Betsy King


Betsy King 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.
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 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.
In 2001, King was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.

Professional wins (39)

LPGA Tour (34)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1Mar 25, 1984Women's Kemper Open−9 3 strokes Pat Bradley
2Apr 29, 1984Freedom/Orlando Classic−14 2 strokes Alice Miller
3Aug 26, 1984Columbia Savings Classic−7 1 stroke Muffin Spencer-Devlin
4Mar 3, 1985Samaritan Turquoise Classic−8 Playoff Patty Sheehan
5Sep 2, 1985Rail Charity Classic−11 2 strokes Janet Anderson
6Aug 10, 1986Henredon Classic−11 Playoff JoAnne Carner
7Sep 1, 1986Rail Charity Classic−11 Playoff Cathy Gerring
Alice Ritzman
8Mar 22, 1987Circle K Tucson Open−7 2 strokes Jan Stephenson
9Apr 5, 1987Nabisco Dinah Shore−5 Playoff Patty Sheehan
10Jun 7, 1987McDonald's Championship−6 2 strokes Ayako Okamoto
11Aug 23, 1987Atlantic City LPGA Classic−6 3 strokes Nancy Lopez
12Mar 6, 1988Women's Kemper Open−8 1 stroke Beth Daniel
13Sep 5, 1988Rail Charity Golf Classic−9 2 strokes Margaret Ward
14Sep 11, 1988Cellular One-Ping Golf Championship−3 1 stroke Colleen Walker
15Jan 15, 1989The Jamaica Classic−11 1 stroke Nancy Lopez
16Feb 26, 1989Women's Kemper Open−14 2 strokes Jane Geddes
17Apr 23, 1989USX Golf Classic−13 Playoff Lynn Adams
18Jun 25, 1989McDonald's Championship−16 2 strokes Pat Bradley
Shirley Furlong
19Jul 16, 1989U.S. Women's Open−6 4 strokes Nancy Lopez
20Aug 27, 1989Nestle World Championship−13 1 stroke Pat Bradley
Patty Sheehan
21Apr 1, 1990Nabisco Dinah Shore−5 2 strokes Shirley Furlong
Kathy Postlewait
22Jul 15, 1990U.S. Women's Open−4 1 stroke Patty Sheehan
23Aug 19, 1990JAL Big Apple Classic−15 3 strokes Beth Daniel
24May 26, 1991LPGA Corning Classic−15 6 strokes Deb Richard
25Jul 21, 1991JAL Big Apple Classic−9 1 stroke Ayako Okamoto
26May 17, 1992Mazda LPGA Championship−17 11 strokes JoAnne Carner
Liselotte Neumann
Karen Noble
27Jul 12, 1992The Phar-Mor in Youngstown−7 Playoff Donna Andrews
Beth Daniel
Meg Mallon
28Nov 8, 1992Mazda Japan Classic1−11 Playoff Helen Alfredsson
29Nov 7, 1993Toray Japan Queens Cup1−11 1 stroke Jane Geddes
30Jun 25, 1995ShopRite LPGA Classic−9 2 strokes Beth Daniel
Rosie Jones
31Mar 30, 1997Nabisco Dinah Shore−12 2 strokes Kris Tschetter
32Feb 19, 2000Cup Noodles Hawaiian Ladies Open−12 2 strokes Brandie Burton
33May 28, 2000LPGA Corning Classic−12 Playoff Vicki Goetze-Ackerman
Kelli Kuehne
34Jul 1, 2001ShopRite LPGA Classic−12 2 strokes Lorie Kane

1Co-sanctioned by the LPGA of Japan Tour
LPGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11979Wheeling Classic Debbie MasseyLost to par on first extra hole
21985Samaritan Turquoise Classic Patty SheehanWon with eagle on first extra hole
31986Henredon Classic JoAnne CarnerWon with par on second extra hole
41986Rail Charity Classic Cathy Gerring
Alice Ritzman		Won with birdie on second extra hole
51986Konica San Jose Classic Amy Alcott
Ayako Okamoto
Patty Sheehan		Sheehan won with birdie on first extra hole
61987Mazda Classic Kathy PostlewaitLost to par on first extra hole
71987Nabisco Dinah Shore Patty SheehanWon with par on second extra hole
81988Crestar Classic Juli Inkster
Rosie Jones
Nancy Lopez		Inkster won with eagle on first extra hole
91989USX Golf Classic Lynn AdamsWon with birdie on first extra hole
101992The Phar-Mor in Youngstown Donna Andrews
Beth Daniel
Meg Mallon		Won with birdie on first extra hole
111992Mazda Japan Classic Helen AlfredssonWon with birdie on fourth extra hole
121993du Maurier Ltd. Classic Brandie BurtonLost to birdie on first extra hole
131994Toray Japan Queens Cup Woo-Soon KoLost to par on first extra hole
142000LPGA Corning Classic Vicki Goetze-Ackerman
Kelli Kuehne		Won with birdie on second extra hole

LPGA majors are shown in bold.

Ladies European Tour (1)

1Co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour

Legends Tour (1)

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

Summary

Professional