Sarah Schmelzel
{{short description|American professional golfer (born 1994)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox golfer
| name = Sarah Schmelzel
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| fullname = Sarah Hawley Schmelzel
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1994|5|12}}
| birth_place = Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
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| height = 5 ft 7 in
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| sporting_nationality = {{USA}}
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| college = University of South Carolina
| yearpro = 2016
| tour = LPGA Tour (joined 2019)
| extour = Symetra Tour (joined 2017)
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| nabisco = T6: 2025
| lpga = T9: 2024
| wusopen = T14: 2025
| wbritopen = T29: 2024
| evian = T28: 2023
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Sarah Hawley Schmelzel (born May 12, 1994) is an American professional golfer and LPGA Tour member.{{cite web |title=Sarah Schmelzell Bio |url=https://www.lpga.com/players/sarah-schmelzel/98951/bio |publisher=LPGA Tour |access-date=March 3, 2023}}
Early life, college and amateur career
Schmelzel grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. Although she started playing golf when she was five, Schmelzel first competed in gymnastics. She was a talented at uneven bars and was an Arizona State Champion in the discipline. In 2001, she watched Annika Sörenstam card a 59 at her home course of Moon Valley, which sparked a passion for the game.{{cite web |title=Sarah Schmelzel Witnessed Annika's 59 |url=https://www.epsontour.com/news/2017/2017-sarah-schmelzel-witnessed-annika-59 |publisher=Epson Tour |access-date=March 3, 2023}}{{cite web |title=Phoenix's Sarah Schmelzel Enjoys Homecoming At LPGA Founders Cup |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/golf/2019/03/21/phoenix-native-sarah-schmelzel-homecoming-lpga-founders-cup/3235354002/ |publisher=AZ Central |access-date=March 3, 2023}}
Schmelzel was highly ranked in both the National Junior Golf Scoreboard rankings and the Golfweek junior rankings. She was a standout at Xavier Prep and won the 2011 Arizona State High School Championship. Schmelzel led her school to its third team state title in four years, and carded rounds of 71-66 at the state championship to tie the Arizona state high school record with Amanda Blumenherst. She won the AJGA Bass Pro Shops/Payne Stewart Championship by 12 strokes with rounds of 69-71-70.{{cite web |title=Bass Pro Shops / Payne Stewart Junior Championship |url=https://www.ajga.org/tournaments/bass-pro-shops-payne-stewart-junior-championship/tournament-history |publisher=American Junior Golf Association |access-date=March 3, 2023}}
Schmelzel attended the University of South Carolina between 2012 and 2016 and played on the South Carolina Gamecocks women's golf team, where she captured one individual title. She was on the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Team and was an honorable mention All-American as a senior.{{cite web |title=Women's Golf Roster |date=June 22, 2018 |url=https://gamecocksonline.com/sports/wgolf/roster/season/2013-14/player/sarah-schmelzel/ |publisher=South Carolina Gamecocks |access-date=March 3, 2023}}
Professional career
Schmelzel turned professional after graduating and joined the 2017 Symetra Tour. In her second season, she recorded seven top-10 finishes, including four top-five results in her last five events to finish 13th on the Epson Tour money list. She finished third at the inaugural LPGA Q-Series to earn her LPGA Tour card for the 2019 season.
