Karrie Webb


Karrie Ann Webb is an Australian professional golfer. She plays mainly on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and also turns out once or twice a year on the ALPG Tour in her home country. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. She has 41 wins on the LPGA Tour, more than any other active player.

Early life and amateur career

Webb was born in Ayr, Queensland. She was a member of the Australian Amateur team, making six international appearances from 1992–1994, including a 1994 appearance in the Espirito Santo Trophy World Amateur Golf Team Championships. This was the year she became the Australian Strokeplay Champion where she scored a 128 on a par 68 course, over 36 holes.

Professional career

Webb began her professional golfing career in 1994 playing on the Ladies European Tour where she finished second at the Women's Australian Open and the Futures Tour in the U.S., where she won one tournament. In 1995 she became the youngest ever winner of the Weetabix Women's British Open in her rookie season in Europe, prior to it being classed as an LPGA major, and was European Rookie of the Year. She qualified for the LPGA Tour after she finished second at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament despite playing with a broken bone in her wrist.
In 1996 Webb won her first LPGA tournament in her second LPGA start at the HealthSouth Inaugural on the fourth hole of a sudden death
playoff. She won three other tournaments and became the first LPGA player to win $1 million mark in a single season topping the year end money list. She was also the 1996 LPGA Rookie of the Year.
In 1997 Webb won three times on the LPGA Tour including another win at the Weetabix Women's British Open, won her first Vare Trophy and was voted 1997 ESPY Best Female Golfer. In 1999 Webb won her first major championship at the du Maurier Ltd. Classic and won her first LPGA Tour Player of the Year award.
Webb also took part in the largest playoff in LPGA Tour history at the 1999 Jamie Farr Kroger Classic. Se Ri Pak birdied the first sudden death playoff hole to defeat Webb, Mardi Lunn, Carin Koch, Sherri Steinhauer, and Kelli Kuehne.
In 2000, Webb won two more major championships, following up her win at the Nabisco Championship with a win at the U.S. Women's Open. This gained her a second consecutive Rolex Player of the Year title and Vare Trophy and she topped the money list, missing out on a chance to become the LPGA's first single-season $2 million winner by taking a mid season break to return home to Australia to run with the Olympic torch. Teamed with Rachel Hetherington representing Australia she won the Women's World Cup in Malaysia, was awarded the preeminent sport award in Australia, the Dawn Fraser Award. and was named Female Player of the Year by the Golf Writers Association of America.
She successfully defended her U.S. Women's Open title in 2001 and won the LPGA Championship to become the youngest winner of the LPGA Career Grand Slam. She teamed with David Duval to play against Annika Sörenstam and Tiger Woods in a made-for-TV Battle at Bighorn between the two best male and two best female players in the world. At the time, it provided women's golf its largest audience ever. Webb's win at the 2002 Women's British Open, which had become an LPGA major in 2001, meant she completed a Super Career Grand Slam – every available major championship in women's golf in her career.
Webb now suffered a three-year slump. She collected just two LPGA wins in the next two years and in 2005 had a best LPGA finish of tied sixth although she did team up with Rachel Hetherington to represent Australia at the Women's World Cup of Golf and won her fifth ANZ Ladies Masters title back home in Australia.
Webb qualified for entry to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000, but was not eligible for induction until she had played ten LPGA Tour events in each of ten seasons. She met this criterion on 9 June 2005 when she completed the first round of the LPGA Championship. At age 30, she became the youngest living person ever to enter the Hall of Fame, and kept that distinction until 2007, when fellow LPGA star Se Ri Pak was inducted.
Webb staged a comeback season in 2006. In the final round at the Kraft Nabisco Championship she holed a 116-yard shot from the fairway to eagle the 18th hole and then birdied the same hole in a sudden-death playoff to beat Lorena Ochoa and win her second Kraft Nabisco Championship. She won four other tournaments including the Evian Masters and Mizuno Classic. Her 2006 Kraft Nabisco win took her into the top ten of the Women's World Golf Rankings for the first time since they were introduced in February 2006.
Her 41 LPGA Tour victories places her tied for 10th with Babe Zaharias on the list of players with the most career LPGA tournament wins and first among all active players.

Professional wins (57)

