Beth Daniel


Beth Daniel is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1979 and won 33 LPGA Tour events, including one major championship, during her career. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Early life and amateur career

Daniel was born on October 14, 1956, in Charleston, South Carolina. She played her collegiate golf at Furman University, and was on the 1976 national championship team that included future LPGA players Betsy King, Sherri Turner and Cindy Ferro. In 1977, she won the Broderick Award as the nation's best female collegiate golfer. Daniel won the U.S. Women's Amateur in 1975 and 1977, the Women's Western Amateur in 1978, and was on the U.S. Curtis Cup teams in 1976 and 1978. She turned pro at the end of 1978 and joined the LPGA Tour in 1979.

Professional career

Daniel's first victory came in 1979 year at the Patty Berg Classic, and she went on to win the LPGA Rookie of the Year award. Over the next five years, when Nancy Lopez was at her most dominant, she still managed to win 13 tournaments, including four in 1980 when she was named LPGA Tour Player of the Year. Daniel led the Tour in wins in 1982, 1990 and 1994. She also led in scoring three times, including in 1989 when she became the second golfer in Tour history to record a scoring average below 71.00.
The year 1990 was Daniel's most successful on tour. She won seven times, including her lone major at the Mazda LPGA Championship. That year she was also named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year. Along the way, she endured two major slumps. She was winless from 1986 to 1988 and again from 1996 to 2002. When she finally won again in 2003, she became - at age 46 years, 8 months and 29 days - the oldest winner in Tour history. She had outlasted most of her contemporaries such as King, Patty Sheehan and Amy Alcott, remaining competitive on the LPGA Tour.
Daniel won the Golf Writers Association of America Female Player of the Year in 1980 and 1990. She also won the 1981 Seagrams Seven Crowns of Sport Award for women's golf. She was inducted into the South Carolina Golf Hall of Fame in September 1995. She was recognized during the LPGA's 50th Anniversary in 2000 as one of the LPGA's top-50 players and teachers.
Daniel played on eight U.S. Solheim Cup teams.
By 2005 Daniel had cut back her schedule, and played just five events by 2007. That year she also served as assistant captain on the U.S. Solheim Cup team, and was named captain for the American squad in 2009. In 2007, she joined the Golf Channel as a substitute analyst for LPGA Tournament coverage. Her first event was the 2007 Safeway Classic.
Daniel also awards the best junior female golfer in South Carolina with the Beth Daniel Award. The award is given to the player with the most SCJGA points in a year.
In 2009, Daniel was the captain of the U.S. Solheim Cup team that defeated Europe by a score of 16–12 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois.

Personal life

Beth Daniel is in a long-term relationship with fellow golfer Meg Mallon. In, 2017 Mallon reveled that she and Beth Daniel, have been in a relationship for nearly 25 years.

Professional wins (41)

LPGA Tour wins (33)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner-up
1Aug 26, 1979Patty Berg Classic−11 4 strokes

LPGA of Japan Tour wins (4)

Wins (1)

Results timeline

Tournament1981198219831984198519861987198819891990
Kraft Nabisco Championship......T24T11T7T22T6T6
LPGA ChampionshipT5T7T16T2T10T15T58T141
U.S. Women's Open2T2WDT10CUTT21T33T10T20T6
du Maurier ClassicT172T63T6T1427CUTT47T73

Tournament1991199219931994199519961997199819992000
Kraft Nabisco ChampionshipT30T8T69T19T47CUT72T43T47
LPGA Championship4T35T17T7T18T26T58CUTT33
U.S. Women's OpenT11CUTT53T18CUTT19T31T478
du Maurier ClassicWDT17CUTT45T36T54T13T23

Tournament2001200220032004200520062007
Kraft Nabisco ChampionshipT55T14T5T40T9T13
LPGA ChampionshipT262T3T39T54T39CUT
U.S. Women's OpenT24T7T20T27CUT
Women's British Open ^CUTT16T14T5T56T6T50

^ The Women's British Open replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major in 2001.
CUT = missed the half-way cut.
WD = withdrew
T = tied

Summary

  • Starts – 105
  • Wins – 1
  • 2nd-place finishes – 6
  • 3rd-place finishes – 3
  • Top 3 finishes – 10
  • Top 5 finishes – 16
  • Top 10 finishes – 33
  • Top 25 finishes – 60
  • Missed cuts – 13
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 23
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 5

    U.S. national team appearances

Amateur
  • Curtis Cup: 1976, 1978
  • Espirito Santo Trophy: 1978
Professional
  • Solheim Cup: 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2009
  • World Cup: 2005
  • Handa Cup: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015