Maria Anna McBride (née Hjorth born 15 October 1973) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

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 ...

. She has won five times 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 ...

and twice finished second in major championships.

Early years

Hjorth was born in

Falun Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabit ...

. As the youngest of three daughters to Kjell and Monica Hjorth, she first gripped a golf club at three years of age. Six years old, she traveled with her family, to compete in the unofficial Swedish Championship for children, the Colgate Cup, for girls up to 10 years of age. After the round, her elder sister helped her to count the score.

Nordic skiing Nordic skiing encompasses the various types of skiing in which the toe of the ski boot is fixed to the binding in a manner that allows the heel to rise off the ski, unlike alpine skiing, where the boot is attached to the ski from toe to heel. Re ...

was a main interest during winter time. At ten years of age, Hjorth also began playing

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

and later became the youngest ever individual winner of the Swedish Championship in curling. On the golf course, she usually practiced with older boys, why she soon find it easier to play from the men's tees. During her amateur career she always represented Falun-Borlänge Golf Club.

Amateur career

Hjorth won many individual amateur titles including the 1995

European Ladies Amateur Championship The European Ladies Amateur Championship is an annual amateur golf tournament. It is organized by the European Golf Association and is one of the "elite" tournaments recognized by the World Amateur Golf Ranking The World Amateur Golf Ranking for ...

at Wannsee, Berlin, Germany. She represented Sweden twice at the

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 ...

. In 1992 in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, with

Annika Sörenstam Annika Charlotta Sörenstam (; born 9 October 1970) is a Swedish professional golfer regarded as one of the best female golfers in history. Before stepping away from competitive golf at the end of the 2008 season, she had won 96 international p ...

on the team, Sweden finished fourth. In 1994 at Golf National in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, the Swedish team finished as bronze medalists. Hjorth was also part of the winning Swedish team at the 1994

European Lady Junior's Team Championship The European Lady Junior's Team Championship was a European amateur team golf championship for women under 22 organized by the European Golf Association. The inaugural event was held in 1968. It was played every year until 1984, then every second y ...

at Gutenhof Golf Club,

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Hjorth attended the

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals; ) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airth ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Professional career

Hjorth turned professional in 1996 and won the

Swedish Golf Tour The Swedish Golf Tour, currently titled as the Cutter & Buck Tour for sponsorship reasons, is a developmental professional golf which was formerly operated by Svenska Golftourerna AB, as well as being owned equally by the Swedish Golf Federatio ...

Order of Merit that year. She played mainly on the

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 ...

(LET) in 1996 and 1997. In late 1997, she finished fourth at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament to gain exempt status on the U.S.-based

for the 1998 season. Since 1998 she has played mainly on

, while continuing to play in Europe several times each year. She has won two individual titles on the LET and five on the LPGA. Winning her second LPGA title in 1999, the

Mizuno Classic The Toto Japan Classic is an annual women's professional golf tournament in Japan, jointly sanctioned by the two richest women's professional tours: the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and the LPGA of Japan Tour. It was an unofficial money event on the LPGA ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, she played with a mix-matched set of clubs because her clubs were lost by an airline. She has finished second in the

Women's PGA Championship The Women's PGA Championship (branded as the KPMG Women's PGA Championship for sponsorship reasons) is a women's professional golf tournament. First held in 1955, it is one of five majors on the LPGA Tour. It is not recognized as a major by the ...

, losing in a playoff, and tied second in the

Women's British Open The Women's Open (originally known as the Women's British Open, and still widely referred to by that name outside the UK) is a major championship in women's professional golf. It is recognised by both the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tou ...

. She was also sole or tied second in the

Evian Masters The Evian Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as The Amundi Evian Championship, is a women's professional golf tournament in France, played at the Evian Resort Golf Club in Évian-les-Bains. It was originally held in June, mov ...

in France three times before it was recognized as a major championship. She was a member of five European

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 ...

teams in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

and played three times in the Praia d'El Rey European Cup, a team competition sanctioned by the LET.