LPGA Tour wins (41)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
120 Aug 1995Weetabix Women's British Open1−14 6 strokes Jill McGill
Annika Sörenstam
221 Jan 1996HealthSouth Inaugural−7 Playoff Jane Geddes
Martha Nause
35 May 1996Sprint Titleholders Championship−16 1 stroke Kelly Robbins
415 Sep 1996Safeco Classic−11 2 shots Patty Sheehan
524 Nov 1996ITT LPGA Tour Championship−16 4 strokes Emilee Klein
Nancy Lopez
Kelly Robbins
620 Apr 1997Susan G. Komen International−12 2 strokes Nanci Bowen
Cathy Johnston-Forbes
Lorie Kane
717 Aug 1997Weetabix Women's British Open1−19 8 strokes Rosie Jones
814 Sep 1997Safeco Classic−16 1 stroke Annika Sörenstam
91 Mar 1998Australian Ladies Masters2−16 5 strokes Hyun Soon Park
Annika Sörenstam
1019 Apr 1998City of Hope Myrtle Beach Classic−19 3 strokes Meg Mallon
1130 Jan 1999The Office Depot−10 1 stroke Dottie Pepper
Kris Tschetter
1228 Feb 1999Australian Ladies Masters2−26 10 strokes Janice Moodie
1321 Mar 1999Standard Register PING−14 4 strokes Lorie Kane
149 May 1999Mercury Titleholders Championship−17 3 strokes Annika Sörenstam
1513 Jun 1999Wegmans Rochester International−8 1 stroke Cindy McCurdy
161 Aug 1999du Maurier Classic−11 2 strokes Laura Davies
1716 Jan 2000The Office Depot−7 4 strokes Juli Inkster
1827 Feb 2000Australian Ladies Masters2−14 1 stroke Lorie Kane
194 Mar 2000LPGA Takefuji Classic−9 Playoff Annika Sörenstam
2026 Mar 2000Nabisco Championship−14 10 strokes Dottie Pepper
2123 Jul 2000U.S. Women's Open−6 5 strokes Meg Mallon
Cristie Kerr
2227 Aug 2000Oldsmobile Classic−23 2 strokes Meg Mallon
2322 Oct 2000AFLAC Champions−15 Playoff Dottie Pepper
243 Jun 2001U.S. Women's Open−7 8 strokes Se Ri Pak
2524 Jun 2001McDonald's LPGA Championship−14 2 strokes Laura Diaz
2618 Nov 2001Tyco/ADT Championship−9 2 strokes Annika Sörenstam
2723 Jun 2002Wegmans Rochester LPGA−12 1 stroke Mi Hyun Kim
2811 Aug 2002Weetabix Women's British Open1−15 2 strokes Michelle Ellis
Paula Martí
297 Sep 2003John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic−10 9 strokes Dorothy Delasin
Candie Kung
Jamie Hullett
Tammie Green
306 Jun 2004Kellogg-Keebler Classic−16 5 strokes Siew-Ai Lim
Annika Sörenstam
312 Apr 2006Kraft Nabisco Championship−9 Playoff Lorena Ochoa
3214 May 2006Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill−14 7 strokes Lorena Ochoa
Hee-Won Han
3329 Jul 2006Evian Masters1−16 1 stroke Laura Davies
Michelle Wie
3424 Sep 2006Longs Drugs Challenge−15 1 stroke Annika Sörenstam
355 Nov 2006Mizuno Classic3−14 4 strokes Kaori Higo
3629 Mar 2009J Golf Phoenix LPGA International−14 2 strokes Jiyai Shin
3727 Feb 2011HSBC Women's Champions−13 1 stroke Chie Arimura
3820 Mar 2011RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup−12 1 stroke Brittany Lincicome
Paula Creamer
392 Jun 2013ShopRite LPGA Classic−4 2 strokes Shanshan Feng
4016 Feb 2014ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open5−12 1 stroke Chella Choi
4123 Mar 2014JTBC Founders Cup−19 1 stroke Lydia Ko
Mirim Lee
Stacy Lewis
Azahara Muñoz
Amy Yang

LPGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11996HealthSouth Inaugural Jane Geddes
Martha Nause		Won with par on fourth extra hole
Nause eliminated with par on first hole
21997HealthSouth Inaugural Michelle McGannLost to par on first extra hole
31999Jamie Farr Kroger Classic Carin Koch
Kelli Kuehne
Mardi Lunn
Se Ri Pak
Sherri Steinhauer		Pak won with birdie on first extra hole
41999PageNet Championship Laura Davies
Se Ri Pak		Pak won with birdie on first extra hole
52000LPGA Takefuji Classic Annika SörenstamWon with birdie on first extra hole
62000Evian Masters Annika SörenstamLost to eagle on first extra hole
72000AFLAC Champions Dottie PepperWon with par on first extra hole
82006Kraft Nabisco Championship Lorena OchoaWon with birdie on first extra hole
92006McDonald's LPGA Championship Se Ri PakLost to birdie on first extra hole
102008Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika Seon Hwa LeeLost to par on first extra hole

LPGA majors are shown in bold.

ALPG Tour wins (13)

Notes

Wins (7)

1 Defeated Ochoa with birdie on first extra hole

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2019.
^ The Women's British Open replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major in 2001.
^^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013

† Webb won the Women's British Open in 1995 and 1997 before it became an LPGA major.
CUT = missed the half-way cut

"T" = tied for place

Summary

* Includes matchplay and other tournaments without a cut

World ranking

Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.
YearWorld
ranking		Source
20063
20072
200810
200913
201015
201118
201216
20138
20149
201531
201663
201797
2018199
2019451

Honours

Webb was awarded the Centenary Medal on 1 January 2001.
On 26 January 2010 Webb was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for service to golf, and to the community as a benefactor and supporter of a range of health and disability organisations.
In January 2018 Webb was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to golf at the elite level as a player, to the development of female golfers, as a mentor and role model, and through charitable and community organisations".

Team appearances

Amateur
Professional