SchoBo Golfers
15 Tour Wins and 2 Major Wins
What are the qualifications for entering the World Golf Hall of Fame?
Tiger Woods
He is an American professional golfer who is among the most successful golfers of all time, and one of the most popular athletes of the 21st century. He has been one of the highest-paid athletes in the world for several years. He is considered by some as one of the greatest golfers of all time. Following an outstanding junior, college, and amateur career, he was 20 years old when he turned professional at the end of summer in 1996. By the end of April 1997, he had won three PGA Tour events in addition to his first major, the 1997 Masters. He won this tournament by 12 strokes in a record-breaking performance and earned $486,000. He first reached the number one position in the world rankings in June 1997, less than a year after turning pro. Throughout the 2000s, he was the dominant force in golf—he won the 2000 U.S. Open by a record 15-shot margin. He was the top-ranked golfer in the world from August 1999 to September 2004 (264 weeks) and again from June 2005 to October 2010 (281 weeks). He took a hiatus from professional golf from December 2009 to early April 2010 in order to focus on difficult issues in his marriage. He and his estranged wife Elin eventually divorced. His many alleged extramarital indiscretions were revealed by several women, through many worldwide media sources. This coincided with a series of injuries, treatments by Dr. Anthony Galea, who had been linked to HGH, a loss of golf form, and his ranking gradually fell to a low of No. 58 in November 2011. He ended a career-high winless streak of 107 weeks when he triumphed in the Chevron World Challenge in December 2011. After winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 25, 2013, he ascended to the No.1 ranking once again, holding the top spot until May 2014, by which time he had been ranked number one for a total of 683 weeks, more than any other player in history. Since 2014, he has been unable to recapture his dominant form, undergoing four back surgeries in 2014, 2015 and 2017. By March 29, 2015, he had fallen to #104, outside of the top 100 for the first time since 1996. In May 2016, he dropped out of the world top 500 for the first time in his professional career. In July 2017, the Official World Golf Ranking placed Woods at number 1,005, the worst of his career and only time he has ever been out of the top 1,000. He has broken numerous golf records. He has been World Number One for the most consecutive weeks and for the greatest total number of weeks of any golfer. He has been awarded PGA Player of the Year a record eleven times,[19] the Byron Nelson Award for lowest adjusted scoring average a record eight times, and has the record of leading the money list in ten different seasons. He has won 14 professional major golf championships, where he trails only Jack Nicklaus who leads with 18, and 79 PGA Tour events, second all-time behind Sam Snead (82). He leads all active golfers in career major wins and career PGA Tour wins. He is the youngest player to achieve the career Grand Slam, and the youngest and fastest to win 50 tournaments on tour. Additionally, he is only the second golfer (after Nicklaus) to have achieved a career Grand Slam three times. He has won 18 World Golf Championships, and won at least one of those events in each of the first 11 years after they began in 1999. He and Rory McIlroy are the only golfers to win both The Silver Medal and The Gold Medal at The Open Championship.
Patty Berg
A founding member of the LPGA, she is also the record-holder for most majors won in the women's game with 15 (1941, 1943, 1948, 1951, 1955, 1957, 1958 Western Open; 1937, 1938, 1939, 1948, 1953, 1955, 1957 Titleholders Championship; 1946 U.S. Women's Open). She turned pro in 1940 after winning 29 times as an amateur. She also won the inaugural U.S. Women's Open in 1946 and won a total of 60 tour victories. Three of her major victories came in her amateur days. She volunteered for the United States Marine Corps and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1942. She served Marine Reserves from 1942 to 1945.
Se Ri Pak
A pioneer of the women's game, she is credited with changing the face of golf. When she joined the LPGA in 1998 -- a year in which she won two majors -- Pak was the only Korean player on Tour. Ten years later, there were 45 Koreans on the LPGA. She won 5 majors (1998, 2002, 2006 Women's PGA Championship; 1998 U.S. Women's Open; 2001 Women's British Open). She won a total of 25 tour tournaments. She retired in 2016. In June 2007, at age 29, she qualified for the World Golf Hall of Fame, surpassing Karrie Webb as the youngest living entrant ever.
Raymond Floyd
After leaving college, Floyd turned professional in 1961, and quickly established himself on the PGA Tour. His first victory came two years later at age 20 in March 1963 in Florida, winning $3,500 at the St. Petersburg Open Invitational, the first of his 22 wins on the PGA Tour, including four major championships (1976 Masters, 1986 U.S. Open, 1969, 1982 PGA Championship). He won his second PGA Championship in 1982, after shooting a brilliant opening round of 63 in sweltering hot conditions at Southern Hills Country Club. His round of 63 was the lowest round in a major championship until 2017 He finished 1982 ranked second in Mark McCormack's world golf rankings, behind only Tom Watson who had won two majors that season. The one major title that eluded Floyd, which prevented him from completing the career grand slam, was The Open Championship. His best result was in 1978 at St Andrews; he tied for second place, behind three-time winner Jack Nicklaus. He had 22 tour wins with more around the world. He won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average on the PGA Tour in 1983 and played for the U.S. on eight Ryder Cup teams (1969, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1991, and 1993). He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1989.
