Golfer Kathy Whitworth, who clocked up extra wins than every other participant on a single skilled tour, male or feminine, has died aged 83.
No one has matched her excellent 88 victories, not the legendary Sam Snead or Tiger Woods, nor Mickey Wright and Annika Sorenstam, who’re thought-about two of the best feminine golfers in historical past.
Whitworth, who grew to become the primary girl to earn $1m (£829m) on the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association), handed away on Christmas Eve, her long-time companion stated.
Bettye Odle didn’t reveal the reason for her companion’s dying, however stated that Whitworth died all of a sudden on Saturday night time whereas celebrating with household and associates.
“Kathy left this worth the way she lived her life – loving, laugh and creating memories,” Odle stated in a press release launched by the LPGA Tour.
‘Winning by no means acquired outdated’
Whitworth gained the primary of her 88 titles within the Kelly Girls Opens in July 1962.
During her profession, which spanned almost 1 / 4 of a century, she gained six majors and smashed Mickey Wright’s document of 82 profession wins when she captured the Lady Michelob in the summertime of 1982.
Her last victory got here in 1985 on the United Virginia Bank Classic.
“Winning never got old,” Whitworth as soon as stated.
Whitworth in 1965. Pic: AP
Whitworth’s document amongst women and men alike
Snead achieved a document 82 wins on the PGA Tour, a complete Woods has since matched.
Wright gained 82 instances on the LPGA Tour, whereas Sorenstam had 72 when she retired after the 2006 season, aged 36.
None of them have but touched her 88 victories.
“I don’t think about the legacy of 88 tournaments,” she as soon as stated.
“I did it because I wanted to win, not to set a record or a goal that no one else could surpass.
“I’m not some nice oddity. I used to be simply lucky to be so profitable.
“What I did in being a better player does not make me a better person.”
Whitworth through the Tournament of Champions in New York in 2006. Pic: AP
The one lacking title…
Former golfer Betsy Rawls as soon as advised Golf Digest that “Kathy was the best player of the game that I have ever seen”.
The solely title lacking from her glittering profession was the US Women’s Open, the most important of the ladies’s majors.
Upon changing into the primary girl to usher in $1m in profession earnings in 1981, she stated: “I would have swapped being the first to make a million for winning the Open.
“But it was a comfort which took a few of the sting out of not successful.”
Whitworth waits to tee off on the Raleigh LPGA golf match, 1972. Pic: AP
‘Golf simply grabbed me by the throat’
Whitworth was born in Monahans, a small west Texas city, and began taking part in at age 15 in Jal, New Mexico, on the nine-hole course constructed for the El Paso Natural Gas staff.
She turned skilled when she was 19 and joined the LPGA Tour in December 1958.
“Golf just grabbed me by the throat,” Whitworth as soon as advised Golf Digest.
“I can’t tell you how much I loved it.
“I used to assume everybody knew what they wished to do after they have been 15 years outdated.”
Source: information.sky.com”
