Gerina Piller

{{Short description|American professional golfer (born 1985)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}} {{Infobox golfer | name = Gerina Piller | image = Gerina Piller cropped.jpg | imagesize = 225px | caption = Piller in 2013 | fullname = Gerina Michelle Mendoza Piller | nickname = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1985|3|29}} | birth_place = Roswell, New Mexico, U.S. | death_date =  | death_place = | height = 5 ft 7 in | weight = | nationality = {{USA}} | residence = Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.collegegolffellowship.com/2015/01/gerina-piller-golf-retreat-2015/ |title=Gerina Piller Girl's Retreat |date=January 27, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225805/http://collegegolffellowship.com/2015/01/gerina-piller-golf-retreat-2015/ |archive-date=March 3, 2016 }}</ref> | spouse = Martin Piller (m. 2011) | partner = | children = 1 | college = Texas-El Paso | yearpro = 2007 | retired =  | tour = LPGA Tour (joined 2010) | extour = Futures Tour (2007–10) | prowins = | lpgawins =  | letwins =  | jlpgawins =  | klpgawins =  | lagtwins =  | alpgwins =  | futwins =  | otherwins =  | majorwins =  | nabisco = T6: 2016 | lpga = T6: 2012 | wusopen = T5: 2019 | wbritopen = T36: 2013, 2015 | evian = T9: 2016 | wghofid =  | wghofyear =  | award1 = | year1 = | award2 = | year2 = | awardssection =  }}

'''Gerina Michelle Mendoza Piller''' (born March 29, 1985) is an American professional golfer, currently playing on the LPGA Tour. She turned pro in 2007 following a decorated career as a collegiate golfer at the University of Texas El Paso. In 2009, Mendoza appeared on the Golf Channel reality television competition ''The Big Break''.<ref name="bigbreak-video">{{cite web |work=The Golf Channel |url=http://www.golfchannel.com/media/big-break-prince-edward-island-gerina-mendoza/ |title=Big Break Prince Edward Island - Gerina Mendoza |access-date=July 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606052620/http://www.golfchannel.com/media/big-break-prince-edward-island-gerina-mendoza/ |archive-date=June 6, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Childhood and amateur career== Born in Roswell, New Mexico, Gerina Mendoza attended Goddard High School and won the state golf championship in 2003 and also was an all-state volleyball player.<ref name="utepbio">{{cite web |publisher=University of Texas El Paso |url=http://www.utepathletics.com/sports/w-golf/mtt/mendoza_gerina00.html |title=UTEP Athletics official biography |access-date=July 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714200526/http://www.utepathletics.com/sports/w-golf/mtt/mendoza_gerina00.html |archive-date=July 14, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

She enrolled in at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in 2003 where she played all four years, winning four tournaments in her senior year. She was the 2007 Conference USA individual champion, Player of the Year and the UTEP Female Athlete of the Year.<ref name="utepbio" /><ref name="lpga profile">{{cite web |publisher=LPGA |url=http://www.lpga.com/golf/players/p/gerina-piller/bio.aspx |title=LPGA Profile |access-date=July 30, 2013 |archive-date=August 22, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130822065855/http://www.lpga.com/golf/players/p/gerina-piller/bio.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Professional career== Mendoza turned pro in September 2007 and attempted to qualify that fall for the LPGA Tour. She did not succeed and played in 2008 on the Futures Tour. She attempted again to qualify for the LPGA Tour in 2008, again failing.

In an airing of 2009, filmed at an unknown time, Mendoza appeared on ''Big Break Prince Edward Island''. Six women and six men competed for a grand prize of $100,000 in cash. Contestant Derek was the only male to reach the final four and prevailed in a 2-hole elimination match with Gerina by 1 stroke.<ref name="bigbreak-video"/>

In 2009, she earned conditional status on the LPGA Tour for 2010 and played the entire season on the Duramed Futures Tour, where she recorded seven top-10 finishes and a career-best tie for second at both the iMPACT Classic and the USI Championship.<ref name="lpga profile"/> She finished 5th on the Futures Tour money list in 2010, earning her full playing privileges on the LPGA Tour for 2011.