Betsy King
Beginning in 1984 (three wins), King won at least one LPGA event in 11 consecutive seasons. The highlight came in 1989 when King won six times. She averaged a major a year from 1987 to 1992, then won a sixth major in 1997 (1987, 1990, 1997 ANA Inspiration; 1992 Women's PGA Championship;1989, 1990 U.S. Women's Open). The last of her 34 LPGA wins came in 2001.
Pat Bradley
Bradley was a multiple major winner long before her nephew, Keegan, won the 2011 PGA Championship. She was the third woman, behind Mickey Wright and Louise Suggs, to have completed the LPGA "Career Grand Slam." In 1986, Bradley won the du Maurier Classic, Nabisco Dinah Shore and LPGA Championship -- three of the four majors at the time. She won 6 majors (1986 ANA Inspiration; 1986 Women's PGA Championship; 1981 U.S. Women's Open; 1980, 1985, 1986 du Maurier Classic) and had 31 tour wins.
Ernie Els
He is a South African professional golfer. A former World No. 1, he is known as "The Big Easy" due to his imposing physical stature (he stands 6 ft 3 in) along with his fluid golf swing. Among his 71 career victories are four major championships: the U.S. Open in 1994 at Oakmont and in 1997 at Congressional, and The Open Championship in 2002 at Muirfield and in 2012 at Royal Lytham & St Annes.[1] He is one of six golfers to twice win both the U.S. Open and The Open Championship. He had 19 US tour wins, along with the rest. Other highlights in his career include topping the 2003 and 2004 European Tour Order of Merit (money list), and winning the World Match Play Championship a record seven times. He was the leading career money winner on the European Tour until overtaken by Lee Westwood in 2011, and was the first member of the tour to earn over €25,000,000 from European Tour events. He has held the number one spot in the Official World Golf Ranking and until 2013 held the record for weeks ranked in the top ten with 788. He rose to fifteenth in the world rankings after winning the 2012 Open Championship. He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2010, on his first time on the ballot, and was inducted in May 2011. When not playing, he has a golf course design business, a charitable foundation which supports golf among underprivileged youth in South Africa, and a highly regarded winemaking business. He has written a popular golf instructional column in Golf Digest magazine for several years.
Gary Player
He is a South African professional golfer. Over his career, he accumulated nine major championships on the regular tour and six Champions Tour major championship victories, as well as three Senior British Open Championships on the European Senior Tour. At the age of 29, he won the 1965 U.S. Open and became the only non-American to win all four majors, known as the career Grand Slam. He became only the third golfer in history to win the Career Grand Slam, following Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen, and only Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have performed the feat since. Player has won 165 tournaments on six continents over six decades and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974. Nicknamed the Black Knight, Mr. Fitness, and the International Ambassador of Golf, he is also a renowned golf course architect with more than 325 design projects on five continents throughout the world. He has also authored or co-written 36 golf books. His business interests are represented by Black Knight International, aspects of which include licensing, events, publishing, wine, apparel and memorabilia. His namesake Stud Farm breeds thoroughbred race horses, including 1994 Epsom Derby entry Broadway Flyer. He operates his namesake Foundation, which has a primary objective of promoting underprivileged education around the world. In 1983, The Foundation established the Blair Atholl Schools in Johannesburg, South Africa, which has educational facilities for more than 500 students from kindergarten through eighth grade. In 2013 it celebrated its 30th Anniversary with charity golf events in London, Palm Beach, Shanghai and Cape Town, bringing its total of funds raised to over US$60 million.
Lee Trevino
He is a retired American professional golfer who is regarded as one of the greatest players in professional golf history and the greatest Hispanic golfer of all time. He was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981. He won six major championships and 29 PGA Tour events over the course of his career. He is one of only four players to twice win the U.S. Open, The Open Championship and the PGA Championship. The only major that eluded him was the Masters Tournament. He is an icon for Mexican Americans, and is often referred to as "The Merry Mex" and "Supermex," both affectionate nicknames given to him by other golfers.
Johnny Miller
He is an American former professional golfer. He was one of the top players in the world during the mid-1970s. He was the first to shoot 63 in a major championship to win the 1973 U.S. Open, and he ranked second in the world on Mark McCormack's world golf rankings in both 1974 and 1975 behind Jack Nicklaus. Miller won 25 PGA Tour events, including two majors 1973 U.S. Open and 1996 British Open). He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1998. He is currently the lead golf analyst for NBC Sports, a position he has held since January 1990. He is also an active golf course architect.
