Betsy King

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Betsy King was also a childhood name for Lizzie Lloyd King.

Betsy King
Personal information
Born (1955-08-13) August 13, 1955 (age 69)
Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Sporting nationalityFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Residence Limekiln, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Career
College Furman University
Turned professional1977
Former tour(s) LPGA Tour (1977–2005)
Professional wins39
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour34
Ladies European Tour1
LPGA of Japan Tour3
Other3
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
World Golf Hall of Fame 1995 (member page)
LPGA Tour
Money Winner
1984, 1989, 1993
LPGA Tour
Player of the Year
1984, 1989, 1993
LPGA Vare Trophy 1987, 1993
GWAA Female
Player of the Year
1987, 1989
Best Female Golfer
ESPY Award
1994
LPGA William and
Mousie Powell Award
1996
Silver Anniversary
Awards (NCAA)
2002

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.

Contents

Early life, college and amateur career

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.

Professional career

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.

Professional wins (39)

LPGA Tour (34)

Legend
LPGA Tour major championships (6)
Other LPGA Tour (26)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1Mar 25, 1984 Women's Kemper Open −9 (71-72-73-73=289)3 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Pat Bradley
2Apr 29, 1984 Freedom/Orlando Classic −14 (69-67-66=202)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Alice Miller
3Aug 26, 1984 Columbia Savings Classic −7 (72-70-67-72=281)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Muffin Spencer-Devlin
4Mar 3, 1985 Samaritan Turquoise Classic −8 (69-68-72-71=280)Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Patty Sheehan
5Sep 2, 1985 Rail Charity Classic −11 (65-73-67=205)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Janet Anderson
6Aug 10, 1986 Henredon Classic −11 (70-67-70-70=277)Playoff Flag of the United States.svg JoAnne Carner
7Sep 1, 1986 Rail Charity Classic −11 (70-72-63=205)Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Cathy Gerring
Flag of the United States.svg Alice Ritzman
8Mar 22, 1987 Circle K Tucson Open −7 (70-71-72-68=281)2 strokes Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jan Stephenson
9Apr 5, 1987 Nabisco Dinah Shore −5 (68-75-72-68=283)Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Patty Sheehan
10Jun 7, 1987 McDonald's Championship −6 (72-68-71-67=278)2 strokes Flag of Japan.svg Ayako Okamoto
11Aug 23, 1987 Atlantic City LPGA Classic −6 (70-71-66=207)3 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Nancy Lopez
12Mar 6, 1988 Women's Kemper Open −8 (73-72-66-69=280)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Beth Daniel
13Sep 5, 1988 Rail Charity Golf Classic −9 (68-68-71=207)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Margaret Ward
14Sep 11, 1988 Cellular One-Ping Golf Championship −3 (71-70-72=213)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Colleen Walker
15Jan 15, 1989 The Jamaica Classic −11 (64-68-70=202)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Nancy Lopez
16Feb 26, 1989 Women's Kemper Open −14 (63-72-67=202)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Jane Geddes
17Apr 23, 1989 USX Golf Classic −13 (67-70-72-66=275)Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Lynn Adams
18Jun 25, 1989 McDonald's Championship −16 (69-65-71-67=272)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Pat Bradley
Flag of the United States.svg Shirley Furlong
19Jul 16, 1989 U.S. Women's Open −6 (67-71-72-68=278)4 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Nancy Lopez
20Aug 27, 1989 Nestle World Championship −13 (66-71-70-68=275)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Pat Bradley
Flag of the United States.svg Patty Sheehan
21Apr 1, 1990 Nabisco Dinah Shore −5 (69-70-69-75=283)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Shirley Furlong
Flag of the United States.svg Kathy Postlewait
22Jul 15, 1990 U.S. Women's Open −4 (72-71-71-70=284)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Patty Sheehan
23Aug 19, 1990 JAL Big Apple Classic −15 (75-67-63-68=273)3 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Beth Daniel
24May 26, 1991 LPGA Corning Classic −15 (69-73-65-66=273)6 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Deb Richard
25Jul 21, 1991 JAL Big Apple Classic −9 (73-66-67-73=279)1 stroke Flag of Japan.svg Ayako Okamoto
26May 17, 1992 Mazda LPGA Championship −17 (68-66-67-66=267)11 strokes Flag of the United States.svg JoAnne Carner
Flag of Sweden.svg Liselotte Neumann
Flag of the United States.svg Karen Noble
27Jul 12, 1992 The Phar-Mor in Youngstown −7 (71-67-71=209)Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Donna Andrews
Flag of the United States.svg Beth Daniel
Flag of the United States.svg Meg Mallon
28Nov 8, 1992 Mazda Japan Classic 1−11 (66-72-67=205)Playoff Flag of Sweden.svg Helen Alfredsson
29Nov 7, 1993 Toray Japan Queens Cup 1−11 (68-70-67=205)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Jane Geddes
30Jun 25, 1995 ShopRite LPGA Classic −9 (66-71-67=204)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Beth Daniel
Flag of the United States.svg Rosie Jones
31Mar 30, 1997 Nabisco Dinah Shore −12 (71-67-67-71=276)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Kris Tschetter
32Feb 19, 2000 Cup Noodles Hawaiian Ladies Open −12 (67-67-70=204)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Brandie Burton
33May 28, 2000 LPGA Corning Classic −12 (69-68-69-70=276)Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Vicki Goetze-Ackerman
Flag of the United States.svg Kelli Kuehne
34Jul 1, 2001 ShopRite LPGA Classic −12 (65-69-67=201)2 strokes Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Lorie Kane

