Patty Sheehan

Patty Sheehan (born October 27, 1956) is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1980 and won six major championships and 35 LPGA Tour events in all. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Patty Sheehan
Sheehan in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Patty Sheehan
Born	(1956-10-27) October 27, 1956 (age 68) Middlebury, Vermont, U.S.
Height	5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Sporting nationality	United States
Residence	Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
Spouse	Rebecca Gaston
Career
College	University of Nevada San Jose State University
Turned professional	1980
Current tour(s)	Legends Tour
Former tour(s)	LPGA Tour (1980–2006)
Professional wins	41
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour	35
Ladies European Tour	1
LPGA of Japan Tour	3
Other	4
Best results in LPGA major championships (wins: 6)
Chevron Championship	Won: 1996
Women's PGA C'ship	Won: 1983, 1984, 1993
U.S. Women's Open	Won: 1992, 1994
du Maurier Classic	2nd: 1990
Women's British Open	DNP
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame 1993 (member page) LPGA Rookie of the Year 1981 LPGA Tour Player of the Year 1983 LPGA Vare Trophy 1984 GWAA Female Player of the Year 1984, 1993 LPGA Patty Berg Award 2002 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year 1987 Broderick Award 1980

Sheehan also hosts the Patty Sheehan & Friends, which is a tournament on the Legends Tour. Patty Sheehan & Friends helps aid women and children's charities all across Northern Nevada.

Amateur career

Sheehan was born in Middlebury, Vermont.^[1] She was rated one of the top junior snow skiers in the country as a 13-year-old. She attended Earl Wooster High School in Reno, Nevada. She won three straight Nevada high school championships (1972–74), three straight Nevada State Amateurs (1975–78) and two straight California Women's Amateur Championships (1977–78). She was the runner-up at the 1979 U.S. Women's Amateur, then was the 1980 AIAW national individual intercollegiate golf champion. She went 4-0 as a member of the 1980 U.S. Curtis Cup team. She won the Broderick Award in 1980.^[2][3] She attended University of Nevada and San Jose State University. She is a member of both the Collegiate Golf Hall of Fame and the National High School Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Sheehan turned professional 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 suffered a loss personally in 1989, when her home and possessions were destroyed in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. She also suffered a professional loss in 1990, when after holding an 11-shot lead during the third round of the U.S. Women's Open, she lost the tournament to Betsy King.

Sheehan started off the 1990s with five wins in 1990. She won the U.S. Women's Open in 1992 and 1994, the Mazda LPGA Championship in 1995, 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.^[4] She finished in the Top 10 on the LPGA money list every year from 1982 to 1993. While she never led, she did finish second five times in that span. When she won the U.S. Women's Open and the Women's British Open in 1992, she became the first golfer to win both in the same year.

Sheehan played on the U.S. Solheim Cup team five times (1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2002) and captained the team in 2002 and 2003.

Sheehan became one of the first LPGA players to publicly announce that she was a lesbian.^[5] Sheehan and her partner Rebecca Gaston have two children.

In June 2020, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQ Pride parade, Queerty named her among the fifty heroes "leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people".^[6][7]

Professional wins (41)

LPGA Tour wins (35)

