Azahara Muñoz

{{Infobox golfer

| name = Azahara Muñoz

| image = 2010 Women's British Open – Azahara Muñoz Guijarro (9).jpg

| imagesize = 250px

| caption = Muñoz at the 2010 Women's British Open

| fullname = Azahara Muñoz Guijarro

| nickname = Aza

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1987|11|19|df=y}}

| birth_place = Málaga, Spain

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height = {{height|m=1.64|precision=0}}

| sporting_nationality = {{ESP}}

| residence = Spain

| spouse =

| partner =

| children =

| college = Arizona State University

| yearpro = 2009

| tour = LPGA Tour (joined 2010)
Ladies European Tour (joined 2009)

| extour =

| prowins = 6

| lpgawins = 1

| letwins = 5

| jlpgawins =

| klpgawins =

| lagtwins =

| alpgwins =

| futwins =

| otherwins =

| majorwins =

| nabisco = T7: 2014

| lpga = T4: 2014

| wusopen = T19: 2010

| wbritopen = T12: 2014

| evian = T19: 2013

| wghofid =

| wghofyear =

| award1 = LPGA Tour
Rookie of the Year

| year1 = 2010

| award2 =

| year2 =

| awardssection =

| medaltemplates =

}}

Azahara Muñoz Guijarro (born 19 November 1987) is a Spanish professional golfer on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour.

Amateur career

Muñoz was born in Málaga, Andalusia in southern Spain and had a successful amateur career in both Europe and the United States. She won the 2002 Spanish Amateur title at age 14, the 2004 Girls Amateur Championship, and was the 2009 British Ladies Amateur champion. Additionally, she was runner-up to Amanda Blumenherst at the 2008 U.S. Women's Amateur in Eugene, Oregon, and was a member of Europe's Junior Solheim Cup Team in 2002, 2003, and 2005.

At Arizona State, she was the 2008 NCAA Individual Champion in her junior year, winning by making a {{convert|25|ft|0|adj=on}} putt at the first hole of a playoff against UCLA's Tiffany Joh in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Surgery on her right wrist in January 2009 sidelined her for over a month during her senior year. In May, Muñoz finished fourth at the NCAA Championships in Maryland to lead the Sun Devils to the 2009 NCAA team title. She was the Edith Cummings Munson Award recipient in 2008 & 2009, the only double winner of the award. Muñoz was also 2006–08 NGCA Academic All-American, 2006–09 First-Team All-Pac-10, 2006–07 NGCA Second-Team All-American, 2009 NGCA All-American and 2009 Pac-10 Scholar of the Year.{{cite web|title=Azahara Munoz Profile |publisher=Arizona State University |url=http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-golf/mtt/munoz_azahara00.html |accessdate=6 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091208062407/http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-golf/mtt/munoz_azahara00.html |archivedate=8 December 2009 }} She graduated magna cum laude from ASU in May 2009 with a bachelor's degree in psychology and a minor in business.

In a final summer of amateur play, Muñoz won the match-play British Ladies Amateur in Wales over ASU teammate and compatriot Carlota Ciganda, then won gold medals (individual & team) for Spain at the 2009 Mediterranean Games in Italy. Although the runner-up in 2008, she opted not to participate in the 2009 U.S. Women's Amateur. She played in three professional majors as an amateur in 2009 and placed T-40 twice.

Professional career

=2009=

Muñoz turned professional in September 2009, two weeks prior to the first stage of the LPGA Tour Qualifying Tournament in California, in which she finished second and advanced to the final stage in December.

