Carlota Ciganda

CARLOTA_CIGANDA_1Born in Pamplona, Spain, Carlota started to play golf at age five, influenced by her father. 

She turned professional in May 2011, making her debut the following month at the Tenerife Ladies Match Play where she finished second. She competed on the Ladies European Tour Access Series that season, winning the Murcia Ladies Open. 

In her first full season on the 2012 Ladies European Tour, Ciganda won the ISPS Handa Order of Merit and was also named Players' Player of the Year. She played in 19 tournaments, with two victories at the Deloitte Ladies Open and the China Suzhou Taihu Open and had ten additional top-10 finishes. Her efforts won her the LET Rookie of the Year award and she ended the season ranked second on the European Solheim Cup.

Career Highlights:

Olympics

  • 2016 Rio Olympics
  • 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Career Highlights: 2023

  • 17 cuts made, $1,096,662
  • Recorded six top-10 finishes, including two third place results at the Portland Classic and the KPMG Women's PGA Championship
  • Represented the Team Europe at the Solheim Cup in Spain

Career Highlights: 2022

  • 17 cuts made, $826,614
  • Recorded three top-10 finishes, including a season-best third place result at the Amundi Evian Championship

Career Highlights: 2021

  • 19 cuts made, $329,944
  • Recorded two top-10 finishes, including a season-best T5 result at the Cambia Portland Classic
  • Represented the European Solheim Cup Team
  • Represented Spain at the Tokyo Olympics

Career Highlights: 2020

  • 11 cuts made, $477,707
  • Recorded three top-10 finishes, including a season-best T3 result at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship

Career Highlights: 2019

  • 22 cuts made, $998,654
  • Won the inaugural season-long Aon Risk Reward Challenge and $1 million prize
  • Posted eight top-10 finishes including in three of the five major championships and a season-best runner-up finish at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup
  • Member of the European Solheim Cup team with an overall record of 6-6-4

Career Highlights: 2018

  • 25 events, 22 cuts made, $1,244,610 (8)
  • Had a career-best nine top-10 finishes and finished a career-best eighth on the LPGA Official Money List with $1,244,610
  • Crossed the $4 million mark in career earnings with career-best finishes at both the U.S. Women's Open (third) and the Ricoh Women's British Open
  • Ranked second in rounds under par (68), seventh in rounds in the 60s (42) and eighth in scoring average (70.09)

Carlota and her journey in her own words:
I began playing golf at the age of 5 with my father at the local course where my parents live. My dad has been a big influence on my career, always supporting and never pushing me. I come from a very sporting family, my uncle (dads brother) played soccer (1st division) for Athletic Bilbao and Spain. Growing up I played tennis, soccer, swimming and golf. At the age of 8 I went to my first Spanish Championship. Over the coming years I represented Spain in numerous International events and also represented Europe in the junior Ryder Cup and junior Solheim Cup. I won the European individual Championship at the age of 14 and British amateur when I was 17, and finished 2nd as a team at the World Amateur in Australia. At the age of 18 I was invited to visit Arizona State University and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Coming to college in the states not only helped with my golf game but also I grew a lot as a person. Being far from home made me realize who were the important people in my life. I had such a great time playing for the team. We won 5 out of the 8 events of the year during my first semester, including regionals, conference (pac10) and national championships. I won back to back pac10 and I was an all American every year.

In 2012, I decided to turn professional and started my career in Europe. I played on the European Tour for 2 years, which included 2 victories during my rookie season as well as Player of the Year and Rookie of the year awards. In 2014 I decided to play more on the LPGA. I wanted to compete against the best players in the world. I have played 4 full years on the LPGA, winning twice and representing Europe at the past 3 Solheim Cups. I am currently ranked 22nd in the world and I am looking to climb the rankings this coming year. I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to practice/ play at Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club. I am excited to meet my new friends at Superstition.