Betsy King | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
Born | Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S. | August 13, 1955||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | ||||||||||||||||
Sporting nationality | United States | ||||||||||||||||
Residence | Limekiln, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
Career | |||||||||||||||||
College | Furman University | ||||||||||||||||
Turned professional | 1977 | ||||||||||||||||
Former tour(s) | LPGA Tour (1977-2005) | ||||||||||||||||
Professional wins | 39 | ||||||||||||||||
Number of wins by tour | |||||||||||||||||
LPGA Tour | 34 | ||||||||||||||||
Ladies European Tour | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
LPGA of Japan Tour | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Other | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Best results in LPGA major championships (wins: 6) | |||||||||||||||||
Chevron Championship | Won: 1987, 1990, 1997 | ||||||||||||||||
Women's PGA C'ship | Won: 1992 | ||||||||||||||||
U.S. Women's Open | Won: 1989, 1990 | ||||||||||||||||
du Maurier Classic | 2nd/T2: 1989, 1993 | ||||||||||||||||
Women's British Open | 59th: 2002 | ||||||||||||||||
Achievements and awards | |||||||||||||||||
|
Betsy King (born August 13, 1955) is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1977 and won six major championships and 34 LPGA Tour victories in all.
King was born on born August 13, 1955, in Reading, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Exeter Township High School in 1973. She played collegiately at Furman University, and was on the 1976 national championship team that included future LPGA players Beth Daniel, Sherri Turner and Cindy Ferro. She was low amateur at the 1976 U.S. Women's Open.
King joined the LPGA Tour in 1977. She won her first tournament at the 1984 Women's Kemper Open. She won three titles in 1984, and added 21 top-10 finishes to earn LPGA Tour Player of the Year honors. From 1984 through 1989, she won a total of 20 LPGA events, more wins than any other golfer in the world, male or female, during that time period. [1]
After that first win in 1984, King won at least once each of the next 10 years, with a high of six victories in 1989. She finished in the top-10 on the money list every year from 1985–95, and again in 1997. Along the way, she was named Player of the Year three times, won two scoring titles and three money titles. In 1993, she won a scoring title and the money title, but only one tournament. She finished second five times, including at two majors. She averaged a major a year from 1987 to 1992, then won a sixth major in 1997. The last of her 34 LPGA wins came in 2001. With her 30th win in 1995, she gained entry into the World Golf Hall of Fame. [1]
From 1996 to 2004, there was an event on Tour, the Wachovia LPGA Classic, hosted by King. She was also a worker for charitable causes, organizing Habitat for Humanity house building projects and working in former Soviet bloc countries with orphan relief agencies. She played for the United States in the Solheim Cup five times (1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998) and was the captain of the 2007 United States team. She led the team to a 16–12 win over Europe in the 2007 Solheim Cup held in Halmstad, Sweden between September 14 and 16, 2007. In 2001, she was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.