Tom Watson
He is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour Champions, formerly on the PGA Tour. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was one of the leading players in the world, winning eight major championships and heading the PGA Tour money list five times. He was the number one player in the world according to McCormack's World Golf Rankings from 1978 until 1982; in both 1983 and 1984, he was ranked second behind Seve Ballesteros. He also spent 32 weeks in the top 10 of the successor Sony Rankings in their debut in 1986. He is also notable for his longevity: at nearly sixty years of age, and 26 years after his last major championship victory, he led after the second and third rounds of The Open Championship in 2009, but lost in a four-hole playoff. Several of his major victories came at the expense of Jack Nicklaus, the man he replaced as number one, most notably the 1977 Masters, 1977 Open Championship, and the 1982 U.S. Open. Though his rivalry with Nicklaus was intense, their friendly competitiveness served to increase golf's popularity during the time. In his illustrious career, his eight major championships include five Open Championships,[3] two Masters titles, and one U.S. Open title. The only major that has eluded him is the PGA Championship. In all, his eight majors ranks sixth on the list of total major championship victories, behind only Nicklaus, Woods, Walter Hagen, Hogan, and Player. He is also regarded as one of the greatest links players of all time, a claim backed up by his five Open Championship victories; as well as his 2nd-place finish in the 2009 Open Championship, and his three Senior British Open Championship titles in his mid-50s (2003, 2005, and 2007). He played on four Ryder Cup teams and captained the American side to victory in 1993 at The Belfry in England.
Greg Norman
He is an Australian professional golfer and entrepreneur who spent 331 weeks as the world's Number 1 Official World Golf Rankings ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s. He has won 91 international tournaments, including 20 PGA Tour tournaments and two majors: The Open Championships in 1986 and 1993.] He also earned thirty top-10 finishes and was the runner-up 8 times in majors throughout his career. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2001 with the highest percentage of votes (80%) of any golfer to date. In a reference to his blond hair, size, aggressive golf style and his birthplace's native coastal animal, his nickname is "The Great White Shark" (often shortened to just "The Shark"), which he earned after his play at the 1981 Masters. During and after his playing career, he engaged in numerous entrepreneurial and philanthropic endeavors. He currently serves as the chairman and CEO of his namesake Company, a global corporation with a portfolio of companies in fields like apparel, interior design, real estate, private equity, golf course design, and more. He has also donated to and established numerous charities and charity events like the QBE Shootout which benefits the CureSearch for Children's Cancer fund. He became a Trustee of the Environmental Institute for Golf in 2004 and received the Golf Writers Association of America's Bartlett Award in 2008 for his philanthropic endeavors. In 2009 as part of the Q150 celebrations, Greg Norman was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for his role as a "sports legend".[16]
Nick Faldo
He is an English professional golfer who is now mainly an on-air golf analyst. A top player of his era, renowned for his single-minded dedication to the game, he was ranked No. 1 on the Official World Golf Ranking for a total of 97 weeks.[2] His 41 professional wins include 30 victories on the European Tour and six major championships: three Open Championships (1987, 1990, 1992) and three Masters (1989, 1990, 1996). He has since become a television pundit for major golf championships. In 2006, he became the lead golf analyst for CBS Sports. In 2012, he joined the BBC Sport on-air team for coverage of the Open Championship.
Bobby Locke
He was a South African professional golfer. He won four Open Championships (1949, 1950, 1952, 1957), nine South African Opens, seven South African PGA Championships and 15 PGA Tour events. He was a prolific tournament winner in his native country, eventually accumulating 38 wins on the Southern Africa Tour (now the Sunshine Tour).
Seve Ballesteros
He was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won more than 90 international tournaments in his career, including five major championships between 1979 and 1988: The Open Championship three times, and the Masters Tournament twice. He gained attention in the golfing world in 1976, when at the age of 19 he finished second at The Open. He played a leading role in the re-emergence of European golf, helping the European Ryder Cup team to five wins both as a player and captain. He won the World Match Play Championship a record-tying five times. He is generally regarded as the greatest Continental European golfer of all time. He won a record 50 European Tour titles. He won at least one European Tour title for 17 consecutive years between 1976 and 1992. His final victory was at the 1995 Peugeot Spanish Open. Largely because of back-related injuries, he struggled with form during the late 1990s. Despite this, he continued to be involved in golf, creating his namesake Trophy and running a golf course design business. He eventually retired from competitive golf in 2007 because of continued poor form. In 2008 he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for the second time at the BBC Sports Personality Awards 2009. He was presented with the award at his home in Spain by his compatriot and former Ryder Cup teammate José María Olazábal. He died of brain cancer on 7 May 2011, aged 54.
Harry Vardon
He was a professional golfer from the Bailiwick of Jersey. Within a few years of playing as a pro, he became golf's first superstar since the days of Young Tom Morris. In 1896, he won the first of his record six Open Championships (a record that still stands today). He had great rivalries with James Braid and J.H. Taylor, who each won five Open Championships; together the three formed the 'Great Triumvirate', and dominated worldwide golf from the mid-1890s to the mid-1910s. These rivalries enormously increased the public's interest in golf.
