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Patty Sheehan

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Patty Sheehan
Sheehan in 2008
Personal information
Full namePatty Sheehan
Born (1956-10-27) October 27, 1956 (age 68)
Middlebury, Vermont, U.S.
Height5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceSanta Barbara, California, U.S.
SpouseRebecca Gaston
Career
CollegeUniversity 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 ChampionshipWon: 1996
Women's PGA C'shipWon: 1983, 1984, 1993
U.S. Women's OpenWon: 1992, 1994
du Maurier Classic2nd: 1990
Women's British OpenDNP
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame1993 (member page)
LPGA Rookie of the Year1981
LPGA Tour
Player of the Year
1983
LPGA Vare Trophy1984
GWAA Female
Player of the Year
1984, 1993
LPGA Patty Berg Award2002
Sports Illustrated
Sportsman of the Year
1987
Broderick Award1980

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.

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

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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

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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)

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LPGA Tour wins (35)

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

LPGA Tour playoff record (5–7)

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

LPGA majors are shown in bold.

Ladies European Tour wins (1)

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

LPGA of Japan Tour wins (3)

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1Co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour

Legends Tour wins (3)

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Other wins (1)

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Major championships

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Wins (6)

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

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

Team appearances

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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

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References

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  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.
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Awards
Preceded by Flo Hyman Memorial Award
1994
Succeeded by