Patty Sheehan

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Patty Sheehan
PattySheehan.jpg
Sheehan in 2008
Personal information
Full namePatty Sheehan
Born (1956-10-27) October 27, 1956 (age 67)
Middlebury, Vermont
Height5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Sporting nationalityFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Residence Santa Barbara, California
SpouseRebecca Gaston
Career
College University of Nevada
San Jose State University
Turned professional1980
Current tour(s) Legends Tour
Former tour(s) LPGA Tour (1980–2006)
Professional wins41
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour35
Ladies European Tour1
LPGA of Japan Tour3
Other4
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

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.

Contents

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.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1Nov 8, 1981 Mazda Japan Classic −9 (73-69-71=213)4 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Beth Daniel
2Apr 25, 1982 Orlando Lady Classic −7 (70-69-70=209)Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Kathy Postlewait
3Sep 26, 1982 Safeco Classic −12 (68-69-69-70=276)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg JoAnne Carner
4Oct 3, 1982 Inamori Classic −12 (68-70-69-69=276)4 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Joyce Kazmierski
5May 29, 1983 Corning Classic −16 (70-70-69-63=272)8 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Cindy Hill
6Jun 12, 1983 LPGA Championship −9 (68-71-74-66=279)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Sandra Haynie
7Aug 14, 1983 Henredon Classic −16 (65-70-71-66=272)4 strokes Flag of the United States.svg JoAnne Carner
8Sep 26, 1983 Inamori Classic −7 (68-70-71=209)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Juli Inkster
9Feb 5, 1984 Elizabeth Arden Classic −8 (71-68-69-72=280)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Sherri Turner
10Jun 3, 1984 LPGA Championship −16 (71-70-63-68=272)10 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Pat Bradley
Flag of the United States.svg Beth Daniel
11Jun 10, 1984 McDonald's Kids Classic −7 (65-72-74-70=281)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Amy Alcott
12Aug 12, 1984 Henredon Classic −11 (67-70-72-68=277)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg JoAnne Carner
Flag of the United States.svg Dot Germain
13Feb 10, 1985 Sarasota Classic −10 (69-71-72-66=278)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Nancy Lopez
14Apr 21, 1985 J&B Scotch Pro-Am −13 (67-65-71-72=275)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Alice Miller
15Feb 9, 1986 Sarasota Classic −9 (68-69-71-71=279)3 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Pat Bradley
Flag of the United States.svg Juli Inkster
16Feb 26, 1986 Kyocera Inamori Classic −10 (69-71-68-70=278)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Pat Bradley
17Apr 23, 1986 Konica San Jose Classic −4 (71-70-71=212)Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Amy Alcott
Flag of the United States.svg Betsy King
Flag of Japan.svg Ayako Okamoto
18Feb 14, 1988 Sarasota Classic −6 (71-72-72-67=282)3 strokes Flag of the United States.svg JoAnne Carner
19Nov 2, 1988 Mazda Japan Classic −10 (72-67-67=206)Playoff Flag of Sweden.svg Liselotte Neumann
20Jun 4, 1989 Rochester International −10 (68-73-66-71=278)Playoff Flag of Japan.svg Ayako Okamoto
21Jan 21, 1990 The Jamaica Classic −1 (69-68-75=212)3 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Pat Bradley
Flag of the United States.svg Lynn Connelly
Flag of the United States.svg Jane Geddes
22Jun 10, 1990 McDonald's Championship −9 (70-67-68-70=275)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Pat Bradley
Flag of the United States.svg Elaine Crosby
23Jun 24, 1990 Rochester International −17 (72-64-68-67=271)4 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Amy Alcott
24Sep 9, 1990 Ping-Cellular One Golf Championship −8 (70-71-67=208)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Danielle Ammaccapane
25Sep 16, 1990 Safeco Classic −18 (69-65-66-70=270)9 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Deb Richard
26Feb 23, 1991 Orix Hawaiian Ladies Open −9 (68-69-70=207)3 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Pat Bradley
27Jun 28, 1992 Rochester International −19 (70-65-63-71=269)9 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Nancy Lopez
28Jul 5, 1992 Jamie Farr Toledo Classic −4 (70-73-66=209)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Brandie Burton
Flag of the United States.svg Heather Drew
Flag of the United States.svg Tammie Green
Flag of the United States.svg Deb Richard
29Jul 26, 1992 U.S. Women's Open −4 (69-72-70-69=280)Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Juli Inkster
30Mar 21, 1993 Standard Register PING −17 (70-70-65-70=275)5 strokes Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Dawn Coe-Jones
Flag of the United States.svg Kris Tschetter
31Jun 13, 1993 Mazda LPGA Championship −9 (70-72-69-68=279)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Lauri Merten
32Jul 21, 1994 U.S. Women's Open −7 (66-71-69-71=277)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Tammie Green
33Jun 18, 1995 Rochester International −10 (73-66-69-70=278)4 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Sherri Steinhauer
34Sep 17, 1995 Safeco Classic −14 (68-65-70-71=274)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Emilee Klein
35Mar 31, 1996 Nabisco Dinah Shore −7 (71-72-67-71=281)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Meg Mallon
Flag of the United States.svg Kelly Robbins
Flag of Sweden.svg Annika Sörenstam

LPGA Tour playoff record (5–7)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
11981 Florida Lady Citrus Flag of the United States.svg Donna Caponi
Flag of the United States.svg Beth Daniel
Flag of the United States.svg Cindy Hill
Flag of the United States.svg Patti Rizzo
Daniel won with birdie on second extra hole
Hill, Rizzo, and Sheehan eliminated by par on first hole
21982 Orlando Lady Classic Flag of the United States.svg Kathy Postlewait Won with par on fourth extra hole
31982 Corning Classic Flag of the United States.svg Sandra Spuzich Lost to par on first extra hole
41985 Samaritan Turquoise Classic Flag of the United States.svg Betsy King Lost to eagle on first extra hole
61985 Nestle World Championship of Women's Golf Flag of the United States.svg Amy Alcott Lost to birdie on second extra hole
61986 Konica San Jose Classic Flag of the United States.svg Amy Alcott
Flag of the United States.svg Betsy King
Flag of Japan.svg Ayako Okamoto
Sheehan won with birdie on first extra hole
71987 Nabisco Dinah Shore Flag of the United States.svg Betsy King Lost to par on second extra hole
81988 Rochester International Flag of the Republic of China.svg Mei-Chi Cheng
Flag of the United States.svg Nancy Lopez
Cheng won with birdie on second extra hole
Sheehan eliminated by par on first hole
91988 Mazda Japan Classic Flag of Sweden.svg Liselotte Neumann Won with birdie on first extra hole
101989 Rochester International Flag of Japan.svg Ayako Okamoto Won with birdie on first extra hole
111990 The Phar-Mor in Youngstown Flag of the United States.svg Beth Daniel Lost to birdie on first extra hole
121992 U.S. Women's Open Flag of the United States.svg Juli Inkster Won 18-hole playoff (Sheehan:72, Inkster:74)

LPGA majors are shown in bold.

Ladies European Tour wins (1)

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

LPGA of Japan Tour wins (3)

1Co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour

Legends Tour wins (3)

Other wins (1)

Major championships

Wins (6)

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

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

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

See also

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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.
Awards
Preceded by Flo Hyman Memorial Award
1994
Succeeded by