Bobby Jones
He was an American amateur golfer who was one of the most influential figures in the history of the sport; he was also a lawyer by profession. He founded and helped design the Augusta National Golf Club, and co-founded the Masters Tournament. The innovations that he introduced at the Masters have been copied by virtually every professional golf tournament in the world. He was the most successful amateur golfer ever to compete at a national and international level. During his peak from 1923 to 1930, he dominated top-level amateur competition, and competed very successfully against the world's best professional golfers. He often beat stars such as Walter Hagen and Gene Sarazen, the era's top pros. He earned his living mainly as a lawyer, and competed in golf only as an amateur, primarily on a part-time basis, and chose to retire from competition at age 28, though he earned significant money from golf after that, as an instructor and equipment designer. Explaining his decision to retire, he said, "It [championship golf] is something like a cage. First you are expected to get into it and then you are expected to stay there. But of course, nobody can stay there." He is most famous for his unique "Grand Slam," consisting of his victory in all four major golf tournaments of his era (the open and amateur championships in both the U.S. & the U.K.) in a single calendar year (1930). In all he played in 31 majors, winning 13 and placing among the top ten finishers 27 times. After retiring from competitive golf in 1930, he founded and helped design the Augusta National Golf Club soon afterwards in 1933. He also co-founded the Masters Tournament, which has been annually staged by the club since 1934 (except for 1943-45, when it was canceled due to World War II). The Masters evolved into one of golf's four major championships. He came out of retirement in 1934 to play in the Masters on an exhibition basis through 1948.He played his last round of golf at East Lake Golf Club, his home course in Atlanta, on August 18, 1948. A picture commemorating the event now sits in the clubhouse at East Lake. Citing health reasons, he quit golf permanently thereafter.
Walter Hagen
He was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional majors is third behind Jack Nicklaus (18) and Tiger Woods (14). He won the U.S. Open twice, and in 1922 he became the first native-born American to win the British Open, and won the Claret Jug three more times. He also won the PGA Championship a record-tying five times (all in match play), and the Western Open five times when it had near-major championship status. He totaled 45 PGA wins in his career, and was a six-time Ryder Cup captain. The Masters Tournament, the newest major, was established in 1934, after his prime.
Byron Nelson
He was an American professional golfer between 1935 and 1946, widely considered one of the greatest golfers of his generation, and widely considered one of the greatest golfers of all time. He and two other legendary champions of the time, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, were born within seven months of each other in 1912. Although he won many tournaments in the course of his relatively brief career, he is mostly remembered today for having won 11 consecutive tournaments and 18 total tournaments in 1945. He retired officially at the age of 34 to be a rancher, later becoming a commentator and lending his name to the HP namesake Championship, the first PGA Tour event to be named for a professional golfer. As a former Masters champion he continued to play in that annual tournament, placing in the top-10 six times between 1947 and 1955 and as high as 15th in 1965. In 1974, he received the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. He became the second recipient of the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997, and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974. He received the 1994 Old Tom Morris Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, GCSAA's highest honor. He was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2006.
Cary Middlecoff
He was an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour from 1947 to 1961. His 40 Tour wins place him tenth all-time, and he won three major championships (1955, Masters, 1949, 1956 U.S. Open). He graduated as a dentist, but gave up his practice at age 26 to become a full-time Tour golfer. He wrote a newspaper column, "The Golf Doctor."
Ben Hogan
He was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He was born within six months of Sam Snead and Byron Nelson, who were two other acknowledged golf greats of the 20th century. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory and his legendary ball-striking ability. His nine career professional major championships tie him with Gary Player for fourth all-time, trailing only Jack Nicklaus (18), Tiger Woods (14) and Walter Hagen (11). He is one of only five golfers to have won all four major championships: the Masters Tournament, The Open (despite only playing once), the U.S. Open, and the PGA Championship. The other four are Nicklaus, Woods, Player, and Gene Sarazen.
Arnold Palmer
He was an American professional golfer who is generally regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous events on both the PGA Tour and the circuit now known as PGA Tour Champions. Nicknamed The King, he was one of golf's most popular stars and seen as a trailblazer, the first superstar of the sport's television age, which began in the 1950s. His social impact on behalf of golf was perhaps unrivaled among fellow professionals; his humble background and plain-spoken popularity helped change the perception of golf from an elite, upper-class pastime (private clubs) to a more populist sport accessible to middle and working classes (public courses). He, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player were "The Big Three" in golf during the 1960s; they are widely credited with popularizing and commercializing the sport around the world. In a career spanning more than six decades, he won 62 PGA Tour titles from 1955 to 1973. As of today, he is fifth on the Tour's all-time victory list, trailing only Sam Snead, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Ben Hogan. He won seven major titles in a six-plus-year domination from the 1958 Masters to the 1964 Masters. He also won the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998, and in 1974 was one of the 13 original inductees into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Sam Snead
He was an American professional golfer who was one of the top players in the world for most of four decades. He won a record 82 PGA Tour events, including seven majors (1949, 1952, 1954 Masters, 1946 British Open, 1942, 1949, 1951 PGA). He never won the U.S. Open, though he was runner-up four times. His nickname was "Slammin' Sammy", and he was admired by many for having the so-called "perfect swing," which generated many imitators. Snead was famed for his folksy image, wearing a straw hat, and making such statements as "Keep close count of your nickels and dimes, stay away from whiskey, and never concede a putt." He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974, and received the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998.
