Who Was Kathy Whitworth? Noted Record-Breaker Golfer Passes Away

This Christmas weekend, the golf world lost a legendary player. Kathy Whitworth, the winningest professional golfer in history, died on Christmas Eve at the age of 83. In her long and distinguished career, she has won 88 Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tournaments, more than any other male or female player in history. She has won six major championships.

Whitworth suddenly collapsed and died when she was at a neighbourhood Christmas party in Flower Mound, Texas, where she resided. Her partner, Betty Oddle, confirmed her demise and said that she had passed away while spending Christmas with her family and friends. In a statement released by the LPGA, Oddle said, "Kathy left this world the way she lived her life—loving, laughing, and making memories."

Who Was Kathy Whitworth?

The iconic American golf player was born in Texas and started playing golf at the age of nine. At the age of 13, she was the top-ranked junior golfer in Texas. She turned into a professional golf player at the age of 18 in 1958. She won her first professional tournament, The Amarillo Open, in 1959.

“I was really fortunate in that I knew what I wanted to do,” Whitworth once told Golf Digest. “Golf just grabbed me by the throat. I can’t tell you how much I loved it. I used to think everyone knew what they wanted to do when they were 15 years old.”

Her LPGA Tour victory was nearly a quarter-century in the making, as she became the first woman to earn a million dollars on the LPGA Tour. In 1962, she won the first of her 88 titles in the Kelly girls open. Her final victory was at the United Virginia Band Classic in 1985. Whitworth was the Associated Press female athlete of the year in 1965 and 1967. She was also named LPGA player of the year seven times between 1966 and 1973.

She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1982. The only achievement missing from her golf career was the US Women's Open. Whitworth said that she would have swapped being the first to make a million for winning the US Women's Open.

Whitworth founded the Kathy Whitworth Foundation, which is committed to supporting the participation of junior girls in golf. The Kathy Whitworth Scholarship fund provides financial assistance to junior golfers.

Suggested Reading: USA Equal Pay Bill: All Athletes To Be Paid Equally, Irrespective Of Gender