- Judy Rankin
Judy Rankin (born
February 18 1945 ,St Louis, Missouri ) is an American professionalgolf er and golf broadcaster.Rankin won twenty-six events on the
LPGA Tour . She topped the money list in 1976 and 1977 and finished in the top ten on the money list eleven times between 1965 and 1979. However, she did not win a major championship; her best finishes were a clear second at the 1976LPGA Championship and tied seconds at the 1972 U.S. Women's Open and the 1977 LPGA Championship. Rankin did win the Colgate Dinah Shore Winner's Circle in 1976 and the Peter Jackson Classic (later renamed the duMaurier) in 1977, two events that would later be elevated to major status, but they are not counted as majors in the years in which Rankin won.In 2002, she was voted the
Bob Jones Award , the highest honor given by theUnited States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.Biography
At 14-years-old, Rankin won the Missouri Amateur. At 15, she was a low amateur in the U.S. Women's Open. She then turned pro at 17 years of age. She retired at the age of 38 due to chronic back problems.
Rankin was
LPGA Player of the Year twice and won the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average three times. Rankin became the first player voted into theLPGA Tour Hall of Fame in 2000 under the veterans category, and she was also inducted into theWorld Golf Hall of Fame in 2000.Rankin is a golf commentator for the TV networks - ABC and
ESPN . She is also a professional advisor for the magazines - "Golf Digest " and "Golf For Women".Family
Rankin played as Judy Torluemke until she married Yippy Rankin in 1967. They live in
Midland, Texas .Rankin's daughter-in-law's sister is the wife of
PGA Tour golferGeoff Ogilvy .She is not related to current LPGA player
Reilley Rankin .Breast cancer
Rankin was diagnosed with
breast cancer in May, 2006 . She completed treatment by August, 2006 and returned to her on-air work on ABC in time to cover theWomen's British Open .LPGA wins (26)
*1968 (1) Corpus Christi Civitan Open
*1970 (3) George Washington Golf Classic, Springfield Jaycee Open, Lincoln-Mercury Open
*1971 (1) Quality-First Classic
*1972 (2) Lady Eve Open, Heritage Village Open
*1973 (4) American Defender-Raleigh Classic, Lady Carling Open, Pabst Ladies Classic, GAC Classic
*1974 (1) Baltimore Classic
*1975 (1) National Jewish Hospital Open
*1976 (6) Burdine’s Invitational, Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner’s Circle, Karsten-PING Open, Babe Zaharias Invitational, Borden Classic, Colgate-Hong Kong Open
*1977 (5) Orange Blossom Classic, Bent Tree Classic, Mayflower Classic, Peter Jackson Classic, Colgate European Women’s Open
*1978 (1) WUI Classic
*1979 (1) WUI Classic:"Note: Rankin won the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winnder's Circle (now known as theKraft Nabisco Championship ) and the Peter Jackson Classic (which became the du Maurier Classic) before they became major championships."ee also
*
Golfers with most LPGA Tour wins External links
* [http://www.lpga.com/player_results.aspx?id=534 Profile on the LPGA's official site]
* [http://www.golfdigest.com/newsandtour/index.ssf?/newsandtour/20060608rankin.html Judy Rankin's breast cancer diagnosis]
* [http://golf.about.com/od/golferswomen/p/judy_rankin.htm Judy Rankin bio]
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