Whitworth, whose LPGA Tour victories reach over nearly a quarter-century and who turn into the first woman to earn $1 million on the LPGA, died on Christmas Eve, her longtime partner said. She was 83.
Bettye Odle did not reveal a cause of death, saying only that Whitworth died unexpectedly Saturday night while celebrating with family and friends.
“Kathy left this worth the way she lived her life — loving, laugh and creating memories,” Odle said in a statement released by the LPGA Tour.
Whitworth earned the first of her 88 titles in the Kelly Girls Opens in July 1962. She won six majors during her career and broke Mickey Wright’s record of 82 career wins when Whitworth captured the Lady Michelob in the summer of 1982.
Her final conquest came in 1985 at the United Virginia Bank Classic.
“Winning never got old,” Whitworth once said.
All that was missing from her career was the US Women’s Open, the largest of the women’s majors. Upon being the first woman to exceed $1 million in career earnings in 1981, she said, “I would have swapped being the first to make a million for winning the Open, but it was a consolation which took some of the sting out of not winning.”
Whitworth was the AP Female Athlete of the Year in 1965 and in 1967, when she easily beat out Wimbledon singles champion Billie Jean King. Whitworth was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1982.
She was the LPGA player of the year seven times in an eight-year span (1966 through 1973). She won the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average seven times and she was the leading money winner in eight seasons.
But she was identified by one number — 88.
Snead was credited with a record 82 wins on the PGA Tour, a total Woods has since matched. Wright won 82 times on the LPGA Tour, while Sorenstam had 72 wins when she retired after the 2006 season at age 36.
“I think Mickey had the best swing, and was probably the greatest golfer,” Betsy Rawls once told Golf Digest. “But Kathy was the best player of the game that I have ever seen.”
