Karen Stupples

{{Infobox golfer

| name = Karen Stupples

| image = 2009 Women's British Open - Karen Stupples (13).jpg

| imagesize = 225px

| caption = Stupples at the 2009 Women's British Open

| fullname = Karen Louise Stupples

| nickname =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1973|6|24|df=y}}

| birth_place = Dover, Kent, England

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height = {{height|ft=5|in=5}}

| weight =

| nationality = {{ENG}}

| residence = Orlando, Florida, U.S.

| spouse =

| partner =

| children =

| college = Arkansas State University
Florida State University

| yearpro = 1998

| tour =

| extour = LPGA Tour (joined 1999)
Ladies European Tour (joined 2004)

| prowins = 3

| lpgawins = 2

| letwins = 2

| jlpgawins =

| klpgawins =

| lagtwins =

| alpgwins =

| futwins =

| otherwins =

| majorwins = 1

| nabisco = T5: 2010

| lpga = T9: 2002

| wusopen = T10: 2005

| dumaurier = DNP

| wbritopen = Won: 2004

| evian = DNP

| wghofid =

| wghofyear =

| award1 =

| year1 =

| award2 =

| year2 =

| awardssection =

}}

Karen Louise Stupples (born 24 June 1973) is an English former professional golfer who played primarily on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and was also a member of the Ladies European Tour.

Amateur career

Stupples was born in Dover, Kent. She started her golfing career as a caddie for her father at Prince's Golf Club, Sandwich to earn pocket money.

{{cite news

| title = The Interview Karen Stupples: Overnight sensation years in the making

| publisher = The Independent on Sunday

| date = 2005-01-30

| url = http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20050130/ai_n9697761

| access-date = 2007-03-23 }} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=RjwilmsiBot}}

She played for England Juniors from 1989 to 1991 and England Seniors from 1995 to 1998.

{{cite web

|title = Karen Stupples Player Profile

|publisher = LET

|url = http://www.ladieseuropeantour.info/profiles/100155.htm

|access-date = 2007-03-23

|url-status = dead

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927231113/http://www.ladieseuropeantour.info/profiles/100155.htm

|archive-date = 2007-09-27

}}

She also represented Great Britain & Ireland on the Curtis Cup winning team in 1996 at home in Killarney, Ireland

{{cite web

| title = 1996 Curtis Cup Match

| publisher = USGA

| url = http://www.curtiscup.org/2004/history/us_teams/1996.html

| access-date = 2007-03-25}} and losing 1998 team away in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

{{cite web

| title = Previous Curtis Cup Matches 1932-2002

| publisher = USGA

| url = http://www.curtiscup.org/2004/history/previous_matches.html

| access-date = 2007-03-23 }}

Stupples was going to study polymer science in the UK before deciding to go to university in the United States.

{{cite web

|title=Up close and personal with Karen Stupples

|publisher=LET

|date=2005-07-10

|url=http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/content/let_content_interview.php?Id=3837

|access-date=2007-03-23

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061025122025/http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/content/let_content_interview.php?Id=3837

|archive-date=2006-10-25

}}

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.

{{cite web

| title = College Prospects of Ameirica UK Clients

| publisher = College Prospects of Ameirica (UK)

| url = http://www.cpoauk.com/success.htm

| access-date = 2007-03-23 }}

As a Seminole, she won two events (Spring 1994 Spalding/Peggy Kirk Bell and Spring 1995 Lady Gator),

{{cite web

|title=Seminole Golfer Westrup Named National Women's Golfer Of The Week

|publisher=Florida State University Athletics

|date=2006-03-29

|url=http://seminoles.cstv.com/sports/w-golf/spec-rel/032906aac.html

|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130121093348/http://seminoles.cstv.com/sports/w-golf/spec-rel/032906aac.html

|url-status=dead

|archive-date=2013-01-21

|access-date=2007-03-23

}}

was selected as All-Atlantic Coast Conference in 1994 and 1995, and was also named a 1995 Second-Team All-American.

{{cite web

|title=Debbie Dillman Profile

|publisher=Florida State University Athletics

|url=http://seminoles.cstv.com/sports/w-golf/mtt/dillman_debbie00.html

|access-date=2007-03-23

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061028035742/http://seminoles.cstv.com/sports/w-golf/mtt/dillman_debbie00.html

|archive-date=2006-10-28

}}

Stupples turned professional following the 1998 U.S. Women's Amateur.

{{cite web

|title=LPGA Full Career Biography

|publisher=LPGA

|url=http://www.lpga.com/content/2007PlayerBiosPDF/Stupples-07.pdf

|access-date=2007-03-23

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929122158/http://www.lpga.com/content/2007PlayerBiosPDF/Stupples-07.pdf

|archive-date=2007-09-29

}}

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 School.