Private life, awards, honors

In 1996, she earned Elite Sign No. 107 by the

Swedish Golf Federation The Swedish Golf Federation (, SGF) is the governing body for the sport of golf in Sweden, founded in 1904. The federation is responsible for administering the Rules of Golf, as laid down by The R&A, at the national level. It organizes tournamen ...

, on the basis of national team appearances and national championship performances. In 2001, she was awarded honorary member of the PGA of Sweden. In 1995, three weeks before winning the

, she was diagnosed with diabetes. She married Shaun McBride on New Years eve 2007 and since then played under her married name, Maria McBride. Their daughter Emily was born in 2009 and the family resides in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

. Her husband has caddied for her, as well as on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

, for

Bryce Molder Bryce Wade Molder (born January 27, 1979) is an American former professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour. Early life Molder was born in Harrison, Arkansas and attended public school in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Conway, Arkansas. He has Poland s ...

Amateur wins

*1990 Norwegian Open Amateur Championship *1991

Girls Amateur Championship The Girls Amateur Championship is a golf tournament held annually in the United Kingdom. Girls need to be under 18 on 1 January in the year of the championship. Until World War II the championship was organised by a series of magazines and always ...

, Swedish Youth under 19 Championship *1993

French International Lady Juniors Amateur Championship The French International Lady Juniors Amateur Championship (), known also as the Esmond Trophy since 1927, is an annual amateur golf tournament in France for women up to 21. The match play tournament has been held annually at Golf de Saint-Cloud ...

*1994 Swedish Junior Match-play Championship *1995

Spanish International Ladies Amateur Championship The Spanish International Ladies Amateur Championship (Copa S.M. la Reina) is an annual amateur golf tournament in Spain for women. It is an "A" rated tournament in the World Amateur Golf Ranking The World Amateur Golf Ranking for men was intr ...

, Helen Holm Scottish Women's Open Championship

Professional wins (15)

LPGA Tour (5)

LPGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

Ladies European Tour (2)

Ladies European Tour playoff record (0–1)

Other wins (8)

*1991 Aspeboda Ladies Open (

) (as an amateur) *1993 Aspeboda Ladies Open, Swedish Match-play Championship (all Swedish Golf Tour as an amateur) *1994 Swedish Match-play Championship (Swedish Golf Tour) (as an amateur) *1996 Delsjö Ladies Open, Toyota Ladies Open, Aspeboda Ladies Open (all Swedish Golf Tour as an amateur) *1997 A.V. Rubbish Classic (Players West Tour)

Results in LPGA majors

^ The Women's British Open replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major in 2001
^^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013 CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied for place

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (twice) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (nine times)

LPGA Tour career summary

*official through the 2022 season

Team appearances

Amateur *

European Ladies' Team Championship The European Ladies' Team Championship is a European amateur team golf championship for women organised by the European Golf Association. The inaugural event was held in 1959. It was played in odd-numbered years from 1959 to 2007 and has been pl ...

(representing Sweden):

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

(representing Sweden): 1992, 1994 (winners) *

(representing Sweden):

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

Professional * Praia d'El Rey European Cup (representing Ladies European Tour): 1997, 1998 (tie), 1999 (winners) *

(representing Europe):

(winners) *

Lexus Cup The Lexus Cup was an annual golf tournament played between 2005 and 2008 for professional women golfers contested by a team representing Asia and an international team representing the rest of the world. It was sanctioned by the LPGA Tour,

(representing International team):

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

(representing Sweden): 2008

Solheim Cup record

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hjorth, Maria Swedish female golfers LPGA Tour golfers Ladies European Tour golfers Solheim Cup competitors for Europe Swedish female curlers Swedish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Sportspeople from Falun Golfers from Orlando, Florida 1973 births Living people 20th-century Swedish women 21st-century Swedish women