Full name Betsy King Turned professional 1977 Height 1.68 m LPGA of Japan tour wins 1 College Furman University Role Golfer Ladies european tour 1 | Residence Limekiln, Pennsylvania Name Betsy King Former tours LPGA Nationality United States Professional wins 39 Education Furman University | |
Born August 13, 1955 (age 68)
Reading, Pennsylvania ( 1955-08-13 ) Awards Best Female Golfer ESPY Award | ||
Arizona Golf Hall of Fame - Betsy 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.
Contents
- Arizona Golf Hall of Fame Betsy King
- Career
- LPGA Tour 34
- Ladies European Tour 1
- LPGA of Japan Tour 1
- Legends Tour 1
- Other 3
- Wins 6
- Results timeline
- Summary
- Team appearances
- References
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.
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.
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.
In 2001, King was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.
LPGA Tour (34)
LPGA Tour playoff record (8–6)
LPGA majors are shown in bold.
Ladies European Tour (1)
LPGA of Japan Tour (1)
Legends Tour (1)
Other (3)
Wins (6)
1 Won on second extra hole with a par
Results timeline
^ 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
Team appearances
Professional