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.
When she retired, Merten claimed burnout was the cause; Sports Illustrated speculated that another factor may have been unwanted attention surrounding the then-recent murder conviction of her brother-in-law Thomas Capano.
| LPGA Tour major championships (1) |
| Other LPGA Tour (2) |
| 1 | Sep 5, 1983 | Rail Charity Golf Classic | −6 (68-70-72=210) | Playoff | Judy Ellis |
| 2 | Jul 8, 1984 | Jamie Farr Toledo Classic | −10 (68-72-65-73=278) | 2 strokes | Nancy Lopez |
| 3 | Jul 25, 1993 | U.S. Women's Open | −8 (71-71-70-68=280) | 1 stroke | Helen Alfredsson Donna Andrews |
LPGA Tour playoff record (1–0)
| 1 | 1983 | Rail Charity Golf Classic | Judy Ellis | Won with par on first extra hole |
| Helen Alfredsson, Donna Andrews |
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