Gene Sarazen
He was an American professional golfer, one of the world's top players in the 1920s and 1930s, and the winner of seven major championships. He is one of five players (along with Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods) to win each of the four majors at least once, now known as the Career Grand Slam: U.S. Open (1922, 1932), PGA Championship (1922, 1923, 1933), The Open Championship (1932),[2] and Masters Tournament (1935). He took a series of club professional jobs in the New York area from his mid-teens. In 1921 he became professional at Titusville (Pa.) Country Club, and he contracted to be the professional at Highland Country Club near Pittsburgh, Pa. in 1922. He arrived in April, stocked the golf shop and gave a few lessons, but spent most of his time at Oakmont Country Club practicing with Emil Loeffler. At some point, the pair visited Skokie Country Club to practice on the course that would hold the 1922 U.S. Open. In July, he came from four shots behind to win the tournament. He returned to Pittsburgh and was feted at the William Penn Hotel, where he burst from a paper mâché golf ball. He did not return to Highland CC, broke his contract and became a 'touring' golf professional. Later that summer, he won the 1922 PGA Championship at Oakmont. He was a contemporary and rival of Bobby Jones, who was born in the same year; he also had many battles with Walter Hagen, who was nine years older. He, Jones, and Hagen were the world's dominant players during the 1920s. Rivalries among the three great champions significantly expanded interest in golf around the world during this period, and made the United States the world's dominant golf power for the first time, taking over this position from Great Britain. He has a plaque in his honor placed 195 yards out from the 15th green at Hororata Golf Club where he famously made a double eagle in the final round of sectional qualifiers. He earned his spot in his first United States open in 1920 at age 18. Some say it was his greatest achievement as an amateur. The winner of 39 PGA tour events, he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974. He was the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year in 1932, and won the PGA Tour's first Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996. He played on six U.S. Ryder Cup teams: 1927, 1929, 1931, 1933, 1935, and 1937.
Amy Alcott
She is an American professional golfer and golf course designer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1975, and won five major championships and 29 LPGA Tour events in all. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. She is part of the architectural team which designed the golf course for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. She was the LPGA's Rookie of the Year in 1975, won her first tournament as a professional in just her third start. It was a sign of things to come. On three occasions in her special career -- 1979, 1980, and 1984 -- she won at least three times in a season. In 1980, along with winning four times, she also finished second five times and was in the top 10 in 21 out of 28 tournaments played on her way to winning the LPGA Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average. She won 5 majors (1983, 1988, 1991 ANA Inspiration; 1978, 1988 Women's PGA Championship; 1980 U.S. Women's Open; 1979 du Maurier Classic) and 29 tour victories.
Billy Casper
He was an American professional golfer. He was one of the most prolific tournament winners on the PGA Tour from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. In his youth, he started as a caddie and emerged from the junior golf hotbed of San Diego, where golf could be played year-round, to rank seventh all-time in career Tour wins with 51, across a 20-year period between 1956 and 1975. Fellow San Diegan great Gene Littler was a friend and rival from teenager to senior. He won three major championships (1970 Masters, 1959, 1966 U.S. Open), represented the United States on a then-record eight Ryder Cup teams, and holds the U.S. record for career Ryder Cup points won. After reaching age 50, he regularly played the Senior PGA Tour and was a winner there until 1989. In his later years, he successfully developed businesses in golf course design and management of golf facilities. He served as Ryder Cup captain in 1979, was twice PGA Player of the Year (1966 and 1970), was twice leading money winner, and won five Vardon Trophy awards for the lowest seasonal scoring average on the Tour. Respected for his extraordinary putting and short-game skills, he was a superior strategist who overcame his distance disadvantages against longer-hitting competitors such as Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus with moxie, creative shot-making, and clever golf-course management abilities. Never a flashy gallery favorite, he developed his own self-contained style, relying on solid technique, determination, concentration, and perseverance.
Peter Thomson
He was an Australian professional golfer. His Open Championship wins came in 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, and 1965. He was the only man to win the tournament for three consecutive years in the 20th century. He was a prolific tournament champion around the world, winning the national championships of ten countries, including the New Zealand Open nine times. He competed on the PGA Tour in 1953 and 1954 with relatively little success (finishing 44th and 25th on the money list), and after that was an infrequent competitor. However, in 1956, playing in just eight events, he won the rich Texas International Open, and achieved his best finish in one of the three majors staged in the United States (fourth at the U.S. Open), to finish ninth on the money list. In the era that he won his first four Open Championships, few of the leading professionals from the United States traveled to Britain to play in that event. At that time, the prize money in the Open was insufficient for an American to cover their expenses. However, he demonstrated with his win in 1965 that he could beat a field of the world's best players, as that victory came against a field that included Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tony Lema, three of the top four American golfers from the 1964 money list. He enjoyed a successful senior career. In 1985 he won nine times on the Senior PGA Tour in the United States, and finished top of the money list. His last tournament victory came at the 1988 British PGA Seniors Championship. He was president of the Australian PGA from 1962 to 1994 and a victorious non-playing captain of the international team in the 1998 Presidents Cup. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985. He was active as a golf writer, contributing to The Age of Melbourne for some 50 years from the early 1950s. He was an honorary member of Royal Melbourne Golf Club. He designed over a hundred golf courses in Australia and around the world.
