Karrie Webb - Professional Career

Professional Career

Webb began her professional golfing career in 1994 playing on the Ladies European Tour where she finished second at the Women's Australian Open and the Futures Tour in the U.S., where she won one tournament. In 1995 she became the youngest ever winner of the Weetabix Women's British Open in her rookie season in Europe, prior to it being classed as an LPGA major, and was European Rookie of the Year. She qualified for the LPGA Tour after she finished second at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament despite playing with a broken bone in her wrist.

In 1996 Webb won her first LPGA tournament in her second LPGA start at the HealthSouth Inaugural on the fourth hole of a sudden death playoff. She won three other tournaments and become the first LPGA player to win $1 million mark in a single season topping the year end money list. She was also the 1996 LPGA Rookie of the Year.

In 1997 Webb won three times on the LPGA Tour including another win at the Weetabix Women's British Open, won her first Vare Trophy and was voted 1997 ESPY Best Female Golfer. In 1999 Webb won her first major championship at the du Maurier Ltd. Classic and won her first LPGA Tour Player of the Year award.

Webb also took part in the largest playoff in LPGA Tour history at the 1999 Jamie Farr Kroger Classic. Se Ri Pak birdied the first sudden death playoff hole to defeat Webb, Mardi Lunn, Carin Koch, Sherri Steinhauer, and Kelli Kuehne.

In 2000, Webb won two more major championships, following up her win at the Nabisco Championship with a win at the U.S. Women's Open. This gained her a second consecutive Rolex Player of the Year title and Vare Trophy and she topped the money list, missing out on a chance to become the LPGA's first single-season $2 million winner by taking a mid season break to return home to Australia to run with the Olympic torch. Teamed with Rachel Hetherington representing Australia she won the Women's World Cup in Malaysia, was awarded the preeminent sport award in Australia, the Dawn Fraser Award. and was named Female Player of the Year by the Golf Writers Association of America.

She successfully defended her U.S. Women's Open title in 2001 and won the LPGA Championship to become the youngest winner of the LPGA Career Grand Slam. She teamed with David Duval to play against Annika Sörenstam and Tiger Woods in a made-for-TV Battle at Bighorn between the two best male and two best female players in the world that at the time provided women's golf its largest audience ever. Webb's win at the 2002 Women's British Open, which had become an LPGA major in 2001, meant she completed a Super Career Grand Slam – every available major championship in women's golf in her career.

Webb now suffered a three-year slump. She collected just two LPGA wins in the next two years and in 2005 had a best LPGA finish of tied sixth although she did team up with Rachel Hetherington to represent Australia at the Women's World Cup of Golf and won her fifth ANZ Ladies Masters title back home in Australia.

Webb qualified for entry to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000, but was not eligible for induction until she had played ten LPGA Tour events in each of ten seasons. She met this criterion on 9 June 2005 when she completed the first round of the LPGA Championship. At age 30, she became the youngest living person ever to enter the Hall of Fame, and kept that distinction until 2007, when fellow LPGA star Se Ri Pak was inducted.

Webb staged a comeback season in 2006. In the final round at the Kraft Nabisco Championship she holed a 116-yard shot from the fairway to eagle the 18th hole and then birdied the same hole in a sudden-death playoff to beat Lorena Ochoa and win her second Kraft Nabisco Championship. She won four other tournaments including the Evian Masters and Mizuno Classic. Her 2006 Kraft Nabisco win took her into the top ten of the Women's World Golf Rankings for the first time since they were introduced in February 2006.

Her 38 LPGA Tour victories places her in a tie for 11th on the list of players with the most career LPGA tournament wins and first among all active players.