Gerina Piller
American professional golfer (born 1985)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gerina Michelle Mendoza Piller (born March 29, 1985) is an American professional golfer, currently playing on the LPGA Tour. She turned pro in 2007 following a decorated career as a collegiate golfer at the University of Texas El Paso. In 2009, Mendoza appeared on the Golf Channel reality television competition The Big Break.[2]
United States| Gerina Piller | |
|---|---|
Piller in 2013 | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Gerina Michelle Mendoza Piller |
| Born | March 29, 1985 Roswell, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) |
| Sporting nationality | United States |
| Residence | Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.[1] |
| Spouse | Martin Piller (m. 2011) |
| Children | 1 |
| Career | |
| College | Texas-El Paso |
| Turned professional | 2007 |
| Current tour | LPGA Tour (joined 2010) |
| Former tour | Futures Tour (2007–10) |
| Best results in LPGA major championships | |
| Chevron Championship | T6: 2016 |
| Women's PGA C'ship | T6: 2012 |
| U.S. Women's Open | T5: 2019 |
| Women's British Open | T36: 2013, 2015 |
| Evian Championship | T9: 2016 |
Early life and amateur career
In 1985, she was born in Roswell, New Mexico. Gerina Mendoza attended Goddard High School and won the state golf championship in 2003 and also was an all-state volleyball player.[3]
In 2003, she enrolled in at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). She played all four years, winning four tournaments in her senior year. She was the 2007 Conference USA individual champion, Player of the Year, and the UTEP Female Athlete of the Year.[3][4]
Professional career
In 2007, Mendoza turned pro. She attempted to qualify that fall for the LPGA Tour. She did not succeed and played in 2008 on the Futures Tour. Mendoza attempted again to qualify for the LPGA Tour in 2008, again failing.
In an airing of 2009, filmed at an unknown time, Mendoza appeared on Big Break Prince Edward Island. Six women and six men competed for a grand prize of $100,000 in cash. Contestant Derek was the only male to reach the final four and prevailed in a 2-hole elimination match with Gerina by 1 stroke.[2]
In 2009, she earned conditional status on the LPGA Tour for 2010 and played the entire season on the Duramed Futures Tour, where she recorded seven top-10 finishes and a career-best tie for second at both the iMPACT Classic and the USI Championship.[4] She finished 5th on the Futures Tour money list in 2010, earning her full playing privileges on the LPGA Tour for 2011.
She finished 68th on the LPGA official money list in 2012, retaining her full playing card for 2012. Piller improved in 2012, with two top-ten finishes and a 48th-place finish on the year-end LPGA official money list.
Personal life
Mendoza married fellow professional golfer Martin Piller in January 2011.[5] They live in Flower Mound, Texas.[6][7] She is of Mexican American descent.[8]
Piller took a sabbatical from the LPGA Tour in 2018 due to the birth of her first child.[9][10]
Results in LPGA majors
Results not in chronological order before 2019.
| Tournament | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevron Championship | CUT | T41 | T11 | T20 | T6 | T35 | CUT | CUT | T40 | |||
| U.S. Women's Open | T50 | T31 | T63 | T53 | T8 | T33 | T5 | CUT | ||||
| Women's PGA Championship | CUT | T6 | CUT | T13 | T9 | T12 | T14 | CUT | CUT | T40 | T68 | |
| The Evian Championship ^ | T67 | 69 | T29 | T9 | T26 | T44 | NT | CUT | ||||
| Women's British Open | CUT | CUT | T36 | CUT | T36 | T50 | CUT | T70 | CUT | T48 | ||
^ The Evian Championship was added as a major in 2013
CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
T = tied
Summary
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevron Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 6 |
| U.S. Women's Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 7 |
| Women's PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 7 |
| The Evian Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 |
| Women's British Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 5 |
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 45 | 31 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 15 (2014 LPGA – 2017 U.S. Open)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (six times)
LPGA Tour career summary
| Year | Tournaments played | Cuts made* | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top 10s | Best finish | Earnings ($) | Money list rank | Scoring average | Scoring rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 14 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | T10 | 103,322 | 68 | 72.75 | 61 |
| 2012 | 24 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | T6 | 258,395 | 48 | 71.41 | 64 |
| 2013 | 26 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 572,690 | 26 | 71.22 | 23 |
| 2014 | 26 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | T3 | 466,497 | 39 | 71.38 | 26 |
| 2015 | 26 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | T2 | 727,681 | 18 | 71.21 | 21 |
| 2016 | 23 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 | T2 | 842,899 | 19 | 70.58 | 17 |
| 2017 | 22 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | T3 | 541,977 | 34 | 70.60 | 26 |
| 2018 | Maternity leave | ||||||||||
| 2019 | 23 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | T5 | 320,502 | 62 | 72.47 | 122 |
| 2020 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | T33 | 37,411 | 115 | 72.74 | 94 |
| 2021 | 21 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | T9 | 199,594 | 84 | 71.26 | 62 |
| 2022 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | T6 | 152,172 | 104 | 72.28 | 120 |
| 2023 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | T22 | 35,860 | 166 | 70.10 | n/a |
- Official through 2023 season.[11]
* Includes matchplay and other events without a cut.
World ranking
Team appearances
Professional
- Solheim Cup (representing the United States): 2013, 2015 (winners), 2017 (winners)
- International Crown (representing the United States): 2016 (winners)
Solheim Cup record
| Year | Total Matches | Total W–L–H | Singles W–L–H | Foursomes W–L–H | Fourballs W–L–H | Points Won | Points % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | 11 | 5–4–2 | 2–0–1 | 1–2–0 | 2–2–1 | 6 | 54.6 |
| 2013 | 3 | 0–2–1 | 0–0–1 halved w/ C. Matthew | 0–0–0 | 0–2–0 lost w/ A. Stanford 2&1 lost w/ A. Stanford 1 dn |
0.5 | 16.7 |
| 2015 | 4 | 3–0–1 | 1–0–0 def. C. Masson 1 up | 1–0–0 won w/ S. Lewis 5&4 | 1–0–1 halved w/ B.Lang won w/ S. Lewis 1 up |
3.5 | 87.5 |
| 2017 | 4 | 2–2–0 | 1–0–0 def. F. Parker 4&2 | 0–2–0 lost w/ S. Lewis 1 dn lost w/ S. Lewis 2&1 |
1–0–0 won w/ S. Lewis 2&1 | 2 | 50.0 |