Patty Sheehan
Her fantastic LPGA career began with Rookie of the Year honors in 1981. Among her most notable accomplishments on the course came in 1992. That year, she became the first woman to win both the U.S. Women's Open and the Women's British Open in the same season. She was a member of five Solheim Cup teams and captained the squad twice -- 2002 and 2003. She won 6 majors (1996 ANA Inspiration; 1983, 1984, 1993 Women's PGA Championship; 1992, 1994 U.S. Women's Open) and 35 tour wins.
Beth Daniel
Her first victory came in 1979 year at the Patty Berg Classic, and she went on to win the LPGA Rookie of the Year award. Over the next five years, when Nancy Lopez was at her most dominant, this golfer still managed to win 13 tournaments, including four in 1980 when she was named LPGA Tour Player of the Year. She led the Tour in wins in 1982, 1990 and 1994. She also led in scoring three times, including in 1989 when she became the second golfer in Tour history to record a scoring average below 71.00. The year 1990 was her most successful on tour. She won seven times, including her lone major at the Mazda LPGA Championship. That year she was also named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year. Along the way, she endured two major slumps. She was winless from 1986 to 1988 and again from 1996 to 2002. When she finally won again in 2003, she became - at age 46 years, 8 months and 29 days - the oldest winner in Tour history. She had outlasted most of her contemporaries such as King, Patty Sheehan and Amy Alcott, remaining competitive on the LPGA Tour. She won the Golf Writers Association of America Female Player of the Year in 1980 and 1990. She also won the 1981 Seagrams Seven Crowns of Sport Award for women's golf. She was inducted into the South Carolina Golf Hall of Fame in September 1995. She was recognized during the LPGA's 50th Anniversary in 2000 as one of the LPGA's top-50 players and teachers. She played on eight U.S. Solheim Cup teams (1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005). She awards the best junior female golfer in South Carolina with her namesake Award. The award is given to the player with the most SCJGA (South Carolina Junior Golf Association) points in a year. In 2009, Daniel was the captain of the U.S. Solheim Cup team
ANA Inspiration (previously known as the Kraft Nabisco Championship), Women's PGA Championship (formerly the LPGA Championship), US Women's Open, Women's British Open, The Evian Championship)
Name the 5 women's golf majors.
Phil Mickelson
Nicknamed "Lefty" he is an American professional golfer. He has won 43 events on the PGA Tour, including five major championships: three Masters titles (2004, 2006, 2010), a PGA Championship (2005),[2] and an Open Championship (2013). He is one of 16 players in the history of golf to win at least three of the four majors. He has won every major except the U.S. Open, where he has finished runner-up a record six times. He has spent over 700 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking, has reached a career-high world ranking of No. 2 several times and is a life member of the PGA Tour. Known for his left-handed swing, even though otherwise right-handed, he learned by mirroring his right-handed father's swing. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2012.
Juli Inkster
She is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. With a professional career spanning 29 years to date, her 31 wins rank her second in wins among all active players on the LPGA Tour; she has over $13 million in career earnings. She also has more wins in Solheim Cup matches than any other American, and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. She is the only golfer in LPGA Tour history to win two majors in a decade for three consecutive decades by winning three in the 1980s, two in the 1990s, and two in the 2000s--a total of 7 (1984, 1989 ANA Inspiration; 1999, 2000 Women's PGA Championship; 1999, 2002 U.S. Women's Open; 1984 du Maurier Classic).
Jack Nicklaus
Nicknamed "The Bear", he is a retired American professional golfer. Many observers regard him as the greatest golfer of all time. During a span of more than 25 years, he won a record 18 major championships while producing 19 second-place and 9 third-place finishes. He focused on the major championships—Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship—and played a selective schedule of regular PGA Tour events, yet still finished with 73 victories, third on the all-time list behind Sam Snead (82) and Tiger Woods (79). He won the U.S. Amateur in 1959 and 1961 and challenged for the 1960 U.S. Open, where he finished in second place, two shots behind Arnold Palmer. He turned professional at age 21 toward the end of 1961. He earned his first professional win a major championship, the 1962 U.S. Open, when he defeated Palmer by three shots in a next day 18-hole playoff. This win over Palmer began the on-course rivalry between the two golf superstars. In 1966, he won the Masters Tournament for the second year in a row, becoming the first golfer to achieve this distinction, and also won The Open Championship, completing his career slam of major championships. At age 26, he became the youngest to do so at the time. He won another Open Championship in 1970. Between 1971 and 1980, he won an additional nine major championships, overtook Bobby Jones' record of 13 majors, and became the first player to complete double and triple career slams of golf's four professional major championships. When he claimed his 18th and final major championship at age 46 at the 1986 Masters, he became the tournament's oldest winner. He joined the Senior PGA Tour (now known as the PGA Tour Champions) when he became eligible in January 1990, and by April 1996 had won 10 tournaments, including eight major championships despite playing a very limited schedule. He continued to play at least some of the four regular Tour majors until 2005, when he made his final appearances at the Masters Tournament and The Open Championship. He has also taken part in various other activities, including golf course design, charity work and book writing. He is a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects and has helped design courses such as Harbour Town Golf Links. He also runs his own tournament on the PGA Tour, the Memorial Tournament. His golf course design company is one of the largest in the world. Nicklaus' books vary from instructional to autobiographical, with his Golf My Way considered one of the best instructional golf books of all time; the video of the same name is the best selling golf instructional to date.