{{cite web

| title = Karen Stupples goes from waitress to LPGA star

| publisher = Golf Today

| url = http://www.golftoday.co.uk/news/yeartodate/news04/stupples.html

| access-date = 2007-03-23 }} 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

{{cite web

|title=Morgan makes Solheim claim - Stupples stymied

|publisher=LET

|date=2003-08-05

|url=http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/content/let_content_feature.php?Id=4216

|access-date=2007-03-23

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061025122537/http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/content/let_content_feature.php?Id=4216

|archive-date=2006-10-25

}} 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.

{{cite web

|title=Stupples breaks new ground in America

|publisher=LET

|date=2004-03-15

|url=http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/content/let_content_news.php?Id=4392&page=87

|access-date=2007-03-23

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927235901/http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/content/let_content_news.php?Id=4392&page=87

|archive-date=2007-09-27

}} She had not joined the LET when joining the LPGA as she could not at the time afford the joining fee of £600.

{{cite web

|title=Karen Stupples joins the LET

|publisher=LET

|date=2004-03-29

|url=http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/content/let_content_news.php?Id=4397&page=86

|access-date=2007-03-23

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184712/http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/content/let_content_news.php?Id=4397&page=86

|archive-date=2007-09-30

}} 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).

{{cite web

|title=Super Stupples storms in at Sunningdale

|publisher=LET

|date=2004-08-01

|url=http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/content/let_content_news.php?Id=4491&page=73

|access-date=2007-03-23

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184607/http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/content/let_content_news.php?Id=4491&page=73

|archive-date=2007-09-30

}} She became only the third English player to win a major after Laura Davies and Alison Nicholas.

{{cite web

| title = Stupples Learned from watching Annika

| publisher = LPGA

| year = 2004

| url = http://www.lpga.com/content_1.aspx?pid=3602&mid=2

| access-date = 2007-03-23 }} 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

{{cite web

|title=Kent golfers honour Karen Stupples

|publisher=ELGA

|date=2004-12-21

|url=http://legacy.englishladiesgolf.org/results/archive2004/21-12-2004_2.asp

|access-date=2007-03-23

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726032044/http://legacy.englishladiesgolf.org/results/archive2004/21-12-2004_2.asp

|archive-date=2011-07-26

}} and she attended a reception at Buckingham Palace where she met The Duke of York.

{{cite web

| title = Sit Down with Stupples

| publisher = LPGA

| url = http://www.lpga.com/content_1.aspx?pid=3497&mid=2

| access-date = 2007-03-23 }}

In 2005, Stupples represented England at the 2005 Women's World Cup of Golf in South Africa alongside Laura Davies,

{{cite web

|title=Women's World Cup of Golf: Twenty teams confirmed

|publisher=LET

|date=2004-12-17

|url=http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/content/let_content_news.php?Id=3647&page=66

|access-date=2007-03-23

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927235935/http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/content/let_content_news.php?Id=3647&page=66

|archive-date=2007-09-27

}} was one of Catrin Nilsmark's five wild card picks making her Solheim Cup debut at Crooked Stick GC, in Carmel, Indiana

{{cite web

|title=The 2005 European Solheim Cup team announced

|publisher=LET

|date=2005-08-28

|url=http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/content/let_content_news.php?Id=3898

|access-date=2007-03-23

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061025101858/http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/content/let_content_news.php?Id=3898

|archive-date=2006-10-25

}} and was part of the International Team at the Lexus Cup.

{{cite web

|title=Internationals win The Lexus Cup

|publisher=LET

|date=2005-12-12

|url=http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/content/let_content_feature.php?Id=4014

|access-date=2007-03-23

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061025085142/http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/content/let_content_feature.php?Id=4014

|archive-date=2006-10-25

}}

At the 2014 Women's British Open, Stupples announced her retirement from professional golf.{{Cite magazine |date=2014-07-11 |title=At Royal Birkdale, Stupples calls it a career |url=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2014/07/11/women-british-open-karen-stupples-retire-2014-roya/ |access-date=2021-08-22 |magazine=Golfweek}}

Broadcasting career

Stupples has been working with the Golf Channel since 2013 and she currently provides regular commentary during LPGA women's golf broadcasts.{{Cite web |title=Karen Stupples |url=https://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/bio/karen-stupples |access-date=2021-08-22 |website=NBC Sports Pressbox}}

Personal life

Stupples is married to Bobby Inman, who served as her caddie, and she gave birth to a son on 21 April 2007.{{cite web|title=New Arrival for Stupples |publisher=LET Ladies European Tour |date=2007-04-24 |url=http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/content/let_content_feature.php?Id=8704 |access-date=2007-04-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184824/http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/content/let_content_feature.php?Id=8704 |archive-date=30 September 2007}}

Professional wins

=LPGA Tour wins=

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

! Legend

style="background:#e5d1cb;"

|LPGA Tour major championships (1)

Other LPGA Tour (1)

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

!No.

