Six-time Ladies European Tour winner Melissa Reid is one of the best English players currently on the scene, ranked 109th in the Rolex Women’s Rankings.
She may not tower like some of the other current female players—Reid is 5’8″—but this hasn’t stopped her from achieving success.
Well known for her humor, Reid has been vocal in tackling some of the injustices she perceives women’s golf to have. She has hit out over inequality, going on record saying that the Ladies European Tour (LET) needs help to continue as female golfers are being forced to take part-time jobs to afford to live.
Given her LET record, its no surprise that Reid wants to use her platform to help spur on other female players. She is a regular at young people’s training events and is seen as an approachable member of the golf world for young people to aspire to.
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Background
Before turning pro she was part of Sir Clive Woodward’s British Olympic Association project where she was supported by a team that was focussed solely on maximizing her potential, a move that seems to have paid off.
It was in 2017 that Reid finally earned her LPGA TOUR card after being pro for 10 years. She states that she is “determined” to become the best golf professional that she can be and wants to put the past behind her and look to the future and what the game will bring next.
Ladies European Tour Wins
- May 2010 – Turkish Airlines Ladies Open
- June 2011 – Deloitte Ladies Open
- September 2011 – Open De Espana Femenino
- June 2012 – Raiffeisenbank Prague Golf Masters
- May 2015 – Turkish Airlines Ladies Open
- February 2017 – Oates Victorian Open
Solheim Cup Appearances
Melissa has taken part in three Solheim Cup matches—2011, 2015 and 2017—but was not included in the 2019 team that saw Suzann Pettersen retire from professional golf.
Personal Life
Reid started playing golf when she was ten years old and soon began to win amateur events. In 2004, she won the English Girls’ Championship and then returned in 2005 to win it again. She went on to win several other competitions including the Helen Holm Trophy, the St Rule Trophy and the British Amateur Strokeplay Championship.
Redi has shared that her golf heroes include Seve Ballesteros, Tiger Woods, Dame Laura Davies and Annika Sörenstam; Reid pays particular deference to Sörenstam for inspiring her fitness regime and Davies for developing her love for the game of golf.
Reid hasn’t always had a fun-filled existence and was left devastated when her mum, Joy, was killed in a car crash in 2012. The circumstances around the crash were particularly difficult for Reid as her mum was in the car on her way to watch her play. Soon after, Reid returned to golf but she was not the same person as before and it was well recorded that she began to spiral emotionally and that her performance suffered badly because of it.
Melissa Reid has spoken candidly about the effect of losing her mum and the impact it had on her life; causing her to self-destruct and stop caring about anything that had once been important to her. She later realized the effect of her decisions and began to piece her life back together and in turn, her golf began to improve as well.
In late 2018, Melissa Reid agreed to an interview with Athlete Ally and during the interview, she came out as gay. She told the reporter that “I’ve just reached a point in my life where I feel like my true, authentic self. If my story helps one person, then I feel like it’s a good cause.”
She went on to explain that she had spent many years feeling like she wasn’t being herself and this had led to negative feelings about who she was and how she lived. She has received much praise for her decision to share her personal life with the public and is seen as a role model for young female golfers.
We're stronger as teams, schools and communities when we stand together against bullying. This #SpiritDay, I’m joining @GLAAD and @AthleteAlly to support #LGBTQ youth. Join the movement: https://t.co/GDPWUR7DuF
— Mel Reid (@melreidgolf) October 17, 2019
Melissa Reid
Full name: Melissa Rose Reid
Born: September 19 1987
Hometown: Derby, England
Turned pro: 2007
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