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American professional golfer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 | |||||||||||||||||
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![]() Sheehan in 2008 | |||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
Full name | Patty Sheehan | ||||||||||||||||
Born | Middlebury, Vermont, U.S. | October 27, 1956||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) | ||||||||||||||||
Sporting nationality | ![]() | ||||||||||||||||
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 | |||||||||||||||||
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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.
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.
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]
Legend |
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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 | ![]() |
2 | Apr 25, 1982 | Orlando Lady Classic | −7 (70-69-70=209) | Playoff | ![]() |
3 | Sep 26, 1982 | Safeco Classic | −12 (68-69-69-70=276) | 1 stroke | ![]() |
4 | Oct 3, 1982 | Inamori Classic | −12 (68-70-69-69=276) | 4 strokes | ![]() |
5 | May 29, 1983 | Corning Classic | −16 (70-70-69-63=272) | 8 strokes | ![]() |
6 | Jun 12, 1983 | LPGA Championship | −9 (68-71-74-66=279) | 2 strokes | ![]() |
7 | Aug 14, 1983 | Henredon Classic | −16 (65-70-71-66=272) | 4 strokes | ![]() |
8 | Sep 26, 1983 | Inamori Classic | −7 (68-70-71=209) | 2 strokes | ![]() |
9 | Feb 5, 1984 | Elizabeth Arden Classic | −8 (71-68-69-72=280) | 2 strokes | ![]() |
10 | Jun 3, 1984 | LPGA Championship | −16 (71-70-63-68=272) | 10 strokes | ![]() ![]() |
11 | Jun 10, 1984 | McDonald's Kids Classic | −7 (65-72-74-70=281) | 2 strokes | ![]() |
12 | Aug 12, 1984 | Henredon Classic | −11 (67-70-72-68=277) | 1 stroke | ![]() ![]() |
13 | Feb 10, 1985 | Sarasota Classic | −10 (69-71-72-66=278) | 1 stroke | ![]() |
14 | Apr 21, 1985 | J&B Scotch Pro-Am | −13 (67-65-71-72=275) | 2 strokes | ![]() |
15 | Feb 9, 1986 | Sarasota Classic | −9 (68-69-71-71=279) | 3 strokes | ![]() ![]() |
16 | Feb 26, 1986 | Kyocera Inamori Classic | −10 (69-71-68-70=278) | 1 stroke | ![]() |
17 | Apr 23, 1986 | Konica San Jose Classic | −4 (71-70-71=212) | Playoff | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
18 | Feb 14, 1988 | Sarasota Classic | −6 (71-72-72-67=282) | 3 strokes | ![]() |
19 | Nov 2, 1988 | Mazda Japan Classic | −10 (72-67-67=206) | Playoff | ![]() |
20 | Jun 4, 1989 | Rochester International | −10 (68-73-66-71=278) | Playoff | ![]() |
21 | Jan 21, 1990 | The Jamaica Classic | −1 (69-68-75=212) | 3 strokes | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
22 | Jun 10, 1990 | McDonald's Championship | −9 (70-67-68-70=275) | 1 stroke | ![]() ![]() |
23 | Jun 24, 1990 | Rochester International | −17 (72-64-68-67=271) | 4 strokes | ![]() |
24 | Sep 9, 1990 | Ping-Cellular One Golf Championship | −8 (70-71-67=208) | 1 stroke | ![]() |
25 | Sep 16, 1990 | Safeco Classic | −18 (69-65-66-70=270) | 9 strokes | ![]() |
26 | Feb 23, 1991 | Orix Hawaiian Ladies Open | −9 (68-69-70=207) | 3 strokes | ![]() |
27 | Jun 28, 1992 | Rochester International | −19 (70-65-63-71=269) | 9 strokes | ![]() |
28 | Jul 5, 1992 | Jamie Farr Toledo Classic | −4 (70-73-66=209) | 1 stroke | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
29 | Jul 26, 1992 | U.S. Women's Open | −4 (69-72-70-69=280) | Playoff | ![]() |
30 | Mar 21, 1993 | Standard Register PING | −17 (70-70-65-70=275) | 5 strokes | ![]() ![]() |
31 | Jun 13, 1993 | Mazda LPGA Championship | −9 (70-72-69-68=279) | 1 stroke | ![]() |
32 | Jul 21, 1994 | U.S. Women's Open | −7 (66-71-69-71=277) | 1 stroke | ![]() |
33 | Jun 18, 1995 | Rochester International | −10 (73-66-69-70=278) | 4 strokes | ![]() |
34 | Sep 17, 1995 | Safeco Classic | −14 (68-65-70-71=274) | 2 strokes | ![]() |
35 | Mar 31, 1996 | Nabisco Dinah Shore | −7 (71-72-67-71=281) | 1 stroke | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
LPGA Tour playoff record (5–7)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
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1 | 1981 | Florida Lady Citrus | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Daniel won with birdie on second extra hole Hill, Rizzo, and Sheehan eliminated by par on first hole |
2 | 1982 | Orlando Lady Classic | ![]() |
Won with par on fourth extra hole |
3 | 1982 | Corning Classic | ![]() |
Lost to par on first extra hole |
4 | 1985 | Samaritan Turquoise Classic | ![]() |
Lost to eagle on first extra hole |
6 | 1985 | Nestle World Championship of Women's Golf | ![]() |
Lost to birdie on second extra hole |
6 | 1986 | Konica San Jose Classic | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Sheehan won with birdie on first extra hole |
7 | 1987 | Nabisco Dinah Shore | ![]() |
Lost to par on second extra hole |
8 | 1988 | Rochester International | ![]() ![]() |
Cheng won with birdie on second extra hole Sheehan eliminated by par on first hole |
9 | 1988 | Mazda Japan Classic | ![]() |
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
10 | 1989 | Rochester International | ![]() |
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
11 | 1990 | The Phar-Mor in Youngstown | ![]() |
Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
12 | 1992 | U.S. Women's Open | ![]() |
Won 18-hole playoff (Sheehan:72, Inkster:74) |
LPGA majors are shown in bold.
1Co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour
Year | Championship | Winning score | Margin | Runner(s)-up |
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1983 | LPGA Championship | −9 (68-71-74-66=279) | 2 strokes | ![]() |
1984 | LPGA Championship | −16 (71-70-63-68=272) | 10 strokes | ![]() ![]() |
1992 | U.S. Women's Open | −4 (69-72-70-69=280) | Playoff1 | ![]() |
1993 | Mazda LPGA Championship | −9 (70-72-69-68=279) | 1 stroke | ![]() |
1994 | U.S. Women's Open | −7 (66-71-69-71=277) | 1 stroke | ![]() |
1996 | Nabisco Dinah Shore | −7 (71-72-67-71=281) | 1 stroke | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
1In an 18-hole playoff, Sheehan 72, Inkster 74.
Amateur
Professional