Stefania Croce

Stefania Croce
Personal information
Full nameStefania Croce
Born (1970-05-17) 17 May 1970 (age 54)
Bergamo, Italy
Height1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Sporting nationality Italy
ResidenceItaly
Career
Turned professional1989
Current tour(s)Ladies European Tour
Former tour(s)LPGA Tour (1993–2003)
Professional wins1
Number of wins by tour
Ladies European Tour1
Best results in LPGA major championships
Chevron ChampionshipT28: 2001
Women's PGA C'ship2nd: 2000
U.S. Women's OpenT5: 1997
du Maurier ClassicT52: 1993
Women's British OpenCUT: 2004, 2007, 2008, 2011

Stefania Croce (born 17 May 1970) is an Italian professional golfer, who played on the Ladies European Tour and LPGA Tour.[1] She won the 1992 Ford Ladies' Classic and lost a playoff to Juli Inkster at the 2000 LPGA Championship.[2]

Career

Croce enjoyed a successful amateur career where she won the 1986 Girls Amateur Championship at West Kilbride, the 1987 French International Lady Juniors Amateur Championship, and the 1988 AJGA Tournament of Champions.[3] She represented Italy twice at the Espirito Santo Trophy, and in 1988 she had the lowest individual score alongside Carol Semple Thompson.[4]

Croce turned professional in 1989 and joined the Ladies European Tour (LET), where she won the 1992 Ford Ladies' Classic at Woburn Golf and Country Club.[1]

In 1993, Croce qualified for the LPGA Tour on her second attempt. She tied for 3rd at the 1996 Safeway LPGA Golf Championship, and tied for 5th at the 1997 U.S. Women's Open and 7th at the 1998 U.S. Women's Open.

Croce's best LPGA Tour performance came at the 2000 LPGA Championship, where she lost on the second hole to Juli Inkster in a sudden-death playoff.[5]

In 2008, she started coaching the Italian national women's golf team. Croce played her last full LET season in 2016, and she finished 13th at the 2022 U.S. Senior Women's Open.[6]

Personal life

Her grandfather Cesidio was among the first Italian professionals, and her father Angelo and uncle Alberto Croce are professional golfers.[7]

Amateur wins

Source:[3]

Professional wins (1)

Ladies European Tour (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runners-up
1 3 May 1992 Ford Ladies' Classic −10 (68-73-72-73=286) 3 strokes England Trish Johnson
Switzerland Evelyn Orley

Playoff record

LPGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2000 LPGA Championship United States Juli Inkster Lost to par on second extra hole

Team appearances

Amateur

References

  1. ^ a b Ladies European Tour (LET). "Stefania Croce Player Profile". Archived from the original on 2 August 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  2. ^ Brown, Clifton (26 June 2000). "Inkster Takes Bumpy Road To Victory In a Playoff". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b "2012 LET Tour Guide". Ladies European Tour. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  4. ^ "World Amateur Team Championships – Women's Records". Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Inkster successful in LPGA title defense". Fort Scott Tribune. (Kansas). Associated Press. 26 June 2000. p. 8.
  6. ^ "2022 U.S. Senior Women's Open". USGA. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Le memorie di Luciano Grappasonni". Golf Today (in Italian). 26 March 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2024.