| Dottie Pepper | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1965-08-17)August 17, 1965 (age 60) | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) | ||||||||||||||||
| Sporting nationality |  United States | ||||||||||||||||
| Residence | Saratoga Springs, New York, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Career | |||||||||||||||||
| College | Furman University | ||||||||||||||||
| Turned professional | 1988 | ||||||||||||||||
| Former tour | LPGA Tour (1988–2004) | ||||||||||||||||
| Professional wins | 25 | ||||||||||||||||
| Number of wins by tour | |||||||||||||||||
| LPGA Tour | 17 | ||||||||||||||||
| LPGA of Japan Tour | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Epson Tour | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Other | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
| Best results in LPGA major championships (wins: 2) | |||||||||||||||||
| Chevron Championship | Won:1992,1999 | ||||||||||||||||
| Women's PGA C'ship | T5:1992 | ||||||||||||||||
| U.S. Women's Open | 3rd/T3:1988,1990,2001 | ||||||||||||||||
| du Maurier Classic | 4th:1993 | ||||||||||||||||
| Women's British Open | T24: 2003 | ||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and awards | |||||||||||||||||
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Dottie Pepper (born August 17, 1965) is an Americanprofessional golfer and television golf broadcaster. From 1988 to 1995 she competed asDottie Mochrie, which was her married name before a divorce. She won twomajor championships and 17LPGA Tour events in all.
Pepper was born inSaratoga Springs, New York. Her father,Don, was a major league baseball player, who appeared on the cover ofSports Illustrated as a "rookie to watch", along with Hall of FamerJohnny Bench, in 1968. Her career began with big amateur victories in her home state of New York. She won the 1981 state amateur and the 1981 and 1983 New York Junior Amateur titles. She was a member of the 1981 Junior World Cup team and low amateur at the 1984U.S. Women's Open. She attendedFurman University, where she earned five collegiate victories and was namedAll-American three times.
Pepper joined theLPGA Tour in 1988 and won 17 official events on the Tour, including twomajor championships: the 1992 and 1999Nabisco Dinah Shore. Her 19-under-par finish in the 1999 victory still stands as the lowest score in relation to par in a major championship. She topped the money list in 1992 and finished in the top ten in ten of eleven seasons between 1991 and 2001. Pepper also played for the United States in theSolheim Cup six times.
Due to injury problems, Pepper played only one tournament in 2002. In July 2004, she announced that she would retire at the end of the season. In 2005, she began work as a golf commentator forNBC and theGolf Channel, reporting on both men's and women's events.
During the 2007Solheim Cup, Pepper caused some stir while working as commentator for the Golf Channel. She called the American team "choking freaking dogs". She thought the network had cut to commercial when the comment was uttered, but it was actually still broadcasting live. Some players and fans were upset by this and Pepper quickly apologized for her "poor choice of words".[1]
In July 2012, Pepper was named by captain Meg Mallon as one of two assistant captains for the U.S. Team at the2013 Solheim Cup.[2]
Pepper retired from commentating in December 2012, tired of the traveling and wanting to spend more time promoting junior golf as aPGA of America board member.[3] In May 2013, she signed a contract withESPN to return to commentating on a limited basis, working mainly major tournaments on the PGA, LPGA and Champions Tours.[4] In October 2015, Pepper was signed to a contract withCBS, replacingDavid Feherty who had left the network to work forNBC and to continue hisFeherty series on theGolf Channel. She took up Feherty's role as on-course reporter as well as doing occasional tower announcing.[5]
Pepper served as a member of the PGA of America Board of Directors from 2012 to 2015, and the NENY PGA Board of Directors from 2009 to 2015. She was the recipient of the 2016 William D. Richardson Award, presented by the Golf Writers Association of America for her consistently outstanding contributions to golf. She is also a 2018 inductee to the New York State Golf Association Hall of Fame.[6] The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America awarded Pepper with its highest honor, theOld Tom Morris Award, in 2024, for her continuing lifetime commitment to the game of golf, and helping mold the welfare of the game in a manner and style exemplified by Old Tom Morris.[7]
Pepper resides inSaratoga Springs, New York with her third husband, golf writer and historian David Normoyle. They were married in May 2010.[8]
LPGA Tour playoff record (3–5)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1989 | Oldsmobile LPGA Classic |  Beth Daniel | Won with par on fifth extra hole |
| 2 | 1992 | Nabisco Dinah Shore | Juli Inkster | Won with par on first extra hole |
| 3 | 1992 | Sun-Times Challenge | Beth DanielJudy Dickinson | Pepper won with par on sixth extra hole Daniel eliminated by par on fourth hole |
| 4 | 1993 | PING/Welch's Championship (Massachusetts) | Missie Berteotti | Lost to birdie on fifth extra hole |
| 5 | 1993 | State Farm Rail Classic |  Helen Dobson | Lost to birdie on fifth extra hole |
| 6 | 1995 | Pinewild Women's Championship | Rosie Jones | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
| 7 | 1998 | Star Bank LPGA Classic | Meg Mallon | Lost to par on first extra hole |
| 8 | 2000 | AFLAC Champions |  Karrie Webb | Lost to par on first extra hole |
LPGAmajors are shown inbold.
| Year | Championship | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Nabisco Dinah Shore | −9 (69-71-70-69=279) | Playoff1 | Juli Inkster |
| 1999 | Nabisco Dinah Shore | −19 (70-66-67-66=269) | 6 strokes | Meg Mallon |
1 Defeated Inkster with par on first extra hole.
| Tournament | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft Nabisco Championship | T7 | T66 | ||||
| LPGA Championship | T45 | T39 | ||||
| U.S. Women's Open | T22 | T55 | 78 | T12 | T3 | T5 |
| du Maurier Classic | T35 | T18 |
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft Nabisco Championship | T11 | 2 | 1 | T30 | T19 | T11 | T23 | T11 | T9 | 1 | 2 |
| LPGA Championship | T53 | T22 | T5 | T30 | T11 | T6 | T26 | T37 | CUT | T19 | T23 |
| U.S. Women's Open | T3 | T5 | T6 | T17 | T12 | T13 | CUT | T14 | T11 | T14 | WD |
| du Maurier Classic | T27 | T6 | T20 | 4 | T14 | T12 | T27 | T14 | T34 |
| Tournament | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft Nabisco Championship | T2 | T51 | T24 | |
| LPGA Championship | T17 | T67 | T70 | |
| U.S. Women's Open | 3 | WD | WD | |
| Women's British Open ^ | CUT | T24 |
^ The Women's British Open replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major in 2001.
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
Amateur
Professional
| Year | Total matches | Total W-L-H | Points won | Points % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | 20 | 13–5–2 | 14 | 70% |
| 1990 | 3 | 2–1–0 | 2 | 67% |
| 1992 | 3 | 0–2–1 | 0.5 | 17% |
| 1994 | 3 | 3–0–0 | 3 | 100% |
| 1996 | 4 | 3–1–0 | 3 | 75% |
| 1998 | 4 | 4–0–0 | 4 | 100% |
| 2000 | 3 | 1–1–1 | 1.5 | 50% |
Dottie Pepper in theSolheim Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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