Melissa Linda Martin is an American professional golf player. She is now more popularly known around the world and among her many fans as just ‘Mo Martin’. The sportswoman was nicknamed ‘Mo’ by her father and the name stuck.
Mo Martin now has a very big fan base around the world and is quite successful in her sport, having won the LPGA championship tour in 2014.
Mo Martin Biography
Mo was born in Pasadena, a city in Los Angeles, California. It was also here that she grew up with her parents. Born on October 8, 1982, the woman is now 36 years old. Mo is said to have begun playing golf right from when she was still a very little child.
Mo was born to a father identified as Allen Martin and a mother called Linda Martin. Her parents have been credited to have helped push her to do great things in the world of golf with their constant encouragement and support.
Her father is specially credited with teaching her how to play golf from an early age. Allen Martin who was a defense attorney taught his daughter how to play golf using a book titled “Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf”. The book was written by Ben Hogan, a legend of the game.
In no time, she was already playing golf really well and, even as a child, stunned adults with her style and precision.
It was also her father who gave her the nickname “Mo”. According to him, he nicknamed the girl ‘Mo’ in reference to the U.S.S. Missouri. The U.S.S. Missouri was a famous battleship of World War II.
Because she had learned how to play golf from an early age, Mo Martin didn’t waste time engaging herself in the sport and before the age of 10, she was already competing as a junior golfer at the Japan World Cup. She competed as a member of Team U.S.A.
In fact, when she was just a mere 8 years old in 1991, Mo won the individual title at the event. She was fascinated with the big crystal trophy she got and even had the chance to meet with the highly respected Crown Prince of Japan.
After she finished elementary school, Mo was offered the opportunity to study and play on scholarship at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
At UCLA, Mo played college golf throughout her four years there. The young woman was so good that in 2002, she was voted the Bruins’ Most Valuable Player after helping the Bruins rise to NCAA National Champions in her junior year. Mo was also a 3-time Academic Honorable Mention selection at the Pioneer Athletic Conference (Pac-10) because of her incredible display on the golf course.
Mo went on to earn her UCLA honors and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2005.
Mo Martin’s Professional Golf Career
After graduating from UCLA, Mo turned professional in 2005 and went on to join the Futures Tour on January 23, 2006. She also took part in the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open. She, however, missed the cut. Mo has often been hailed as a very dedicated woman whose undying hunger for pursuing great things on the golf course is something to reckon with.
In 2010, she was awarded the Futures Tour’s Heather Wilbur Spirit Award because of her “dedication, courage, perseverance, love of the game and spirit toward achieving goals as a professional golfer.” It is noteworthy that she was nominated by her own peers.
In 2011, Mo Martin dazzled fans with her precision on the golf course and earned full playing privileges on the LPGA Tour for the 2012 season having had 1 victory and no less than 11 top-10 finishes.
2012 was a good year for Mo as she finished the season with the number 2 ranking in driving accuracy. In addition to this, she was also ranked number 6 on the Rolex Rookie of the Year list.
In 2013, Mo not only recorded her first hole-in-one on the LPGA Tour, she was also ranked as number 1 on the driving accuracy list in the Kia Classic in Carlsbad, CA.
In 2014, Mo Martin got her biggest victory ever. The young sportswoman won the Women’s British Open in the LPGA Tour. This happened to be her first major championship. It was also her very first LPGA Tour title. This championship victory made Mo the very first former female UCLA golfer ever to win an LPGA Tour title.
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Mo has continued to thrill her many fans with her dazzling steadiness and ‘sharp eye’. In fact, she even led the LPGA Tour in driving accuracy for three consecutive seasons from 2014 to 2017.
In 2018, she finished second in the Evian Championship.
Earnings and Net Worth
Mo Martin has so far earned over $3.11 million in tour winnings around the world. This is according to the official statement by the LPGA as of December 2018. However, this does not include money earned through endorsements. That said, the net worth of the golfer still remains unknown.
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