Back in Spain, she received a sponsor's exemption into the 2009 Madrid Ladies Masters, and made her professional debut on 1 October on the Ladies European Tour (LET). After shooting a 64 (−9) in the final round, she won the three-round event on the first playoff hole, defeating former ASU teammate Anna Nordqvist with an eagle putt; Muñoz earned €50,000 and a three-year LET exemption.{{cite web|title=Muñoz beats Nordqvist in Playoff on Professional Debut |publisher=Ladies European Tour |url=http://host2.ladieseuropeantour.com/~ladies/content/let_article_item.php?Id=23714 |accessdate=6 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124122306/http://host2.ladieseuropeantour.com/~ladies/content/let_article_item.php?Id=23714 |archivedate=24 November 2010 }}

Following a rain-shortened one-round victory in Barcelona for €5,000 on the Banesto mini-tour in late October,{{cite web|url=http://tour2009.banestogolftour.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=171:bgtf-7-barcelona-leaderboard&catid=65:torneo-bgtf-barcelona&Itemid=156 |publisher=Banesto Golf Tour |title=Barcelona leaderboard |accessdate=12 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831091117/http://tour2009.banestogolftour.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=171%3Abgtf-7-barcelona-leaderboard&catid=65%3Atorneo-bgtf-barcelona&Itemid=156 |archivedate=31 August 2011}} Muñoz finished fifth at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament in December in Florida to earn full playing privileges on the LPGA Tour for 2010.{{cite web |url=http://www.lpga.com/content/2009QualifierFinalPlayerSummary.pdf |publisher=LPGA |title=2009 Final Qualifying Tournament – results |date=6 December 2009 |access-date=13 July 2011 |archive-date=16 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111216021124/http://www.lpga.com/content/2009QualifierFinalPlayerSummary.pdf |url-status=dead }} She ended the year ranked 179th in the Women's World Golf Rankings.{{cite web |url=http://rolexrankings.com/en/rankings/2009-12-29/ |publisher=Rolex Rankings |title=Women's World Golf Rankings |date=29 December 2009 |accessdate=25 November 2015}}

=2010=

In her rookie season of 2010, Muñoz made the cut in her first eleven events, and won over $402,000 in LPGA competition with two top ten finishes. She made the top twenty in the three majors she played, was 30th on the money list, and 17th in scoring.{{cite web |title=2010 Player Performance Record |publisher=LPGA |url=http://www.lpga.com/Greensheet.aspx?pid=22799&year=2010 |accessdate=31 July 2011 }} Muñoz handily won the competition for LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year with 704 points; the runner-up was compatriot Beatriz Recari with 419.{{cite web |publisher=LPGA |url=http://www.lpga.com/content_1.aspx?pid=26528&mid=4 |title=Munoz Clinches Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year Race |date=8 November 2010 |accessdate=8 November 2010}}{{cite web |url=http://www.lpga.com/stats/golf-stats.aspx |publisher=LPGA |title=Stats: Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year: 2010 |accessdate=11 June 2012}}

She won an additional €26,380 in five events on the Ladies European Tour (total 2010 LET earnings were €96,633 in seven events, with €70,253 from the two events co-sanctioned by the LPGA).{{cite web |url=http://www.ladieseuropeantour.info/tic/tmplayer.cgi?season=2010~player=130330~ |publisher=Ladies European Tour |title=Azahara Muñoz – 2010 season results}} Muñoz ended the year at 41st in the world rankings.{{cite web |url=http://rolexrankings.com/en/rankings/2010-12-28/ |publisher=Rolex Rankings |title=Women's World Golf Rankings |date=28 December 2010 |accessdate=25 November 2015}}

=2012=

Muñoz notched her first LPGA Tour victory at the Sybase Match Play Championship in Gladstone, New Jersey with a 2 and 1 victory over Candie Kung. In the semifinal round of match play against Morgan Pressel, Muñoz trailed by two through 11 holes. Pressel appeared to have won the 12th hole, which would have given her a three-hole lead over Muñoz, but a slow-play penalty was ruled against Pressel. Muñoz ended up winning the semifinal match against Pressel, 2 and 1.{{cite news |work=ESPN |url=https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/7951895/azahara-munoz-wins-sybase-match-play-controversial-semifinal-win-morgan-pressel |title= Azahara Muñoz wins match play |agency=Associated Press |date=21 May 2012 |access-date=11 June 2012}} The victory in May vaulted Muñoz from 27th to 19th in the world rankings{{cite web |url=http://rolexrankings.com/en/rankings/2012-05-21/ |publisher=Rolex Rankings |title=Women's World Golf Rankings |date=21 May 2012 |accessdate=11 June 2012}} and from tenth to second on the 2012 money list.

