Raquel Carriedo-Tomás (born 8 February 1971) is a Spanish professional

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

er, usually called just Raquel Carriedo. In

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, she became the first Spaniard to play for Europe in the

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 forc ...

. Carriedo was also a member of the team in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, and she topped the

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 ...

Order of Merit in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

Early life and amateur career

At six years of age, Carriedo started playing golf at Real Club de Golf La Peñaza in Zaragoza, Aragon, 300 kilometers north-east of the Spanish capital Madrid. Her professional instructor was Vicente Ballesteros, elder brother of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

winner

Seve Ballesteros Severiano Ballesteros Sota (; 9 April 1957 – 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 inte ...

. She practiced and competed a lot at a young age and when she was 16, her instructor told her parents that she should try a professional career in golf, but she did not turn pro until she had finished her studies in tourism eight years later. During her amateur career, she never won a national amateur title nor represented her country at international team championships.

Professional career

With a solid 2000 season on the Ladies European Tour, despite not winning a tournament, Carriedo was selected, as the sixth of seven automatic qualifiers and the first ever Spanish participant to the European team against the United States at the 2000 Solheim Cup at

Loch Lomond Golf Club Loch Lomond Golf Club is located in Luss, Argyll & Bute, Scotland on the shore of Loch Lomond. The course occupies land previously held by Clan Colquhoun and includes the clan's seat of Rossdhu House as its clubhouse. History While Clan Colquh ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Carriedo contributed to a European 14¹⁄₂ to 11¹⁄₂ points win with a tie in the second day fourball match with

Laura Davies Dame Laura Jane Davies, (born 5 October 1963) is an English professional golfer. She has achieved the status of her nation's most accomplished female golfer of modern times, being the second non-American to finish at the top of the LPGA mone ...

against

Meg Mallon Meg Mallon (born April 14, 1963) is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1987 and won 18 LPGA Tour events, including four major championships, during her career. Mallon was inducted into the World Golf Hall o ...

and

Beth Daniel Beth Daniel (born October 14, 1956) is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1979 and won 33 LPGA Tour events, including one major championship, during her career. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fa ...

. Carriedo finished the 2000 Ladies European Tour season fifth on the Order of Merit. After finishing second nine times, Carriedo captured her first professional win in March

at the Taiwan Ladies Open. At the Compaq Open in August 2001 at Österåker Golf Club outside

Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Carriedo was six strokes behind leader

Karine Icher Karine Icher (born 26 January 1979) is a French professional golfer who formerly played on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour. Early years Icher was born in Châteauroux, Indre. She started playing golf at the age of 10. She r ...

after 36 holes and three strokes behind after 54 holes. However, on the 11th hole during the final round, Icher was penalised one stroke due to slow play and continued to four-putt the hole. Carriedo finally won by a stroke and continued the 2001 season winning the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit. At the 2002 U.S. Women's Open at Prairie Dunes Country Club in

Hutchinson, Kansas Hutchinson is the largest city in and the county seat of Reno County, Kansas, Reno County, Kansas, United States. The city is located on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887 (thus its nickname of "Salt City") but locals ...

, Carriedo reached her best finish in a major championship, finishing lone fourth behind

Juli Inkster Juli Inkster (nee Simpson; born June 24, 1960) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. With a professional career spanning 29 years to date, Inkster's 31 wins rank her second in wins among all active players on the LPGA T ...

Annika Sörenstam Annika Charlotta Sörenstam (; born 9 October 1970) is a Swedish professional golfer regarded as one of the best female golfers in history. Before stepping away from competitive golf at the end of the 2008 season, she had won 96 international p ...

and Shani Waugh. Carriedo made her second Solheim Cup appearance in September 2002, as the second automatic European qualifier, at

Interlachen Country Club The Interlachen Country Club is a private country club in Edina, Minnesota which has hosted several national golf tournaments, including the 1930 U.S. Open (won by Bobby Jones on his way to winning the Grand Slam), the 2002 Solheim Cup, and ...

, Minnesota, U.S.A. In the second day fourball Carriedo came to be paired with her opponent from the Compaq Open the year before, Karine Icher. The pair won their game against

Cristie Kerr Cristie Kerr (born October 12, 1977) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. She has 20 wins on the LPGA Tour, including two major championships, and over $19 million in career earnings. Kerr was the number one-ranked go ...

and

Rosie Jones Rosie Luisa Jones (born 24 June 1990) is a British comedian, writer and actress. After starting her career as a writer on panel shows, she went on to appear as a guest on '' The Last Leg'', ''8 Out of 10 Cats'', ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdo ...

, but Europe lost the match 15¹⁄₂ to 12¹⁄₂. Carriedo mainly retired from competitive golf after the 2004 season and after having two children, she has been working as a golf instructor.

Awards and honors

*Medal of the Royal Order of Merit of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation *Gold Medal of Merit of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation

Professional wins (5)

Ladies European Tour wins (4)

Ladies European Tour playoff record (0–2)

Other wins (1)

*BGT 2011 - Villaitana WEST Final (Womens European Satellite Tour)

Team appearances

Professional *

(representing Europe):

(winners),

Solheim Cup record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carriedo-Tomas, Raquel Spanish female golfers Ladies European Tour golfers Solheim Cup competitors for Europe Sportspeople from Zaragoza 1971 births Living people 20th-century Spanish women 21st-century Spanish women