Legend
LPGA Tour major championships (6)
Other LPGA Tour (29)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Nov 8, 1981	Mazda Japan Classic	−9 (73-69-71=213)	4 strokes	Beth Daniel
2	Apr 25, 1982	Orlando Lady Classic	−7 (70-69-70=209)	Playoff	Kathy Postlewait
3	Sep 26, 1982	Safeco Classic	−12 (68-69-69-70=276)	1 stroke	JoAnne Carner
4	Oct 3, 1982	Inamori Classic	−12 (68-70-69-69=276)	4 strokes	Joyce Kazmierski
5	May 29, 1983	Corning Classic	−16 (70-70-69-63=272)	8 strokes	Cindy Hill
6	Jun 12, 1983	LPGA Championship	−9 (68-71-74-66=279)	2 strokes	Sandra Haynie
7	Aug 14, 1983	Henredon Classic	−16 (65-70-71-66=272)	4 strokes	JoAnne Carner
8	Sep 26, 1983	Inamori Classic	−7 (68-70-71=209)	2 strokes	Juli Inkster
9	Feb 5, 1984	Elizabeth Arden Classic	−8 (71-68-69-72=280)	2 strokes	Sherri Turner
10	Jun 3, 1984	LPGA Championship	−16 (71-70-63-68=272)	10 strokes	Pat Bradley Beth Daniel
11	Jun 10, 1984	McDonald's Kids Classic	−7 (65-72-74-70=281)	2 strokes	Amy Alcott
12	Aug 12, 1984	Henredon Classic	−11 (67-70-72-68=277)	1 stroke	JoAnne Carner Dot Germain
13	Feb 10, 1985	Sarasota Classic	−10 (69-71-72-66=278)	1 stroke	Nancy Lopez
14	Apr 21, 1985	J&B Scotch Pro-Am	−13 (67-65-71-72=275)	2 strokes	Alice Miller
15	Feb 9, 1986	Sarasota Classic	−9 (68-69-71-71=279)	3 strokes	Pat Bradley Juli Inkster
16	Feb 26, 1986	Kyocera Inamori Classic	−10 (69-71-68-70=278)	1 stroke	Pat Bradley
17	Apr 23, 1986	Konica San Jose Classic	−4 (71-70-71=212)	Playoff	Amy Alcott Betsy King Ayako Okamoto
18	Feb 14, 1988	Sarasota Classic	−6 (71-72-72-67=282)	3 strokes	JoAnne Carner
19	Nov 2, 1988	Mazda Japan Classic	−10 (72-67-67=206)	Playoff	Liselotte Neumann
20	Jun 4, 1989	Rochester International	−10 (68-73-66-71=278)	Playoff	Ayako Okamoto
21	Jan 21, 1990	The Jamaica Classic	−1 (69-68-75=212)	3 strokes	Pat Bradley Lynn Connelly Jane Geddes
22	Jun 10, 1990	McDonald's Championship	−9 (70-67-68-70=275)	1 stroke	Pat Bradley Elaine Crosby
23	Jun 24, 1990	Rochester International	−17 (72-64-68-67=271)	4 strokes	Amy Alcott
24	Sep 9, 1990	Ping-Cellular One Golf Championship	−8 (70-71-67=208)	1 stroke	Danielle Ammaccapane
25	Sep 16, 1990	Safeco Classic	−18 (69-65-66-70=270)	9 strokes	Deb Richard
26	Feb 23, 1991	Orix Hawaiian Ladies Open	−9 (68-69-70=207)	3 strokes	Pat Bradley
27	Jun 28, 1992	Rochester International	−19 (70-65-63-71=269)	9 strokes	Nancy Lopez
28	Jul 5, 1992	Jamie Farr Toledo Classic	−4 (70-73-66=209)	1 stroke	Brandie Burton Heather Drew Tammie Green Deb Richard
29	Jul 26, 1992	U.S. Women's Open	−4 (69-72-70-69=280)	Playoff	Juli Inkster
30	Mar 21, 1993	Standard Register PING	−17 (70-70-65-70=275)	5 strokes	Dawn Coe-Jones Kris Tschetter
31	Jun 13, 1993	Mazda LPGA Championship	−9 (70-72-69-68=279)	1 stroke	Lauri Merten
32	Jul 21, 1994	U.S. Women's Open	−7 (66-71-69-71=277)	1 stroke	Tammie Green
33	Jun 18, 1995	Rochester International	−10 (73-66-69-70=278)	4 strokes	Sherri Steinhauer
34	Sep 17, 1995	Safeco Classic	−14 (68-65-70-71=274)	2 strokes	Emilee Klein
35	Mar 31, 1996	Nabisco Dinah Shore	−7 (71-72-67-71=281)	1 stroke	Meg Mallon Kelly Robbins Annika Sörenstam

