LPGA Rookie of the Year race update: Park v Yin v Korda
A Colombian-born, Purdue-educated Belgian national, Laura Gonzalez Escallon epitomizes the international flavor of the 21st century LPGA Tour.
As an amateur Gonzalez Escallon enjoyed broad success. She won the 2008 British Girls Amateur, played for the Belgium National Team, and at Purdue played on the Big-Ten First Team (2010-2013). She was a member of the NCAA Division I team champion (2010) and was also runner-up at the 2013 European Ladies Individual Championship.
Gonzalez Escallon turned pro in 2014 and played two years on the Symetra Tour (2014-2015). She made 20 starts and 18 cuts in 2014 and recorded a T4 best finish at the Friends of Mission Charity Classic. In 2015 she again made 20 starts and 13 cuts with a season-best T3 finish at the Toyota Danielle Downey Classic.
By 2015 Gonzalez Escallon’s game had begun to mature. She picked up 2 Symetra Tour wins – FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship and the PHC Classic – recorded 5 additional top 10s, and finished her season 5th in the Volvik Race for the Card. Laura Gonzalez Escallon was on her way to golf’s big stage.
Since January Gonzalez Escallon has made 9 starts, played the weekend at four events, and recorded one top 10 finish, at the season-opening Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic. She also finished inside the top 20 at the Lorena Ochoa Match Play, no mean accomplishment given the quality of the field at that event.