Patty Sheehan

Patty Sheehan (born October 27, 1956 in Middlebury, Vermont) is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1980 and won 6 major championships and thirty-five LPGA Tour victories in all.

Amateur career

Sheehan won three straight Nevada high school championships (1972-74), three straight Nevada State Amateurs (1975-78) and two straight California Women's Amateurs (1977-78). She was the runner-up at the 1979 U.S. Women's Amateur, then was the 1980 AIAW (predecessor of the NCAA) national collegiate champion. She went 4-0 as a member of the 1980 U.S. Curtis Cup team. She attended the University of Nevada and San Jose State University.

Professional career

Sheehan and joined the LPGA Tour in 1980. She won LPGA Rookie of the Year honors in 1981 with her first professional victory coming at the Mazda Japan Classic. She was strong throughout the 1980s, winning four times in both 1983 and 1984, and winning the LPGA Championship in both seasons. She won LPGA Tour Player of the Year in 1983 and was one of several athletes named "Sports Illustrated" Sportsman of the Year in 1987.

Sheehan started off the 1990s with five wins in 1990. She won the U.S. Women's Open in 1992 and 1994, the LPGA Championship in 1994, and the Nabisco Dinah Shore (now known as the Kraft Nabisco Championship) in 1996. That would be her final LPGA victory. She qualified for the LPGA Hall of Fame by winning her 30th tournament in 1993. She finished in the Top 10 on the LPGA money list every year from 1982-93.

Sheehan become one of the first LPGA players to publicly announce that she was a lesbian.cite web |url=http://www.glaad.org/publications/archive_detail.php?id=1846&PHPSESSID=f |title=Sheehan Comes Out in Golf World |date=1998-04-10 |work=GLAAD Publication Archives |accessdate=2007-05-23] Sheehan and her partner Rebecca Gaston have two adopted children.

LPGA Tour wins (35)

*1981 (1) Mazda Japan Classic
*1982 (3) Orlando Lady Classic, SAFECO Classic, Inamori Classic
*1983 (4) Corning Classic, LPGA Championship, Henredon Classic, Inamori Classic
*1984 (4) Elizabeth Arden Classic, LPGA Championship, McDonald's Kids Classic, Henredon Classic
*1985 (2) Sarasota Classic, J&B Scotch Pro-Am
*1986 (3) Sarasota Classic, Kyocera Inamori Classic, Konica San Jose Classic
*1988 (2) Sarasota Classic, Mazda Japan Classic
*1989 (1) Rochester International
*1990 (5) The Jamaica Classic, McDonald's Championship, Rochester International, PING-Cellular One Golf Championship, SAFECO Classic
*1991 (1) Orix Hawaiian Ladies Open
*1992 (3) Rochester International, Jamie Farr Toledo Classic, U.S. Women's Open
*1993 (2) Standard Register PING, LPGA Championship
*1994 (1) U.S. Women's Open
*1995 (2) Rochester International, SAFECO Classic
*1996 (1) Nabisco Dinah Shore

LPGA Majors are shown in bold.

Other wins

*1992 Women's British Open, Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (with Nancy Lopez and Dottie Pepper)

:"Note: Sheehan won the Women's British Open before it became a major championship."

ee also

*Golfers with most LPGA Tour wins
*Golfers with most LPGA major championship wins

References

External links

* [http://www.lpga.com/player_results.aspx?id=549 Profile on the LPGA's official site]
* [http://www.lpga.com/content/2007PlayerBiosPDF/Sheehan-07.pdf LPGA player bio]
* [http://golf.about.com/od/golferswomen/p/patty_sheehan.htm Patty Sheehan bio]