Meet Elizabeth Szokol: American LPGA Star’s Personal Life, Career & Other Details Explored

The rising star of modern golf, Elizabeth Szokol, is an embodiment of courage and determination. Born on June 17, 1995, in Winnetka, Illinois, she had always been an athlete. Ever since she was 12 years old, Szokol loved playing softball and tennis; unfortunately, while playing the games, she injured herself, which led to knee surgery.

However, this setback only encouraged Szokol to play different sports; she started playing golf as soon as she turned 14. “Finding golf was really helpful to me and gave me something to be competitive in and focus my energy on,” said Szokol. Let us get to her a little bit better!

Professional career and achievements: A journey from scratchADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Elizabeth Szokol’s path to professional golf began during her collegiate years at Northwestern University. She spent two years there and later she transferred to the University of Virginia. Szokol turned professional in 2017, starting her official journey in the golf world. She entered professional golf by participating in the Symetra Tour, the official developmental tour of the LPGA.

In 2018, Elizabeth Szokol performed remarkably on the Epson Tour. She became a first-time winner at the 2018 IOA Invitational and ended the season with 10 top-20 finishes, including four top-10s in her last five starts. This impressive performance resulted in Szokol earning her spot on the LPGA Tour for the 2019 season.

Szokol’s career started taking shape in 2019 when she competed in 20 events and made 10 cuts. In her rookie year itself, she earned $105,814. She tied for sixth, marking her first top-10 finish on the LPGA Tour with her performance at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open. Despite the global pandemic and its challenges in 2020, Szokol managed to maintain her form by playing 14 events making seven cuts, and earning $110,873.

In 2021, she set herself high by competing in 23 events and making 14 cuts. She closed off the year by recording three top-10 finishes, including a T2 at the Marathon LPGA Classic, a T3 at Cognizant Founders Cup, and a T7 at the Pure Silk Championship. In 2022, she participated in 13 events, making six cuts, and earning $131,874. Her best performance of 2022 was a T4 finish at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, the beginning of her astonishing victory in 2023.

The 2023 season was no short of a standout for Szokol; she competed in 20 events and made 13 cuts. Her season was highlighted by three top-10 finishes, including the win at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, where she paired up with Cheyenne Knight.

Her career so far has helped her earn a lucrative partnership, and her beliefs have helped her make friends on the Tour, with whom she shares a few common things.

Partnership with AON and making friends in the industryAccording to Golf Digest, one of Szokol’s goals is to perform on Israel’s two golf courses. Her ambition aligns with her commitment to diversity, which she strongly believes in and promotes through her partnership with Aon, a British-American professional services firm.

Aon’s commitment to equality and inclusion aligns with Szokol’s beliefs. Szokol elaborated on Aon’s initiatives, particularly the beginning of equal prize money for the Aon Risk Reward Challenge between the LPGA and PGA Tours, demonstrating their loyalty to equality in sports. “Awareness is important,” said Szokol. “I’m very lucky to partner with Aon. The company’s creating equal prize money between the LPGA and PGA Tours for the Aon Risk Reward Challenge. That $1 million for the LPGA Tour Challenge winner is incredible and very unique, and I’m very thankful to Aon for starting this initiative.”

Throughout her career on the LPGA Tour, Elizabeth Szokol has felt only pride as a minority, particularly as one of the few Jewish professional golfers. “I’m very proud to be Jewish,” she emphasized. Szokol also shared her practice of attending synagogues and temples alongside fellow Jewish golfers during their travels. “There are not many other Jewish professional golfers, but I found two friends to go to different synagogues and temples with wherever we are in the country.”

Apart from engaging in religious celebrations, and competing on the greens, the young golfer also likes to live her personal life to the fullest, and her social media is a testament to that.

Elizabeth Skozol’s personal life and her love for bakingADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Szokol keeps some of her moments away from the public eye and media, but chooses to showcase some! She mainly chooses to let her achievements on the golf course speak for themselves. However, according to the LGPA, like any other person, Szokol has a hobby and that is baking. Going into the specifics, the LGPA Tour states that Szokol loves baking, especially anything that involves chocolates.

The young LPGA star is very close to her family. She likes to go on vacation with her one sister, and one brother. She often shares a few glimpses of it on her Instagram. The three siblings like to watch basketball and baseball games. The Skozol family likes to support the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Cubs. from her social media, it seems that she is not very fond of winter, but she is open to making exceptions when she visits winter destinations.

Article continues below this ad

How do you think Szokol will perform in the 2024 season? Will she be able to ger her maiden major glory, or get a second Tour win? Let us know in the comment section below!