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.

Early life, college and amateur career

King was born on born August 13, 1955, in Reading, Pennsylvania. She 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. She was low amateur at the 1976 U.S. Women's Open.

Professional career

King 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, she 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, she 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 September 14 and 16, 2007.
In 2001, she 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

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

Tournament1981198219831984198519861987198819891990
Kraft Nabisco Championship......T52T24T741T35T41
LPGA ChampionshipT38T21T11T7T44CUT2T24T8T5
U.S. Women's OpenT21T25T32T5T8T3T4T1211
du Maurier ClassicT38T12T253CUTT37T19T2T10

Tournament1991199219931994199519961997199819992000
Kraft Nabisco ChampionshipT1156T2T48T11CUT1T6177CUT
LPGA Championship71T4T17T11T14T53T37T69T23
U.S. Women's OpenT28T16T7T6T3CUTT28CUTT47T46
du Maurier ClassicT6T282T4T5CUTT33T23

Tournament20012002200320042005200620072008200920102011
Kraft Nabisco Championship74T36T28T58T62
LPGA ChampionshipT54T47CUTT17CUT
U.S. Women's OpenCUTCUTCUTCUTCUT
Women's British Open ^59CUTT60

^ 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

  • Starts – 106
  • Wins – 6
  • 2nd-place finishes – 4
  • 3rd-place finishes – 6
  • Top 3 finishes – 16
  • Top 5 finishes – 24
  • Top 10 finishes – 35
  • Top 25 finishes – 55
  • Missed cuts – 19
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 38
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 8

    Team appearances

Professional
  • Solheim Cup : 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2007
  • Handa Cup : 2012, 2013