# Marie-Laure de Lorenzi

Marie-Laure de Lorenzi (born 21 January 1961, in Biarritz) is a French professional golfer, also known by her married name Marie-Laure Taya. She won 19 tournaments in a span of eleven seasons on the Ladies European Tour, putting her third, later tied third, on the all-time list of number of wins on the tour.

## Amateur career

De Lorenzi played for her country in the European Lady Junior's Team Championship, for players up to the age of 21, from she was 14 years old in 1975 until 1982 and was on the winning team in 1979. She won individually in 1981.
She also represented her country four times at the European Ladies' Team Championship and four times at the Espirito Santo Trophy.

## Professional career

De Lorenzi joined the Ladies European Tour in 1987 and won the Order of Merit in 1988 and 1989. In those two years, when she led the rankings, she finished first or second 17 times, when the tour schedules included 46 individual tournaments over the two seasons. That means that she finished first or second in 37% of all scheduled tournaments over two full seasons on the tour.
She finished third, after tying the lead after the third round, at the 1989 Women's British Open Championship, before it was permanently co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour in 1994 and regarded as a major championship by the LPGA in 2001. The same year, de Lorenzi finished tied 11h at the 1989 U.S. Women's Open at Indianwood G&CC north of Detroit, Michigan, which came to be her best finish in a major championship.
She became a life time member of the Ladies European Tour, having accumulated 19 tournament victories on it.
As of 2024, she was tied third with Trish Johnson, after Laura Davies and Dale Reid, on the all-time list of number of wins on the Ladies European Tour.
During her career, de Lorenzi became, and as of 2024 still was, record holder of most wins in a single season, with seven wins in 1988. She also became the record holder of most consecutive wins back-to-back, with 3 wins in three consecutive scheduled tournaments in 1989, when she lost in a playoff in the fourth tournament.
She played for Europe in the first Solheim Cup, which took place in 1990, and was also a member of the European team in 1996 and 1998. She was invited by captain Micky Walker, to be reserve on site for the European team at the 1994 Solheim Cup in late October at The Greenbrier, West Virginia, United States, but decided to decline, due to lost confidence. However, de Lorenzi won the Spanish Open three weeks ahead of the team match.
She was assistant captain of the European Solheim Cup team in 2007.
De Lorenzi announced her retirement from tournament golf in 2004.

## Private life

She competed using her married name Marie-Laure Taya from 1986 until midway through 1989 when she changed to Marie-Laure de Lorenzi-Taya. After her divorce from former Spanish amateur champion Roman Taya, she reverted to her maiden name in 1990.
She has represented Paris International Golf Club, but lived in Barcelona, Spain with her daughter Laura and enjoyed tennis, jazz, antiques and swimming.

## Amateur wins

* 1976 French International Lady Juniors Amateur Championship
* 1978 Spanish International Ladies Amateur Championship, French International Lady Juniors Amateur Championship
* 1980 Spanish International Ladies Amateur Championship
* 1983 Spanish International Ladies Amateur Championship, French Ladies Close Amateur Championship
Source:

## Professional wins (21)
### Ladies European Tour wins (19)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | 14 Jun 1987 | Belgian Ladies Godiva Open | −7 (72-71-70-72=285) | 2 strokes | Trish Johnson Susan Moon |
| 2 | 9 Aug 1987 | BMW Ladies' German Open | −13 (70-70-65-70=275) | 5 strokes | Dale Reid |
| 3 | 12 Jun 1988 | Letting French Open | −2 (71-72-75-72=290) | Playoff | Caroline Bourtayre (amateur) |
| 4 | 19 Jun 1988 | Volmac Dutch Open | +7 (75-74-72-74=295) | 1 stroke | Kitrina Douglas |
| 5 | 10 Jul 1988 | Hennessy Ladies Cup | −4 (75-72-66-71=284) | 1 stroke | Alison Nicholas |
| 6 | 21 Aug 1988 | Gothenburg Ladies Open | −9 (70-70-69-66=275) | 3 strokes | Peggy Conley |
| 7 | 9 Oct 1988 | Laing Charity Classic | −16 (67-67-69=203) | 7 strokes | Caroline Griffiths |
| 8 | 30 Oct 1988 | Woolmark Ladies' Matchplay | 4 and 2 | 4 and 2 | Alison Nicholas |
| 9 | 3 Nov 1988 | Qualitair Spanish Open | −12 (207) | 4 strokes | Corinne Soules |
| 10 | 30 Apr 1989 | Ford Ladies' Classic | −10 (286) | 8 stroke | Gillian Stewart |
| 11 | 28 May 1989 | Hennessy Ladies Cup | −9 (279) | 2 strokes | Corinne Dibnah Jody Rosenthal |
| 12 | 11 Jun 1989 | BMW Ladies Classic | −11 (277) | 1 stroke | Dennise Hutton |
| 13 | 29 Apr 1990 | Ford Ladies' Classic | −12 (74-72-68-70=284) | 3 strokes | Laurette Maritz |
| 14 | 24 Oct 1993 | VAR Open de France Feminin | +4 (72-79-69=220) | 1 stroke | Federica Dassù Karina Orum |
| 15 | 2 Oct 1994 | La Manga Spanish Open | −6 (71-72-68-71=282) | Playoff | Sofia Grönberg-Whitmore |
| 16 | 13 May 1995 | Costa Azul Ladies Open | −11 (72-67-66=205) | 2 strokes | Evelyn Orley |
| 17 | 17 Sep 1995 | Staatsloterij Ladies Open | −18 (67-66-68=201) | 9 strokes | Lora Fairclough |
| 18 | 15 Oct 1995 | Nestlé French Ladies Open | −9 (71-68-71=210) | 10 strokes | Kathryn Marshall Alison Nicholas Sally Prosser |
| 19 | 15 Jun 1997 | Déesse Ladies' Swiss Open | −8 (72-68-70-70=280) | Playoff | Trish Johnson |
Ladies European Tour playoff record (3–4)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1 | 1988 | Letting French Open | Caroline Bourtayre (amateur) | Won on fourth extra hole. |
| 2 | 1989 | Open de France Dames | Suzanne Strudwick | Lost to birdie at first extra hole. |
| 3 | 1989 | Danish Ladies Open | Tania Abitbol | Lost to par at third extra hole. |
| 4 | 1989 | Godiva Ladies European Masters | Kitrina Douglas | Lost to par at second extra hole. |
| 5 | 1991 | Hennessy Ladies Cup | Helen Alfredsson Corinne Dibnah | Lost. Eliminated to par on first extra hole. Alfredsson won with birdie on third extra hole. |
| 6 | 1994 | La Manga Spanish Open | Sofia Grönberg-Whitmore | Won on second extra hole. |
| 7 | 1997 | Déesse Ladies' Swiss Open | Trish Johnson | Won with birdie at first extra hole |

### Other wins (2)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | 1988 | Benson & Hedges Trophy^ (team with Mark McNulty) | −12 (276) | 1 stroke | José María Cañizares and Tania Abitbol |
| 2 | 1993 | Lalla Meryem Cup | | | |
^ Mixed pairs unofficial money event on the European Tour and Ladies European Tour.

## Team appearances

Amateur
* European Lady Junior's Team Championship (representing France): 1975, 1978, 1979 (winners), 1980, 1981, 1982
* European Ladies' Team Championship (representing France): 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985
* Vagliano Trophy (representing Continent of Europe): 1979, 1985
* Espirito Santo Trophy (representing France): 1978, 1980, 1982, 1986
Professional
* Solheim Cup (representing Europe): 1990, 1996, 1998
* Sunrise Cup World Team Championship (representing France): 1992
* Praia D'el Rey European Cup (representing Ladies European Tour): 1999 (winners)