She finished 68th on the LPGA official money list in 2012, retaining her full playing card for 2012. Piller improved in 2012, with two top-ten finishes and a 48th-place finish on the year-end LPGA official money list.

Piller took a sabbatical from the LPGA Tour in 2018 due to the birth of her first child, a son, Ajeo James Piller, born April 26, 2018.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/golf/2018/01/02/gerina-piller-play-diamond-resorts-invitational-before-taking-time-off-have-baby/996750001/ |title=Gerina Piller to play in Diamond Resorts Invitational before taking time off to have baby |newspaper=USA Today |first=Steve |last=DiMeglio |date=January 2, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lpga.com/news/2018-pillers-welcome-newest-addition |title=Welcome the Newest Addition to the Piller Family |publisher=LPGA |date=May 1, 2018 |first=Jennifer |last=Meyer}}</ref>

==Personal life== Mendoza married fellow professional golfer Martin Piller in January 2011.<ref name="si">{{cite magazine |magazine=Sports Illustrated |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1185998/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130730235301/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1185998/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 30, 2013 |title=Hearts of Texas |first1=Gerina |last1=Mendoza |first2=Martin |last2=Piller |date=May 23, 2011 |access-date=July 30, 2013}}</ref> They live in Flower Mound, Texas.<ref name="lpga-marriage">{{cite web |publisher=LPGA |url=http://www.lpga.com/golf/blogs/2011/2/pros-mendoza--piller-tie-the-knot-in-texas.aspx |title=Pros Mendoza, Piller Tie the Knot in Texas |access-date=July 31, 2013 |archive-date=June 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615105524/http://www.lpga.com/golf/blogs/2011/2/pros-mendoza--piller-tie-the-knot-in-texas.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="plano">{{cite news |work=The Dallas Morning News |first=Bill |last=Nichols |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/golf/headlines/20130423-nichols-plano-couple-martin-and-gerina-piller-stay-on-course-while-forging-pro-careers.ece |title=Nichols: Plano couple Martin and Gerina Piller stay on course while forging pro careers |date=April 23, 2013 |access-date=July 31, 2013 |archive-date=August 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820055914/http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/golf/headlines/20130423-nichols-plano-couple-martin-and-gerina-piller-stay-on-course-while-forging-pro-careers.ece |url-status=dead }}</ref> She is of Mexican American descent.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.espn.com/blog/onenacion/post/_/id/5910/gerina-piller-hits-an-ace-off-camera-in-malaysia |title=Gerina Piller hits an ace off-camera in Malaysia |date=October 27, 2016 |work=ESPN}}</ref>

==Results in LPGA majors== ''Results not in chronological order before 2019.'' {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;" ! Tournament !! 2011 !! 2012 !! 2013 !! 2014 !! 2015 !! 2016 !! 2017 !! 2018 !! 2019 !! 2020 !! 2021 !! 2022 |- |align=left|Chevron Championship |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |CUT |T41 |T11 |T20 |style="background:yellow;"|T6 |T35 |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |CUT |CUT |T40 |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |- |align=left|U.S. Women's Open |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |T50 |T31 |T63 |T53 |style="background:yellow;"|T8 |T33 |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:yellow;"|T5 |CUT |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |- |align=left|Women's PGA Championship |CUT |style="background:yellow;"|T6 |CUT |T13 |style="background:yellow;"|T9 |T12 |T14 |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |CUT |CUT |T40 |T68 |- |align=left|The Evian Championship ^ |style="background:#eeeeee;" colspan=2| |T67 |69 |T29 |style="background:yellow;"|T9 |T26 |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |T44 |style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT |CUT |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |- |align=left|Women's British Open |CUT |CUT |T36 |CUT |T36 |T50 |CUT |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |T70 |CUT |T48 |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |} ^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013  {{legend|yellow|Top 10}} {{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}} CUT = missed the half-way cut NT = no tournament T = tied

