| Patty Sheehan | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sheehan in 2008 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Patty Sheehan | ||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1956-10-27)October 27, 1956 (age 69) Middlebury, Vermont, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) | ||||||||||||||||
| Sporting nationality | United States | ||||||||||||||||
| Residence | Santa Barbara, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Rebecca Gaston | ||||||||||||||||
| Career | |||||||||||||||||
| College | University of Nevada San Jose State University | ||||||||||||||||
| Turned professional | 1980 | ||||||||||||||||
| Current tour | Legends Tour | ||||||||||||||||
| Former tour | 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 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Patty Sheehan (born October 27, 1956) is an Americanprofessional golfer. She became a member of theLPGA Tour in 1980 and won sixmajor championships and 35 LPGA Tour events in all. She is a member of theWorld Golf Hall of Fame.
Sheehan also hosts thePatty Sheehan & Friends, which is a tournament on theLegends Tour. Patty Sheehan & Friends helps aid women and children's charities all across Northern Nevada.
Sheehan was born inMiddlebury, Vermont.[1] She was rated one of the top junior snow skiers in the country as a 13-year-old. She attendedEarl Wooster High School inReno, Nevada. She won three straightNevada high school championships (1972–74), three straight Nevada State Amateurs (1975–78) and two straightCalifornia Women's Amateur Championships (1977–78). She was the runner-up at the 1979U.S. Women's Amateur, then was the 1980AIAW national individualintercollegiate golf champion. She went 4-0 as a member of the 1980 U.S.Curtis Cup team. She won theBroderick Award in 1980.[2][3] She attendedUniversity of Nevada andSan Jose State University. She is a member of both theCollegiate Golf Hall of Fame and theNational High School Hall of Fame.
Sheehan turned professional and joined theLPGA Tour in 1980. She wonLPGA Rookie of the Year honors in 1981 with her first professional victory coming at theMazda Japan Classic. She was strong throughout the 1980s, winning four times in both 1983 and 1984, and winning theLPGA Championship in both seasons. She wonLPGA Tour Player of the Year in 1983 and was one of several athletes namedSports IllustratedSportsman of the Year in 1987. Sheehan suffered a loss personally in 1989, when her home and possessions were destroyed in the1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. She also suffered a professional loss in 1990, when after holding an 11-shot lead during the third round of theU.S. Women's Open, she lost the tournament toBetsy King.
Sheehan started off the 1990s with five wins in 1990. She won theU.S. Women's Open in 1992 and 1994, theMazda LPGA Championship in 1995, and theNabisco 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 theWomen'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 alesbian.[5] Sheehan and her partner Rebecca Gaston have two children.
In June 2020, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQPride parade,Queerty named her among the fifty heroes "leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people".[6][7]
| Legend |
|---|
| LPGA Tour major championships (6) |
| Other LPGA Tour (29) |
LPGA Tour playoff record (5–7)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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) |
LPGAmajors are shown inbold.
1Co-sanctioned by theLPGA Tour
| Year | Championship | Winning score | Margin | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Flo Hyman Memorial Award 1994 | Succeeded by |