Ladies of the Links: Featured Player — Lizette Salas
Mar 15th 2021
Lizette Salas was born on July 19,1989 in Azusa, California. She started playing golf at the age of seven under the guidance of her father, who she still credits as her greatest influence. After graduating high school in 2007, Salas attended the University of Southern California (USC) on a golf scholarship.
Salas was named the 2008 Pacific Athletic Conference-10 Freshman of the Year. She added Pac-10 Player of the Year honors the following two years and made First Team All-Pac-10 three consecutive years. Additional collegiate honors included NGCA All-American First Team selection in 2009 and 2011. Salas earned the distinction as the only USC student-athlete to earn All-American honors four years. Although still an amateur, Salas qualified for the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open, missing the cut after shooting 156 over the first two rounds.
In 2011, Salas graduated with a degree in sociology and became the first member of her family to earn a college degree. Turing professional upon graduating, Salas competed in seven Symetra Tour events with a season best tie for 4th at the Island Resort Championship. The highlight of her season was a tie for 15th at the U.S. Women’s Open. Following the season, Salas qualified for the 2012 LPGA season after finishing tied for 20th at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament.
Salas had a strong rookie season in 2012, making 16 cuts in 18 events, earning near a quarter of a million dollars in the process. She recorded a career-low 65 in the first round of the Navistar LPGA Classic and finished a season-best tie for 9th at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia. Her efforts earned her third place in the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year race.
The 2013 season saw Salas take her game to the next level, making the cut in 23 of 24 events, finishing 15th on the money list with over $750,000. She reached $1 million in career earnings after finishing tied for 39th at the CME Group Titleholders. Her career-low round of 62 nearly earned a first LPGA Tour win, losing in a playoff to Suzann Pettersen. Salas was a member of the U.S. Solheim Cup Team for the first time, going 0-1-2 in three matches.
In 2014, Salas earned her first LPGA Tour victory at the Kingsmill Championship Presented by JTBC. In 24 events, she made the cut 20 times including four top-ten finishes. Salas earned just under $670,000 to finish 24th on the money list. Salas followed up her 2014 campaign with another solid run in 2015. She made 22 cuts in 24 events and crossed the $2 million plateau in career earnings after finishing tied for 2nd at the Meijer LPGA Classic. Salas made her second straight Solheim Cup Team, going 1-2-0 in three matches.
Although Salas made 20 cuts in 24 events in 2016, she fell to 58th on the money list. She rebounded in 2017, making the cut in 24 of 27 events and finished 21st on the money list at a shade under $880,000. She recorded eight consecutive top-ten finishes and had a season best tie for 3rd at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship. One of the most accurate off the tee on the tour, Salas was fourth in driving accuracy. In her third Solheim Cup, Salas paces the United States with a 3-1-0 record.
Despite failing to win for the fourth straight season, Salas continued to be one of the most consistent players on tour. She finished with over $800,000 in earnings and missed only two cuts in 24 events. Salas set a career milestone in 2019 by surpassing $1 million in seasonal earnings for the first time. This was in large part due to stellar play in the majors, finishing in the top five at the AIG Women’s British Open and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Salas went 2-2-0 at the Solheim Cup and has a career 6-6-2 record in the event.
Salas made 11 cuts in 13 events in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, but had only one top-ten finish. Off to a slow start in 2021, Salas has failed to break par in four rounds over two events. She is currently the 8th ranked American and 37th in the Rolex World Golf Rankings.