Lauri Merten

"Lauri Peterson" redirects here. For the television personality, see The Real Housewives of Orange County.

Lauri Merten (born July 6, 1960) is an American professional golfer. She also competed under the names Lauri Peterson (1983–87) and Lauri Merten-Peterson (1988).

Lauri Merten
Personal information
Born	(1960-07-06) July 6, 1960 (age 65) Waukesha, Wisconsin, U.S.
Sporting nationality	United States
Career
College	Arizona State University
Turned professional	1983
Former tour(s)	LPGA Tour (1983–97)
Professional wins	3
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour	3
Best results in LPGA major championships (wins: 1)
Chevron Championship	T13: 1985
Women's PGA C'ship	2nd: 1993
U.S. Women's Open	Won: 1993
du Maurier Classic	T30: 1993

Merten was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin. She attended Arizona State University and joined the LPGA Tour in 1983.

Merten's three wins on the LPGA Tour came at the 1983 Rail Charity Golf Classic, the 1984 Jamie Farr Toledo Classic and the 1993 U.S. Women's Open, which is one of the LPGA's major championships.

When she retired, Merten claimed burnout was the cause. Another factor was undoubtedly the unwanted attention surrounding the murder conviction of her brother-in-law Thomas Capano in 1996.^[1]

Professional wins

LPGA Tour wins (3)

Legend
LPGA Tour major championships (1)
Other LPGA Tour (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Sep 5, 1983	Rail Charity Golf Classic	−6 (68-70-72=210)	Playoff	Judy Ellis
2	Jul 8, 1984	Jamie Farr Toledo Classic	−10 (68-72-65-73=278)	2 strokes	Nancy Lopez
3	Jul 25, 1993	U.S. Women's Open	−8 (71-71-70-68=280)	1 stroke	Helen Alfredsson Donna Andrews

LPGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1983	Rail Charity Golf Classic	Judy Ellis	Won with par on first extra hole

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Margin	Runners-up
1993	U.S. Women's Open	−8 (71-71-70-68=280)	1 stroke	Helen Alfredsson, Donna Andrews