Betsy King

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Betsy King
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name Betsy King
Born (1955-08-13) August 13, 1955 (age 68)
Reading, Pennsylvania
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Nationality  United States
Residence Limekiln, Pennsylvania
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 1
Other 3
Best results in LPGA major championships
(wins: 6)
ANA Inspiration 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 was also a childhood name for Lizzie Lloyd King.

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.

Career

King was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. King 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. King was low amateur at the 1976 U.S. Women's Open, then 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, King 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, King 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 14 and 16 September 2007. She is the last American to date to be the leading money winner on the LPGA Tour.[1]

In 2001, King 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. 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 United States Pat Bradley
2 Apr 29, 1984 Freedom/Orlando Classic −14 (69-67-66=202) 2 strokes United States Alice Miller
3 Aug 26, 1984 Columbia Savings Classic −7 (72-70-67-72=281) 1 stroke United States Muffin Spencer-Devlin
4 Mar 3, 1985 Samaritan Turquoise Classic −8 (69-68-72-71=280) Playoff United States Patty Sheehan
5 Sep 2, 1985 Rail Charity Classic −11 (65-73-67=205) 2 strokes United States Janet Anderson
6 Aug 10, 1986 Henredon Classic −11 (70-67-70-70=277) Playoff United States JoAnne Carner
7 Sep 1, 1986 Rail Charity Classic −11 (70-72-63=205) Playoff United States Cathy Gerring
United States Alice Ritzman
8 Mar 22, 1987 Circle K Tucson Open −7 (70-71-72-68=281) 2 strokes Australia Jan Stephenson
9 Apr 5, 1987 Nabisco Dinah Shore −5 (68-75-72-68=283) Playoff United States Patty Sheehan
10 Jun 7, 1987 McDonald's Championship −6 (72-68-71-67=278) 2 strokes Japan Ayako Okamoto
11 Aug 23, 1987 Atlantic City LPGA Classic −6 (70-71-66=207) 3 strokes United States Nancy Lopez
12 Mar 6, 1988 Women's Kemper Open −8 (73-72-66-69=280) 1 stroke United States Beth Daniel
13 Sep 5, 1988 Rail Charity Golf Classic −9 (68-68-71=207) 2 strokes United States Margaret Ward
14 Sep 11, 1988 Cellular One-Ping Golf Championship −3 (71-70-72=213) 1 stroke United States Colleen Walker
15 Jan 15, 1989 The Jamaica Classic −11 (64-68-70=202) 1 stroke United States Nancy Lopez
16 Feb 26, 1989 Women's Kemper Open −14 (63-72-67=202) 2 strokes United States Jane Geddes
17 Apr 23, 1989 USX Golf Classic −13 (67-70-72-66=275) Playoff United States Lynn Adams
18 Jun 25, 1989 McDonald's Championship −16 (69-65-71-67=272) 2 strokes United States Pat Bradley
United States Shirley Furlong
19 Jul 16, 1989 U.S. Women's Open −6 (67-71-72-68=278) 4 strokes United States Nancy Lopez
20 Aug 27, 1989 Nestle World Championship −13 (66-71-70-68=275) 1 stroke United States Pat Bradley
United States Patty Sheehan
21 Apr 1, 1990 Nabisco Dinah Shore −5 (69-70-69-75=283) 2 strokes United States Shirley Furlong
United States Kathy Postlewait
22 Jul 15, 1990 U.S. Women's Open −4 (72-71-71-70=284) 1 stroke United States Patty Sheehan
23 Aug 19, 1990 JAL Big Apple Classic −15 (75-67-63-68=273) 3 strokes United States Beth Daniel
24 May 26, 1991 LPGA Corning Classic −15 (69-73-65-66=273) 6 strokes United States Deb Richard
25 Jul 21, 1991 JAL Big Apple Classic −9 (73-66-67-73=279) 1 stroke Japan Ayako Okamoto
26 May 17, 1992 Mazda LPGA Championship −17 (68-66-67-66=267) 11 strokes United States JoAnne Carner
Sweden Liselotte Neumann
United States Karen Noble
27 Jul 12, 1992 The Phar-Mor in Youngstown −7 (71-67-71=209) Playoff United States Donna Andrews
United States Beth Daniel
United States Meg Mallon
28 Nov 8, 1992 Mazda Japan Classic −11 (66-72-67=205) Playoff Sweden Helen Alfredsson
29 Nov 7, 1993 Toray Japan Queens Cup −11 (68-70-67=205) 1 stroke United States Jane Geddes
30 Jun 25, 1995 ShopRite LPGA Classic −9 (66-71-67=204) 2 strokes United States Beth Daniel
United States Rosie Jones
31 Mar 30, 1997 Nabisco Dinah Shore −12 (71-67-67-71=276) 2 strokes United States Kris Tschetter
32 Feb 19, 2000 Cup Noodles Hawaiian Ladies Open −12 (67-67-70=204) 2 strokes United States Brandie Burton
33 May 28, 2000 LPGA Corning Classic −12 (69-68-69-70=276) Playoff United States Vicki Goetze-Ackerman
United States Kelli Kuehne
34 Jul 1, 2001 ShopRite LPGA Classic −12 (65-69-67=201) 2 strokes Canada Lorie Kane

