Duration | January 7, 1972 – November 5, 1972 |
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Number of official events | 29 |
Most wins | 5 ![]() |
Money leader | ![]() |
Player of the Year | ![]() |
Rookie of the Year | ![]() |
← 1971 1973 → |
The 1972 LPGA Tour was the 23rd season since the LPGA Tour officially began in 1950. The season ran from January 7 to November 5. The season consisted of 29 official money events. Kathy Whitworth won the most tournaments, five. Whitworth led the money list with earnings of $65,063.
The season saw the first tournament with a $100,000 purse, the Dinah Shore Colgate Winner's Circle ($110,000). It also saw the first player to win over $50,000 in a season, Whitworth. There were two first-time winners in 1972: Betty Burfeindt and Betsy Cullen. This season saw the return, for 1972 only, of the LPGA major, the Titleholders Championship. It also saw the last of Betsy Rawls' 55 LPGA wins.
The tournament results and award winners are listed below.
The following table shows all the official money events for the 1972 season. [1] "Date" is the ending date of the tournament. The numbers in parentheses after the winners' names are the number of wins they had on the tour up to and including that event. Majors are shown in bold.
^ - weather-shortened tournament
After she finished the second round of the Bluegrass Invitational held in Louisville, Kentucky, Jane Blalock was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. Tourney director Gene McAuliff said Blalock did not mark her ball properly on the 17th green and then failed to take a two-stroke penalty for the infraction as required. [2]
Less than two weeks later, the LPGA executive board suspended Blalock for one year "for actions inconsistent with the code of ethics of the organization". [3] The executive board claimed Blalock had been under suspicion for over a year, that she had moved her ball illegally on multiple occasions and that there were witnesses to these happenings, plus that Blalock had admitted to her guilt. [4] Twenty-seven other LPGA Tour players signed a petition arguing that probation, a fine, and disqualification from the Louisville tournament were not enough punishment. [5] LPGA Executive Director Bud Erickson asked Blalock to feign a back injury so to avoid bad publicity but she refused. [6]
Fellow LPGA Tour golfer Sandra Palmer defended Blalock. In addition to saying she had never seen Blalock commit any rules violations, Palmer stated she didn't understand why the alleged infractions weren't reported at the time they happened and why other players signed Blalock's scorecards without reporting the incidents. Palmer also said, "If you see an infraction of the rules, you should point it out immediately. You don't wait until three years later to report something. Once you've signed that card, you're as guilty as the person who committed the violation." [7] The LPGA executive went on to warn Palmer in regards to her statements. [8] Palmer was also placed on probation for one year by the LPGA Tour and ordered not to make further statements of support for Jane Blalock. [9]
Blalock filed a lawsuit against the LPGA. In the suit, Blalock's lawyers motioned the court asking that Blalock be allowed to continue playing while the suit was resolved. [10] U.S. District Court Judge Charles A. Moye Jr. granted the motion. [11] Moye did however rule that any money Blalock earned while her case was being resolved would be placed in a court trust. [12] Blalock went on to win two more times in 1972, at the Dallas Civitan Open [13] and the Lady Errol Classic. [14]
Kathrynne Ann Whitworth was an American professional golfer. During her playing career she won 88 LPGA Tour tournaments, more than anyone else on the LPGA or PGA Tours. Whitworth was also a runner-up 93 times, giving her 181 top-two finishes. 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.
Barbara Jane Blalock is an American business executive and retired professional golfer. After winning several New England golf tournaments in her youth, Blalock joined the LPGA Tour as a professional in 1969, being named LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 1969 and Most Improved Golfer in 1970 and 1971. She won the historically notable Dinah Shore Colgate Winner's Circle in 1972, earning "the richest prize in women's golf history." After successfully fighting a suspension from the LPGA for allegedly signing an incorrect scorecard a month after Dinah Shore, by 1977 she was the sixth-highest paid female golfer of all time. The Evening Independent described her as "one of the foremost women golfers of her time" the following year. Nursing a herniated disc, Blalock failed to win a tournament from 1981 until 1984, though after two wins in 1985 she was named Comeback Player of the Year by Golf Digest.