Professional wins (6)

=LPGA Tour (1)=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.

!Date

!Tournament

!Winning score

!To par

!Margin of
victory

!Runner-up

!Winner's
share ($)

align=center|1

|align=right|20 May 2012

|Sybase Match Play Championship

|colspan=3 align=center|2 and 1

|{{flagicon|USA}} Candie Kung

|align=center|375,000

LPGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.!!Year!!Tournament!!Opponent!!Result

style="background:#F5DEB3;"

|align=center|1

|2014

|HSBC Women's Champions

|{{flagicon|USA}} Paula Creamer

|Lost to eagle on second extra hole

style="background:#F5DEB3;"

|align=center|2

|2020

|Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open

|{{flagicon|USA}} Cheyenne Knight
{{flagicon|USA}} Stacy Lewis
{{flagicon|DEN}} Emily Kristine Pedersen

|Lewis won with birdie on first extra hole

=Ladies European Tour (5)=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.

!Date

!Tournament

!Winning
score

!To par

!Margin of
victory

!Runner(s)-up

!Winner's
share (€)

align=center|1

|align=right|3 Oct 2009

|Madrid Ladies Masters

|align=right|71-68-64=203

|align=center|−16

|align=center|Playoff¹

|{{flagicon|SWE}} Anna Nordqvist

|align=center|50,000

align=center|2

|align=right|29 Sep 2013

|Lacoste Ladies Open de France

|align=right|68-65-68-65=266

|align=center|−14

|align=center|1 stroke

|{{flagicon|FRA}} Valentine Derrey
{{flagicon|FRA}} Gwladys Nocera

|align=center|37,500

align=center|3

|align=right|5 Oct 2014

|Lacoste Ladies Open de France (2)

|align=right|67-68-67-67=269

|align=center|−11

|align=center|1 stroke

|{{flagicon|WAL}} Amy Boulden
{{flagicon|ESP}} María Hernández

|align=center|37,500

align=center|4

|align=right|25 Sep 2016

|Andalucia Costa Del Sol Open De España

|align=right|72-66-70-70=278

|align=center|−10

|align=center|1 stroke

|{{flagicon|USA}} Beth Allen

|align=center|45,000

align=center|5

|align=right|24 Sep 2017

|Andalucia Costa Del Sol Open De España Femenino (2)

|align=right|69-64-67-69=269

|align=center|−19

|align=center|2 strokes

|{{flagicon|ESP}} Carlota Ciganda
{{flagicon|ZAF}} Lee-Anne Pace

|align=center|45,000

¹ Muñoz sank an eagle putt on the first playoff hole to win.

Results in LPGA majors

Results not in chronological order.

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!! Tournament !! 2009 !! 2010 !! 2011 !! 2012 !! 2013 !! 2014 !! 2015 !! 2016 !! 2017 !! 2018 !! 2019 !! 2020 !! 2021 !! 2022 !! 2023 !! 2024

align=left|ANA Inspiration

|T40

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T52

|T15

|CUT

|style="background:yellow;"|T7

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T56

|T27

|T20

|T68

|T69

|T28

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

align=left|U.S. Women's Open

|T40

|T19

|T45

|T21

|T48

|T22

|T32

|CUT

|62

|T41

|T55

|T54

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T33

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|Women's PGA Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T11

