Women’s golf legend Kathy Whitworth passes away at age 83

Kathy Whitworth (YouTube)

According to Evin Priest of Golf Digest, women’s golf legend Kathy Whitworth of Monahans, Texas passed away at the age of 83. Whitworth has the record for the most LPGA Tour wins all-time with 88.

Of Whitworth’s 88 LPGA Tour wins were six major titles. She won the 1965 and 1966 Titleholders Championship in Augusta, Georgia, the 1967 Women’s Western Open in Peoria, Illinois, and three LPGA Championships (1967 and 1971 in Sutton, Massachusetts, and 1975 in Lutherville, Maryland).

It should be noted that the Titleholders Championship was considered a major from 1937 to 1942, 1946 to 1966, and 1972. Whitworth was one of seven multiple-major winners of the Titleholders Championship. Patty Berg of Minneapolis, Minnesota won the most all-time with seven.

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Whitworth’s three LPGA Championships (now known as the Women’s PGA Championships) are the third most all-time. Only Mickey Wright of San Diego, California, who passed away on February 17, 2020, has more LPGA Championships all-time with four.

Whitworth is 10th all-time in women’s golf with six major titles. Berg is the all-time leader with 15. Whitworth’s 88 LPGA titles are six more than Wright, who is second with 82 championships.

In 1965 and 1966, Whitworth was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year. She is one of six golfers to win the award on multiple occasions. The other five are Babe Didrikson, who won the award a record six times (1932, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1950, and 1954), Annika Sorenstam of Sweden (2003, 2004 and 2005), Mickey Wright (1963 and 1964), Nancy Lopez (1978 and 1985), and Lorena Ochoa of Mexico (2006 and 2007).

Whitworth’s most dominant LPGA Tour victory was by 12 strokes. That came in 1966 when she won the Milwaukee Jaycee Open. In 1975, Whitworth was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Where would you rank Whitworth as the greatest women’s golfers of all-time?

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