| Carin Koch | |
|---|---|
 Koch at the 2012Dutch Ladies Open | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Anna Carin Pernilla Hjalmarsson |
| Born | (1971-02-23)23 February 1971 (age 54) Kungälv,Sweden |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
| Sporting nationality |  Sweden |
| Residence | Mölndal, Sweden |
| Partner | Thomas Hedén |
| Children | 2 |
| Career | |
| College | University of Tulsa |
| Turned professional | 1992 |
| Current tour(s) | LPGA Tour (joined 1995) Ladies European Tour (joined 1992) |
| Professional wins | 10 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| LPGA Tour | 2 |
| Ladies European Tour | 1 |
| Other | 7 |
| Best results in LPGA major championships | |
| Chevron Championship | T5: 2002 |
| Women's PGA C'ship | T6: 2002 |
| U.S. Women's Open | T5: 1999 |
| du Maurier Classic | T9: 1999 |
| Women's British Open | T8: 2002 |
Anna Carin Pernilla Hjalmarsson Koch (néeHjalmarsson; born 23 February 1971) is aSwedishprofessional golfer who previously played on theLadies European Tour and on the U.S.-basedLPGA Tour. She was captain of the2015 EuropeanSolheim Cup team.
Carin Koch had a successful amateur career. She represented Gullbringa Golf & Country Club, inKungälv, north ofGothenburg, Sweden, just as elder Swedish female starsKärstin Ehrnlund andHelen Alfredsson. She was the 1988 Swedish Junior 18 Match-play Champion. She represented Sweden on both junior level and in the national amateur team during the period 1988–1991. She was part of the winning Swedish team at the 1990European Lady Junior's Team Championship at Shannon Golf Club onIreland, with, among others,Annika Sörenstam.[1][2]
Koch enrolled at theUniversity of Tulsa and was named Second-Team All-American in 1990 and Scholar All-American in 1991.[3]
Between 1987 and 1991 she played eight times on theSwedish Golf Tour, at the time named the Telia Tour, as an amateur, never finishing outside the top ten.[4][5][6][7][8] She turned professional in 1992.[9]
1992 was her rookie year on theLadies European Tour. She won theSwedish Golf Tour (at the time named the Telia Tour) Order of Merit in both 1992[10] and 1993,[11] winning three tournaments each year.
In 1994, she finished fourth on the Asian Order of Merit and tied for fifth at theLPGA Final Qualifying Tournament to earn exempt status for the1995 LPGA season.[2]
In 1995, her rookie season, her best LPGA finish was a tie for second at theJAL Big Apple Classic. She also gained two top ten finishes on the Ladies European Tour. In 1996 she almost gained her maiden LPGA victory, losing the Edina Realty Classic toLiselotte Neumann in a playoff.[2]
In the 1999Jamie Farr Kroger Classic, Koch had a two shot lead with just the final hole to play. Her caddie gave her the wrong club and she made a double bogey to drop into a six-way sudden death playoff, won bySe Ri Pak.[12] In 2000, Koch won her maiden European title at the 2000Chrysler Open.[13] She was a member of the victorious EuropeanSolheim Cup Team, where she went 3-0 as a "rookie" and sank an eight-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to win her match againstMichele Redman to clinch the European Team's victory.[14] She also teamed withSophie Gustafson to win the inaugural TSN Ladies' World Cup of Golf.[15]
In 2001, she became an LPGA maiden winner at theLPGA Corning Classic.[16] At the start of 2002, Carin topped a Playboy internet poll as the sexiest women on the LPGA but declined to pose for them nude.[17] This was the year Koch recorded a career-best 13 top-10 finishes, including three runner-up finishes and was a captain's pick for the EuropeanSolheim Cup team.[18] In 2003, Koch gave birth to her second child, but still played well enough to be a captain's pick for the2003 Solheim Cup, won by the Europeans in her native Sweden.[19]
In 2005, she won her second career LPGA event at theCorona Morelia Championship.[20] and was again a captain's pick for the2005 Solheim Cup.[21] She teamed up withSophie Gustafson to representSweden at the inauguralWomen's World Cup of Golf[22] and was also a member of the International team at the inauguralLexus Cup.[23] She also played in the 2007 Women's World Cup of Golf withHelen Alfredsson.[24]
In April 2014, Koch was named European team captain for the2015 Solheim Cup.[25] The 2015 match, played atGolf Club St. Leon-Rot,Germany, ended in a U.S. win 14½–13½, after a strong American come-back the last day.
In 2021 Koch fulfilled the age requirement for theU.S. Senior Women's Open, and gained exemption by virtue of her position on the LPGA Tour all-time money list.[26]
In 1994, she earned Elite Sign No. 97 by theSwedish Golf Federation, on the basis of national team appearances and national championship performances.[27]
In 2001, she was awarded honorary member of the PGA of Sweden.[28]
As receipant number 27, she was in 2001 awarded the Golden Club by the Swedish Golf Federation for outstanding contributions to Swedish golf.[29]
In 2014, Koch became an honorary member ofHills Golf and Sports Club inMölndal, south ofGothenburg, Sweden, where she was appointed head of the Hills Business Club.[30]
She was formerly married to golf professional Stefan Koch. During her LPGA Tour career, they lived inPhoenix, Arizona, United States, with their two children, Oliver and Simzon. She now lives in Mölndal, Sweden and uses her maiden nameCarin Hjalmarsson.
