Blasberg found dead, police investigating

[Doomsday101]

Erica Blasberg, an LPGA player and former collegiate star at the University of Arizona, was found dead on Sunday in her home in Henderson, Nev. She was 25.

Keith Paul, a spokesman for the Henderson Police Department, said a 911 call was made at 3:13 p.m. Sunday and officers arrived at Blasberg's residence, the Hotel De Ville Terrace, a few minutes later and discovered her body.

"This is a death investigation and it is ongoing," Paul told GOLF.com on Monday.

Chase Callahan, Blasberg's agent, said in a statement Monday: "We are devastated to learn of the passing of Erica Blasberg. To most of the world, Erica was known as a professional golfer, but she was more than that. She was a loving daughter to her parents and a compassionate and loyal friend. Erica had a good heart, was extremely kind and very thankful for what she had in her life. This is a painful loss, we feel it in our hearts and we will miss her."

Blasberg, a charismatic golfer who was a former Pac-10 Player of the Year and member of the victorious 2004 Curtis Cup team, was a professional for six years, winning once on the Duramed Futures Tour before qualifying for the LPGA Tour in 2005. While highly decorated as an amateur, Blasberg struggled to reach the same heights as an LPGA professional. Her best finish was a tie for eighth.

This year, she had played in one event, the Tres Marias Championship, where she finished tied for 44th. It was the final event of retiring LPGA star Lorena Ochoa, who also attended the University of Arizona.

Though Blasberg struggled to gain footing on the LPGA Tour, she was one of a handful of LPGA players to successfully cross over into the realm of product endorsement. When Puma launched its golf division in March 2006, the company signed Blasberg to its brand. Once there, she joined PGA Tour star Geoff Ogilvy in a global ad campaign featuring two television commercials.

One of the ads, titled "Erica's Tonic," showed Blasberg hitting a pink Puma ball into Ogilvy's drink.

"Erica was a solid player on the course, and brought a fresh sense of youthfulness, fun, beauty and energy to the brand," Bob Philion, the president of Cobra-Puma Golf, said in a statement Monday. "She will be greatly missed."



http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1988423,00.html

 

[Doomsday101]

LAS VEGAS (AP) — LPGA golfer Erica Blasberg had her bags packed for a tournament in Alabama when she died suddenly at her home in suburban Henderson, her agent said Tuesday. Police aren't saying how she died.

Blasberg was scheduled to leave last Sunday to play a qualification round on Monday for the Bell Micro LPGA Classic in Mobile, said the agent, Chase Callahan, who is based in Irvine, Calif.

Callahan and Blasberg's parents, Mel and Debbie Blasberg, of Corona, Calif., began planning Tuesday for a memorial service in her hometown amid questions about Blasberg's death Sunday in her home about 15 miles southeast of the Las Vegas Strip.

"We don't know yet who, what or why," Callahan said, calling Blasberg's death "tragic for her family, the people of Corona, and the people who knew her."

"Police haven't given her family or me any indication of anything," said Callahan, who noted that Blasberg's father was also her golf coach.

"For Mr. and Mrs. Blasberg, her taking her own life is not something that's in the details that they know right now," Callahan said. "This is someone whose career was as important to her as her family."

"She was 25. She hadn't reached her peak yet," he said.

Blasberg was found dead about 3 p.m. Sunday after police responded to a 911 call from the two-story, three-bedroom home Blasberg bought for $281,000 in November 2007.

Police have not said if they suspect foul play, and police spokesman Keith Paul declined again to say Tuesday who summoned police to the house.

Clark County Coroner Michael Murphy said a ruling on a cause of death was pending blood and tissue tests that could take four to six weeks to complete.

Callahan said he didn't know if Blasberg had any visitors during the weekend.

"I don't question any of the relationships that she had in this right now," he said.

The family has scheduled a May 19 memorial service at the Eagle Glen Golf Club in Corona, about 65 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. Private burial will follow.

Blasberg grew up in Southern California, and was in her sixth season on the LPGA Tour.

She was a former junior golf standout, an All-American in 2003 and 2004. She was the 2003 NCAA Freshman of the Year and 2003 Pac-10 Player of the Year while at the University of Arizona.

She turned professional in June 2004, and won once on the Duramed FUTURES Tour before qualifying for the LPGA Tour in 2005.

Her best year on Tour was 2008, when she earned a career-best tie for eighth at the SBS Open in Hawaii and over $113,000 in winnings, the LPGA said.

Blasberg played in one event this season, tying for 44th in the April 29-May 2 Tres Marias Championship in Morelia, Mexico.

 

[zrinkill]

Very sad.

Rest in peace ...... may the Lord embrace you.

 

[Big Dakota]

Rip..

 

[Danny White]

That's very sad.

She was a real beauty.