Stefania Croce

{{short description|Italian professional golfer}} {{use dmy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Infobox golfer | name = Stefania Croce | image = Stefanie Croce.JPG | imagesize =  | caption = | fullname = Stefania Croce | nickname = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1970|5|17|df=y}} | birth_place = Bergamo, Italy | death_date =  | death_place = | height = {{height|m=1.67|precision=0}} | weight = | nationality = {{ITA}} | residence = Italy | spouse = | partner = | children = | college = | yearpro = 1989 | tour = Ladies European Tour | extour = LPGA Tour (1993–2003) | prowins = 1 | lpgawins =  | letwins = 1 | jlpgawins =  | klpgawins =  | lagtwins =  | alpgwins =  | futwins =  | otherwins =  | majorwins =  | nabisco = T28: 2001 | lpga = 2nd: 2000 | wusopen = T5: 1997 | dumaurier = T52: 1993 | wbritopen = CUT: 2004, 2007, 2008, 2011 | wghofid =  | wghofyear =  | award1 =  | year1 =  | award2 = | year2 = | awardssection =  }} '''Stefania Croce''' (born 17 May 1970) is an Italian professional golfer, who played on the Ladies European Tour and LPGA Tour.<ref name=crocelet>{{cite web|url=http://www.ladieseuropeantour.info/profiles/010275.htm|title=Stefania Croce Player Profile|author=Ladies European Tour (LET)|access-date=2010-06-30|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100802022632/http://www.ladieseuropeantour.info/profiles/010275.htm|archive-date=2010-08-02}}</ref> She won the 1992 Ford Ladies' Classic and lost a playoff to Juli Inkster at the 2000 LPGA Championship.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brown |first1=Clifton |title=Inkster Takes Bumpy Road To Victory In a Playoff |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/26/sports/golf-inkster-takes-bumpy-road-to-victory-in-a-playoff.html |access-date=23 January 2024 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=26 June 2000}}</ref>

==Career== Croce enjoyed a successful amateur career where she won the 1986 Girls Amateur Championship at West Kilbride, the 1987 French International Lady Juniors Amateur Championship, and the 1988 AJGA Tournament of Champions.<ref name=LETMG/> She represented Italy twice at the Espirito Santo Trophy, and in 1988 she had the lowest individual score alongside Carol Semple Thompson.<ref>{{cite web |title=World Amateur Team Championships – Women's Records |url=http://www.igfgolf.org/watc/womens-records/ |access-date=23 January 2024}}</ref>

Croce turned professional in 1989 and joined the Ladies European Tour (LET), where she won the 1992 Ford Ladies' Classic at Woburn Golf and Country Club.<ref name=crocelet />

In 1993, Croce qualified for the LPGA Tour on her second attempt. She tied for 3rd at the 1996 Safeway LPGA Golf Championship, and tied for 5th at the 1997 U.S. Women's Open and 7th at the 1998 U.S. Women's Open.

Croce's best LPGA Tour performance came at the 2000 LPGA Championship, where she lost on the second hole to Juli Inkster in a sudden-death playoff.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=i9ofAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SdkEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2217%2C3344159 |newspaper=Fort Scott Tribune |location=Kansas |agency=Associated Press |title=Inkster successful in LPGA title defense |date=June 26, 2000 |page=8}}</ref>

In 2008, she started coaching the Italian national women's golf team. Croce played her last full LET season in 2016, and she finished 13th at the 2022 U.S. Senior Women's Open.<ref>{{cite web |title=2022 U.S. Senior Women's Open |url=https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/championships/2022/u-s--senior-women-s-open.html#!scoring |publisher=USGA |access-date=23 January 2024}}</ref>

==Personal life== Her grandfather, Cesidio, was among the first Italian professionals, and her father, Angelo, and uncle, Alberto Croce, are professional golfers.<ref>{{cite news |title=Le memorie di Luciano Grappasonni |url=https://golftoday.it/eventi/le-memorie-di-luciano-grappasonni-parte-1-di-4/ |access-date=23 January 2024 |work=Golf Today |date=26 March 2019 |language=it}}</ref>

==Amateur wins== * 1986 Italian Girls Championship * 1986 Girls Amateur Championship, Italian Girls Championpionship * 1987 French International Lady Juniors Amateur Championship * 1988 AJGA Tournament of Champions, Italian Strokeplay Championship

Source:<ref name=LETMG>{{cite web |title=2012 LET Tour Guide |url=https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/10316760/2012-let-tour-guide-pdf-ladies-european-tour |publisher=Ladies European Tour |access-date=23 January 2024}}</ref>

==Professional wins (1)== ===Ladies European Tour (1)=== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" !No. !Date !Tournament !Winning score !Margin of<br>victory !Runners-up |- |align="center"|1 |align="right"|3 May 1992 |Ford Ladies' Classic |−10 (68-73-72-73=286) |3 strokes |{{flagicon|ENG}} Trish Johnson<br>{{flagicon|SUI}} Evelyn Orley |}

==Playoff record== '''LPGA Tour playoff record (0–1)''' {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" !No.!!Year!!Tournament!!Opponent(s)!!Result |-style="background:#F5DEB3;" |align="center"|1 |align="center"|2000 |'''LPGA Championship''' |{{flagicon|USA}} Juli Inkster |Lost to par on second extra hole |}

==Team appearances== '''Amateur''' * European Ladies' Team Championship (representing Italy): 1985, 1989 * Vagliano Trophy (representing the Continent of Europe): 1987 * Espirito Santo Trophy (representing Italy): 1986, 1988

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{Ladies European Tour player|10275}} * {{LegendsTour player|stefania-croce}} * {{WWGR|1383}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Croce, Stefania}} Category:Italian female golfers Category:Ladies European Tour golfers Category:LPGA Tour golfers Category:Sportspeople from Bergamo Category:1970 births Category:Living people