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 May2001 | LPGA Corning Classic | −18 (68-67-69-66=270) | 2 strokes | Maria Hjorth Mhairi McKay |
| 2 | 24 April2005 | Corona Morelia Championship | −9 (68-69-71-71=279) | 6 strokes |  Karine Icher |
LPGA Tour playoff record (0–2)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1996 | Edina Realty LPGA Classic |  Brandie BurtonLiselotte Neumann Suzanne Strudwick | Neumann won with birdie on third extra hole |
| 2 | 1999 | Jamie Farr Kroger Classic | Kelli Kuehne Mardi Lunn Se-Ri PakSherri SteinhauerKarrie Webb | Pak won with birdie on first extra hole |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 Jun2000 | Chrysler Open | −11 (70-73-65-69=277) | 4 strokes | Samantha Head |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 Aug1992 | Aspeboda Ladies Open | 222 (+6) | 3 strokes | Helene Koch | [31] |
| 2 | 9 Aug 1992 | Swedish Matchplay Championship | 1 hole | Margareta Bjurö | [32] | |
| 3 | 23 Aug 1992 | Conor Ladies Open | 216 (E) | 1 stroke | Helene Koch | [33] |
| 4 | 13 Jun1993 | Ängsö Ladies Open | 210 (−6) | 3 strokes | Catrin Nilsmark | [34] |
| 5 | 7 Aug 1993 | Härjedalens Ladies Open | 217 (+1) | 1 stroke | Anna Berg | [35] |
| 6 | 29 Aug 1993 | Sigtuna Ladies Open | 209 (–7) | 2 strokes | Anna-Carin Jonasson | [36] |
| Tournament | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft Nabisco Championship | CUT | CUT | CUT | T17 | ||
| LPGA Championship | CUT | T18 | T53 | T18 | T36 | T40 |
| U.S. Women's Open | T40 | CUT | T13 | T5 | T31 | |
| du Maurier Classic | CUT | CUT | CUT | T63 | T9 | 12 |
| Tournament | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft Nabisco Championship | T15 | T5 | T16 | T30 | T24 | T61 | T63 | CUT | T64 | |
| LPGA Championship | T17 | T6 | T11 | T7 | T49 | CUT | CUT | T69 | ||
| U.S. Women's Open | CUT | T37 | CUT | T10 | CUT | T28 | CUT | CUT | CUT | |
| Women's British Open ^ | T56 | T8 | T50 | T13 | T15 | CUT | CUT | CUT | T55 |
| Tournament | 2011 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|
| Kraft Nabisco Championship | ||
| LPGA Championship | ||
| U.S. Women's Open | ||
| Women's British Open ^ | CUT | T43 |
^ The Women's British Open replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major in 2001.
CUT = missed the half-way cut.
"T" tied
| Year | Wins | Earnings ($) | Money list rank | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 0 | 129,313 | 48 | 72.54 |
| 1996 | 0 | 128,772 | 50 | 73.26 |
| 1997 | 0 | 70,802 | 87 | 73.04 |
| 1998 | 0 | 207,432 | 35 | 72.34 |
| 1999 | 0 | 260,962 | 33 | 71.98 |
| 2000 | 0 | 329,377 | 28 | 72.40 |
| 2001 | 1 | 421,329 | 25 | 71.69 |
| 2002 | 0 | 785,817 | 8 | 70.91 |
| 2003 | 0 | 155,023 | 58 | 72.20 |
| 2004 | 0 | 568,404 | 20 | 71.04 |
| 2005 | 1 | 612,036 | 21 | 71.59 |
| 2006 | 0 | 223,664 | 60 | 72.61 |
| 2007 | 0 | 152,232 | 69 | 74.22 |
| 2008 | 0 | 313,468 | 54 | 72.58 |
| 2009 | 0 | 55,855 | 111 | 73.77 |
| 2010 | 0 | 10,882 | n/a | 74.00 |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 78.50 |
| 2012 | 0 | 14,564 | 138 | 75.75 |
Amateur
Professional
| Year | Total matches | Total W–L–H | Singles W–L–H | Foursomes W–L–H | Fourballs W–L–H | Points won | Points % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | 16 | 10–3–3 | 2–1–1 | 5–0–2 | 3–2–0 | 11.5 | 71.9% |
| 2000 | 3 | 3–0–0 | 1–0–0 defM. Redman 2&1 | 1–0–0 won w/C. Nilsmark 2&1 | 1–0–0 won w/C. Nilsmark 2&1 | 3 | 100% |
| 2002 | 5 | 4–0–1 | 0–0–1 halved w/B. Daniel | 2–0–0 won w/A. Sörenstam 3&2, won w/A. Sörenstam 4&3 | 2–0–0 won w/M. McKay 3&2, won w/A. Sörenstam 4&3 | 4.5 | 90% |
| 2003 | 4 | 1–2–1 | 0–1–0 lost toJ. Inkster 5&4 | 1–0–1 halved w/L. Davies, won w/A. Sörenstam 3&2 | 0–1–0 lost w/A. Sörenstam 1dn | 1.5 | 37.5% |
| 2005 | 4 | 2–1–1 | 1–0–0 def M. Redman 2&1 | 1–0–1 halved w/C. Matthew, won w/S. Gustafson 5&3 | 0–1–0 lost w/C. Matthew 1dn | 2.5 | 62.5% |
