Audra Burks

Burks started playing golf at the age of 12 and credits Craig Shankland, her parents, and grandmothers as the individuals most influencing her career.
She began her golfing career in Arkansas, where she won the Arkansas State Stroke Play Championship. While in college, Burks won the Iowa State Classic and placed 3rd in the Big Eight Championship. In 1987, she received the Joan Blumenthal Most Valuable Player Award.
From 1990 to 1999, Burks played on the Futures Tour, where she won one title, the 1998 Greater Lima Futures Open. After eight attempts at LPGA Qualifying Tournaments, she qualified for the LPGA Tour by placing 3rd on the 1999 Futures Tour money list. She was named LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 2000.
In 2001, she recorded her career-best finish, T8 at the First Union Betsy King Classic. Her best finish in a major was T24 at the 2001 U.S. Women's Open. In 2007, she competed in 12 events on the Futures Tour, where she recorded five top-10 finishes, including runner-up at the United States Steel Golf Classic. Banks returned to the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament in 2008, where she finished T-19th to earn Priority List Category 11 for the 2009 LPGA season. She played in her last LPGA Tour event in 2012, and finished with $525,384 in career winnings on tour.
Burks now plays occasionally on the Legends Tour. She finished T37 at the 2018 Senior LPGA Championship.
She is currently director of catering at the Crowne Plaza Springfield, in Springfield, Ill. She has two sisters, Dana and Megan, and one brother, Jared, and enjoys fishing, camping, and hiking.
Burks will be playing in the U.S. Senior Women's Open for the first time.