LPGA Tour playoff record (5–7)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1981	Florida Lady Citrus	Donna Caponi Beth Daniel Cindy Hill Patti Rizzo	Daniel won with birdie on second extra hole Hill, Rizzo, and Sheehan eliminated by par on first hole
2	1982	Orlando Lady Classic	Kathy Postlewait	Won with par on fourth extra hole
3	1982	Corning Classic	Sandra Spuzich	Lost to par on first extra hole
4	1985	Samaritan Turquoise Classic	Betsy King	Lost to eagle on first extra hole
6	1985	Nestle World Championship of Women's Golf	Amy Alcott	Lost to birdie on second extra hole
6	1986	Konica San Jose Classic	Amy Alcott Betsy King Ayako Okamoto	Sheehan won with birdie on first extra hole
7	1987	Nabisco Dinah Shore	Betsy King	Lost to par on second extra hole
8	1988	Rochester International	Mei-Chi Cheng Nancy Lopez	Cheng won with birdie on second extra hole Sheehan eliminated by par on first hole
9	1988	Mazda Japan Classic	Liselotte Neumann	Won with birdie on first extra hole
10	1989	Rochester International	Ayako Okamoto	Won with birdie on first extra hole
11	1990	The Phar-Mor in Youngstown	Beth Daniel	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
12	1992	U.S. Women's Open	Juli Inkster	Won 18-hole playoff (Sheehan:72, Inkster:74)

LPGA majors are shown in bold.

Ladies European Tour wins (1)

• 1992 (1) Weetabix Women's British Open

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

LPGA of Japan Tour wins (3)

• 1981 (1) Mazda Japan Classic¹
• 1988 (1) Mazda Japan Classic¹
• 1992 (1) Daikin Orchid Ladies

¹Co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour

Legends Tour wins (3)

• 2002 Copps Great Lakes Classic
• 2005 BJ's Charity Championship (with Pat Bradley; tie with Cindy Rarick and Jan Stephenson)
• 2006 World Ladies Senior Open

Other wins (1)

• 1994 JCPenney/LPGA Skins Game

Major championships

Wins (6)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1983	LPGA Championship	−9 (68-71-74-66=279)	2 strokes	Sandra Haynie
1984	LPGA Championship	−16 (71-70-63-68=272)	10 strokes	Pat Bradley, Beth Daniel
1992	U.S. Women's Open	−4 (69-72-70-69=280)	Playoff1	Juli Inkster
1993	Mazda LPGA Championship	−9 (70-72-69-68=279)	1 stroke	Lauri Merten
1994	U.S. Women's Open	−7 (66-71-69-71=277)	1 stroke	Tammie Green
1996	Nabisco Dinah Shore	−7 (71-72-67-71=281)	1 stroke	Meg Mallon, Kelly Robbins, Annika Sörenstam

¹In an 18-hole playoff, Sheehan 72, Inkster 74.

Team appearances

Amateur

• Curtis Cup (representing the United States): 1980 (winners)

Professional

• Solheim Cup (representing the United States): 1990 (winners), 1992, 1994 (winners), 1996 (winners), 2002 (non-playing captain, winners), 2003 (non-playing captain)
• Handa Cup (representing the United States): 2006 (winners), 2007 (winners), 2008 (winners), 2009 (winners), 2010 (winners), 2011 (winners), 2012 (tie, Cup retained)

See also

• List of golfers with most LPGA Tour wins
• List of golfers with most LPGA major championship wins

References

1. "Middlebury, Vermont". City-Data.com. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
2. "It's all about family for Patty Sheehan". ESPN. July 28, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
3. "Golf". CWSA. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
4. "Sheehan finds fame in Phoenix". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. March 22, 1993. p. 4B.
5. "Sheehan Comes Out in Golf World". GLAAD Publication Archives. April 10, 1998. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved May 23, 2007.
6. "Queerty Pride50 2020 Honorees". Queerty. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
7. Bull, Chris (June 18, 2020). "Meet the brave sports heroes of 2020 changing the world for the better". Queerty. Retrieved July 28, 2020.

External links

• Patty Sheehan at the LPGA Tour official site (archived)
• Patty Sheehan at the Legends Tour official site (also at former site)
• Patty Sheehan at golf.about.com at the Wayback Machine (archived May 17, 2008)

Awards
Preceded by Lynette Woodard	Flo Hyman Memorial Award 1994	Succeeded by Mary Lou Retton