Austin Ernst, winner of the LPGA Drive On Championship event

Austin Ernst on beach. 2019 photo By Jdods14 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https commons.wikimedia.org

LPGA Drive On Championship presented by Volvik at Golden Ocala

Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club

Hometown/Resides: Seneca, South Carolina/Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Birthdate: January 31, 1992; currently 29 years, 1 month and 7 days

Qualified for LPGA Tour: Finished 14th at the 2012 LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament to first earn LPGA Tour membership

Turned Professional/Rookie Year: 2012/2013

VICTORIES

  • LPGA: Third career victory
  • PREVIOUS WINS: 2014 Cambia Portland Classic, 2020 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G

RACE TO THE CME GLOBE

  • With her win, Ernst earns 500 points and is projected to move from 32nd to third with 551 points

MONEY

  • With her win, Ernst earns $225,000; she has earned $245,466 this season and $4,127,272 in her career

PREVIOUS LPGA DRIVE ON CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS

  • T20 at the 2020 LPGA Drive On Championship—Inverness
  • T24 at the 2020 LPGA Drive On Championship—Reynolds Lake Oconee

2021 LPGA TOUR PERFORMANCE

  • Three events played, two cuts made, $245,466 earned; one win, one additional top-20 finish

2020 LPGA TOUR PERFORMANCE

  • Seventeen events played, 14 cuts made, $771,092 earned; one win, three additional top-10 finishes

OF NOTE

  • Ernst hit 10 of 14 fairways and 12 greens in regulation, with 28 putts
  • With the win, Ernst surpasses the $4 million threshold in career earnings ($4,127,272)
  • Her 72-hole total 273 is the sixth lowest of her career; she carded a 266 at the 2013 Manulife Financial LPGA Classic
  • Becomes the third American to win on the LPGA Tour in 2021, joining Jessica Korda (Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions) and Nelly Korda (Gainbridge LPGA)
  • This is Ernst’s third event of the 2021 season; her previous best finish was T17 at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions presented by Insurance Office of America
  • Ernst is in her ninth season on the LPGA Tour; she has three career wins with the first two at the 2014 Cambia Portland Classic and 2020 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship pres. by P&G
  • She was a member of Team USA at the 2017 Solheim Cup with a 2-2-0 overall record
  • Her brother Drew played collegiate golf at Coastal Carolina University and caddies for Ernst
  • Hosts the annual Austin Ernst Charity Pro-Am event to benefit Safe Harbor, a domestic violence shelter
  • Won the 2011 NCAA Championships individual title at LSU; graduated in 2014 with a degree in Business Management
  • Her father Mark is the General Manager and Director of Golf at Cross Creek Plantation in South Carolina and taught Ernst to play

COURTESY LPGA COMMUNICATIONS

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