Alison Nicholas

Alison Nicholas MBE (born 6 March 1962 in Gibraltar) is an English golfer.

Amateur career

Nicholas was educated at the School of St Mary and St Anne (now Abbots Bromely School for Girls). She enjoyed a very successful amateur career in England. She started playing golf at the age of 17 and won the 1982 and 1983 Northern Girls Amateur Open. Nicholas was the 1983 British Amateur Stroke Play champion. In 1983, Nicholas won the Yorkshire Ladies County Championship.

Professional career

Nicholas turned professional in 1984 and joined the Ladies European Tour in the same year. She joined the LPGA Tour in 1989.

Nicholas won the British Women's Open in 1987, when it was recognised as a major championship by the Ladies European Tour only, and the 1997 U.S. Women's Open.

At her retirement at the end of the 2004 season Nicholas had won fourteen events on the Ladies European Tour. She topped the European Tour order of merit in 1997 and finished in the top ten fifteen times in sixteen seasons between 1985 and 2000. She also won four times on the LPGA Tour, between 1995 and 1999, including her U.S. Women's Open victory, and in 1992 she won both the Western Australian Open and the Malaysian Open.

She won the 1991 Vivien Saunders Trophy for lowest stroke average (71.71). In 1997 she became the Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year, was awarded The Association of Golf Writers Trophy and was voted LET Players' Player of the Year, 1997 Evening Mail Sports Personality of the Year and 1997 Midlands Sports Personality of the Year.

In 1998 she was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for "services to women's golf", and in 2002 became a Life Member of the Ladies European Tour.

Nicholas was a member of the European Solheim Cup team in 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2000 forming a formidable partnership with Laura Davies. She was Vice Captain in 2003. In 2007 Nicholas was named Captain for the 2009 Solheim Cup. cite web
title = Nicholas Solheim Cup Captain for Europe
publisher = LET (Ladies European Tour)
author = Bethan Cutler
date = 2007-11-05
url = http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/content/let_content_news.php?Id=11486
accessdate = 2008-08-20]

Professional wins

LPGA Tour

*1995 LPGA Corning Classic, PING-AT&T Wireless Services LPGA Golf Championship
*1997 U.S. Women's Open
*1999 Hawaiian Ladies Open

LPGA Majors are shown in bold.

Other

*1987 Weetabix Women's British Open, Laing Charity Classic
*1988 British Olivetti Tournament, Variety Club Charity Classic, James Capel Guernsey Open
*1989 Lufthansa German Open, Gislaved Open, Qualitair Classic
*1990 Variety Club Charity Classic
*1992 Western Australian Open, Malaysian Open, AGF Open de Paris
*1995 Payne & Gunter Scottish Open
*1996 Guardian Irish Open

Solheim Cup Record

Notes and References

External links

* [http://www.ladieseuropeantour-tic.com/profiles/010120.htm Profile on the Ladies European Tour's website]
* [http://www.alisonnicholas.co.uk/ Official site]