MARIA HJORTH
Birthdate: October 15, 1973
Birth Place: Falun, Sweden
Age: 35 - Ht.: 5’9"
Home: Davenport, Fla.
College: Univ. of Stirling, Scotland
Turned Professional: 1996
Joined LPGA Tour: 1998
LPGA Tour Victories: 3 - 1999 SAFECO Classic, Mizuno Classic. 2007 LPGA Navistar Classic. The Solheim Cup (3): 2002, 2005, 2007.
Player Notes:
Credits her parents, Liselotte Neumann and Seve Ballesteros as the individuals most influencing her career. Has two sisters. Hobbies include curling (playing in the highest division in Sweden), cooking, aerobics and reading books. Married Shaun McBride on Dec. 31, 2007. Hjorth enjoyed a very successful amateur career. She was a member of the Swedish National Team from 1991-96 and was the winner of 23 amateur events. As a junior in 1991, she won on the Swedish Professional Ladies Tour and captured the Swedish Girls Order of Merit title. In 1995, she went on to win the European Ladies Amateur title.
* In 2008 recorded a season-best runner-up finish at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship presented by Coca-Cola, where she lost a four-hole, sudden-death playoff to Yani Tseng and crossed the $4 million mark in career earnings. Posted three additional top-10 finishes, including fourth at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, a tie for sixth at the Safeway International <N>and a tie for ninth at the Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill.
* In 2007, recorded her third career LPGA victory at the Navistar LPGA Classic; finished fourth at the HSBC Women’s World Match Play Championship, where she crossed the $3 million mark in career earnings; made her third career appearance at The Solheim Cup and earned 2-1/2 points for the European Team.
* In 2006, best finish was a tie for third at the State Farm Classic.
* In 2005, best finish was a tie for third at the John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic; was a member of the European Solheim Cup Team.
* In 2004, best finish was a tie for 17th at the State Farm Classic; won the Ladies English Open on the Ladies European Tour (LET); returned to the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, where she tied for 12th to retain exempt status for the 2005 LPGA season.
* In 2003, best finish was a tie for fifth at the Kraft Nabisco Championship.
* In 2002, top finish was a tie for second at the Evian Masters, where she crossed the $2 million mark in career earnings; was a member of the European Solheim Cup Team.
* In 2001, although she did not win a tournament, more than doubled her career earnings on the strength of nine top-10 finishes; finished second at the Evian Masters and Jamie Farr Kroger Classic presented by ALLTEL; tied for second at the Wegmans Rochester International and LPGA Corning Classic, where she tied her career-low 63 during the third round; tied for third at the LPGA Champions Classic, where she crossed the $1 million mark in career earnings, and the McDonald’s LPGA Championship presented by AIG, her career-best finish - in a major.
* In 2000, finished second at the Subaru Memorial of Naples after losing to Nancy Scranton on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff; carded a career-low 63 during the second round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic.
* In 1999, recorded two wins, the SAFECO Classic and the Mizuno Classic, where she played with a mix-matched set of clubs because her clubs were lost by an airline; with 408 birdies, became the first LPGA player to record more than 400 in a season; recorded her first career LPGA hole-in-one at the AFLAC Champions presented by Southern Living.
* In 1998, recorded three top-10 finishes, with her best coming at the Friendly’s Classic, where she tied for fifth.
* In 1997, finished fourth at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament to gain exempt status for the 1998 season.
* Member of the Swedish, European and Australian Tours; won the Delsjo Ladies Open, Toyota Ladies Open and Aspeboda Ladies Open on the Swedish Professional Ladies Tour; member of the Players West Tour, where she won the A.V. Rubbish Classic.
1995 LPGA Tour Summary: Tournaments entered -1; Rounds Played - 4; In Money - 1; Top-10 Finishes - 0; Scoring Average - 72.25; Money - $7,730.00; Best Finish - T-25th at the Ricoh Women’s British Open
1997 LPGA Tour Summary: Tournaments entered -2; Rounds Played - 4; In Money - 0; Top-10 Finishes - 0; Scoring Average - 75.00; Money - $0.00; Best Finish - Cut at the Australian Ladies Masters and Ricoh Women’s British Open
1998 LPGA Tour Summary: Tournaments entered -24; Rounds Played - 77; In Money - 18; Top-10 Finishes - 3; Scoring Average - 72.08; Money - $133,943.00; Best Finish - T-5th at the Friendly’s Classic
1999 LPGA Tour Summary: Tournaments entered -30; Rounds Played - 105; In Money - 28; Top-10 Finishes - 7; Scoring Average - 71.09; Money - $572,940.00; Best Finish - Win at the SAFECO Classic and Mizuno Classic
2000 LPGA Tour Summary: Tournaments entered -27; Rounds Played - 78; In Money - 15; Top-10 Finishes - 2; Scoring Average - 73.32; Money - $181,939.00 Rank (50th); Best Finish - 2nd at the Subaru Memorial of Naples
2001 LPGA Tour Summary: Tournaments entered -29; Rounds Played - 94; In Money - 24; Top-10 Finishes - 9; Scoring Average - 71.46; Money - $848,195.00 Rank (5th); Best Finish - T-2nd at the LPGA Corning Classic,Wegmans LPGA,Evian Ladies Masters and Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic
2002 LPGA Tour Summary: Tournaments entered -22; Rounds Played - 71; In Money - 17; Top-10 Finishes - 2; Scoring Average - 72.14; Money - $359,194.00 Rank (26th); Best Finish - T-2nd at the Evian Ladies Masters
2003 LPGA Tour Summary: Tournaments entered -22; Rounds Played - 62; In Money - 11; Top-10 Finishes - 1; Scoring Average - 73.08; Money - $108,512.00 Rank (70th); Best Finish - T-5th at the Kraft Nabisco Championship
2004 LPGA Tour Summary: Tournaments entered -22; Rounds Played - 59; In Money - 9; Top-10 Finishes - 0; Scoring Average - 74.10 Rank (154th); Money - $44,074.00 Rank (123rd); Best Finish - T-17th at the LPGA State Farm Classic
2005 LPGA Tour Summary: Tournaments entered -22; Rounds Played - 67; In Money - 16; Top-10 Finishes - 4; Scoring Average - 72.36 Rank (35th); Money - $242,371.00 Rank (51st); Best Finish - T-3rd at the SemGroup Championship
2006 LPGA Tour Summary: Tournaments entered -26; Rounds Played - 79; In Money - 18; Top-10 Finishes - 2; Scoring Average - 72.20 Rank (48th); Money - $299,634.00 Rank (44th); Best Finish - T-3rd at the LPGA State Farm Classic
2007 LPGA Tour Summary: Tournaments entered -25; Rounds Played - 82; In Money - 22; Top-10 Finishes - 7; Scoring Average - 71.95 Rank (19th); Money - $949,055.00 Rank (11th); Best Finish - Win at the Navistar LPGA Classic
2008 LPGA Tour Summary: Tournaments entered -22; Rounds Played - 79; In Money - 20; Top-10 Finishes - 4; Scoring Average - 71.77 Rank (24th); Money - $588,396.00 Rank (31st); Best Finish - 2nd at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship
