Erica Blasberg
Encyclopedia
Erica Paige Blasberg was an American
golf
er who played on the LPGA Tour.
, and raised in Corona, California
. She attended Corona High School where she played on the boys' golf team.
and lost in the quarterfinals. In 2003, she reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Women's Amateur. She attended the University of Arizona
and was the country's number 1 ranked college player as a freshman, compiling six victories before leaving in her sophomore year to turn pro. She was an All-America
golfer in 2003 and 2004, NCAA
Freshman of the Year in 2003, Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2003, and won the Golfists Cup, awarded for the NCAA women's lowest stroke average, in 2003. In 2004 she was on the winning United States Curtis Cup
team.
that season. She won the Laconia Savings Bank Golf Classic and en route to her first professional win broke the Tour's 18 hole scoring record, shooting a 62. She earned non-exempt status for the LPGA Tour at the 2004 LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament.
Blasberg started on the LPGA Tour in 2005, making the cut in most of her early events but not contending for top positions. She was disqualified from the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship in May 2005 when she left the scoring tent without signing her card. Blasberg later told reporters that the rule infraction was poorly handled by the officials and that she should not have received a penalty. The next week she made a hole in one and won a Mercury
SUV. At mid-season she fired her caddie, because she "needed a change." She ended 2005 109th on the money list. She was chosen to play in the 2005 Lexus Cup
, where she won two matches and halved another, including a 98 yard hole out on the 18th to win a match. In 2006, despite a late season rally she once again finished just outside the top one hundred on the money list, but a successful tournament at Qualifying School in the fall of 2006 won her exempt status for 2007 — the first and only time in her career she had exempt status on the LPGA Tour.
In 2007, she finished 104th on the money list. She chose not to return to Qualifying School, leaving her once again as a non-exempt player for 2008. In 2008 her results were only marginally better than in 2007. She played 23 tournaments and, while she did earn the only top-10 finish of her career, she again finished near the bottom of the LPGA money list.
She returned again to Qualifying School in 2009 in an attempt to improve her status on Tour for the 2010 but withdrew after shooting rounds of 72 and 78 in the final stage of the Tournament. She entered 2010 with limited playing opportunities and played just one tournament, the Tres Marias Championship in Morelia, Mexico where she finished tied for 44th after Monday qualifying for the event. During the tournament week, Blasberg participated in a "Back to College" event at which she joined fellow players Mina Harigae and Mariajo Uribe in visiting student-athletes at the Universidad Latina De America in Morelia to answer questions on golf and education.
Blasberg was considered one of the LPGA's more photogenic players and in February 2006 Puma
signed her to endorse and wear their clothing. ESPN radio once compared her to Natalie Gulbis
, an LPGA golfer who did a swimsuit calendar.
home on the afternoon of May 9, 2010, according to local police dispatched in response to a 911 call by Dr. Thomas Hess around 3:00 PM (PT
). In an interview with the Riverside County Press-Enterprise on May 10, Blasberg's father, Mel Blasberg, was quoted saying, "At first glance it looks like she might have taken her own life, but at second glance, something is very, very strange about it. We're waiting for the police to make an investigation." Missy Pederson, who was supposed to be Blasberg's caddy at a May 10 qualifying round for the Bell Micro LPGA Classic
in Mobile, Alabama
, told the New York Times that Blasberg had sent her a text in the early morning hours of May 9. In the message, Blasberg told Pederson she was not going to play in the tournament. A worried Pederson sent a text back to Blasberg, asking if she was all right, but Blasberg never replied. However, Blasberg's agent revealed that Blasberg's bags were packed at the time of her death.
On May 13, 2010, police in Henderson, Nevada
, executed a search warrant for the home and office of Hess in the ongoing investigation into Blasberg's death. The search warrant listed an anti-anxiety medication, Xanax, plastic garbage bags, and a sample of Hess's handwriting. An inventory of the materials seized in the search of Hess's house included two computers, a cell phone, two video cameras and a GPS unit. A computer and white trash bags were seized from Hess's office. CBS also reported that a white trash bag, similar to the one seized from Hess's office or home, was found near Blasberg's body. Blasberg's father appeared on The Early Show
on June 2, 2010, and denied that his daughter was clinically depressed, having financial troubles or was otherwise unhappy with her recent performances.
