Morgan Pressel was born on this day in 1988. An American professional golfer, currently playing on the LPGA Tour. She turned pro at age 17 and is the youngest-ever winner of a modern LPGA major championship. Pressel has reached as high as fourth in the world rankings.
In 2001, as a 12-year-old, she became the youngest player to qualify for the US Women’s Open. This record stood until 2007, when Lexi Thompson beat the record by several months. Pressel played in a total of seven LPGA events in 2005 and made the cut in all of them, with an impressive scoring average of 70.96 in 28 rounds. In 2005, Pressel won the North and South Women’s Amateur at Pinehurst, and the most important amateur event, the US Women’s Amateur. Pressel also finished her amateur career as 2005 Girls Rolex Junior Player of the Year. During her amateur career, she won 11 AJGA titles, including all five AJGA Invitationals: the “AJGA Slam”.
Pressel finished sixth in the first stage of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament in September 2005 and advanced to the final stage in December. She turned professional in November, after appealing to the LPGA to become a member as a 17-year-old. LPGA rules state that members must be 18 years old. At the five-round Final Qualifying Tournament in Daytona Beach, she finished tied for sixth to earn her tour card for 2006. She played part-time on the tour until her high school graduation in May 2006. Pressel earned her first victory in 2007 at the Kraft Nabisco Championship and became the youngest-ever winner of a modern LPGA major at 18 years, 313 days.
Pressel qualified for the 2007, 2009, and 2011 Solheim Cup teams; earning a spot on the 2007 team in her second full-year on the LPGA Tour as a 19-year-old. Through 2011, she was undefeated (3-0-0) in Solheim Cup singles play.
She is represented by Wasserman Media Group and has endorsement deals with Callaway Golf, Polo Ralph Lauren, Royal Bank of Canada, and Audemars Piguet.