Karen Stupples
Encyclopedia
Karen Louise Stupples is an English
professional golfer
who plays primarily on the U.S. based LPGA Tour and is also a member of the Ladies European Tour
.
, Kent
. She started her golfing career as a caddie for her father at Prince's Golf Club, Sandwich
to earn pocket money. She played for England Juniors from 1989–1991 and England Seniors from 1995-1998. She also represented Great Britain & Ireland on the Curtis Cup
winning team in 1996 at home in Killarney
, Ireland
and losing 1998 team away in Minneapolis, Minnesota
.
Stupples was going to study polymer science in the UK before deciding to go to university in the United States
. With the assistance of College Prospects of America, she took a golf scholarship at Arkansas State University
before transferring to Florida State University
in 1993. As a Seminole, she won two events (Spring 1994 Spalding/Peggy Kirk Bell and Spring 1995 Lady Gator), was selected as All-Atlantic Coast Conference
in 1994 and 1995, and was also named a 1995 Second-Team All-American.
Stupples turned professional following the 1998 U.S. Women's Amateur.
. When a regular restaurant customer offered to sponsor her for three years, she and her husband sold their house, furniture and car and moved to the United States where she earned non-exempt status on the LPGA Tour by tying for 52nd at the 1998 Final Qualifying Tournament.
Stupples made her professional debut in Hawaii
and, after a season in which her best finish was a tie for 8th, she returned to the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, where she tied for 17th to earn exempt status for the 2000 season. Over the 2000 - 2003 period, she achieved 7 top ten finishes, but her form transformed in 2004.
After finishing second behind Annika Sörenstam
at the ANZ Ladies Masters in Australia, Stupples carded the best 72-hole raw score in LPGA Tour history (258) to win her maiden title, the Welch's Fry Championship, by five strokes. This win made her eligible to join the Ladies European Tour
and begin earning points for the 2005 Solheim Cup. She had not joined the LET when joining the LPGA as she could not at the time afford the joining fee of £600. She followed this up by winning the Women's British Open
at Sunningdale where she became only the second player in history to record a double eagle or albatross at an LPGA major championship (began the final round with an eagle, albatross on the first two holes). She became only the third English player to win a major after Laura Davies
and Alison Nicholas. and was the first home winner since Penny Grice-Whittaker in 1991. She crossed the $1 million mark in LPGA career earnings at the U.S. Women's Open and finished in sixth place on the money list.
At the end of 2004, Stupples was made an honorary member of Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club
in Deal, the Kent golf club which she first joined as a 15-year-old and she attended a reception at Buckingham Palace
where she met The Duke of York
.
In 2005, Stupples represented England at the 2005 Women's World Cup of Golf
in South Africa
alongside Laura Davies
, was one of Catrin Nilsmark's five wild card picks making her Solheim Cup
debut at Crooked Stick GC, in Carmel, Indiana
and was part of the International Team at the Lexus Cup
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
professional golfer
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;...
who plays primarily on the U.S. based LPGA Tour and is also a member of the Ladies European Tour
Ladies European Tour
The Ladies European Tour is a professional golf tour for women which was founded in 1979. It is based in England. Like many UK-based sports organisations it is a company limited by guarantee, a legal structure which enables it to focus on maximising returns to its members through prize money,...
.
Amateur career
Stupples was born in DoverDover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. She started her golfing career as a caddie for her father at Prince's Golf Club, Sandwich
Prince's Golf Club, Sandwich
Prince's Golf Club, Sandwich is a links golf course located in Sandwich in Kent in South East England. Prince's is immediately adjacent to the more famous Royal St George's golf club, and both clubs lie on the same stretch of coastline as nearby Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club.Prince's was completed...
to earn pocket money. She played for England Juniors from 1989–1991 and England Seniors from 1995-1998. She also represented Great Britain & Ireland on the 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"...
winning team in 1996 at home in Killarney
Killarney
Killarney is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is located north of the MacGillicuddy Reeks, on the northeastern shore of the Lough Lein/Leane which are part of Killarney National Park. The town and its surrounding region are home to St...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and losing 1998 team away in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
.
Stupples was going to study polymer science in the UK before deciding to go to university in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. With the assistance of College Prospects of America, she took a golf scholarship at Arkansas State University
Arkansas State University
Arkansas State University is a public university and is the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System, the state's second largest college system and third largest university by enrollment. It is located atop on Crowley's Ridge at Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA...
before transferring to Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
in 1993. As a Seminole, she won two events (Spring 1994 Spalding/Peggy Kirk Bell and Spring 1995 Lady Gator), was selected as All-Atlantic Coast Conference
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
in 1994 and 1995, and was also named a 1995 Second-Team All-American.
Stupples turned professional following the 1998 U.S. Women's Amateur.
Professional career
Despite being a professional, Stupples returned home to England becoming a cloakroom attendant for the Port of Dover and waitressing at a public golf course in Kent as she did not have the money to take a run at LPGA Qualifying SchoolQualifying school
In professional golf the term qualifying school is used for the annual qualifying tournaments for leading golf tours such as the U.S. based PGA and LPGA Tours and the European Tour. A fixed number of players in the event win membership of the tour for the following season, otherwise known as a...
. When a regular restaurant customer offered to sponsor her for three years, she and her husband sold their house, furniture and car and moved to the United States where she earned non-exempt status on the LPGA Tour by tying for 52nd at the 1998 Final Qualifying Tournament.
Stupples made her professional debut in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and, after a season in which her best finish was a tie for 8th, she returned to the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, where she tied for 17th to earn exempt status for the 2000 season. Over the 2000 - 2003 period, she achieved 7 top ten finishes, but her form transformed in 2004.
