Judy Rankin

Judy Rankin
Personal information
Full name Judy Torluemke Rankin
Born February 18, 1945 (1945-02-18) (age 67)
St. Louis, Missouri
Height 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Nationality  United States
Spouse Walter "Yippy" Rankin
(m. 1967)
Career
College None
Turned professional 1962
Current tour(s) LPGA Tour (joined 1962)
Professional wins 28
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour 26
Other 2
Best results in LPGA Major Championships
Western Open T4: 1964
Titleholders C'ship T2: 1972
Kraft Nabisco C'ship T44: 1983
LPGA Championship 2nd/T2: 1976, 1977
U.S. Women's Open T2: 1972
du Maurier Classic T5: 1979
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame 2000 (member page)
LPGA Tour
Money Winner
1976, 1977
LPGA Player of the Year 1976, 1977
LPGA Vare Trophy 1973, 1976, 1977
GWAA Female
Player of the Year
1976, 1977
LPGA William and
Mousie Powell Award
1998
LPGA Patty Berg Award 1999
USGA Bob Jones Award 2002
LPGA Komen Award 2007
Old Tom Morris Award 2010

Judy Torluemke Rankin (born February 18, 1945) is an American professional golfer and golf broadcaster. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1962 and won 26 LPGA Tour events in all. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Contents

Amateur career

Rankin was born St Louis, Missouri. At age 14, she won the Missouri Amateur. At 15, she was the low amateur in the U.S. Women's Open. She turned pro at 17.

Professional career

Rankin won 26 events on the LPGA Tour. She topped the money list in 1976 and 1977 and finished in the top ten on the money list eleven times between 1965 and 1979. However, she did not win a major championship; her best finishes were a clear second at the 1976 LPGA Championship and tied seconds at the 1972 Titleholders Championship, 1972 U.S. Women's Open, and 1977 LPGA Championship. Rankin did win the Colgate Dinah Shore Winner's Circle (currently the Kraft Nabisco) in 1976 and the Peter Jackson Classic (later renamed the duMaurier) in 1977, two events that would later be elevated to major status, but they are not counted as majors in the years in which Rankin won.

Rankin was LPGA Player of the Year twice and won the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average three times. She retired from full-time competition at the age of 38, due to chronic back problems. She captained the victorious American teams in the 1996 and 1998 Solheim Cups. Rankin became the first player voted into the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame in 2000 under the veterans category, and she was also inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000.

In 2002, she was voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. Rankin is a golf commentator for the TV networks - ABC and ESPN. She has also been a professional advisor for the magazines Golf Digest and Golf For Women.

Family

Rankin played as Judy Torluemke until she married Walter Rankin, known as "Yippy", in 1967. They lived in Midland, Texas. They have a son, Walter Jr., known as "Tuey," born in 1968.[1]

Tuey's wife is PGA Tour golfer Geoff Ogilvy's sister-in-law.[2][3]

Breast cancer

Rankin was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2006.[4] She completed treatment by August, 2006 and returned to her on-air work on ABC in time to cover the Women's British Open.

Professional wins

LPGA wins (26)