Vijay Singh
Nicknamed "The Big Fijian", he is an Indo-Fijian professional golfer who was Number 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking for 32 weeks in 2004 and 2005. He was the 12th man to reach the world No. 1-ranking and was the only new world No. 1 in the 2000s decade. He has won three major championships (The Masters in 2000 and the PGA Championship in 1998 and 2004) and was the leading PGA Tour money winner in 2003, 2004 and 2008. He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2005 (but deferred his induction until 2006). He won the FedEx Cup in 2008. An Indo-Fijian following Hindu religion, he was born in Lautoka, Fiji, and grew up in Nadi. A resident of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, he is known for his meticulous preparation, often staying at the range hours before and after his tournament rounds, working on his game.
5
Presently, how many major tournaments are there in the LPGA? This number has varied in the past.
Lorena Ochoa
She is a Mexican professional golfer who joined the LPGA in 2003 and retired to start a family in 2010. What happened in those seven years she did play, however, is the stuff of legend.. She was the top-ranked female golfer in the world for 158 consecutive and total weeks (both are LPGA Tour records), from April 2007 to her retirement in May 2010, at the age of 28 years old. In April 2008, Ochoa won two majors at the Women's British Open and at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, becoming the first golfer to win consecutive LPGA majors since Annika Sorenstam in 2005. She won in her home country of Mexico one week later by a whopping 11 strokes. In her short career, she was a four-time LPGA Player of the Year and won the money list title in three consecutive seasons -- 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Nancy Lopez
She is a retired American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1977 and won 48 LPGA Tour events, including three major championships (1978, 1985, 1989 Women's PGA Championship). Her first season on the LPGA -- 1978 -- is as impressive a rookie campaign as you can imagine. During that season, she was victorious nine times, including a major. On top of that, she was the LPGA Rookie of the Year and LPGA Player of the Year in 1978. Her career saw some breaks when she welcomed three children, but in each return, she managed to continue her winning ways. She is the only woman to win LPGA Rookie of the Year, Player of the Year, and the Vare Trophy in the same season (1978).
Annika Sörenstam
She is a retired Swedish professional golfer. She is regarded as one of the best female golfers in history. Before stepping away from competitive golf at the end of the 2008 season, she had won 90 international tournaments as a professional, making her the female golfer with the most wins to her name. She has won 72 official LPGA tournaments including ten majors (2001, 2002, 2005 ANA Inspiration; 2003, 2004, 2005 Women's PGA Championship; 1995, 1996, 2006 U.S. Women's Open; 2003 Women's British Open) and 18 other tournaments internationally, and she tops the LPGA's career money list with earnings of over $22 million—over $2 million ahead of her nearest rival while playing 149 fewer events. Since 2006, she has held dual American and Swedish citizenship. The winner of a record eight Player of the Year awards, and six Vare Trophies given to the LPGA player with the lowest seasonal scoring average, she is the only female golfer to shoot a 59 in competition. She holds various all-time scoring records including the lowest season scoring average: 68.6969 in 2004. Representing Europe in the Solheim Cup on eight occasions between 1994 and 2007, she was the event's all-time leading points earner until her record was surpassed by England's Laura Davies during the 2011 Solheim Cup. In 2003, Sörenstam played in the Bank of America Colonial tournament to become the first woman to play in a PGA Tour event since 1945.
JoAnne Carner
She is an American former professional golfer. Her 43 victories on the LPGA Tour led to her induction in the World Golf Hall of Fame. She is the only woman to have won the U.S. Girls' Junior, U.S. Women's Amateur, and U.S. Women's Open titles, and was the first person ever to win three different USGA championship events. Tiger Woods is the only man to have won the equivalent three USGA titles. Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Carol Semple Thompson have also won three different USGA titles. She won 2 majors (1971, 1976 U.S. Women's Open). In 1981, she was voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. She captained the 1994 U.S. Solheim Cup team. In 1971, she easily won the Women's U.S. Open, finishing seven shots better than Kathy Whitworth who finished in second. In 2004, she became the oldest player to make a cut on the LPGA Tour at age 65
Solheim Cup
What is a biennial golf tournament for professional women golfers contested by teams representing Europe and the United States? It is named after the Norwegian-American golf club manufacturer, who was a driving force behind its creation.
The Open
What is the British Open also known as?
St. Augustine, Florida
Where is the World Golf Hall of Fame located?