Legend |
LPGA Tour major championships (6) |
Other LPGA Tour (26) |
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Mar 25, 1984 | Women's Kemper Open | −9 (71-72-73-73=289) | 3 strokes | Pat Bradley |
2 | Apr 29, 1984 | Freedom/Orlando Classic | −14 (69-67-66=202) | 2 strokes | Alice Miller |
3 | Aug 26, 1984 | Columbia Savings Classic | −7 (72-70-67-72=281) | 1 stroke | Muffin Spencer-Devlin |
4 | Mar 3, 1985 | Samaritan Turquoise Classic | −8 (69-68-72-71=280) | Playoff | Patty Sheehan |
5 | Sep 2, 1985 | Rail Charity Classic | −11 (65-73-67=205) | 2 strokes | Janet Anderson |
6 | Aug 10, 1986 | Henredon Classic | −11 (70-67-70-70=277) | Playoff | JoAnne Carner |
7 | Sep 1, 1986 | Rail Charity Classic | −11 (70-72-63=205) | Playoff | Cathy Gerring Alice Ritzman |
8 | Mar 22, 1987 | Circle K Tucson Open | −7 (70-71-72-68=281) | 2 strokes | Jan Stephenson |
9 | Apr 5, 1987 | Nabisco Dinah Shore | −5 (68-75-72-68=283) | Playoff | Patty Sheehan |
10 | Jun 7, 1987 | McDonald's Championship | −6 (72-68-71-67=278) | 2 strokes | Ayako Okamoto |
11 | Aug 23, 1987 | Atlantic City LPGA Classic | −6 (70-71-66=207) | 3 strokes | Nancy Lopez |
12 | Mar 6, 1988 | Women's Kemper Open | −8 (73-72-66-69=280) | 1 stroke | Beth Daniel |
13 | Sep 5, 1988 | Rail Charity Golf Classic | −9 (68-68-71=207) | 2 strokes | Margaret Ward |
14 | Sep 11, 1988 | Cellular One-Ping Golf Championship | −3 (71-70-72=213) | 1 stroke | Colleen Walker |
15 | Jan 15, 1989 | The Jamaica Classic | −11 (64-68-70=202) | 1 stroke | Nancy Lopez |
16 | Feb 26, 1989 | Women's Kemper Open | −14 (63-72-67=202) | 2 strokes | Jane Geddes |
17 | Apr 23, 1989 | USX Golf Classic | −13 (67-70-72-66=275) | Playoff | Lynn Adams |
18 | Jun 25, 1989 | McDonald's Championship | −16 (69-65-71-67=272) | 2 strokes | Pat Bradley Shirley Furlong |
19 | Jul 16, 1989 | U.S. Women's Open | −6 (67-71-72-68=278) | 4 strokes | Nancy Lopez |
20 | Aug 27, 1989 | Nestle World Championship | −13 (66-71-70-68=275) | 1 stroke | Pat Bradley Patty Sheehan |
21 | Apr 1, 1990 | Nabisco Dinah Shore | −5 (69-70-69-75=283) | 2 strokes | Shirley Furlong Kathy Postlewait |
22 | Jul 15, 1990 | U.S. Women's Open | −4 (72-71-71-70=284) | 1 stroke | Patty Sheehan |
23 | Aug 19, 1990 | JAL Big Apple Classic | −15 (75-67-63-68=273) | 3 strokes | Beth Daniel |
24 | May 26, 1991 | LPGA Corning Classic | −15 (69-73-65-66=273) | 6 strokes | Deb Richard |
25 | Jul 21, 1991 | JAL Big Apple Classic | −9 (73-66-67-73=279) | 1 stroke | Ayako Okamoto |
26 | May 17, 1992 | Mazda LPGA Championship | −17 (68-66-67-66=267) | 11 strokes | JoAnne Carner Liselotte Neumann Karen Noble |
27 | Jul 12, 1992 | The Phar-Mor in Youngstown | −7 (71-67-71=209) | Playoff | Donna Andrews Beth Daniel Meg Mallon |
28 | Nov 8, 1992 | Mazda Japan Classic 1 | −11 (66-72-67=205) | Playoff | Helen Alfredsson |
29 | Nov 7, 1993 | Toray Japan Queens Cup 1 | −11 (68-70-67=205) | 1 stroke | Jane Geddes |
30 | Jun 25, 1995 | ShopRite LPGA Classic | −9 (66-71-67=204) | 2 strokes | Beth Daniel Rosie Jones |
31 | Mar 30, 1997 | Nabisco Dinah Shore | −12 (71-67-67-71=276) | 2 strokes | Kris Tschetter |
32 | Feb 19, 2000 | Cup Noodles Hawaiian Ladies Open | −12 (67-67-70=204) | 2 strokes | Brandie Burton |
33 | May 28, 2000 | LPGA Corning Classic | −12 (69-68-69-70=276) | Playoff | Vicki Goetze-Ackerman Kelli Kuehne |
34 | Jul 1, 2001 | ShopRite LPGA Classic | −12 (65-69-67=201) | 2 strokes | Lorie Kane |
1Co-sanctioned by the LPGA of Japan Tour
