Lauri Merten (born July 6, 1960)
is an American professional golfer. She
also competed under the names Lauri Peterson (1983–87)
and Lauri Merten-Peterson (1988). Merten was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin. She
attended Arizona State University and
joined the LPGA Tour in 1983. Merten's three
wins on the LPGA Tour came at the 1983 Rail Charity Golf Classic,
the 1984 Jamie Farr Toledo Classic and
the 1993 U.S. Women’s
Open, which is one of the LPGA's major championships.
1993 was her best year on the money list, with a sixth-place finish, the only
time she made the top ten. Her LPGA Tour career came to its end in 1997. When
she retired, Merten claimed burnout was the cause. Another factor was
undoubtedly the unwanted attention surrounding the murder conviction of her
brother-in-law Thomas Capano in
1996.