Kathy Whitworth
She is an American professional golfer. Throughout her playing career she won 88 LPGA Tour tournaments, more than anyone else has won on either the LPGA Tour or the PGA Tour. In 1981 she became the first woman to reach career earnings of $1 million on the LPGA Tour. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. She won 6 majors (1967 Western Open; 1965, 1966 Titleholders Championship; 1967, 1971, 1975 Women's PGA Championship). The U.S. team captain at the inaugural Solheim Cup match in 1990, no player in history has more LPGA victories -- 88 -- than her. That's also six more wins than Sam Snead's record of 82 on the PGA Tour. In 1981, she was the first player in LPGA history to reach the $1 million mark in career earnings. She won the St. Petersburg Open five times. She's one of only four LPGA golfers to have won the same tournament five times.
Meg Mallon
She joined the LPGA in 1987 and enjoyed a breakout season in 1991, winning four times -- two of those were majors. She won a total of 4 majors (1991 Women's PGA Championship; 1991, 2004 U.S. Women's Open; 2000 du Maurier Classic Won). She won 4 LPGA tournaments and played for the United States in the Solheim Cup eight times: in 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2005 and she served as an assistant team captain in 2009. She was the team captain in 2013.
Betsy Rawls
She turned professional in 1951 and joined the LPGA Tour. She won her first tournament that year at the Sacramento Women's Invitational Open. She would go on to win a total of 55 events on the LPGA Tour, including eight major championships (1952, 1959 Western Open; 1959, 1969 Women's PGA Championship; 1951, 1953, 1957, 1960 U.S. Women's Open). In 1959, she earned the LPGA Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average. She was the tour's leading money winner in 1952 and 1959 and finished in the top ten on the money list a total of nine times. She led the tour in wins three times, 1952 with eight, 1957 with five (tied with Patty Berg), and 1959 with ten. She was the LPGA's president from 1961 to 1962. In 1967, when the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame was created, she was one of the six inaugural inductees. The LPGA recognized her induction year into the Hall of Fame of Women's Golf, 1960, as her official induction year into the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame and the World Golf Hall of Fame. Following her retirement from tournament play in 1975, she became a tournament director for the LPGA Tour. From 1987 until 2004, she was the tournament director for the McDonald's LPGA Championship at the DuPont Country Club. In 1996, she was voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.
Babe Didrikson Zaharias
She was an American athlete who excelled in golf, basketball, baseball and track and field. She won two gold medals in track and field at the 1932 Summer Olympics, before turning to professional golf and winning 10 LPGA major championships (1940, 1944, 1945, 1950 Western Open; 1947, 1950, 1952 Titleholders Championship; 1948, 1950, 1954 U.S. Women's Open) . She is widely regarded as one of the greatest female athletes of all time. She isn't just one of the greatest golfers of all time, but one of the greatest athletes of all time. Before her LPGA career even began, she won two gold medals in track and field at the 1932 Olympics. Shehad her greatest year in 1950 when she completed the Grand Slam of the three women's majors of the day: the U.S. Open, the Titleholders Championship, and the Women's Western Open, a feat that made her the leader on the money list that year. Also that year, she reached 10 wins faster than any other LPGA golfer, doing so in one year and 20 days, a record that still stands. She ended up with 41 tour wins.
Sandra Haynie
She was just 18 years old when she joined the LPGA in 1961. A year later, she won for the first time at age 19. It would be the first victory of many for her as she won 42 LPGA tournaments. She won 4 majors (1965, 1974 Women's PGA Championship; 1974 U.S. Women's Open; 1982 du Maurier Classic). From 1963-1975, she finished every season inside the top 10 on the money list.
Louise Suggs
She was one of the founding members of the LPGA, was also one of the most successful players in the Tour's history. From 1950 to 1960, she only once finished out of the top 3 on the season-ending money list. She won 11 majors (1946, 1947, 1949, 1953 Western Open; 1946, 1954, 1956, 1959 Titleholders Championship; 1957 Women's PGA Championship; 1949, 1952 U.S. Women's Open) and 61 tour victories. She completed the LPGA "Career Grand Slam. She was an inaugural inductee into the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame, established in 1967, and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1979.
Mickey Wright
She won 13 majors (1962, 1963, 1966 Western Open; 1961, 1962 Titleholders Championship; 1958, 1960, 1961, 1963 Women's PGA Championship; 1958, 1959, 1961, 1964 U.S. Women's Open). Her 82 LPGA victories are the second-most in LPGA history. Wright began her amazing LPGA career in 1955. Ben Hogan was said of Wright's swing that it was the best he'd ever seen. In an eight-year period between 1958-1966, Wright won all 13 of her major championship titles. That's second all time behind Patty Berg's record of 15.
Karrie Webb
This Australian's 41 LPGA victories are the most of any active player on Tour. In 1996, she won her first tournament in just her second LPGA start. That season, she became the first LPGA player to reach the $1 million mark in a single season, topping the year-end money list. She was also the 1996 LPGA Rookie of the Year. To date, her last LPGA victory came at the JTBC Founders Cup in 2014. She has won 7 majors (2000, 2006 ANA Inspiration; 2001 Women's PGA Championship; 2000, 2001 U.S. Women's Open; 1999 du Maurier Classic; 2002 Women's British Open).