===Summary=== {| class=wikitable style=text-align:center !Tournament !! Wins !! 2nd !! 3rd !! Top-5 !! Top-10 !! Top-25 !! Events !! Cuts made |- |align=left|Chevron Championship || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 3 || 9 || 6 |- |align=left|U.S. Women's Open || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 2 || 2 || 8 || 7 |- |align=left|Women's PGA Championship || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 5 || 11 || 7 |- |align=left|The Evian Championship || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 7 || 6 |- |align=left|Women's British Open || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 10 || 5 |- !Totals !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 1 !! 6 !! 11 !! 45 !! 31 |} *Most consecutive cuts made – 15 (2014 LPGA – 2017 U.S. Open) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (six times)

==LPGA Tour career summary== {|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size: 95%;" ! Year !! Tournaments played !! Cuts made* !! Wins !! 2nd !! 3rd !! Top 10s !! Best finish !! Earnings ($) !! Money list rank !! Scoring average !! Scoring rank |- |2011 |14 |9 |0 |0 |0 |1 |T10 |align=right|103,322 |68 |72.75 |61 |- |2012 |24 |17 |0 |0 |0 |2 |T6 |align=right|258,395 |48 |71.41 |64 |- |2013 |26 |23 |0 |1 |0 |8 |2 |align=right|572,690 |26 |71.22 |23 |- |2014 |26 |22 |0 |0 |1 |5 |T3 |align=right|466,497 |39 |71.38 |26 |- |2015 |26 |22 |0 |2 |0 |6 |T2 |align=right|727,681 |18 |71.21 |21 |- |2016 |23 |20 |0 |1 |2 |9 |T2 |align=right|842,899 |19 |70.58 |17 |- |2017 |22 |21 |0 |0 |1 |5 |T3 |align=right|541,977 |34 |70.60 |26 |- |2018 |colspan=11|''Maternity leave'' |- |2019 |23 |14 |0 |0 |0 |2 |T5 |align=right|320,502 |62 |72.47 |122 |- |2020 |14 |8 |0 |0 |0 |0 |T33 |align=right|37,411 |115 |72.74 |94 |- |2021 |21 |12 |0 |0 |0 |1 |T9 |align=right|199,594 |84 |71.26 |62 |- |2022 |16 |9 |0 |0 |0 |1 |T6 |align=right|152,172 |104 |72.28 |120 |- |2023 |3 |3 |0 |0 |0 |0 |T22 |align=right|35,860 |166 |70.10 |n/a |} * Official through 2023 season.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=December 18, 2023 |title=Gerina Mendoza – results |publisher=LPGA |url=http://www.lpga.com/players/gerina-piller/87765/results}}</ref>

<nowiki>*</nowiki> Includes matchplay and other events without a cut.

