María Hernández Muñoz (born 24 March 1986) is a Spanish

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 ...

on the U.S.-based

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

and

Ladies European Tour The Ladies European Tour is a professional golf tour for women which was founded in 1978. Most of the players on the tour are European, with members from more than 40 countries internationally. Despite its name, the tour also has tournaments in A ...

. She won the 2010 Ladies Slovak Open and while at

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

, she was the NCAA Individual Champion and won the

Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in t ...

Amateur career

Hernández started playing golf at 12 and had a successful amateur career. An eight-year member of the Spanish National Team, Hernández is a five-time European Team Championship gold medalist, and earned a gold medal at the

2005 Mediterranean Games The XVth Mediterranean Games Almería 2005 (XV Juegos del Mediterráneo 2005 in Spanish), commonly known as the 2005 Mediterranean Games, were the 15th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Almería, Spain over 10 days, from 24 June to 3 Ju ...

both individually and as a team. She won the 2003

Junior Solheim Cup The Junior Solheim Cup is a version of the Solheim Cup for girls aged 12 to 18. It was inaugurated in 2002. It is currently officially called the Ping (golf), PING Junior Solheim Cup. The Junior Solheim Cup follows a similar format to The Solheim ...

and was runner-up at the 2004

European Ladies Amateur Championship The European Ladies Amateur Championship is an annual amateur golf tournament. It is organized by the European Golf Association and is one of the "elite" tournaments recognized by the World Amateur Golf Ranking The World Amateur Golf Ranking for ...

and again in 2008, losing a playoff to

Carlota Ciganda Carlota Ciganda Machiñena (born 1 June 1990) is a professional golfer from Spain who plays on the Ladies European Tour and the LPGA Tour. She won the LET's Order of Merit (money title) in her debut season in 2012, and was also named Player of ...

. She was a semi-finalist at

The Womens Amateur Championship The Women's Amateur Championship, previously known as the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship, was founded in 1893 by the Ladies' Golf Union. It is organised by The R&A, which merged with the Ladies' Golf Union in 2017. Until the dawn of th ...

2005 and 2006. Hernández turned in a strong collegiate career at

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

, which was capped off with the 2009 NCAA Division I Individual Champion and NCAA Player of the Year award. She won 13 times while with the

Purdue Boilermakers The Purdue Boilermakers are the official college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname ...

, and in 2008, she won the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

Championship and was named the Purdue Female Athlete of the Year. She is a two-time Big Ten Conference Player of the Year, both in 2007 and 2008, and a two-time All-American First Team selection.

Professional career

Hernández turned professional in June 2009. She finished sixth at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, earning her card for the

2010 LPGA Tour The 2010 LPGA Tour was a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from around the world that began in Thailand on February 13, 2010, and ended in Florida on December 5, 2010. The tournaments were sanctioned by the United States� ...

with ease. Her rookie season were also to be her most successful season. She won the Ladies Slovak Open on the

and finished tied 14th in the

2010 Women's British Open The 2010 Women's British Open was held 29 July to 1 August at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. It was the 34th edition of the Women's British Open, and the tenth as a Women's major golf championships, major championship on the LP ...

, reaching a career peak of 112th place in the

Women's World Golf Rankings The Women's World Golf Rankings, also known for sponsorship reasons as the Rolex Rankings, were introduced in February 2006. They are sanctioned by 12 women's golf tours and the organisations behind them: Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPG ...

. Plagued by injuries, Hernández battled through spine and neck problems, a herniated disk, bacterial infections, ulcer on her colon, liver failure and other medical issues. She was forced to a break from golf, in danger of being crippled. She contracted a parasite in China, which the doctors couldn’t properly diagnose, and she kept getting sick over the next two years. The ulcer made her intolerant of fructose, glucose and gluten. She was runner-up in the 2014

Lacoste Ladies Open de France The Open de France Dames is a women's professional golf tournament in France on the Ladies European Tour. It has been played annually since 1987, with four exceptions: 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1998. Since the 2011 edition, Lacoste has been the title ...

, losing by one stroke to compatriot

Azahara Muñoz Azahara Muñoz Guijarro (born 19 November 1987) is a Spanish professional golfer on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour. Amateur career Muñoz was born in Málaga, Andalusia in southern Spain and had a successful amateur career in ...

. From 2019 she focused on the LET, where she was tied 3rd at the 2021

Estrella Damm Ladies Open The Estrella Damm Ladies Open is a professional golf tournament on the Ladies European Tour, first played in 2017. The tournament is played in Spain at Club de Golf Terramar, southwest of Barcelona. It was the first Ladies European Tour event he ...

and 2022

Joburg Ladies Open The Joburg Ladies Open is a women's professional golf tournament held in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is an event on the Southern Africa-based Sunshine Ladies Tour since 2015 and starting in 2022 co-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour. ...

, before finishing runner-up at the 2023

Belgian Ladies Open The Belgian Ladies Open is a women's professional golf tournament on the Ladies European Tour held in Belgium. History The tournament was played annually 1985–1995. It was known as the Godiva Ladies European Masters 1988–1989 and the BMW Eur ...

, two strokes behind

Patricia Isabel Schmidt Patricia Isabel Schmidt (born 1 September 1995) is a German professional golfer who plays on the Ladies European Tour. She won the 2023 Belgian Ladies Open. Amateur career Schmidt won the 2017 Hetzenhof Open in Baden-Württemberg. In 2018, she ...

Amateur wins

*2005

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fi ...

*2008 Big Ten Conference Championship *2009

NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships The NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship, played in the month of May, is the annual competition in women's collegiate golf for individuals and teams from universities in Division I. Golf was one of twelve women's sports added to the NCAA cha ...

Professional wins (1)

Ladies European Tour (1)

Team appearances

Amateur *

European Girls' Team Championship The European Girls' Team Championship is a European amateur team golf championship for women up to 18 organised by the European Golf Association. The inaugural event was held in 1991. It was played in odd-numbered years from 1991 to 1999 and has bee ...

(representing Spain): 2002 (winners) *

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 y ...

(representing Spain): 2004 (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 pl ...

(representing Spain):

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

(winners),

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

(winners),

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

(representing the Continent of Europe): 2002, 2003 (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 Fren ...

(representing Spain):

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

(representing Spain): 2005 (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 o ...

(representing the Continent of Europe): 2005

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Maria Spanish female golfers Purdue Boilermakers women's golfers Ladies European Tour golfers LPGA Tour golfers Mediterranean Games medalists in golf Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Spain Competitors at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Big Ten Athlete of the Year winners Sportspeople from Pamplona 1986 births Living people 20th-century Spanish women 21st-century Spanish sportswomen