On August 24, 2010, the Clark County coroner's office ruled Blasberg's death a suicide. Asphyxia
was cited as the primary cause, with multiple prescription drugs named as an additional "significant factor." The drugs in Blasberg’s system included butalbital, temazepam, alprazolam (Xanax), codeine, hydrocodone, and tramadol, according to the coroner. Nevada law does not permit the release of details on the amounts of medication.
Henderson police said foul play was not suspected, but issued an arrest warrant for Hess, who discovered the body, on obstruction of justice charges. In November 2010, Hess admitted to removing a suicide note and prescription pills from the scene "to spare the family embarrassment.” He pled guilty to misdemeanor obstruction, and was sentenced to one year’s probation and 40 hours of community service. The details of the handwritten suicide note revealed that Blasberg had attempted suicide many times in the months leading up to her death, and that she admitted to being lonely and feeling tormented by the lack of success in her golf career.
DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.
1Money list ranking as of May 2, 2010, at the end of her last tournament.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
er who played on the LPGA Tour.
Early life
Blasberg was born in Orange, CaliforniaOrange, California
Southern California is well-known for year-round pleasant weather: - On average, the warmest month is August. - The highest recorded temperature was in 1985. - On average, the coolest month is December. - The lowest recorded temperature was in 1950...
, and raised in Corona, California
Corona, California
Corona is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 152,374, up from 124,966 at the 2000 census...
. She attended Corona High School where she played on the boys' golf team.
Amateur career
As an amateur, Blasberg was the medalist at the 2000 U.S. Girls' JuniorUnited States Girls' Junior Golf Championship
The United States Girls' Junior Championship is one of the thirteen U.S. national golf championships organized by the United States Golf Association. It is open to amateur girls who are under 18 on the last day of the competition and have a USGA handicap index of 18.4 or less...
and lost in the quarterfinals. In 2003, she reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Women's Amateur. She attended the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
and was the country's number 1 ranked college player as a freshman, compiling six victories before leaving in her sophomore year to turn pro. She was an All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
golfer in 2003 and 2004, NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Freshman of the Year in 2003, Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2003, and won the Golfists Cup, awarded for the NCAA women's lowest stroke average, in 2003. In 2004 she was on the winning United States Curtis Cup
Curtis Cup
The Curtis Cup is the best known team trophy for women amateur golfers, awarded in the biennial Curtis Cup Match . It is co-organised by the United States Golf Association and the Ladies Golf Union and is contested by teams representing the United States and "Great Britain and Ireland"...
team.
Professional career
Blasberg turned professional in June 2004 and played on the Futures TourFUTURES Tour
The LPGA Futures Tour, previously styled in uppercase as FUTURES Tour and known for sponsorship reasons between 2006 and 2010 as the Duramed FUTURES Tour, is the official developmental golf tour of the LPGA Tour...
that season. She won the Laconia Savings Bank Golf Classic and en route to her first professional win broke the Tour's 18 hole scoring record, shooting a 62. She earned non-exempt status for the LPGA Tour at the 2004 LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament.
Blasberg started on the LPGA Tour in 2005, making the cut in most of her early events but not contending for top positions. She was disqualified from the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship in May 2005 when she left the scoring tent without signing her card. Blasberg later told reporters that the rule infraction was poorly handled by the officials and that she should not have received a penalty. The next week she made a hole in one and won a Mercury
Mercury (automobile)
Mercury was an automobile marque of the Ford Motor Company launched in 1938 by Edsel Ford, son of Henry Ford, to market entry-level luxury cars slotted between Ford-branded regular models and Lincoln-branded luxury vehicles, similar to General Motors' Buick brand, and Chrysler's namesake brand...
SUV. At mid-season she fired her caddie, because she "needed a change." She ended 2005 109th on the money list. She was chosen to play in the 2005 Lexus Cup
Lexus Cup
The Lexus Cup was an annual golf tournament played between 2005 and 2008 for professional women golfers contested by a team representing Asia and an international team representing the rest of the world. It was sanctioned by the LPGA Tour, but any winnings were unofficial and were not included in...