==World ranking== Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size: 95%;" ! Year !! Ranking !! Source |- |2008 || 630 ||<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2008-12-31 |title=Women's World Golf Rankings |date=December 21, 2008}}</ref> |- |2009 || 411 ||<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2009-12-31 |title=Women's World Golf Rankings |date=December 21, 2009}}</ref> |- |2010 || 334 ||<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2010-12-31 |title=Women's World Golf Rankings |date=December 31, 2010}}</ref> |- |2011 || 215 ||<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2011-12-31 |title=Women's World Golf Rankings |date=December 31, 2011}}</ref> |- |2012 || 95 ||<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2012-12-31 |title=Women's World Golf Rankings |date=December 31, 2012}}</ref> |- |2013 || 37 ||<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2013-12-30 |title=Women's World Golf Rankings |date=December 30, 2013}}</ref> |- |2014 || 40 ||<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2014-12-29 |title=Women's World Golf Rankings |date=December 29, 2014}}</ref> |- |2015 || 29 ||<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2015-12-28 |title=Women's World Golf Rankings |date=December 28, 2015}}</ref> |- |2016 || 19 ||<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2016-12-26 |title=Women's World Golf Rankings |date=December 26, 2016}}</ref> |- |2017 || 41 ||<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2017-12-25 |title=Women's World Golf Rankings |date=December 25, 2017}}</ref> |- |2018 || 184 || <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2018-12-31 |title=Women's World Golf Rankings |date=December 31, 2018}}</ref> |- |2019 || 116 || <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2019-12-30 |title=Women's World Golf Rankings |date=December 30, 2019}}</ref> |- |2020 || 143 || <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2020-12-28 |title=Women's World Golf Rankings |date=December 28, 2020}}</ref> |- |2021 || 191 || <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2021-12-27 |title=Women's World Golf Rankings |date=December 27, 2021}}</ref> |- |2022 || 209 || <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2022-12-26 |title=Women's World Golf Rankings |date=December 26, 2022}}</ref> |- |2023 || 453 || <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2023-12-25 |title=Women's World Golf Rankings |date=December 25, 2023}}</ref> |- | 2024 || 974 || <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rolexrankings.com/rankings/2024-12-30 |title=Women's World Golf Rankings |date=December 30, 2024}}</ref> |}

==Team appearances== '''Professional''' *Solheim Cup (representing the United States): 2013, 2015 (winners), 2017 (winners) *International Crown (representing the United States): 2016 (winners)

===Solheim Cup record=== {|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size: 95%;" ! Year !! Total Matches !! Total W–L–H !! Singles W–L–H !! Foursomes W–L–H !! Fourballs W–L–H !! Points Won !! Points % |- |Career |11 |'''''5–4–2''''' |'''''2–0–1''''' |'''''1–2–0''''' |'''''2–2–1''''' |6 |54.6 |- |2013 |3 |'''''0–2–1''''' |'''''0–0–1''''' halved w/ C. Matthew |'''''0–0–0''''' |'''''0–2–0''''' lost w/ A. Stanford 2&1 lost w/ A. Stanford 1 dn |0.5 |16.7 |- |2015 |4 |'''''3–0–1''''' |'''''1–0–0''''' def. C. Masson 1 up |'''''1–0–0''''' won w/ S. Lewis 5&4 |'''''1–0–1''''' halved w/ B.Lang won w/ S. Lewis 1 up |3.5 |87.5 |- |2017 |4 |'''''2–2–0''''' |'''''1–0–0''''' def. F. Parker 4&2 |'''''0–2–0''''' lost w/ S. Lewis 1 dn lost w/ S. Lewis 2&1 |'''''1–0–0''''' won w/ S. Lewis 2&1 |2 |50.0 |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{LPGA player|gerina-piller/87765}} *{{WWGR|2553}} *{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708075307/https://sports.yahoo.com/golf/lpga/players/Gerina+Piller/11535 |title=Gerina Piller at Yahoo! Sports |date=mdy}} *{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714200526/http://www.utepathletics.com/sports/w-golf/mtt/mendoza_gerina00.html |title=Gerina Piller at UTEP official site |date=mdy}} *[https://www.usagolf.org/profiles/gerina-piller-922003 Gerina Piller] at USA Golf *{{Team USA|new_id=gerina-piller-922003|old_id=PI/Gerina-Piller|archive=20220711230405}} *{{Olympedia}} *{{Olympics.com}}

{{Navboxes |title=Gerina Piller in the Solheim Cup |list= {{2013 United States Solheim Cup team}} {{2015 United States Solheim Cup team}} {{2017 United States Solheim Cup team}} }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piller, Gerina}} Category:American female golfers Category:LPGA Tour golfers Category:Solheim Cup competitors for the United States Category:Olympic golfers for the United States Category:Golfers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Category:Golfers from New Mexico Category:UTEP Miners athletes Category:American people of Mexican descent Category:Sportspeople of Mexican descent Category:People from Roswell, New Mexico Category:Golfers from Plano, Texas Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century American sportswomen