Olivia Mehaffey
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | 1998 (age 23–24) Belfast, Northern Ireland |
Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
Sporting nationality | Northern Ireland |
Residence | Tandragee, Northern Ireland |
Career | |
College | Arizona State University |
Turned professional | 2021 |
Best results in LPGA major championships | |
ANA Inspiration | T74: 2020 |
Women's PGA C'ship | DNP |
U.S. Women's Open | CUT: 2018, 2020 |
Women's British Open | CUT: 2016, 2017, 2020 |
Evian Championship | DNP |
Olivia Mehaffey (born 1998) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland.[1]
Amateur career[]
Mehaffey enjoyed a very successful amateur career and reached a rank of No. 5 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and No. 2 in the European Amateur Golf Rankings.[2]
In 2014, she won the Irish Girls' U18 Open Strokeplay, in 2015 the Helen Holm Scottish Women's Open Championship, and she won the Welsh Ladies Open Stroke Play Championship both in 2015 and 2016. In 2016, she also won the Irish Women's Open Stroke Play Championship and the Irish Women's Amateur Close Championship. She was a semi-finalist at the British Ladies Amateur in 2015 and finished 3rd at the 2016 European Ladies Amateur Championship.[3]
Mehaffey played in the Curtis Cup twice and in 2016 at Dun Laoghaire Golf Club outside of Dublin helped lead the Great Britain & Ireland team to victory after going 3-1-1.[2]
In 2016, Mehaffey along with Leona Maguire and won the third place bronze medal for Ireland in the 2016 Espirito Santo Trophy held at Mayakoka El Camaleon Golf Club in Mexico.[4]
Mehaffey joined Arizona State University in 2016 and played with the Arizona State Sun Devils women's golf team. As a freshman in 2017, she helped ASU win the NCAA title by notching match-play victories in all three wins over Florida, Stanford and Northwestern (title match).[5] She won the 2019 Pac-12 Championship and NCAA Norman Regional back-to-back.[2] She overcame a four-stroke deficit in the final round to win the Pac-12 Championship in a playoff with Albane Valenzuela.[6] She took advantage of the NCAA granting an additional year of eligibility for spring-sport athletes due to COVID-19 cutting short the 2019-20 season.[5]
Mehaffey's amateur pedigree earned her spots in two U.S. Women's Opens and three Women's British Opens, the first the 2016 Women's British Open at Woburn Golf and Country Club when she was 18. She also competed in the 2020 ANA Inspiration, where she made her first major cut. In 2021, she finished in a share of ninth place in her second appearance at the Augusta National Women's Amateur. She started in the Arizona Women's Classic on the Symetra Tour in March, where she finished in a share of sixth place after leading the event at the half way stage.[7]
Professional career[]
Mehaffey turned professional after the spring semester in 2021 and made her LPGA Tour debut as a professional on home soil in Ballymena, 30 miles from Belfast, at the inaugural ISPS Handa World Invitational. She finished tied for 17th place.[8]
Mehaffey attended the LPGA Q-School in 2021 for the first time. She had plans to attend three years earlier but fell and broke her hand. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic postponed it further.[9]
Amateur wins[]
- 2014 Irish Girls' U18 Open Strokeplay
- 2015 Helen Holm Scottish Women's Open Championship, Welsh Ladies Open Stroke Play Championship
- 2016 Irish Women's Open Strokeplay Championship, Irish Women's Amateur Close Championship, Welsh Ladies Open Stroke Play Championship
- 2018 Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge
- 2019 Bruin Wave Invitational, Pac-12 Championship, NCAA Norman Regional
Source:[3]
Results in LPGA majors[]
Results not in chronological order before 2019.
Tournament | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ANA Inspiration | T74 | |||||
U.S. Women's Open | CUT | CUT | ||||
Women's PGA Championship | ||||||
The Evian Championship | NT | |||||
Women's British Open | CUT | CUT | CUT |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
T = tied
Team appearances[]
Amateur
- European Young Masters (representing Ireland): 2011, 2012, 2013
- Junior Vagliano Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2013
- Youth Olympic Games (representing Ireland): 2014
- Junior Solheim Cup (representing Europe): 2015
- Vagliano Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2015, 2017
- Girls Home Internationals (representing Ireland): 2012, 2015
- Women's Home Internationals (representing Ireland): 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
- European Girls' Team Championship (representing Ireland): 2011, 2012, 2013
- European Ladies' Team Championship (representing Ireland): 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
- Curtis Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2016 (winners), 2018
- Espirito Santo Trophy (representing Ireland): 2016
- Arnold Palmer Cup (representing the International team): 2018, 2020 (winners)
- Astor Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2019
References[]
- ^ "Big changes spell bright future for Olivia Mehaffey". Irish Golfer. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- ^ a b c "Women's Golf Roster: Olivia Mehaffey". Arizona State Athletics. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- ^ a b "Olivia Mehaffey". World Amateur Golf Rankings. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- ^ "27th Espirito Santo Trophy". IGF. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- ^ a b "Player Bio: Olivia Mehaffey". USGA. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- ^ "Olivia Mehaffey Biography". Augusta National Women's Amateur. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- ^ "Olivia Mehaffey: Northern Ireland woman to turn professional later this month after NCAA Championship". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- ^ "Wise Words From Olivia Mehaffey Ahead of Professional LPGA Tour Debut". LPGA. 28 July 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- ^ "Belfast, Tempe Roads Take Olivia Mehaffey Where She Belongs". LPGA. 17 August 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
External links[]
- Olivia Mehaffey at the Women's World Golf Rankings official site
- Irish female golfers
- Arizona State Sun Devils women's golfers
- 1998 births
- Living people