!Date

!Tournament

!Winning score

!Margin of
victory

!Runner(s)-up

|14 May 2004

|Welch's/Fry's Championship

|−22 (63-66-66-63=258)

|5 strokes

|{{flagicon|KOR}} Jung Yeon Lee
{{flagicon|KOR}} Grace Park

style="background:#e5d1cb;"

|1 Aug 2004

|Weetabix Women's British Open

|−19 (65-70-70-64=269)

|5 strokes

|{{flagicon|AUS}} Rachel Teske

=Ladies European Tour wins=

Major championships

=Wins (1)=

class="wikitable"

!Year!!Championship!!Winning score !!Margin!!Runner-up

style="background:#ABCDEF;"

| 2004

Weetabix Women's British Open

−19 (65-70-70-64=269)

5 strokes

{{flagicon|AUS}} Rachel Teske

=Results timeline=

Results not in chronological order before 2014.

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

!! Tournament !! 2000

align=left|Kraft Nabisco Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|LPGA Championship

|CUT

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

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|du Maurier Classic

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

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

!! Tournament !! 2001 !! 2002 !! 2003 !! 2004 !! 2005 !! 2006 !! 2007 !! 2008 !! 2009 !! 2010 !! 2011 !! 2012

align=left|Kraft Nabisco Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T15

|T16

|T23

|T17

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|12

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:yellow;"|T5

|T29

|T75

align=left|LPGA Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:yellow;"|T9

|T20

|T30

|T25

|T69

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T69

|CUT

|T34

|54

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

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T37

|T41

|T32

|style="background:yellow;"|T10

|T20

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T31

|T52

|T39

|T15

|CUT

align=left|Women's British Open ^

|CUT

|T56

|T12

|style="background:lime;"|1

|T11

|style="background:yellow;"|T10

|T42

|T24

|CUT

|T22

|CUT

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

!! Tournament !! 2013 !! 2014

align=left|Kraft Nabisco Championship

|T55

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

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

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|Women's British Open ^

|CUT

align=left|LPGA Championship

|DQ

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|The Evian Championship ^^

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

^ The Women's British Open replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major in 2001.

^^ The Evian Championship became an LPGA major in 2013.

CUT = missed the half-way cut.

DQ = disqualified

"T" = tied

LPGA Tour career summary

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

! Year !! Wins !! Earnings ($) !! Money list rank !! Average

1999

|align="right"|34,826

|130

|73.16

2000

|align="right"|59,113

|119

|73.53

2001

|align="right"|91,027

|89

|72.66

2002

|align="right"|214,760

|46

|72.41

2003

|align="right"|325,774

|35

|71.68

2004

|align="right"|968,852

|70.65

2005

|align="right"|304,385

|41

|72.44

2006

|align="right"|276,188

|49

|72.16

2007

|align="right"|61,613

|n/a

|72.71

2008

|align="right"|726,436

|23

|71.28

2009

|align="right"|144,425

|68

|72.75

2010

|align="right"|221,815

|46

|72.31

2011

|align="right"|397,081

|29

|71.87

2012

|align="right"|116,909

|73

|73.02

2013

|align="right"|32,357

|110

|73.51

2014

|align="right"|2,492

|167

|75.89

2015

|colspan=4|Did not play

2016

|align="right"|0

|n/a

|76.50

Team appearances

Amateur

European Ladies' Team Championship (representing England): 1995, 1997
Curtis Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1996 (winners), 1998
Vagliano Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1997

Professional

Lexus Cup (representing International team): 2005 (winners), 2008 (winners)
Solheim Cup (representing Europe): 2005, 2011 (winners)
World Cup (representing England): 2005

=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

|1–4–0

|1–1–0

|0–2–0

|0–1–0

|20%

2005

|0–2–0

|0–1–0 lost to M. Mallon 3&1

|–

|0–1–0 lost w/S. Gustafson 2&1

|0%

2011

|1–2–0

|1–0–0 def. C. Kerr 10&8¹

|0–2–0 lost w/M. Reid 1 dn
lost w/C. Boeljon 3&2

|–

|33.3%

¹ Kerr conceded the match at its start, because of injury.{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/7019461/united-states-captain-rosie-jones-defends-choice-play-injured-cristie-kerr-solheim-cup|work=ESPN |agency=Associated Press |title=Rosie Jones defends Cristie Kerr choice |date=25 September 2011 |access-date=8 August 2013}} Following Solheim Cup rules, this is recorded as a 10 and 8 win for Stupples.

References

External links

{{LPGA player|karen-stupples/81907}}

Category:English female golfers

Category:LPGA Tour golfers

Category:Ladies European Tour golfers

Category:Winners of LPGA major golf championships

Category:Solheim Cup competitors for Europe

Category:Arkansas State Red Wolves women's golfers

Category:Florida State Seminoles women's golfers

Category:English expatriate golfers in the United States

Category:Sportspeople from Dover, Kent

Category:1973 births

Category:Living people