|style="background:yellow;"|T8

|CUT

|style="background:yellow;"|T4

|T53

|T30

|CUT

|T37

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|T70

align=left|The Evian Championship ^

|style="background:#eeeeee;" colspan=4|

|T19

|T24

|CUT

|72

|T48

|T33

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

align=left|Women's British Open

|CUT

|T19

|T49

|CUT

|T12

|T50

|T17

|T23

|T47

|T41

|T39

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013

CUT = missed the half-way cut

NT = no tournament

T = tied

=Summary=

Totals	0	0	0	1	3	15	62	43
class=wikitable style=text-align:center !Tournament !! Wins !! 2nd !! 3rd !! Top-5 !! Top-10 !! Top-25 !! Events !! Cuts made
align=left\|ANA Inspiration	0	0	0	0	1	3	12	10
align=left\|U.S. Women's Open	0	0	0	0	0	3	14	12
align=left\|Women's PGA Championship	0	0	0	1	2	3	14	7
align=left\|The Evian Championship	0	0	0	0	0	2	9	5
align=left\|Women's British Open	0	0	0	0	0	4	13	9

Most consecutive cuts made – 9 (2013 Evian – 2015 British Open)
Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (three times)

LPGA Tour career summary

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size: 95%;"

! Year !! Tournaments
played !! Cuts
made* !!Wins !! 2nd !! 3rd !! Top 10s !! Best
finish !! Earnings
($) !! Money
list rank !! Scoring
average !! Scoring
rank

2009

|T40

|n/a

|75.00

|n/a

2010

|21

|17

|T4

|align=right|402,497

|30

|71.29

|17

2011

|23

|21

|T2

|align=right|520,269

|24

|72.11

|30

2012

|26

|22

|align=right|1,230,751

|70.90

2013

|26

|21

|align=right|457,996

|31

|71.50

|28

2014

|27

|26

|10

|align=right|1,051,332

|70.47

2015

|23

|21

|T3

|align=right|504,100

|32

|71.28

|23

2016

|27

|24

|T5

|align=right|440,802

|43

|71.34

|37

2017

|26

|21

|T15

|align=right|286,417

|63

|71.47

|61

2018

|26

|24

|align=right|568,975

|38

|71.27

|37

2019

|26

|25

|T2

|align=right|667,184

|30

|70.53

|21

2020

|14

|10

|T2

|align=right|181,537

|64

|72.13

|74

2021

|22

|14

|T17

|align=right|141,267

|95

|71.45

|74

2022

|T32

|align=right|35,943

|159

|69.86

|n/a

2023

|19

|10

|T2

|align=right|441,598

|67

|71.52

|75

2024

|21

|11

|T12

|align=right|151,072

|110

|72.46

|129

Official through 2024 season{{cite web |access-date=3 December 2024 |title=Azahara Munoz – Results |publisher=LPGA |url=https://www.lpga.com/athletes/azahara-munoz/88114/results}}

* Includes matchplay and other events without a cut.

World ranking

Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size: 95%;" ! Year !! World ranking !! Source
2009	179
2010	41
2011	40	{{cite web \|url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2011-12-27 \|title=Women's World Golf Rankings \|date=27 December 2011}}
2012	16	{{cite web \|url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2012-12-31 \|title=Women's World Golf Rankings \|date=31 December 2012}}
2013	31	{{cite web \|url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2013-12-30 \|title=Women's World Golf Rankings \|date=30 December 2013}}
2014	14	{{cite web \|url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2014-12-29 \|title=Women's World Golf Rankings \|date=29 December 2014}}
2015	30	{{cite web \|url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2015-12-28 \|title=Women's World Golf Rankings \|date=28 December 2015}}
2016	50	{{cite web \|url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2016-12-26 \|title=Women's World Golf Rankings \|date=26 December 2016}}
2017	72	{{cite web \|url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2017-12-25 \|title=Women's World Golf Rankings \|date=25 December 2017}}
2018	54	{{cite web \|url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2018-12-31 \|title=Women's World Golf Rankings \|date=31 December 2018}}
2019	43	{{cite web \|url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2019-12-30 \|title=Women's World Golf Rankings \|date=30 December 2019}}
2020	69	{{cite web \|url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2020-12-28 \|title=Women's World Golf Rankings \|date=28 December 2020}}
2021	143	{{cite web \|url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2021-12-27 \|title=Women's World Golf Rankings \|date=27 December 2021}}
2022	282	{{cite web \|url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2022-12-26 \|title=Women's World Golf Rankings \|date=26 December 2022}}
2023	90	{{cite web \|url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2023-12-25 \|title=Women's World Golf Rankings \|date=25 December 2023}}
2024	160	{{cite web \|url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2024-12-30 \|title=Women's World Golf Rankings \|date=30 December 2024}}

