Sofia Grönberg-Whitmore (born 25 May 1965) is a Swedish professional golfer. She played on the

Ladies European Tour The Ladies European Tour is a professional golf tour for women which was founded in 1978. It is based at Buckinghamshire Golf Club near London in England. Like many UK-based sports organisations it is a company limited by guarantee, a legal stru ...

(LET) between 1989 and 2001 and won three LET titles. In 1989 she also won a title on the Ladies Asian Golf Tour and its Order of Merit. Alongside

Helen Alfredsson Helen Christine Alfredsson (born 9 April 1965) is a Swedish professional golfer who played primarily on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and is also a life member of the Ladies European Tour. She won the LPGA major Nabisco Dinah Shore and twice finish ...

and

Liselotte Neumann Liselotte Maria "Lotta" Neumann (born 20 May 1966) is a Swedish professional golfer. When she recorded her first LPGA Tour win, by claiming the 1988 U.S. Women's Open title, Neumann also became the first Swedish golfer, male or female, to win a ...

, Grönberg-Whitmore was one of the pioneers of women's professional golf in Sweden in the 1980s.

Amateur career

She spent two years with the golf team at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

and later married Englishman John Whitmore, residing in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

for part of her career.Golf: Gronberg prevails in play-off test of nerve
The Independent, 31 August 1999 As an amateur, she was part of the Swedish teams winning the 1984

European Lady Junior's Team Championship The European Lady Junior's Team Championship was a European amateur team golf championship for women under 22 organized by the European Golf Association. The inaugural event was held in 1968. It was played every year until 1984, then every second ye ...

and the 1987

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 ...

. She played in the

1986 Espirito Santo Trophy The 1986 Espirito Santo Trophy took place 14–17 October at Lagunita Country Club in Caracas, Venezuela. It was the 12th women's golf World Amateur Team Championship for the Espirito Santo Trophy. The tournament was a 72-hole stroke play team e ...

in Caracas, Venezuela with

and

Eva Dahllöf Eva Ingeborg Dahllöf (born 4 July 1965) is a Swedish professional golfer who played 17 seasons on the LPGA Tour. Early life and amateur career Dahllöf started playing golf at the age of 9 with her father Kjell and mother Gun at Örnsköldsvik ...

. In 1987 she played for Europe in the

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 ...

Professional career

Grönberg-Whitmore turned professional in 1988 and joined the

. She won the 1988

IBM Ladies Open The Haninge Ladies Open was a women's professional golf tournament held at Haninge Golf Club near Stockholm in Sweden. The tournament ran for two years on the Swedish Golf Tour before being included on the Ladies European Tour between 1990 and 199 ...

, a

Swedish Golf Tour The Swedish Golf Tour (currently known as the MoreGolf Mastercard Tour for sponsorship reasons), is a developmental professional golf formerly operated by Svenska Golftourerna AB, owned equally by the Swedish Golf Federation and the PGA of Swede ...

event that was added to the LET schedule two years later. In early 1989, Grönberg-Whitmore played on the Ladies Asian Golf Tour, where she won the Indonesia Ladies Open and that season's Order of Merit. Back in Europe, she won the LET season opener, the Rome Classic, in April. At the end of the year, she was named Swedish Golfer of the Year. Over the next decade, her best results were runner-up finishes at the

La Manga Spanish Open LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

and the

Sens Ladies' Dutch Open The Dutch Ladies Open is a women's professional golf tournament on the Ladies European Tour that is played in the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , ...

, both in 1994. She returned to her winning ways in 1999. After triumphing both in the Air France Madame Biarritz Open and the inaugural Cantor Fitzgerald Laura Davies Invitational at

Brocket Hall Brocket Hall is a neo-classical country house set in a large park at the western side of the urban area of Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, England. The estate is equipped with two golf courses and seven smaller listed buildings, apart fro ...

, she moved to fifth place on the

LET Order of Merit The Ladies European Tour is a professional golf tour for women which was founded in 1978. It is based at Buckinghamshire Golf Club near London in England. Like many UK-based sports organisations it is a company limited by guarantee, a legal str ...

and sixth spot on the European

Solheim Cup The Solheim Cup is a biennial golf tournament for professional women golfers contested by teams representing Europe and the United States. It is named after the Norwegian-American golf club manufacturer Karsten Solheim, who was a driving force beh ...

ranking.Gronberg wins second title of season
Golf Today, 31 August 1999

Professional wins (8)

Ladies European Tour (3)

Ladies Asian Golf Tour (1)

* 1989 Indonesia Ladies Open

Swedish Golf Tour (1)

Other (3)

*2005 Prins Bertils Pokal *2007 Prins Bertils Pokal *2010 Prins Bertils Pokal

Team appearances

Amateur *

(representing Sweden): 1984 (winners), 1986 *

(representing Sweden):

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

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 ...

(winners) *

Espirito Santo Trophy The Espirito Santo Trophy (World Women's Amateur Team Championships) is a biennial world amateur team golf championship for women organised by the International Golf Federation. The inaugural event was held in 1964. It was instituted by the Fre ...

(representing Sweden):

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

(representing the Continent of Europe): 1987 Professional *

Praia d'El Rey European Cup The Praia d'El Rey European Cup was an annual professional golf tournament played at Praia d'El Rey, Portugal. It was played in 1997, 1998 and 1999 between teams of men representing the European Seniors Tour and ladies representing the Ladies Europ ...

(representing Ladies European Tour): 1999 (winners) Source:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gronberg-Whitmore, Sofia Swedish female golfers Alabama Crimson Tide women's golfers Ladies European Tour golfers Sportspeople from Västra Götaland County People from Falköping Municipality 1965 births Living people