Liz Janangelo: From Junior Golf Star To Professional Champion
Jul 27, 202510.3K Shares143.5K Views
Liz Janangelowas born on October 12, 1983, and grew up in West Hartford, Connecticut. She began playing golf at just two years old, showing talent early on by winning the Connecticut State Women’s Amateur Golf Championship at age 13—becoming the youngest champion in state history. She went on to win that title five years in a row. As a teenager she also claimed the Connecticut State Women’s Open four straight times while still an amateur.
During her junior golf years, Janangelo won eight American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) tournaments, including two major titles in 2001: the Betsy Rawls Junior Girls Championship and the Polo Junior Classic. Her success earned her the AJGA National Player of the Year honor in 2001.
She attended Duke University on a golf scholarship beginning in fall 2002. As a freshman, she was named ACC Rookie of the Year and selected All‑ACC. In her sophomore year, she won four college tournaments, broke Duke’s scoring average record, received the NGCA National Player of the Year award, won the Golfstat Cup, and was named ACC Player of the Year. She ended her college career with seven wins, placing her tied for fourth on Duke’s all‑time list.
While still an amateur, Janangelo qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open four times, starting in 2000 at age 16. Her best performance was tied for 30th place in 2003, making her one of the top amateurs in the field.
Janangelo also played out of Wampanoag Country Club in West Hartford during her youth years. Her strong amateur record and college success laid the foundation for her professional career to follow.
Professional Career
After graduating from Duke University in May 2006, Liz Janangelo turned professional immediately. She was eligible to play on the Futures Tour thanks to her high ranking in college. In the remaining seven events of 2006, she made the cut in six. She then entered the LPGA Tour qualifying school in the fall but did not qualify, so she returned to the Futures Tour in 2007.
In her first full season as a pro in 2007, Janangelo found success quickly. She won her first professional tournament at the Greater Tampa Duramed FUTURES Classic just in the second event of the season. Later that year, she won again at the Mercedes‑Benz of Kansas City Championship. These two wins helped her earn $45,084 and finish sixth on the Futures Tour money list—just one spot shy of gaining automatic full status on the LPGA Tour for 2008.
Thanks to her strong play, she earned her LPGA Tour card in December 2007 by finishing among the top 17 players at the qualifying tournament. She played on the LPGA Tour in 2008 but did not earn enough to keep her card for 2009, as she finished 147th on the official money list. She returned to qualifying school but again fell short, missing full status for the next season.
Janangelo played full time on the Futures Tour in 2009 and finished 18th on the money list. That gave her an automatic place in the final LPGA qualifying round, and she regained her LPGA Tour card for the 2010 season through that route.
In total, she earned two professional wins on the Futures Tour during 2007 and secured LPGA Tour status twice, in 2008 and again for the 2010 season.
Professional Wins
Liz Janangelo recorded a total of two professional tournament victories during her time as a pro. Both wins came in 2007 on the Futures Tour, which serves as the developmental circuit for the LPGA Tour. Her first professional victory took place early in the 2007 season at the Greater Tampa Duramed FUTURES Classic, where she posted a final score of 2 over par, edging out her competitors under difficult weather and strong winds. Her second win came in May at the Mercedes‑Benz of Kansas City Championship. That tournament went to a sudden‑death playoff, and Janangelo held her nerve by closing out the win in three extra holes over Emily Bastel, even without recording a single birdie in the final round.
In addition to these two Futures Tour titles, she also had four other wins—all during her amateur career—by winning the Connecticut State Women’s Open each year from 2003 to 2006. This brought her total professional and high-level amateur wins to six overall.
In summary, Liz Janangelo’s professional career includes two official Futures Tour victories in 2007, and her strong amateur success contributes to a total of six top-tier wins in her golf journey.
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