Team appearances

Amateur

European Girls' Team Championship (representing Spain): 2001 (winners), 2002 (winners), 2003 (winners), 2004, 2005{{cite web |title=European Girls' Team Championship – European Golf Association |date=19 October 2015 |url=http://www.ega-golf.ch/page/european-girls-team-championship |accessdate=18 December 2017}}
Junior Solheim Cup (representing Europe): 2002, 2003 (winners), 2005
European Lady Junior's Team Championship (representing Spain): 2006
Espirito Santo Trophy (representing Spain): 2006, 2008
European Ladies' Team Championship (representing Spain): 2007 (winners), 2008

Professional

Solheim Cup (representing Europe): 2011 (winners), 2013 (winners), 2015, 2019 (winners)
International Crown (representing Spain): 2014 (winners)

= Solheim Cup record =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size: 95%;"

! Year !! Total
matches !! Total
W–L–H !! Singles
W–L–H !! Foursomes
W–L–H !! Fourballs
W–L–H !! Points
won !! Points
%

Career

|16

|6–8–2

|1–3–0

|4–2–1

|1–3–1

|43.8

2011

|2–1–1

|1–0–0 def. A. Stanford 1 up

|1–0–1 won w/ C. Matthew 3&2,
halved w/ C. Matthew

|0–1–0 lost w/ M. Hjorth 3&1

|2.5

|62.5

2013

|2–2–0

|0–1–0 lost to B. Lang 2&1

|1–1–0 won w/ K. Icher 2&1,
lost w/ K. Icher 1dn

|1–0–0 won w/ C. Ciganda 1 up

|50

2015

|0–3–0

|0–1–0 lost to L. Salas 3&1

|0–1–0 lost w/ K. Icher 2&1

|0–1–0 lost w/ C. Ciganda 3&2

2019

|2–2–1

|0–1–0 lost to A. Yin 2&1

|2–0–0 won w/ C. Hull 2&1
won w/ C. Hull 4&3

|0–1–1 halved w/ C. Hull
lost w/ C. Ciganda 2&1

|2.5

|50.0

References

External links

{{LPGA player|azahara-munoz/88114}}
{{LadiesEuroTour player|130330}}
{{WWGR|3288}}
{{Olympedia}}
{{Olympics.com profile}}
[https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/athlete/azahara-munoz_1898577 Azahara Muñoz] at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics
{{COE|id2=66b5e08db04d9637c1256fc8005b898e|name=Azahara Muñoz Guijarro}}
[https://esp.coe.es/atleta/azahara-munoz-guijarro/326314/ Azahara Muñoz Guijarro – COE – Paris 2024] {{in lang|es}}

{{Navboxes

|title=Azahara Muñoz at the Solheim Cup

|list=

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Category:Spanish female golfers

Category:Arizona State Sun Devils women's golfers

Category:Spanish expatriate golfers in the United States

Category:Ladies European Tour golfers

Category:LPGA Tour golfers

Category:Winners of ladies' major amateur golf championships

Category:Solheim Cup competitors for Europe

Category:Olympic golfers for Spain