Karen Davies
Encyclopedia
Karen Davies is a professional golfer
from Wales
who formerly played on the LPGA Tour.
, Wales. She gained her first recognition as an amateur golfer when she won the Welsh Girls Championship in 1980 and 1982.
Davies attended the University of Florida
in Gainesville, Florida
, United States, where she played for coach Mimi Ryan
's Florida Gators women's golf
team in National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) competition from 1985 to 1988. While playing for Florida, she was the individual Southeastern Conference
(SEC) champion in 1986, led her Gators team to back-to-back NCAA championships in 1985 and 1986, and set the school 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
teams in 1986 and 1988.
Davies was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2000.
.
Professional golfer
In golf the distinction between amateurs and professionals is rigorously maintained. An amateur who breaches the rules of amateur status may lose his or her amateur status. A golfer who has lost his or her amateur status may not play in amateur competitions until amateur status has been reinstated;...
from Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
who formerly played on the LPGA Tour.
Amateur career
Davies was born in WrexhamWrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
, Wales. She gained her first recognition as an amateur golfer when she won the Welsh Girls Championship in 1980 and 1982.
Davies attended the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, United States, where she played for coach Mimi Ryan
Mimi Ryan
Mimi Ryan is a former American college golf coach. Ryan was the founder and long-time head coach of the Florida Gators women's golf program at the University of Florida...
's Florida Gators women's golf
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 and the Southeastern Conference . They play their home matches on the Mark Bostick Golf Course on the university's...
team in National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) competition from 1985 to 1988. While playing for Florida, she was the individual Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
(SEC) champion in 1986, led her Gators team to back-to-back NCAA championships in 1985 and 1986, and set the school 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
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 Ladies Golf Union and is contested by teams representing the United States and "Great Britain and Ireland"...
teams in 1986 and 1988.
Davies was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2000.
Professional career
Davies qualified for the LPGA Tour in 1990. Her best results on tour were a trio of sixth place finishes: 1991 Ping-Cellular One LPGA Golf Championship, 1992 Itoki Hawaiian Ladies Open, and 1996 Sara Lee ClassicSara 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 and changed its name to the Electrolux USA...
.
See also
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- List of Florida Gators golfers
- List of University of Florida alumni