Laurette Maritz

Laurette Maritz
Personal information
Born (1964-01-13) 13 January 1964 (age 60)
Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Sporting nationality South Africa
ResidenceUnited Kingdom
Career
CollegeUnited States International University
Turned professional1987
Former tour(s)Ladies European Tour
Ladies African Tour
Professional wins10
Number of wins by tour
Ladies European Tour3
Other7
Best results in LPGA major championships
Women's British OpenT60: 2001
Achievements and awards
LET Rookie of the Year1988
US Amateur
Player of the Year		1987
All American Award1983–1987
Nedbank Women's Golf Tour
Order of Merit		2006

Laurette Maritz (born 13 January 1964) is a South African professional golfer. She won three titles on the Ladies European Tour between 1988 and 1990, and was LET Rookie of the Year in 1988.[1]

Early life and amateur career

Maritz grew up in Johannesburg and started playing golf when she was 11. Consumed by the sport, she quit high school after the 11th grade. Playing on the South African National Team, she won tournaments in Europe, and she was thinking about turning professional. After meeting LPGA Tour player Sally Little in 1983 she accepted a golf scholarship to United States International University in San Diego, where she earned All-American honors four times and a BA in Physical Education.[2] She was a 1987 Honda Sports Award nominee.

Professional career

Maritz turned professional after graduating in 1987 and joined the Ladies European Tour in 1988. She enjoyed immediate success, and won the season opener, the Marbella Ladies Open, 3 strokes before Dale Reid and Corinne Dibnah.[3] She also won the EMS Masters in Portugal in her third start, to capture the LET Rookie of the Year title.

She was runner-up at the TEC Players Championship at Patshull Park G&CC in England both in 1989 and 1990. In 1990 she won her third title, the Laing Ladies Charity Classic at Stoke Poges in England, and was runner-up in the Ladies German Open at Wörthsee Golf Club in Bavaria.[4]

Maritz also recorded runner-up finishes at the 1991 Spanish Classic and the 2013 Ladies Norwegian Challenge. She also emerged as runner-up to Karen Lunn at the Open de France Dames in 1997.[5] In 2007, she tied for 3rd at the Northern Ireland Ladies Open. Maritz represented South Africa at the Women's World Cup of Golf each year from 2005 to 2008.

In addition to the LET, Maritz played on the South African tour, where she won several tournaments including the South African Women's Open, South African Ladies Masters, Pam Golding Ladies International and Telkom Women's Classic.[6][7]

Professional wins (10)

Ladies European Tour wins (3)

No. Date Tournament Winning
score 		Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 17 Apr 1988 Marbella Ladies Open 283 (−3) 3 strokes Scotland Dale Reid
Australia Corinne Dibnah
2 7 May 1988 EMS Masters 213 (E) 3 strokes Spain Tania Abitbol
Australia Karen Lunn
England Alison Nicholas
Sweden Marie Wennersten-From
3 8 Jul 1990 Laing Ladies Charity Classic 275 (−13) Playoff England Alison Nicholas

Ladies African Tour wins (7)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 1989 South African Women's Open
2 1996 South African Women's Open
3 1998 South African Ladies Masters
4 2003 Pam Golding Ladies International –7 (209) 3 strokes Germany Elisabeth Esterl
5 2003 Nedbank Women's SA Masters
6 2005 Telkom Women's Classic –7 (71-70-68=209) 2 strokes Sweden Antonella Cvitan
7 2006 Telkom Women's Classic –9 (73-66-68=207) 1 stroke England Rebecca Hudson

Source:[8]

Results in LPGA majors

Maritz only played in the Women's British Open.

! Tournament 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Women's British Open T60 CUT CUT T66 CUT
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

References

  1. ^ "Laurette Maritz". Ladies European Tour. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  2. ^ Ello, Chris (20 March 1987). "For Golfer, Success Is Abundant : Laurette Maritz, USIU All-American, Keeps on Winning". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  3. ^ Mair, Lewine (18 April 1988). "£9,000 debut for Maritz". The Daily Telegraph. p. 30 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Results Laing Ladies Charity Classic". Svensk Golf (in Swedish). No. 8/1990. August 1990. p. 75. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  5. ^ "European Womens Tour 1994 to 1999". users.tpg.com.au. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  6. ^ "Tournament Information - South African Womens Open 2015". www.sawomensopen.co.za. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  7. ^ "Maritz wins Telkom Women's Classic". Ladies European Tour. 11 March 2005. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Laurette Maritz, Alla tävlingsresultat" [Laurette Maritz, All Results] (in Swedish). Golfdata. Retrieved 20 December 2022.