Sally Little

Sally Little
Personal information
Born	(1951-10-12) 12 October 1951 (age 73) Cape Town, South Africa
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Sporting nationality	South Africa   United States
Career
Turned professional	1971
Former tour(s)	LPGA Tour (1971–2005)
Professional wins	15
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour	15
Best results in LPGA major championships (wins: 2)
Titleholders C'ship	T13: 1972
Chevron Championship	T5: 1984
Women's PGA C'ship	Won: 1980
U.S. Women's Open	T2/2nd: 1978, 1986
du Maurier Classic	Won: 1988
Women's British Open	DNP
Achievements and awards
LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year 1971 South African Hall of Fame 2016

Sally Little (born 12 October 1951) is a South African-born professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1971 and won 15 LPGA Tour events, including two major championship, during her career. In 2016, she became the first female golfer from South Africa inducted into the South African Hall of Fame.

Early life

Little was born in Cape Town. As a girl, Gary Player encouraged her to play golf. Little originally resisted but after she broke her leg at the age of 15 golf was the only sport she could play. She began playing golf the following year. Little told The Plain Dealer , "Gary encouraged me when I was 13, but I didn't listen until I was 16. I broke my leg when I was 15 and could only play golf and became interested." ^[1]

Amateur career

She was the low individual at the 1970 World Amateur Team Championship and won the South African Match Play and Stroke Play titles that same year. As an amateur, she tied for fifth at the 1971 Lady Carling Open.

Professional career

Little joined the LPGA Tour in 1971 and was named LPGA Rookie of the Year. Her first professional win was at the 1976 Women's International. Little holed a shot from a greenside bunker on the 72nd hole to edge Jan Stephenson by one shot. ^[2]

Little's best season was 1982, when she finished third on the money list. That year, in August, she also became a United States citizen.

She has won 15 times on the tour, including two major championships, the 1988 du Maurier Classic and the 1980 LPGA Championship.

Awards and honors

• In 1989, she earned the Ben Hogan Award from the Golf Writers Association of America
• In 2000, she was recognized during the LPGA's 50th Anniversary in 2000 as one of the LPGA's top-50 players and teachers.
• In 2016, she was inducted into the South African Hall of Fame ^[3]

Professional wins

LPGA Tour (15)

Legend
LPGA Tour major championships (2)
Other LPGA Tour (13)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	9 May 1976	Women's International	−7 (71-69-71-70=281)	1 stroke	Jan Stephenson
2	19 Mar 1978	Kathryn Crosby/Honda Civic Classic	−6 (77-70-70-65=282)	Playoff	Nancy Lopez
3	4 Mar 1979	Bent Tree Classic	−10 (72-67-72-67=278)	2 strokes	Nancy Lopez
4	20 Aug 1979	Barth Classic	−8 (68-69-71=208)	1 stroke	Pat Bradley
5	9 Sep 1979	Columbia Savings Classic	−7 (66-71-72=209)	2 strokes	Beth Daniel Judy Rankin
6	8 Jun 1980	LPGA Championship	−3 (69-70-73-73=285)	3 strokes	Jane Blalock
7	27 Jul 1980	WUI Classic	−4 (69-71-69-75=284)	4 strokes	Amy Alcott Beth Daniel
8	8 Feb 1981	Elizabeth Arden Classic	−5 (71-72-72-68=283)	Playoff	JoAnne Carner Judy Rankin
9	2 Mar 1981	Olympia Gold Classic	−4 (71-71=142)	1 stroke	Lori Garbacz Kathy Whitworth
10	3 May 1981	CPC Women's International	−1 (73-71-73-70=287)	Playoff	Hollis Stacy Kathy Whitworth
11	15 Mar 1982	Olympia Gold Classic	−4 (75-74-69-70=288)	2 strokes	Donna White
12	4 Apr 1982	Nabisco Dinah Shore Invitational	−10 (76-67-71-64=278)	3 strokes	Sandra Haynie Hollis Stacy
13	9 May 1982	United Virginia Bank Classic	−11 (72-69-67=208)	Playoff	Kathy Whitworth
14	18 Jul 1982	Mayflower Classic	−13 (71-66-70-68=275)	5 strokes	Beth Daniel
15	3 Jul 1988	du Maurier Classic	−9 (74-65-69-71=279)	1 stroke	Laura Davies

Note: Little won the Nabisco Dinah Shore Invitational (now known as the Kraft Nabisco Championship) before it became a major championship.

LPGA Tour playoff record (4–2)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1978	Kathryn Crosby/Honda Civic Classic	Nancy Lopez	Won with par on first extra hole
2	1981	Elizabeth Arden Classic	JoAnne Carner Judy Rankin	Won with par on third extra hole Carner eliminated by par on second hole
3	1981	CPC Women's International	Hollis Stacy Kathy Whitworth	Won with birdie on first extra hole
4	1982	Arizona Copper Classic	Ayako Okamoto	Lost to birdie on second extra hole
5	1982	United Virginia Bank Classic	Kathy Whitworth	Won with birdie on first extra hole
6	1986	U.S. Women's Open	Jane Geddes	Lost 18-hole playoff (Geddes:71, Little:73)

Major championships

Wins (2)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1980	LPGA Championship	−3 (69-70-73-73=285)	3 strokes	Jane Blalock
1988	du Maurier Classic	−9 (74-65-69-71=279)	1 stroke	Laura Davies

Team appearances

Amateur

• Espirito Santo Trophy (representing South Africa): 1970

Professional

• Handa Cup (representing World team): 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 (tie)

See also

• List of golfers with most LPGA Tour wins

References

1. "Feb 10, 1974, page 61 - The Plain Dealer at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
2. Sand Trap shot wins for Little
3. "Sally Little First Female Golfer Inducted Into South African Hall of Fame". LPGA. 8 December 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.

External links

• Sally Little at the LPGA Tour official site
• Sally Little at the Legends Tour official site (also at former site )
• Sally Little at golf.about.com at the Wayback Machine (archived 11 November 2007)