, where she won two matches and halved another, including a 98 yard hole out on the 18th to win a match. In 2006, despite a late season rally she once again finished just outside the top one hundred on the money list, but a successful tournament at Qualifying School in the fall of 2006 won her exempt status for 2007 — the first and only time in her career she had exempt status on the LPGA Tour.
In 2007, she finished 104th on the money list. She chose not to return to Qualifying School, leaving her once again as a non-exempt player for 2008. In 2008 her results were only marginally better than in 2007. She played 23 tournaments and, while she did earn the only top-10 finish of her career, she again finished near the bottom of the LPGA money list.
She returned again to Qualifying School in 2009 in an attempt to improve her status on Tour for the 2010 but withdrew after shooting rounds of 72 and 78 in the final stage of the Tournament. She entered 2010 with limited playing opportunities and played just one tournament, the Tres Marias Championship in Morelia, Mexico where she finished tied for 44th after Monday qualifying for the event. During the tournament week, Blasberg participated in a "Back to College" event at which she joined fellow players Mina Harigae and Mariajo Uribe in visiting student-athletes at the Universidad Latina De America in Morelia to answer questions on golf and education.
Blasberg was considered one of the LPGA's more photogenic players and in February 2006 Puma
PUMA AG
Puma SE, officially branded as PUMA, is a major German multinational company that produces high-end athletic shoes, lifestyle footwear and other sportswear. Formed in 1924 as Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik by Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, relationships between the two brothers deteriorated until the two...
signed her to endorse and wear their clothing. ESPN radio once compared her to Natalie Gulbis
Natalie Gulbis
Natalie Anne Gulbis is an American professional golfer of Latvian descent who plays on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour.-Golf career:...
, an LPGA golfer who did a swimsuit calendar.
Death
Blasberg was found dead with a plastic bag secured over her head at her Henderson, NevadaHenderson, Nevada
-Demographics:According to the 2000 census, there were 175,381 people, 66,331 households, and 47,095 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,200.8 people per square mile . There were 71,149 housing units at an average density of 892.8 per square mile...
home on the afternoon of May 9, 2010, according to local police dispatched in response to a 911 call by Dr. Thomas Hess around 3:00 PM (PT
Pacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...
). In an interview with the Riverside County Press-Enterprise on May 10, Blasberg's father, Mel Blasberg, was quoted saying, "At first glance it looks like she might have taken her own life, but at second glance, something is very, very strange about it. We're waiting for the police to make an investigation." Missy Pederson, who was supposed to be Blasberg's caddy at a May 10 qualifying round for the Bell Micro LPGA Classic
Bell Micro LPGA Classic
The Avnet LPGA Classic is a women's progessional golf tournament on the LPGA Tour. The event is played in Mobile, Alabama, USA.The inaugural event was played from September 11 through 14, 2008, at the Magnolia Grove location on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, with total prize money of $1.4...
in Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, told the New York Times that Blasberg had sent her a text in the early morning hours of May 9. In the message, Blasberg told Pederson she was not going to play in the tournament. A worried Pederson sent a text back to Blasberg, asking if she was all right, but Blasberg never replied. However, Blasberg's agent revealed that Blasberg's bags were packed at the time of her death.
On May 13, 2010, police in Henderson, Nevada
Henderson, Nevada
-Demographics:According to the 2000 census, there were 175,381 people, 66,331 households, and 47,095 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,200.8 people per square mile . There were 71,149 housing units at an average density of 892.8 per square mile...
, executed a search warrant for the home and office of Hess in the ongoing investigation into Blasberg's death. The search warrant listed an anti-anxiety medication, Xanax, plastic garbage bags, and a sample of Hess's handwriting. An inventory of the materials seized in the search of Hess's house included two computers, a cell phone, two video cameras and a GPS unit. A computer and white trash bags were seized from Hess's office. CBS also reported that a white trash bag, similar to the one seized from Hess's office or home, was found near Blasberg's body. Blasberg's father appeared on The Early Show
The Early Show
The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...
on June 2, 2010, and denied that his daughter was clinically depressed, having financial troubles or was otherwise unhappy with her recent performances.
