Sophia Popov

Last updated

Sophia Popov
Sophia Popov (cropped).jpg
Popov in 2019
Personal information
Born (1992-10-02) 2 October 1992 (age 32) [1]
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. [2] [3]
Height5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Sporting nationalityFlag of Germany.svg  Germany
Residence Weingarten, Germany
SpouseMax Mehles [4]
Children1 [4]
Career
College Southern California
Turned professional2014 [2]
Current tour(s) LPGA Tour
Symetra Tour
Professional wins4
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour1
Ladies European Tour1
Other3
Best results in LPGA major championships
(wins: 1)
Chevron Championship T44: 2022
Women's PGA C'ship T23: 2020
U.S. Women's Open T26: 2024
Women's British Open Won: 2020
Evian Championship T60: 2021

Sophia Popov (born 2 October 1992) is a German professional golfer who competes on the LPGA Tour. [5]

Contents

Personal life

Popov holds dual United States-German citizenship, having been born in the United States, and moved to Germany with her family when she was four years old. [2] Her paternal grandparents are Bulgarian. [6] On 11 June 2023, she and husband Max Mehles announced the birth of their daughter. [4]

Amateur career

As an amateur, she played college golf at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. [7] She won the 2010 International European Ladies Amateur Championship and played on the Junior Solheim Cup and Espirito Santo Trophy teams. [6]

Professional career

In 2015, Popov was part of the German broadcast team for German television during the Solheim Cup. [8]

Popov played on the Symetra Tour between 2016 and 2020, where she had a best of four runner-up finishes: 2016 Chico's Patty Berg Memorial, 2016 Danielle Downey Credit Union Classic, 2017 Tullymore Classic and 2020 Founders Tribute at Longbow. [9] [10] In 2016, she qualified for the U.S. Women's Open at CordeValle, [11] where she finished last of those making the cut, and in 2018 she played in the Women's PGA Championship at Kemper Lakes, finishing tied for 57th place.

In February 2019, Popov came within a stroke of gaining a place on the LPGA Tour for the 2019 season via the qualifying school. In 2020, with the LPGA and Symetra tours being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, she won three tournaments on the Cactus Tour, a mini-tour based in Arizona. She followed that up with victory in the AIG Women's Open at Royal Troon, having qualified by means of a high finish at the Marathon Classic. Prior to the Women's Open, Popov was ranked 304th in the world. [12]

Amateur wins

Source: [13] [5]

Professional wins (4)

LPGA Tour wins (1)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other LPGA Tour (0)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner-up
123 Aug 2020 AIG Women's Open −7 (70-72-67-68=277)2 strokes Flag of Thailand.svg Thidapa Suwannapura

Cactus Tour wins (3)

Major championships

Wins (1)

YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-up
2020 AIG Women's Open 3 shot lead−7 (70-72-67-68=277)2 strokes Flag of Thailand.svg Thidapa Suwannapura

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order.

! Tournament20112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
Chevron Championship T60T44CUT
U.S. Women's Open 72T40CUTCUTT26
Women's PGA Championship CUTT57T23CUTCUTCUT
The Evian Championship NTT60CUTCUT
Women's British Open 67 1 CUTCUTCUT
  Win
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
T = tied

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

Solheim Cup record

YearTotal
matches
Total
W–L–H
Singles
W–L–H
Foursomes
W–L–H
Fourballs
W–L–H
Points
won
Points
%
Career30–3–00–1–00–0–00–2–000.0
2021 30–3–00–1–0 lost to M. Khang 3&20–0–00–2–0 lost w/ C. Ciganda 1 dn
lost w/ C. Boutier 3&1
00.0

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caroline Hedwall</span> Swedish professional golfer

Caroline Ingrid Hedwall is a Swedish professional golfer who plays on the Ladies European Tour (LET) and the LPGA Tour. In 2013 she became the first player to win five matches in a single Solheim Cup event. As an amateur she was a dominating player, winning the European Ladies Amateur Championship as well as the individual titles at the Espirito Santo Trophy and the NCAA Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caroline Masson</span> German professional golfer

Caroline Masson is a German professional golfer, currently playing on the Ladies European Tour (LET).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madelene Sagström</span> Swedish professional golfer

Madelene Maria Sagström is a Swedish professional golfer who plays on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. She won the 2020 Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio and was runner-up at the 2021 Women's British Open.