LPGA Tour playoff record (8–6)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1979 | Wheeling Classic | Debbie Massey | Lost to par on first extra hole |
2 | 1985 | Samaritan Turquoise Classic | Patty Sheehan | Won with eagle on first extra hole |
3 | 1986 | Henredon Classic | JoAnne Carner | Won with par on second extra hole |
4 | 1986 | Rail Charity Classic | Cathy Gerring Alice Ritzman | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
5 | 1986 | Konica San Jose Classic | Amy Alcott Ayako Okamoto Patty Sheehan | Sheehan won with birdie on first extra hole |
6 | 1987 | Mazda Classic | Kathy Postlewait | Lost to par on first extra hole |
7 | 1987 | Nabisco Dinah Shore | Patty Sheehan | Won with par on second extra hole |
8 | 1988 | Crestar Classic | Juli Inkster Rosie Jones Nancy Lopez | Inkster won with eagle on first extra hole |
9 | 1989 | USX Golf Classic | Lynn Adams | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
10 | 1992 | The Phar-Mor in Youngstown | Donna Andrews Beth Daniel Meg Mallon | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
11 | 1992 | Mazda Japan Classic | Helen Alfredsson | Won with birdie on fourth extra hole |
12 | 1993 | du Maurier Ltd. Classic | Brandie Burton | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
13 | 1994 | Toray Japan Queens Cup | Woo-Soon Ko | Lost to par on first extra hole |
14 | 2000 | LPGA Corning Classic | Vicki Goetze-Ackerman Kelli Kuehne | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
LPGA majors are shown in bold.
1Co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour
Year | championship | Winning score | Margin | Runner(s)-up |
---|---|---|---|---|
1987 | Nabisco Dinah Shore | −5 (68-75-72-68=283) | Playoff1 | Patty Sheehan |
1989 | U.S. Women's Open | −4 (67-71-72-68=278) | 4 stroke | Nancy Lopez |
1990 | Nabisco Dinah Shore | −5 (69-70-69-75=283) | 2 strokes | Shirley Furlong, Kathy Postlewait |
1990 | U.S. Women's Open | −4 (72-71-71-70=284) | 1 stroke | Patty Sheehan |
1992 | Mazda LPGA Championship | −17 (68-66-67-66=267) | 11 strokes | JoAnne Carner, Liselotte Neumann, Karen Noble |
1997 | Nabisco Dinah Shore | −12 (71-67-67-71=276) | 2 strokes | Kris Tschetter |
1 Won on second extra hole with a par
Tournament | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
LPGA Championship | T49 | CUT | T27 | ||
U.S. Women's Open | T8 | CUT | T20 | CUT | CUT |
du Maurier Classic | ... | ... | ... | T26 |
Tournament | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kraft Nabisco Championship | ... | ... | T52 | T24 | T7 | 4 | 1 | T35 | T4 | 1 |
LPGA Championship | T38 | T21 | T11 | T7 | T44 | CUT | 2 | T24 | T8 | T5 |
U.S. Women's Open | T21 | T25 | T32 | T5 | T8 | T3 | T4 | T12 | 1 | 1 |
du Maurier Classic | T38 | T12 | T25 | 3 | CUT | T3 | 7 | T19 | T2 | T10 |
Tournament | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kraft Nabisco Championship | T11 | 56 | T2 | T48 | T11 | CUT | 1 | T61 | 77 | CUT |
LPGA Championship | 7 | 1 | T4 | T17 | T11 | T14 | T53 | T37 | T69 | T23 |
U.S. Women's Open | T28 | T16 | T7 | T6 | T3 | CUT | T28 | CUT | T47 | T46 |
du Maurier Classic | T6 | T28 | 2 | T4 | T5 | CUT | T3 | 3 | T23 |
Tournament | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kraft Nabisco Championship | 74 | T36 | T28 | T58 | T62 | ||||||
LPGA Championship | T54 | T47 | CUT | T17 | CUT | ||||||
U.S. Women's Open | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | ||||||
Women's British Open ^ | 59 | CUT | T60 |
^ The Women's British Open replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major in 2001.