1Co-sanctioned by the LPGA of Japan Tour

LPGA Tour playoff record (8–6)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
11979 Wheeling Classic Flag of the United States.svg Debbie Massey Lost to par on first extra hole
21985 Samaritan Turquoise Classic Flag of the United States.svg Patty Sheehan Won with eagle on first extra hole
31986 Henredon Classic Flag of the United States.svg JoAnne Carner Won with par on second extra hole
41986 Rail Charity Classic Flag of the United States.svg Cathy Gerring
Flag of the United States.svg Alice Ritzman
Won with birdie on second extra hole
51986 Konica San Jose Classic Flag of the United States.svg Amy Alcott
Flag of Japan.svg Ayako Okamoto
Flag of the United States.svg Patty Sheehan
Sheehan won with birdie on first extra hole
61987 Mazda Classic Flag of the United States.svg Kathy Postlewait Lost to par on first extra hole
71987 Nabisco Dinah Shore Flag of the United States.svg Patty Sheehan Won with par on second extra hole
81988 Crestar Classic Flag of the United States.svg Juli Inkster
Flag of the United States.svg Rosie Jones
Flag of the United States.svg Nancy Lopez
Inkster won with eagle on first extra hole
91989 USX Golf Classic Flag of the United States.svg Lynn Adams Won with birdie on first extra hole
101992 The Phar-Mor in Youngstown Flag of the United States.svg Donna Andrews
Flag of the United States.svg Beth Daniel
Flag of the United States.svg Meg Mallon
Won with birdie on first extra hole
111992 Mazda Japan Classic Flag of Sweden.svg Helen Alfredsson Won with birdie on fourth extra hole
121993 du Maurier Ltd. Classic Flag of the United States.svg Brandie Burton Lost to birdie on first extra hole
131994 Toray Japan Queens Cup Flag of South Korea.svg Woo-Soon Ko Lost to par on first extra hole
142000 LPGA Corning Classic Flag of the United States.svg Vicki Goetze-Ackerman
Flag of the United States.svg Kelli Kuehne
Won with birdie on second extra hole

LPGA majors are shown in bold.

Ladies European Tour (1)

Note: King won the Women's British Open once before it became co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour in 1994 and recognized as a major championship by the LPGA Tour in 2001

LPGA of Japan Tour (3)

1Co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour

Legends Tour (1)

Other (3)

Major championships

Wins (6)

YearchampionshipWinning scoreMarginRunner(s)-up
1987 Nabisco Dinah Shore −5 (68-75-72-68=283)Playoff1 Flag of the United States.svg Patty Sheehan
1989 U.S. Women's Open −4 (67-71-72-68=278)4 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Nancy Lopez
1990 Nabisco Dinah Shore −5 (69-70-69-75=283)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Shirley Furlong, Flag of the United States.svg Kathy Postlewait
1990 U.S. Women's Open −4 (72-71-71-70=284)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Patty Sheehan
1992 Mazda LPGA Championship −17 (68-66-67-66=267)11 strokes Flag of the United States.svg JoAnne Carner, Flag of Sweden.svg Liselotte Neumann, Flag of the United States.svg Karen Noble
1997 Nabisco Dinah Shore −12 (71-67-67-71=276)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Kris Tschetter

1 Won on second extra hole with a par

Results timeline

Tournament19761977197819791980
LPGA Championship T49CUTT27
U.S. Women's Open T8CUTT20CUTCUT
du Maurier Classic .........T26
Tournament1981198219831984198519861987198819891990
Kraft Nabisco Championship ......T52T24T741T35T41
LPGA Championship T38T21T11T7T44CUT2T24T8T5
U.S. Women's Open T21T25T32T5T8T3T4T1211
du Maurier Classic T38T12T253CUTT37T19T2T10
Tournament1991199219931994199519961997199819992000
Kraft Nabisco Championship T1156T2T48T11CUT1T6177CUT
LPGA Championship 71T4T17T11T14T53T37T69T23
U.S. Women's Open T28T16T7T6T3CUTT28CUTT47T46
du Maurier Classic T6T282T4T5CUTT33T23
Tournament200120022003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Kraft Nabisco Championship 74T36T28T58T62
LPGA Championship T54T47CUTT17CUT
U.S. Women's Open CUTCUTCUTCUTCUT
Women's British Open ^59CUTT60

^ The Women's British Open replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major in 2001.

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut.
WD = withdrew
DQ = disqualified
"T" = tied

Summary

Team appearances

Professional

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Betsy King at about.com". Archived from the original on February 28, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2007.