Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen

{{Infobox golfer

| name = Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen

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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1999|5|5|df=y}}

| birth_place = Thisted, Denmark

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| height = 5 ft 7 in

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| nationality = {{DNK}}

| residence = Nykøbing Mors, Denmark

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| college = University of Oregon

| yearpro = 2022

| tour = Ladies European Tour (joined 2024)

| extour = LET Access Series (joined 2023)

| prowins = 3

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| award1 = LET Access Series Order of Merit winner

| year1 = 2023

| award2 = LET Access Series Rookie of the Year

| year2 = 2023

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}}

Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen (born 5 May 1999) is a Danish professional golfer and Ladies European Tour. In 2023, she won three times on the LET Access Series and secured the Order of Merit title. As an amateur, she won the European Nations Cup – Copa Sotogrande and played in the final of the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships.

Amateur career

Nielsen had a successful amateur career and represented the Danish National Team in European and World Championships between 2016 and 2022. Her European Ladies' Team Championship team finished 5th, 3rd, 8th, 3rd, 5th and 5th, to cement the competitiveness and consistency of the Danish side.{{cite web |title=European Ladies' Team Championship – European Golf Association |url=https://www.ega-golf.ch/page/european-ladies-team-championship-results |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021103346/https://www.ega-golf.ch/page/european-ladies-team-championship-results|archive-date=21 October 2021 |access-date=8 December 2021}}

Individually, Nielsen won the 2016 German Girls Open and the 2018 European Nations Cup – Copa Sotogrande, in addition to winning the Danish International Amateur Championship in 2017 and the Danish National Stroke Play Championship in 2018 and 2020.

Nielsen enrolled at the University of Oregon in 2019 and played with the Oregon Ducks women's golf team until 2022. As a freshman, she was an All-American and posted the second best scoring average in school history. As a sophomore, she was a key contributor in Oregon's first ever Pac-12 Championship win.{{cite web |title=Women's Golf Roster: Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen |url=https://goducks.com/sports/womens-golf/roster/sofie-kibsgaard-nielsen/10947 |publisher=University of Oregon Athletics |access-date=6 July 2023}}

In her junior year, Nielsen gained national attention after she led Oregon all the way to the final of the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, where she went head-to-head with Stanford Cardinal's Rose Zhang, the world number one ranked amateur in the final.{{cite news |last=Duffy |first=Patricia |title=Stanford, Oregon advance to NCAA women's championship final |url=https://www.golfchannel.com/news/stanford-oregon-advance-ncaa-womens-championship-final |access-date=6 July 2023 |work=Golf Channel |date=24 May 2022}}{{cite magazine|last=Zak |first=Sean |title=Bizarre ruling impacts final match of women's national championship |url=https://golf.com/instruction/rules/bizarre-ruling-impacts-final-match-of-womens-ncaa-championship/ |access-date=6 July 2023 |magazine=Golf Magazine |date=25 May 2022}} The match was all tied at 2–2 and Zhang held a 2-up lead with two holes to play when suddenly the officials gave Nielsen a one-stroke penalty, claiming her push cart had touched Zhang's ball in the rough. This obscure match-play-only rule was added to the Rules of Golf in 2019, gave Nielsen a one-stroke penalty, and effectively awarded Zhang and the Cardinal the NCAA Championship victory.{{cite magazine |last=Herrington |first=Ryan |title=This rare rules mishap thankfully didn't mar the ending of the NCAA Women's Championship |url=https://www.golfdigest.com/story/ncaa-womens-golf-championship-rules-mishap-rose-zhang-sofie-kibsgaard-nielsen |access-date=6 July 2023 |magazine=Golf Digest |date=26 May 2022}}{{cite magazine |last=Woodard |first=Adam |title=Explaining the weird and rare rules violation in the final match of Stanford's NCAA Championship win over Oregon |url=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2022/05/25/golf-rules-violation-stanford-oregon-ncaa-championship/ |access-date=6 July 2023 |magazine=Golfweek |date=25 May 2022}}

Professional career

Nielsen turned professional after the Espirito Santo Trophy in September 2022 instead of going back to school. She played a few events in the LET Access Series, where she was runner-up at the 2022 Calatayud Ladies Open.

In 2023, she joined the LET Access Series where she was runner-up at the Santander Golf Tour Girona and Flumserberg Ladies Open, before winning the Montauban Ladies Open in France and the Capio Ögon Trophy in Sweden{{cite web |title=Kibsgaard Nielsen Gets Her Win at the Montauban Ladies Open |url=https://letaccess.com/kibsgaard-nielsen-gets-her-win-at-the-montauban-ladies-open/ |publisher=LET Access Series |access-date=6 July 2023}}{{cite web |title=Kibsgaard Nielsen Secures Second LETAS Victory in Sweden |url=https://letaccess.com/kibsgaard-nielsen-secures-second-letas-victory-in-sweden/ |publisher=LET Access Series |access-date=7 July 2023}}

She earned Ladies European Tour membership for 2024 after her third win of the season at the Lombardia Ladies Open in Italy.{{cite web |title=Kibsgaard Nielsen Claims Third Victory And 2024 LET Card In Italy |url=https://letaccess.com/kibsgaard-nielsen-claims-third-victory-and-2024-let-card-in-italy |publisher=Ladies European Tour |access-date=9 October 2023}} She comfortably secured both the LETAS Order of Merit and Rookie of the Year titles.{{cite web |title=Meet The 2023 LET Access Series Graduates |url=https://ladieseuropeantour.com/blog/meet-the-2023-let-access-series-graduates |publisher=Ladies European Tour |access-date=3 November 2023}}

Amateur wins

2016 German Girls Open
2017 Cobra-Puma Skanderborg Bilcentrum Open, Danish International Amateur Championship
2018 European Nations Cup – Copa Sotogrande, Danish National Stroke Play Championship
2019 DGU Elite Tour III
2020 Danish National Stroke Play Championship
2021 Holstebro Open Championship

Sources:{{cite web |title=Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen |url=https://www.wagr.com/playerprofile/sofie-kibsgaard-nielsen-21306 |publisher=WAGR |access-date=6 July 2023}}