On August 24, 2010, the Clark County coroner's office ruled Blasberg's death a suicide. Asphyxia
Asphyxia
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from being unable to breathe normally. An example of asphyxia is choking. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which primarily affects the tissues and organs...
was cited as the primary cause, with multiple prescription drugs named as an additional "significant factor." The drugs in Blasberg’s system included butalbital, temazepam, alprazolam (Xanax), codeine, hydrocodone, and tramadol, according to the coroner. Nevada law does not permit the release of details on the amounts of medication.
Henderson police said foul play was not suspected, but issued an arrest warrant for Hess, who discovered the body, on obstruction of justice charges. In November 2010, Hess admitted to removing a suicide note and prescription pills from the scene "to spare the family embarrassment.” He pled guilty to misdemeanor obstruction, and was sentenced to one year’s probation and 40 hours of community service. The details of the handwritten suicide note revealed that Blasberg had attempted suicide many times in the months leading up to her death, and that she admitted to being lonely and feeling tormented by the lack of success in her golf career.
Results in LPGA majors
| Tournament | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft Nabisco Championship Kraft Nabisco Championship The Kraft Nabisco Championship is one of the four major championships on the LPGA Tour. It was founded in 1972 by Dinah Shore and has been classified as a major since 1983... |
CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| LPGA Championship LPGA Championship The LPGA Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Wegmans LPGA Championship, is the second-longest running tournament in the history of the Ladies Professional Golf Association surpassed only by the U.S. Women's Open. It is one of four majors on the LPGA tour... |
DNP | DNP | DNP | T76 | CUT | CUT | – |
| U.S. Women's Open | CUT | DNP | DNP | T39 | DNP | DNP | – |
| Women's British Open Women's British Open The Women's British Open is a leading event in women's professional golf and the only tournament which is classified as a major championship by both the Ladies European Tour and the LPGA Tour. Since 2007, it has been called the Ricoh Women's British Open, for sponsorship reasons... |
DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T64 | DNP | – |
DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.
LPGA Tour career summary
| Year | Tournaments played | Cuts made | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top 10s | Best finish | Official earnings ($) | Money list rank | Scoring average | Scoring rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 2003 LPGA Tour The 2003 LPGA Tour was the 54th season since the LPGA Tour officially began in 1950. The season ran from March 13 to November 23. The season consisted of 31 official money events. Annika Sörenstam won the most tournaments, six... |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | T49 | n/a | n/a | 68.75 | n/a |
| 2004 2004 LPGA Tour The 2004 LPGA Tour was a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from around the world which took place from March through December 2004. The tournaments were sanctioned by the United States based Ladies Professional Golf Association . This was the 55th season since the LPGA Tour... |
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | MC | n/a | n/a | 75.83 | n/a |
| 2005 2005 LPGA Tour The 2005 LPGA Tour was a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from around the world which took place from February through December 2005. The tournaments were sanctioned by the United States based Ladies Professional Golf Association... |
16 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | T31 | 52,522 | T109 | 73.23 | 75 |
| 2006 2006 LPGA Tour The 2006 LPGA Tour was a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from around the world which took place from February through December 2006. The tournaments were sanctioned by the United States based Ladies Professional Golf Association... |
16 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | T25 | 62,477 | 112 | 72.37 | 58 |
| 2007 2007 LPGA Tour The 2007 LPGA Tour was a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from around the world that took place from February through December 2007. The tournaments were sanctioned by the United States based Ladies Professional Golf Association... |
19 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | T18 | 72,037 | 104 | 73.45 | 80 |
| 2008 2008 LPGA Tour The 2008 LPGA Tour was a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from around the world that took place from February through December 2008. The tournaments were sanctioned by the United States based Ladies Professional Golf Association... |
23 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | T8 | 113,428 | 94 | 73.09 | 96 |
| 2009 2009 LPGA Tour The 2009 LPGA Tour was a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from around the world that took place from February through November 2009. The tournaments were sanctioned by the United States based Ladies Professional Golf Association .... |
17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | T36 | 26,408 | 128 | 73.55 | 113 |
| 2010 2010 LPGA Tour The 2010 LPGA Tour was a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from around the world that began in Thailand on February 13, 2010 and ended in Florida on December 5, 2010... |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | T44 | 5,544 | 971 | 73.00 | n/a |
1Money list ranking as of May 2, 2010, at the end of her last tournament.