Laura Diaz

[Rusty]

Name: Laura Diaz
Born: April 27, 1975 (age 35)
Laura Philo in Scotia, New York.
Residence: Fernandina Beach, Florida, U.S.
Height: 5 ft 8 in
Nationality: U.S.
Turned professional: 1997
Rookie Year: 1999

Career Best Finish
LPGA victories in 2002 at the Welch’s/Circle K Championship and the LPGA Corning Classic

History
Diaz was born Laura Philo in Scotia, New York. She won the 1995 North and South Women's Amateur Golf Championship at Pinehurst. In 1996 she won the Eastern Women's Amateur Championship and made it to the quarterfinals of the 1996 United States Women's Amateur Golf Championship. A business student at Wake Forest University, Diaz was named the university's 1997 Female Athlete of the Year.

Diaz turned professional in 1997 and spent three years playing on the Futures Tour where she scored three tournament wins. She also played on the Ladies European Tour, where she was rookie of the year in 1998. She joined the LPGA Tour in 1999 and has earned two victories, both coming in the 2002 season when she had ten top-10 finishes. Prior to 2000, she competed as Laura Philo before marrying her husband, Kevin Diaz, and taking his last name.

Born into a family that has a never-ending passion for the game of golf, it is no surprise that Laura Diaz is one of the top female golfers in the world. The youngest of three, Laura had a golf club in her hands when she was just one year old. She began playing competitive golf around the age of nine. Laura was soon competing with her father and her older brother - both currently PGA golf professionals - for family bragging rights.

Laura is a graduate of Wake Forest University, where she was the 1995 Atlantic Coast Conference champion, a First-Team All America from 1996-1997, and Female Athlete of the Year in 1997. During her four year career she helped the Deacons win 12 team titles and was recently inducted into the Wake Forest Hall of Fame. After turning pro in 1997, Laura won three times on the Futures Tour, and in 1998 was named Rookie of the Year on the Women Professional Golfer's European Tour.

Laura made her rookie debut on the LPGA Tour in 1999. In 2002, Laura had a blockbuster year on the LPGA Tour, netting two victories and 10 top-ten finishes. In 2000, Laura married her best friend, and current caddie, Kevin Diaz. In 2006 they welcomed the first addition to their family, a son named Robert Cooper. Although professional golf demands a lot from Laura she always manages to find time for her top priority, her family.

In her nine seasons on the Tour Laura has recorded two career victories, 52 top-ten finishes, competed in four Solheim Cups, and is currently ranked 30th on the all-time money list.