LPGA Tour playoff record (8–6)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1979 Wheeling Classic United States Debbie Massey Lost to par on first extra hole
2 1985 Samaritan Turquoise Classic United States Patty Sheehan Won with eagle on first extra hole
3 1986 Henredon Classic United States JoAnne Carner Won with par on second extra hole
4 1986 Rail Charity Classic United States Cathy Gerring
United States Alice Ritzman
Won with birdie on second extra hole
5 1986 Konica San Jose Classic United States Amy Alcott
Japan Ayako Okamoto
United States Patty Sheehan
Sheehan won with birdie on first extra hole
6 1987 Mazda Classic United States Kathy Postlewait Lost to par on first extra hole
7 1987 Nabisco Dinah Shore United States Patty Sheehan Won with par on second extra hole
8 1988 Crestar Classic United States Juli Inkster
United States Rosie Jones
United States Nancy Lopez
Inkster won with eagle on first extra hole
9 1989 USX Golf Classic United States Lynn Adams Won with birdie on first extra hole
10 1992 The Phar-Mor in Youngstown United States Donna Andrews
United States Beth Daniel
United States Meg Mallon
Won with birdie on first extra hole
11 1992 Mazda Japan Classic Sweden Helen Alfredsson Won with birdie on fourth extra hole
12 1993 du Maurier Ltd. Classic United States Brandie Burton Lost to birdie on first extra hole
13 1994 Toray Japan Queens Cup South Korea Woo-Soon Ko Lost to par on first extra hole
14 2000 LPGA Corning Classic United States Vicki Goetze-Ackerman
United States Kelli Kuehne
Won with birdie on second extra hole

LPGA majors are shown in bold.

Ladies European Tour (1)

Note: King won the Ladies British Open (now known as the Women's British Open) before it became a major championship.

LPGA of Japan Tour (1)

  • 1981 Itsuki-Ajinomoto Charity Classic

Legends Tour (1)

Other (3)

Major championships

Wins (6)

Year championship Winning score Margin Runner(s)-up
1987 Nabisco Dinah Shore −5 (68-75-72-68=283) playoff1 United States Patty Sheehan
1989 U.S. Women's Open −4 (67-71-72-68=278) 4 stroke United States Nancy Lopez
1990 Nabisco Dinah Shore −5 (69-70-69-75=283) 2 strokes United States Shirley Furlong, United States Kathy Postlewait
1990 U.S. Women's Open −4 (72-71-71-70=284) 1 stroke United States Patty Sheehan
1992 Mazda LPGA Championship −17 (68-66-67-66=267) 11 strokes United States JoAnne Carner, Sweden Liselotte Neumann, United States Karen Noble
1997 Nabisco Dinah Shore −12 (71-67-67-71=276) 2 strokes United States Kris Tschetter

1 Won on second extra hole with a par

Results timeline

Tournament 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980
LPGA Championship DNP DNP T49 CUT T27
U.S. Women's Open T8 CUT T20 CUT CUT
du Maurier Classic ... ... ... T26 DNP
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 DNP T23
Tournament 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Kraft Nabisco Championship 74 T36 T28 T58 T62 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
LPGA Championship T54 T47 CUT T17 CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Women's Open CUT CUT CUT CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT
Women's British Open ^ DNP 59 CUT T60 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP

^ The Women's British Open replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major in 2001.
DNP = did not play.
CUT = missed the half-way cut.
"T" = tied
WD = withdrew
DQ = disqualified
Green background for a win. Yellow background for a top-10 finish.

Summary

  • Starts – 106
  • Wins – 6
  • 2nd-place finishes – 4
  • 3rd-place finishes – 6
  • Top 3 finishes – 16
  • Top 5 finishes – 24
  • Top 10 finishes – 35
  • Top 25 finishes – 55
  • Missed cuts – 19
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 38
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 8

Team appearances

Professional

See also

References

External links

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