in 1959. It was played in odd-numbered years from 1959 to 2007 and has been pla ...

(representing Wales):

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

Commonwealth Trophy The Astor Trophy is a women's team golf tournament between teams of amateurs golfers from Great Britain and Ireland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. It has been played every four years since 1959. From its foundation until 2007 it ...

(representing Great Britain): 1987

References

External links