After finishing second behind Annika Sörenstam
Annika Sörenstam
Annika Sörenstam is a Swedish-American professional golfer whose achievements rank her as one of the most successful golfers in history. Before stepping away from competitive golf at the end of the 2008 season, she won 90 international tournaments as a professional, making her the female golfer...
at the ANZ Ladies Masters in Australia, Stupples carded the best 72-hole raw score in LPGA Tour history (258) to win her maiden title, the Welch's Fry Championship, by five strokes. This win made her eligible to join the Ladies European Tour
Ladies European Tour
The Ladies European Tour is a professional golf tour for women which was founded in 1979. It is based in England. Like many UK-based sports organisations it is a company limited by guarantee, a legal structure which enables it to focus on maximising returns to its members through prize money,...
and begin earning points for the 2005 Solheim Cup. She had not joined the LET when joining the LPGA as she could not at the time afford the joining fee of £600. She followed this up by winning the Women's British Open
Women's British Open
The Women's British Open is a leading event in women's professional golf and the only tournament which is classified as a major championship by both the Ladies European Tour and the LPGA Tour. Since 2007, it has been called the Ricoh Women's British Open, for sponsorship reasons...
at Sunningdale where she became only the second player in history to record a double eagle or albatross at an LPGA major championship (began the final round with an eagle, albatross on the first two holes). She became only the third English player to win a major after Laura Davies
Laura Davies
Laura Jane Davies CBE is an English professional golfer.She is considered the most accomplished English female golfer of modern times being the first non-American to finish at the top of the LPGA money list...
and Alison Nicholas. and was the first home winner since Penny Grice-Whittaker in 1991. She crossed the $1 million mark in LPGA career earnings at the U.S. Women's Open and finished in sixth place on the money list.
At the end of 2004, Stupples was made an honorary member of Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club
Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club
Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club is in the town of Deal in the County of Kent in Southern England . It was founded in 1892. The name derives from Deal's membership of an ancient group of trading towns granted special privileges by the medieval English monarchs, known as the Cinque Ports...
in Deal, the Kent golf club which she first joined as a 15-year-old and she attended a reception at Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
where she met The Duke of York
Prince Andrew, Duke of York
Prince Andrew, Duke of York KG GCVO , is the second son, and third child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
.
In 2005, Stupples represented England at the 2005 Women's World Cup of Golf
Women's World Cup of Golf
The Women's World Cup of Golf was a professional golf tournament contested by teams of two female golfers representing their respective countries....
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
alongside Laura Davies
Laura Davies
Laura Jane Davies CBE is an English professional golfer.She is considered the most accomplished English female golfer of modern times being the first non-American to finish at the top of the LPGA money list...
, was one of Catrin Nilsmark's five wild card picks making her Solheim Cup
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 behind its creation.The inaugural Cup was held in 1990,...
debut at Crooked Stick GC, in Carmel, Indiana
Carmel, Indiana
Carmel is a city in Hamilton County, Indiana, United States located immediately north of Indianapolis, Indiana. The population was 79,191 at the 2010 census, and is one of the most affluent communities in the Midwest....
and was part of the International Team at the Lexus Cup
Lexus Cup
The Lexus Cup was an annual golf tournament played between 2005 and 2008 for professional women golfers contested by a team representing Asia and an international team representing the rest of the world. It was sanctioned by the LPGA Tour, but any winnings were unofficial and were not included in...
.
Personal life
Stupples announced she was pregnant in 2006 and gave birth to her son, Logan James, on April 21, 2007.LPGA Tour
- 20042004 LPGA TourThe 2004 LPGA Tour was a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from around the world which took place from March through December 2004. The tournaments were sanctioned by the United States based Ladies Professional Golf Association . This was the 55th season since the LPGA Tour...
Welch's/Fry's ChampionshipWelch's/Fry's ChampionshipThe Welch's/Fry's Championship was a golf tournament for professional female golfers that was part of the LPGA Tour from 1981 to 2004. It was played at the Randolph Golf Course in Tucson, Arizona...
, Weetabix Women's British Open
Ladies European Tour
- 2004 Weetabix Women's British Open
- 2009 S4/C Wales Ladies Championship of Europe
Wins (1)
| Year | Championship | Winning Score | Margin | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|
| 2004 2004 Women's British Open The 2004 Women's British Open was contested from 29 July thru 1 August at Sunningdale Golf Club in Berkshire, England. It was the 29th edition of the Women's British Open, and the fourth as a major championship on the LPGA Tour.... |
Weetabix Women's British Open |
| 5 strokes |  Rachel Teske |
LPGA Tour career summary
| Year | Majors | Other wins | LPGA wins | Earnings ($) | Money list rank | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34,826 | 130 | 73.16 |
| 2000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 59,113 | 119 | 73.53 |
| 2001 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 91,027 | 89 | 72.66 |
| 2002 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 214,760 | 46 | 72.41 |
| 2003 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 325,774 | 35 | 71.68 |
| 2004 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 968,852 | 6 | 70.65 |
| 2005 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 304,385 | 41 | 72.44 |
| 2006 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 276,188 | 49 | 72.16 |
Solheim Cup Record
| Year | Total Matches | Total W-L-H | Singles W-L-H | 4somes W-L-H | 4balls W-L-H | Points Won | Points % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | 2 | 0-2-0 | 0-1-0 | 0-0-0 | 0-1-0 | 0 | 0% |
| 2005 2005 Solheim Cup The 9th Solheim Cup Match was held between September 9 and September 11, 2005 at Crooked Stick Golf Club, Carmel, Indiana, USA. Team USA won the trophy for the sixth time by a score of 15½ to 12½ points... |
2 | 0-2-0 | 0-1-0 lost to M. Mallon 3&1 | 0-1-0 lost w/S. Gustafson 2&1 | 0 | 0% |