Karis Davidson (born 7 July 1998) is an Australian

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 ...

who plays on the

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 ...

. In 2022, she won the WPGA Melbourne International, and in 2018 she was runner-up at the

Women's Victorian Open The Women's Victorian Open is an annual golf tournament held in Australia. It was founded in 1988 and played annually through 1992. After a 20-year hiatus it returned in 2012 as a tournament on the WPGA Tour of Australasia. This was the first t ...

, a

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 ...

event.

Early life and amateur career

Davidson was born in

Melrose, Scotland Melrose (, "bald moor") is a town and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in the Scottish Borders, historically in Roxburghshire. It lies within the Eildon Area committee, committee area of Scottish Borders Council. History The original ...

, where she started playing golf at the age of four. At the age of nine, she relocated with her family to Australia's

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast, also known by its initials, GC, is a coastal city and region in the state of Queensland, Australia, located approximately south-southeast of the centre of the list of Australian capital cities, state capital, Brisbane. It is ...

. In 2013 she was runner-up at the Greg Norman Junior Masters. In 2014, she won the Sunshine Coast Ladies Open and the GNGF Junior Masters, and was runner-up at the Australian Girls' Amateur, plus lost the final of the

Australian Women's Amateur The Australian Women's Amateur is the national amateur golf championship of Australia. It was first played in 1894 and is organised by Golf Australia. Having traditionally been a match play event, it became a 72-hole stroke play event in 2021, h ...

Minjee Lee Minjee Lee (born 27 May 1996) is an Australian professional golfer from Perth. She became the number one ranked amateur golfer in February 2014 after winning the Oates Victorian Open, remaining number one until turning professional in Septembe ...

. In 2015, she won the NSW Junior State Championship, and was runner-up at the Queensland Stroke Play & Amateur Championship, and the Australian Girls' Amateur. In 2016, she won the Bowra & O'Dea Women's 72 Hole Classic, the Dunes Medal, and the Australian Girls' Amateur. She represented Australia at the 2014

World Junior Girls Championship The World Junior Girls Golf Championship () is an annual world amateur team golf championship for women under 18 organized in Canada. History The inaugural event was held in 2014. Medalists who have gone on to win on the LPGA Tour include Brooke ...

in Canada, the

2016 Espirito Santo Trophy The 2016 Espirito Santo Trophy took place 14–17 September at Mayakoba El Camaleon Golf Club and Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico. It was the 27th women's golf World Amateur Team Championship for the ...

in Mexico, and at the

Queen Sirikit Cup The Queen Sirikit Cup, officially the Asia-Pacific Amateur Ladies Golf Team Championship, is an annual amateur team golf championship for women organised by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation. The inaugural event was held in 1979. The event is nam ...

, officially the Asia-Pacific Amateur Ladies Golf Team Championship, in 2016 and 2017. In 2017, she was a semifinalist at the

and won the

Riversdale Cup The Riversdale Cup is the second oldest amateur golf tournament in Australia. It is a Golf Australia national ranking event. The event has been played since 1896 and is organised by and played at the Riversdale Golf Club in Mount Waverley, Victoria. ...

. She was awarded the Karrie Webb Scholarship.

Professional career

Davidson turned professional in 2017 and joined the

LPGA of Japan Tour The LPGA of Japan Tour is a professional golf tour for women organised by the Japan Ladies Professional Golfers' Association. The tour was founded in 1968. It is the second richest women's golf tour in the world. The U.S.-based LPGA Tour is the mo ...

in 2018, after finishing 11th at the JLPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. She spent four seasons in Japan and made $444,839 in career earnings, with career-best finish a T4 at the 2018 Century21 Ladies Golf Tournament, won by

Kristen Gillman Kristen Gillman (born September 22, 1997) is an American professional golfer currently playing on the LPGA Tour. As an amateur, she won the U.S. Women's Amateur twice, in 2014 and 2018. Early life, college and amateur career Gillman is one of t ...

. Davidson also played on the

ALPG Tour The WPGA Tour of Australasia, formerly known as the ALPG Tour, is a professional golf tour for women which is based in Australia. WPGA stands for Women's Professional Golfers' Association. The tour was founded as the Ladies Professional Golf Assoc ...

, where she finished solo second behind

at the 2018

, a

co-sanctioned event. In 2021 she finished T3 at the

TPS Victoria The Players Series, titled as the Webex Players Series for sponsorship reasons, is a series of professional golf tournaments played in Australia with men and women competing in the same field, although they play from different tees. The series beg ...

, and in 2022 she was runner-up again at the

, this time behind Hannah Green, having secured her first professional title at the WPGA Melbourne International a few weeks earlier. Davidson earned her

card for 2022 by finishing T41 at

Q-School In professional golf, the term qualifying school is used for the annual qualifying tournaments for leading golf tours such as the U.S.-based PGA and LPGA Tours and the European Tour. A fixed number of players in the event win membership of the ...

. In her rookie season she made 8 cuts in 11 starts and recorded a best finish of T8 at the

Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational The Dow Championship is a women's professional golf tournament on the LPGA Tour that is played in Michigan. A new event in 2019, it is held at Midland Country Club in Midland, Michigan. It is a team event, similar to the Zurich Classic of New ...

. She went to back Q-School to retain her status.

Amateur wins

*2014 GNGF Junior Masters, Sunshine Coast Ladies Open *2015 NSW Junior State Championship *2016 Bowra & O'Dea Women's 72 Hole Classic, Australian Girls' Amateur, Dunes Medal *2017

Source:

Professional wins (1)

ALPG Tour wins (1)

Team appearances

Amateur *

(representing Australia): 2014 *

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 Australia):

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

(representing Australia): 2016, 2017

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Karis Australian female golfers ALPG Tour golfers LPGA Tour golfers Sportspeople from Melrose, Scottish Borders Golfers from the Scottish Borders Golfers from the Gold Coast, Queensland Scottish emigrants to Australia 1998 births Living people