Nanna Koerstz Madsen is a Danish professional golfer who plays on the American LPGA Tour and maintains membership of the Ladies European Tour (LET). She won the 2022 Honda LPGA Thailand and made history becoming the first Dane to win an LPGA Tour event. She played in the 2021 Solheim Cup and represented Denmark at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro where she finished tied for 13th, and at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo where she finished tied for 9th.

Caroline Westrup is a Norwegian-Swedish professional golfer. She represented Sweden until she acquired Norwegian citizenship in 2015.

Linnea Ström is a Swedish professional golfer. She joined the U.S.-based LPGA Tour after graduating from the Symetra Tour as 2018 Rookie of the Year. She was solo second at the 2022 Madrid Ladies Open and 2023 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship before winning the 2024 ShopRite LPGA Classic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Céline Boutier</span> French professional golfer

Céline Boutier is a French professional golfer who plays on the Ladies European Tour and the LPGA Tour. She has multiple wins on both tours including one major, the 2023 Evian Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne van Dam</span> Dutch golfer

Anne van Dam is a Dutch professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour, where she has five wins. She played in the 2019 Solheim Cup and the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Frida Mikaela Kinhult is a Swedish professional golfer. She rose to world number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking in June 2019 and won the 2020 Symetra Tour Championship to graduate to the LPGA Tour.

Gemma Dryburgh is a Scottish professional golfer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esther Henseleit</span> German professional golfer

Esther Henseleit is a German professional golfer and member of the Ladies European Tour and LPGA Tour. She won the silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Amy Boulden is a Welsh professional golfer who plays on the Ladies European Tour.

Matilda Maria Castrén is a Finnish professional golfer playing on the LPGA Tour. In 2021 she won the LPGA Mediheal Championship to become the first player from Finland to win on the LPGA Tour.

Morgane Métraux is a Swiss professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour (LET). In 2021, she won the Symetra Tour's Island Resort Championship, which helped her graduate to the LPGA Tour. In 2022, she won the Ladies Italian Open and in 2024 the Jabra Ladies Open in France.

Agathe Laisné is a French professional golfer. She won the 2017 European Ladies Amateur and the 2023 Florida's Natural Charity Classic.

María Parra Luque is a professional golfer from Spain who played on the Ladies European Tour and the LPGA Tour already as a teenager. She won the 2015 European Ladies Amateur and rose to No. 2 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

Laura Gonzalez Escallon is a professional golfer from Belgium who has played on the LPGA Tour and the Symetra Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elisa Serramià</span> Spanish professional golfer

Elisa Serramià Neundorf is a Spanish professional golfer who played on the Ladies European Tour and the U.S-based LPGA Tour. She won British Ladies Amateur in 2003 and was LET Rookie of the Year in 2005.

Harang Lee is a Spanish professional golfer and member of the Ladies European Tour (LET) who has played on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour.

Olivia Mehaffey is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who plays on the Ladies European Tour.

References

  1. "Sophia Popov". Golfdata. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 "Sophia Popov Makes Pro Debut in Germany". Ladies European Tour. 16 July 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  3. "In The Winner's Circle With Sophia Popov". LPGA. 23 August 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 Kellam, Sarah (11 June 2023). "Sophia Popov Becomes Latest LPGAMom". LPGA. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Sophia Popov LPGA Bio". LPGA. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Players at the Lalla Aïcha Tour School PQ A: Sophia Popov". LET Access Series. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  7. "USC Nails Down Spot Into 3rd Straight NCAA Match Play Bracket". University of Southern California. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  8. "Healthier Sophia Popov Ready for 2016". LPGA. 18 February 2016. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  9. "Sophia Popov – Results". Symetra Tour. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  10. "The Path to LPGA Qualifying School Stage III - Sophia Popov". LPGA. 22 November 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  11. Monaco, Lou. "Southwest Florida golf: Naples' Sophia Popov qualifies for U.S. Women's Open". Naples Daily News . Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  12. Scrivener, Peter (23 August 2020). "Women's Open: Sophia Popov wins at Royal Troon by two shots". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  13. "Sophia Popov". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  14. "The Cactus Tour".
  15. "Mannschafts-Europameisterschaften, Mädschen" (PDF). golf.de, German Golf Federation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.