Azahara Muñoz Guijarro (born 19 November 1987) is a Spanish

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

on the U.S.-based

LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly ...

and

Ladies European Tour The Ladies European Tour is a professional golf tour for women which was founded in 1978. Most of the players on the tour are European, with members from more than 40 countries internationally. Despite its name, the tour also has tournaments in A ...

Amateur career

Muñoz was born in

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

in southern Spain and had a successful amateur career in both Europe and the United States. She won the 2002 Spanish Amateur title at age 14, the 2004 Girls Amateur Championship, and was the 2009

British Ladies Amateur The Women's Amateur Championship, previously known as the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship, was founded in 1893 by the Ladies' Golf Union. It is organised by The R&A, which merged with the Ladies' Golf Union in 2017. Until the dawn of t ...

champion. Additionally, she was runner-up to Amanda Blumenherst at the 2008 U.S. Women's Amateur in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, and was a member of Europe's Junior Solheim Cup Team in 2002, 2003, and 2005. At Arizona State, she was the 2008 NCAA Individual Champion in her junior year, winning by making a putt at the first hole of a playoff against

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

's Tiffany Joh in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

. Surgery on her right wrist in January 2009 sidelined her for over a month during her senior year. In May, Muñoz finished fourth at the NCAA Championships in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

to lead the Sun Devils to the 2009 NCAA team title. She was the Edith Cummings Munson Award recipient in 2008 & 2009, the only double winner of the award. Muñoz was also 2006–08 NGCA Academic

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

, 2006–09 First-Team All-

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

, 2006–07 NGCA Second-Team All-American, 2009 NGCA All-American and 2009 Pac-10 Scholar of the Year. She graduated

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

from ASU in May 2009 with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

and a minor in business. In a final summer of amateur play, Muñoz won the match-play

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

over ASU teammate and compatriot Carlota Ciganda, then won gold medals (individual & team) for Spain at the

2009 Mediterranean Games The 2009 Mediterranean Games, officially the XVI Mediterranean Games () and commonly known as Pescara 2009, was a multi-sport event held in Pescara, Italy, from 26 June to 5 July 2009. It was governed by the International Committee of Mediterran ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Although the runner-up in 2008, she opted not to participate in the 2009 U.S. Women's Amateur. She played in three professional majors as an amateur in 2009 and placed T-40 twice.

Professional career

2009

Muñoz turned professional in September 2009, two weeks prior to the first stage of the

Qualifying Tournament in California, in which she finished second and advanced to the final stage in December. Back in Spain, she received a sponsor's exemption into the

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Madrid Ladies Masters, and made her professional debut on 1 October on the

(LET). After shooting a 64 (−9) in the final round, she won the three-round event on the first playoff hole, defeating former ASU teammate

Anna Nordqvist --> , death_place = , height = , weight = , nationality = , residence = Orlando, Florida, U.S. , spouse = , partner = , children = , college = Arizona State University (2.5 years) , yearpro = ...

with an eagle putt; Muñoz earned

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

50,000 and a three-year LET exemption. Following a rain-shortened one-round victory in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

for

5,000 on the Banesto mini-tour in late October, Muñoz finished fifth at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament in December in Florida to earn full playing privileges on the LPGA Tour for 2010. She ended the year ranked 179th in the

Women's World Golf Rankings The Women's World Golf Rankings, also known for sponsorship reasons as the Rolex Rankings, were introduced in February 2006. They are sanctioned by 12 women's golf tours and the organisations behind them: Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPG ...

2010

In her rookie season of

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, Muñoz made the cut in her first eleven events, and won over $402,000 in LPGA competition with two top ten finishes. She made the top twenty in the three majors she played, was 30th on the money list, and 17th in scoring. Muñoz handily won the competition for LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year with 704 points; the runner-up was compatriot

Beatriz Recari Beatriz Recari Eransus (born 21 April 1987) is a Spanish professional golfer on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour. Amateur career Born and raised in Pamplona in northern Spain, Recari began playing golf at age 11 and enjoyed ...

with 419. She won an additional €26,380 in five events on the Ladies European Tour (total

LET earnings were €96,633 in seven events, with €70,253 from the two events co-sanctioned by the LPGA). Muñoz ended the year at 41st in the world rankings.

2012

Muñoz notched her first LPGA Tour victory at the Sybase Match Play Championship in Gladstone, New Jersey with a 2 and 1 victory over

Candie Kung Candie Kung (; born 8 August 1981) is an American professional golfer who plays on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. Amateur career Kung was born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. She was a three-time American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) All-American and was n ...

. In the

semifinal A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

round of

match play Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...

against

Morgan Pressel Morgan Pressel (born May 23, 1988) is an American professional golfer and golf commentator who played on the LPGA Tour. In 2001 U.S. Women's Open, 2001, as a 12-year-old, she became the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open. She wa ...

, Muñoz trailed by two through 11 holes. Pressel appeared to have won the 12th hole, which would have given her a three-hole lead over Muñoz, but a slow-play penalty was ruled against Pressel. Muñoz ended up winning the semifinal match against Pressel, 2 and 1. The victory in May vaulted Muñoz from 27th to 19th in the world rankings and from tenth to second on the

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

money list.

Professional wins (6)

LPGA Tour (1)

LPGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

Ladies European Tour (5)

¹ Muñoz sank an eagle putt on the first playoff hole to win.

Results in LPGA majors

''Results not in chronological order.'' ^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013 CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
T = tied

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 9 (2013 Evian – 2015 British Open) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (three times)

LPGA Tour career summary

Official through 2024 season * Includes matchplay and other events without a cut.

World ranking

Position in

at the end of each calendar year.

Team appearances

Amateur * European Girls' Team Championship (representing Spain): 2001 (winners), 2002 (winners), 2003 (winners), 2004, 2005 * Junior Solheim Cup (representing Europe): 2002, 2003 (winners), 2005 * European Lady Junior's Team Championship (representing Spain): 2006 *

Espirito Santo Trophy The Espirito Santo Trophy (World Women's Amateur Team Championships) is a biennial world amateur team golf championship for women organised by the International Golf Federation. The inaugural event was held in 1964. It was instituted by the Fren ...

(representing Spain):

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

* European Ladies' Team Championship (representing Spain):

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

(winners),

Professional *

Solheim Cup The Solheim Cup is a biennial golf tournament for professional women golfers contested by teams representing Europe and the United States. It is named after the Norwegian- American golf club manufacturer Karsten Solheim, who was a driving forc ...

(representing Europe):

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

(winners),

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

(winners),

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

(winners) *

International Crown The Hanwha LifePlus International Crown is a biennial women's professional team golf tournament on the LPGA Tour. Eight national teams of four players each (32 players in total) participate in the match play event. Beginning in 2025, the field ...

(representing Spain):

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

(winners)

Solheim Cup record

References

External links

* * * * *
Azahara Muñoz
at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics *
Azahara Muñoz Guijarro – COE – Paris 2024
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munoz, Azahara Spanish female golfers Arizona State Sun Devils women's golfers Spanish expatriate golfers in the United States Ladies European Tour golfers LPGA Tour golfers Winners of ladies' major amateur golf championships Solheim Cup competitors for Europe Olympic golfers for Spain Golfers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Golfers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Golfers at the 2024 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games medalists in golf Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Spain Competitors at the 2009 Mediterranean Games Golfers from Málaga 1987 births Living people 20th-century Spanish women 21st-century Spanish sportswomen