Klára Davidson Spilková (born 15 December 1994) is a Czech professional golfer who plays on the Ladies European Tour (LET).[1][2] She won the 2017 Lalla Meryem Cup and the 2022 Women's Irish Open.
| Klára Davidson Spilková | |
|---|---|
 Spilková in 2018 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 15 December 1994 Prague, Czech Republic |
| Height | 168 cm (5 ft 6 in) |
| Sporting nationality |  Czech Republic |
| Spouse |
Sean Davidson (m. 2022) |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 2011 |
| Current tour(s) | Ladies European Tour (joined 2011) LPGA Tour (joined 2019) |
| Professional wins | 2 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| Ladies European Tour | 2 |
| Best results in LPGA major championships | |
| Chevron Championship | WD: 2020 |
| Women's PGA C'ship | T70: 2017 |
| U.S. Women's Open | CUT: 2018 |
| Women's British Open | T50: 2018 |
| Evian Championship | T55: 2015 |
Early life and amateur career
editSpilková had a successful amateur career after she was introcued to golf by her older brother Lukas at the age of four. She won the European Young Masters in 2009, and won both the Czech Women's Amateur and the German Girls Open back to back in 2009 and 2010. In 2010 she won the Austrian Women's Amateur.
She lost the final of the 2009 French International Lady Juniors Amateur Championship (Trophée Esmond) 1 up to Leona Maguire. Her performance helped her qualify for the continental team, and she represented Europe at the 2009 Junior Solheim Cup and the 2010 Junior Ryder Cup.
In 2010, at only fifteen, she made her first LET start at the Allianz Ladies Slovak Open, but missed the cut by two strokes.
Professional career
editSpilková turned professional in 2011 at age 16 and joined the Ladies European Tour. She was 7th in the Rolex Rookie of the Year standings, behind winner Caroline Hedwall. She finished tied sixth in the 2013 ISPS Handa Ladies European Masters and at the 2014 Turkish Ladies Open. In 2015, she tied for 4th at the Ladies Scottish Open.[3][4]
In 2017, Spilková became the first Czech winner on the LET with her victory at the Lalla Meryem Cup.[5]
Spilková finished fourth at the inaugural LPGA Tour Q-Series to earn a card for 2019. Over the next three seasons she finished 140, 100 and 127th in the rankings, with a best finish of tied 8th at the 2020 Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio.
As the highest ranked Czech golfer, she represented her country at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and finished tied 48th and 23rd.
In 2022, Spilková rejoined the LET. She was runner-up at the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open, a stroke behind compatritot Jana Melichová. She then secured her second LET victory with a birdie at the first playoff hole at the KPMG Women's Irish Open, seeing off Finland’s Ursula Wikström and Denmark’s Nicole Broch Estrup.[6]
Personal life
editSpilková married Sean Davidson in 2022. He is an Italian American teacher at the Faculty of Law of Charles University in Prague.[7] He was a college golfer at Davidson College. They met on the golf course. Davidson has been a caddie for Klara occasionally, including at the Olympics in Tokyo. He also has been a caddie for his brother Matt, who is a former PGA Tour player.[8]
Amateur wins
edit- 2009 German Girls Open, Czech Women's Amateur, European Young Masters
- 2010 German Girls Open, Czech Women's Amateur, Austrian Women's Amateur
Professional wins (2)
editLadies European Tour wins (2)
edit| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner-up | Winner's share (€) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 Apr 2017 | Lalla Meryem Cup | 69-74-71-66=280 | −8 | 1 stroke |  Suzann Pettersen
|
67,500 |
| 2 | 25 Sep 2022 | KPMG Women's Irish Open | 66-68-73-67=274 | −14 | Playoff |  Ursula Wikström Nicole Broch Estrup
|
60,000 |
Team appearances
edit- Amateur
- Espirito Santo Trophy (representing Czech Republic): 2008, 2010
- Junior Solheim Cup (representing Europe): 2009
- Junior Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 2010
References
edit- ^ "Golfistka Spilková zakončila sezonu LET v Dubaji desátým místem". Mladá fronta DNES (in Czech). 13 December 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
- ^ "Golfistka Spilková útočí v Beleku na výhru, před finále vede". aktualne.cz (in Czech). 10 May 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
- ^ "Spilková, 18, achieves best placing yet on golf's Ladies European Tour". Radio Prague. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
- ^ "Spilková na Turkish Open vyrovnala svůj nejlepší výsledek". Česká televize (in Czech). 11 May 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
- ^ Jackson, Keith (17 April 2017). "Klara Spilkova becomes first Czech Republic winner on Ladies European Tour at Lalla Meryem Cup". Sky Sports. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
- ^ "Spilkova Clinches Playoff Victory At KPMG Women's Irish Open". Ladies European Tour. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
- ^ Tauchen, Monika. "A different set of eyes". Klara Spilkova. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
- ^ "Matt Davisdon Bio". PGA Tour. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
External links
edit- Official website
- Klara Davidson Spilkova at the Ladies European Tour official site
- Klára Spilková at the LPGA Tour official site
- Klara Davidson Spilkova at the Women's World Golf Rankings official site