CUT = missed the half-way cut.
WD = withdrew
DQ = disqualified
"T" = tied
Professional
Nancy Marie Lopez is an American former professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1977 and won 48 LPGA Tour events, including three major championships.
Dame Laura Jane Davies, is an English female professional golfer. She has achieved the status of her nation's most accomplished female golfer of modern times, being the second non-American to finish at the top of the LPGA money list as well as winning the Ladies European Tour (LET) Order of Merit a record seven times: in 1985, 1986, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2004 and 2006.
Beth Daniel is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1979 and won 33 LPGA Tour events, including one major championship, during her career. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Juli Inkster is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. With a professional career spanning 29 years to date, Inkster's 31 wins rank her second in wins among all active players on the LPGA Tour; she has over $14 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. Inkster 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.
Pat Bradley is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1974 and won 31 tour events, including six major championships. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Amy Alcott 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 was a part of the architectural team that designed the golf course for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Dottie Pepper is an American professional golfer and television golf broadcaster. From 1988 to 1995 she competed as Dottie Mochrie, which was her married name before a divorce. She won two major championships and 17 LPGA Tour events in all.
JoAnne Gunderson Carner 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.
Ayako Okamoto is a Japanese professional golfer. She won 62 tournaments internationally, including 17 on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Patty Sheehan is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1980 and won six major championships and 35 LPGA Tour events in all. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Meg Mallon is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1987 and won 18 LPGA Tour events, including four major championships, during her career. Mallon was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2017.
Liselotte Maria "Lotta" Neumann is a Swedish professional golfer. When she recorded her first LPGA Tour win, by claiming the 1988 U.S. Women's Open title, Neumann also became the first Swedish golfer, male or female, to win a major championship.
Alison Nicholas is an English professional golfer, who won the 1997 U.S. Women's Open.
Helen Christine Alfredsson is a Swedish professional golfer who played primarily on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and is also a life member of the Ladies European Tour. She won the LPGA major Nabisco Dinah Shore and twice finished second in the U.S. Women's Open. She also won the Women's British Open once and the Evian Masters three times before those events were designated as majors in women's golf by the LPGA Tour. In 2019, she won a "senior slam" by winning both of the senior women's major championships.
Sophie Gustafson is a Swedish professional golfer. She was a member of the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and is a life member of the Ladies European Tour (LET). She has five LPGA Tour and 23 international wins in her career, including victories on five of the six continents on which golf is played: North America, Europe, Australia, Africa and Asia. She is a four-time LET Order of Merit winner and represented Europe in the Solheim Cup on each team from 1998 to 2011. She won the Women's British Open in 2000, the year before it was recognized as a major championship by the LPGA Tour and finished runner-up in 2005 and 2006.
Pat Hurst is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour.
Sherri Steinhauer is an American professional golfer who plays on the Legends Tour. She retired from the LPGA Tour in 2012 after a 26-year career. She was born in Madison, Wisconsin and attended The University of Texas at Austin. Her rookie season on the LPGA Tour was 1986. She has won eight tournaments on the Tour, including two major championships, the 1992 du Maurier Classic and 2006 Women's British Open.
Michele Redman is an American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour from 1992 through 2011. She is currently the women's golf coach at the University of Minnesota.
Wendy Ward is an American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour.
Linn Maria Grant is a Swedish professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour. She won the 2023 Dana Open on the LPGA Tour. As an amateur, she won the 2017 Ladies' British Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship.