Erica Blasberg (born July 14, 1984) is an American
golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. She was born in
Orange, California and now lives in Las Vegas,
Nevada.
As an amateur, she was a medalist at the 2000 U.S.
Junior Girls' Amateur Championship, and in 2003 she
reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Women's
Amateur Championships. She attended the University
of Arizona and was the country's #1 ranked player as
a freshmen, compiling six victories before leaving
in her sophomore year to turn pro. She was an
All-America in 2003 and 2004, NCAA Freshman of the
Year in 2003, Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2003 and
won the Golfists Cup, awarded for the NCAA women's
lowest stroke average, in 2003. In 2004 she was on
the winning United States Curtis Cup team.
Blasberg turned professional in June 2004 and played
on the Futures Tour that season. She won the Laconia
Savings Bank Futures Golf Classic and en route to
her first professional win broke the Tour's 18 hole
scoring record, shooting a 62. She earned non-exempt
status for the LPGA Tour at the 2004 LPGA Final
Qualifying Tournament. Non-exempt status meant she
was able to play on the Tour, but only when space
was available in events.
Blasberg started on the LPGA Tour in 2005, making
the cut in most of her early events but not
contending for top positions. She was disqualified
from the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship in May
2005 when she left the scoring tent without signing
her card. Blasberg later told reporters that the
rule infraction was poorly handled by the
officials.[citation needed] The next week she made a
hole in one and won a Mercury SUV. At mid-season she
fired her caddie, which she says was a tough thing
to do, but she wasn't satisfied with her results and
wanted to do something about it.[citation needed]
She ended 2005 a disappointing 109th on the money
list. She was chosen to play in the 2005 Lexus Cup,
where she won two matches and halved another,
including a 98 yard hole out on the 18th to win a
match. In 2006, despite a late season rally she once
again finshed just outside the top one hundred on
the money list, but a successful visit to Qualifying
School won her exempt status for the first time in
her career for the 2007 season.
In 2007, she finished 104th on the money list. She
chose not to return to Qualifying School, leaving
her once-again as a non-exempt player for 2008.
Blasberg is considered one of the LPGA's more
photogenic players and Puma has made her their world
wide marketing symbol for their golf line. ESPN
radio has compared her to Natalie Gulbis, an LPGA
golfer who did a swimsuit calendar.
