Curriculum Vitae, March 27, 1986, Moscow
As a child Maria was into ballet, but in 1998 her farther, Vitaly Verchenov had seriously fallen for golf. Following his footsteps this sport became of interest for Maria, and then for her sister Anna Verchenova (who is now an athlete of the Russian national team). In the first years her father trained Maria himself, later she began working with other coaches.
Maria was the first Russian athlete to become the full member of the Ladies European Tour in 2007, which is the most prestigious series of events in the women's professional golf along with American women's LPGA tour (Ladies Professional Golf Association).
Performing confidently during the 2015 season she entered the U.S Open top-50 and British Open top-30. The scored prizes let Maria receive the Ladies European Tour (LET) player card for the next season before time and entitle her to play in the finals of qualifications to American Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour (LPGA).
After numerous victories the her career has advanced to a new level. Maria Verchenova (Balikoeva) is the only female golfer to represent Russia at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro 2016. Currently her rank is 46 in the Global Olympic ranking.