In 2021, Schmelzel finished tied 17th at the Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play, after her opponent Carlota Ciganda was assessed a slow-play penalty. Ciganda and Schmelzel came to the 18th hole tied, but as the slow-play penalty in match play is loss of hole, Schmelzel was awarded the hole, and won the match 1-up.{{cite magazine |title=LPGA pro hit with devastating slow-play penalty in match-play event |url=https://golf.com/news/carlota-ciganda-slow-play-match-play/ |magazine=Golf |first=Zephyr |last=Melton |date=May 26, 2021 |access-date=March 3, 2023}}
In 2022, Schmelzel made six birdies in her final seven holes to jump up the leaderboard into solo third at the LPGA Drive On Championship, her career-best finish on the LPGA Tour so far.{{cite web |title=Leona Maguire Earns Maiden Tour Victory At Drive On Championship |url=https://ladieseuropeantour.com/blog/leona-maguire-earns-maiden-tour-victory-at-drive-on-championship/ |publisher=Ladies European Tour |date=July 2, 2022 |access-date=March 3, 2023}}{{cite web |title=Maguire makes history |url=https://www.golfaustralia.com.au/news/maguire-makes-history-575663 |publisher=Golf Australia |agency= Associated Press |date=February 7, 2022 |access-date=March 3, 2023}}
On March 10, 2024, she had her best finish, second-place at the Blue Bay LPGA tournament, with a 273 (−15) to first-time LPGA winner Bailey Tardy who shot a new tournament record 269 (−19). Schmelzel earned $208,128 to the winner's $330,000.{{cite web |url=https://www.lpga.com/news/2024/bailey-tardy-becomes-rolex-first-time-winner-at-blue-bay-lpga |title=Bailey Tardy Becomes Rolex First-Time Winner at Blue Bay LPGA |publisher=LPGA |date=March 10, 2024}}
Amateur wins
- 2005 Kingman City Junior Championship
- 2006 Mesa City Junior Championship, Yuma City Junior Championship, Tucson Conquistadores Spring Classic
- 2007 Yuma City Junior Championship, JGAA Winter Classic
- 2008 Antigua/Milt Coggins Arizona Junior Championship, Yuma City Junior Championship, Tucson Conquistadores Spring Classic, JGAA Fall Classic
- 2009 Yuma City Junior Championship, Thunderbird Invitational
- 2011 Arizona State High School Championship, Pro Shops/Payne Stewart Championship
- 2016 Bryan National Collegiate
Results in LPGA majors
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"
! Tournament!!2019!! 2020!! 2021!! 2022!! 2023!! 2024 !! 2025 |
| align=left|Chevron Championship
|T75 |T44 |T25 |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |66 |CUT |style="background:yellow;"|T6 |
| align=left|U.S. Women's Open
|CUT |T23 |CUT |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |CUT |T14 |
| align=left|Women's PGA Championship
|T14 |T54 |CUT |CUT |T15 |style="background:yellow;"|T9 |CUT |
| align=left|The Evian Championship
|CUT |style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT |CUT |T65 |T28 |T44 | |
| align=left|Women's British Open
|T51 |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |CUT |T48 |CUT |T29 | |
{{legend|yellow|Top 10}}
{{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}}
CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
T = tied
=Summary=
| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
!Tournament !! Wins !! 2nd !! 3rd !! Top-5 !! Top-10 !! Top-25 !! Events !! Cuts made | ||||||||
| align=left|Chevron Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 5 |
| align=left|U.S. Women's Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| align=left|Women's PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 4 |
| align=left|The Evian Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| align=left|Women's British Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 28 | 17 |
|---|
- Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (twice)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (twice)
LPGA Tour career summary
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; "
! Year !! Tournaments |
| 2019
|25 |20 |0 |0 |0 |1 |6 |align=right|251,284 |68 |71.72 |82 |
| 2020
|15 |12 |0 |0 |0 |1 |T6 |align=right|198,601 |61 |71.35 |29 |
| 2021
|25 |16 |0 |0 |0 |1 |T6 |align=right|264,797 |68 |71.32 |66 |
| 2022
|24 |20 |0 |0 |1 |3 |3 |align=right|584,376 |53 |70.76 |38 |
| 2023
|27 |20 |0 |0 |0 |2 |T10 |align=right|477,734 |59 |71.13 |50 |
| 2024
|26 |19 |0 |1 |0 |7 |2 |align=right|928,966 |39 |71.09 |41 |
| Totals^
!142 !107 !0 !1 !1 !15 !2 !align=right|2,705,758 !167 ! ! |
|---|
Official as of 2024 season{{cite web |access-date=December 2, 2024 |title=Sarah Schmelzel stats |publisher=LPGA |url=https://www.lpga.com/athletes/sarah-schmelzel/98951/stats}}{{cite web |access-date=December 2, 2024 |title=Sarah Schmelzel results |publisher=LPGA |url=https://www.lpga.com/athletes/sarah-schmelzel/98951/results}}{{cite web |url=https://www.lpga.com/stats-and-rankings/money-and-finishes#tab-list |title=Career Money |publisher=LPGA |access-date=December 2, 2024}}
World ranking
Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.
U.S. national team appearances
Professional
- Solheim Cup: 2024 (winners)
=Solheim Cup record=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size: 95%;"
! Year !! Total |
| Career
|4 |2–2–0 |0–1–0 |1–1–0 |1–0–0 |2 |50.0 |
| 2024
|4 |2–2–0 |0–1–0 lost to M. Sagström 1 dn |1–1–0 won w/ L. Vu 3&2 |1–0–0 won w/ L. Coughlin 3&2 |2 |50.0 |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{LPGA player|sarah-schmelzel/98951}}
- {{WWGR|7101}}
{{2024 United States Solheim Cup team}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmelzel, Sarah}}
Category:American female golfers
Category:South Carolina Gamecocks women's golfers