Riikka Hakkarainen

Riikka Hakkarainen (born 23 May 1977) is a professional golfer who plays Ladies European Tour[1] and owns Golf Performance, a personal training and coaching business in Mayfair, London and Helsinki, Finland.

Amateur career

Hakkarainen was born in Espoo, Finland. She played for the Finnish National Ladies Team since she was 15 years of age. She won the Nordic Girls Championship twice in 1995 and 1996, Scottish girls stroke play Championship in 1996 and Greece Ladies Championship in 1996, became 3rd in British Girls Championship in 1995 and represented Finland in the 1994 and 1996 Espirito Santo Trophy World Amateur Golf Team Championships.[2]

Professional career

Hakkarainen turned professional at the very early age of 19 in 1996, in many people's mind too early, but she always thought it was an important next step for her career. She claimed her maiden victory in the Nedbank Women's Golf Tour in South Africa 2002 and continued playing strong on Swedish Telia Tour winning two tournaments Swedish Match Play and Öijared Ladies Open as well as the Telia Tour's Order of the Merit for the season. She claimed her maiden victory on the Ladies European Tour in Tenerife 2006 and continued playing strong throughout the season, posting an additional 5 top 10 finishes and finishing 9th on the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit for the season. She started to experience balance problems during her best season, which forced her to retire from competitive tournament golf in the middle of the 2007 season for two years. [3]

At the start of 2005 she teamed with Minea Blomqvist to represent Finland at the inaugural Women's World Cup of Golf.[4][5]

At the start of 2006 she again teamed with Minea Blomqvist to represent Finland at the Women's World Cup of Golf.[6] In 2007 Hakkarainen was forced to retire from competitive golf due to balance problems.[7]

In 2009 Hakkarainen made a comeback to Ladies European Tour after two years of sickness mystery, and her best finish was 5th on the Spanish Ladies Open.[8]

Personal

Hakkarainen is considered a "Pioneer of Finnish golf" after a long and successful career. She moved to London, UK, in 2010 and still plays few tournaments a year. She owns and runs Golf Performance, personal training and coaching business in Mayfair, London; and Helsinki, Finland.[9]

Professional wins (4)

Ladies European (1)

Other (3)
  • 2002 Swedish Matchplay (Telia Tour), Öijared Ladies Open (Telia Tour), Telkom Women's Classic (Nedbank South Africa Women's Golf Tour)

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

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References
  1. http://ladieseuropeantour.com/player/?player=100872
  2. "World Amateur Team Championship Record Books". International Golf Federation.
  3. Bethan Cutler (2006-04-30). "Hakkarainen clinches maiden victory in Tenerife". Ladies European Tour.
  4. Park, Martin (2004-12-17). "Women's World Cup of Golf: Twenty teams confirmed". Ladies European Tour.
  5. Park, Martin (2004-12-17). "Full Career Bio". Ladies European Tour.
  6. "Stellar field for Women's World Cup of Golf". Ladies European Tour.
  7. "Interview with Finland's Riikka". Ladies European Tour. 2007-04-23. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  8. "Riikka returns after sickness mystery". Ladies European Tour. 2009-05-07. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
  9. "Pioneer of Finnish golf". Ladies European Tour. 2012-05-30. Retrieved 2012-05-30.
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