Sandra Palmer is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1964 and won 19 LPGA Tour events, including two major championships, during her career. She was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2023 and will be inducted in 2024.
The 500 Festival Open Invitation was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played during the 1960s in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was sponsored by The 500 Festival, a not-for-profit volunteer organization created in 1957 to organize civic events to promote the Indianapolis 500.
The St. Petersburg Women's Open was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1954 to 1989. It was played at three different courses in the St. Petersburg, Florida area.
The Elizabeth Arden Classic was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1969 to 1986. It was played at several different courses in the Miami, Florida area.
The Potamkin Cadillac Classic was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1968 to 1984 sponsored by Victor Potamkin. It was played at three different courses in the Atlanta, Georgia area.
The Mary Kay Classic was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1956 to 1982. It was played at four different courses in the Dallas, Texas area.
The Greater Baltimore Golf Classic was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1962 to 1980. It was played at the Turf Valley Country Club in Ellicott City, Maryland from 1962 to 1966 and at the Pine Ridge Golf Course in Timonium, Maryland from 1967 to 1980.
The Lady Errol Classic was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1972 to 1974. It was founded by Joan Majors with help from her neighbor Martha Rayborn. Majors lived in Winter Park, Florida with her husband John, and three children, Kathy, Diana and Gary. The golf tournament was played at the Errol Estates Country Club in Apopka, Florida. When Majors' husband was transferred to Columbia, South Carolina, she was unable to direct the tournament and it ceased to continue.
The 1962 LPGA Tour was the 13th season since the LPGA Tour officially began in 1950. The season ran from January 19 to November 4. The season consisted of 29 official money events. Mickey Wright won the most tournaments, 10. She also led the money list with earnings of $21,641. The first Rookie of the Year was won by Mary Mills.
The 1966 LPGA Tour was the 17th season since the LPGA Tour officially began in 1950. The season ran from March 17 to December 4. The season consisted of 32 official money events. Kathy Whitworth won the most tournaments, nine. She also led the money list with earnings of $33,517.
The 1970 LPGA Tour was the 21st season since the LPGA Tour officially began in 1950. The season ran from February 12 to October 25. The season consisted of 21 official money events. Shirley Englehorn won the most tournaments, four. Kathy Whitworth led the money list with earnings of $30,235.
The 1971 LPGA Tour was the 22nd season since the LPGA Tour officially began in 1950. The season ran from February 18 to October 17. The season consisted of 20 official money events. Kathy Whitworth won the most tournaments, five. She also led the money list with earnings of $41,181.
The 1974 LPGA Tour was the 25th season since the LPGA Tour officially began in 1950. The season ran from February 1 to November 24. The season consisted of 32 official money events. JoAnne Carner and Sandra Haynie won the most tournaments, six each. Carner led the money list with earnings of $87,094.
The 1975 LPGA Tour was the 26th season since the LPGA Tour officially began in 1950. The season ran from January 31 to November 23. The season consisted of 27 official money events. Sandra Haynie and Carol Mann won the most tournaments, four each. Sandra Palmer led the money list with earnings of $76,374.
The 1999 LPGA Tour was the 50th season since the LPGA Tour officially began in 1950. The season ran from January 15 to November 14. The season consisted of 38 official money events. Karrie Webb won the most tournaments, six. She also led the money list with earnings of $1,591,959.
Jane Blalock v. Ladies Professional Golf Association was an ongoing lawsuit that took place between 1972 and 1975, following a professional golf incident in 1972. A month after winning the Dinah Shore Colgate Winner's Circle in 1972, American golfer Jane Blalock was allegedly observed replacing her marker incorrectly at the Bluegrass Invitational during the 1972 LPGA Tour. Blalock was fined and suspended by the LPGA Tour executive board. The suspension led to a fair degree of press coverage, with Blalock filing an antitrust countersuit in United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia shortly afterwards.