No. Date Tournament Winning Score Margin of
Victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Nov 10, 1968 Corpus Christi Civitan Open +3 (75-69-69=213) Playoff Sandra Spuzich
2 Jun 27, 1970 George Washington Golf Classic -7 (74-70-68=212) 1 stroke Sandra Haynie
3 Jul 19, 1970 Springfield Jaycee Open -10 (71-70-68=209) 1 stroke Leslie Holbert
4 Sep 27, 1970 Lincoln-Mercury Open -2 (69-71-77=217) 1 stroke Kathy Whitworth
5 Oct 15, 1971 Quality First Classic -2 (71-72-71=214) Playoff Jane Blalock
6 Mar 10, 1972 Lady Eve Open -9 (69-71-70=210) Playoff Kathy Whitworth
7 Oct 10, 1972 Heritage Village Open -7 (69-72-71=212) 5 strokes Betty Burfeindt
8 May 6, 1973 American Defender-Raleigh Classic +1 (73-72-72=217) 2 strokes Chako Higuchi
9 May 13, 1973 Lady Carling Open -4 (75-67-73=215) 4 strokes Sandra Haynie
10 Aug 5, 1973 Pabst Ladies Classic -4 (69-71-72=212) 3 strokes Debbie Austin
11 Oct 14, 1973 GAC Classic -8 (69-67-70-66=272) Playoff Gerda Boykin, Sandra Palmer
12 Jun 2, 1974 Baltimore Classic -2 (71-73=144) 1 stroke Susie Maxwell Berning, Carol Mann,
Marilynn Smith, Kathy Whitworth
13 Aug 24, 1975 National Jewish Hospital Open -9 (68-68-71=207) 2 strokes Jane Blalock, Sandra Haynie
14 Feb 1, 1976 Burdine's Invitational -3 (73-69-71=213) 3 strokes Pat Bradley
15 Apr 4, 1976 Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's Circle -3 (74-72-71-68=285) 3 strokes Betty Burfeindt
16 Apr 18, 1976 Karsten-Ping Open -11 (68-68-69=205) 7 strokes Sandra Post
17 Jun 27, 1976 Babe Zaharias Invitational -1 (74-69-69-75=287) 1 stroke Jane Blalock
18 Jul 18, 1976 Borden Classic -11 (68-70-67=205) 5 strokes Pat Bradley, Hollis Stacy
19 Nov 20, 1976 Colgate-Hong Kong Open Even (71-72-73=216) 3 strokes Chako Higuchi
20 Feb 20, 1977 Orange Blossom Classic -8 (69-70-69=208) 5 strokes Joyce Kazmierski
21 Feb 27, 1977 Bent Tree Classic -7 (63-77-69=209) 4 strokes Clifford Ann Creed
22 Jun 19, 1977 Mayflower Classic -4 (68-72-72=212) 2 strokes Jane Blalock
23 Jul 3, 1977 Peter Jackson Classic -4 (72-66-74=212) 3 strokes Pat Meyers, Sandra Palmer
24 Aug 6, 1977 Colgate European Women's Open -15 (69-71-71-70=281) 6 strokes Nancy Lopez
25 Aug 13, 1978 WUI Classic -9 (71-69-70-73=283) 2 strokes Pam Higgins, Debbie Massey
26 Aug 12, 1979 WUI Classic -4 (76-71-71-70=288) 2 strokes Beth Daniel

LPGA Tour playoff record (4-12)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1968 Corpus Christi Civitan Open Sandra Spuzich Won with par on second extra hole
2 1970 Women's Golf Charities Open Sandra Haynie, Marilynn Smith Smith won with birdie on first extra hole
3 1971 Quality First Classic Jane Blalock Won with par on second extra hole
4 1972 Lady Eve Open Kathy Whitworth Won with eagle on first extra hole
5 1973 Sealy-Faberge Classic Kathy Cornelius Lost to par on first extra hole
6 1973 La Canadienne Jocelyne Bourassa, Sandra Haynie Bourassa won with birdie on third extra hole
Rankin eliminated with par on first
7 1973 GAC Classic Gerda Boykin, Sandra Palmer Won with par on third extra hole
Boykin eliminated with par on first hole
8 1973 Corpus Christi Civitan Open Sharon Miller Lost to birdie on second extra hole
9 1975 Charity Golf Classic Amy Alcott, Sandra Haynie Haynie won with par on fourth extra hole
Rankin eliminated with par on first hole
10 1975 Birmingham Classic Maria Astrologes, JoAnne Carner Astrologes won with birdie on first extra hole
11 1975 American Defender Classic JoAnne Carner Lost to par on first extra hole
12 1976 Girl Talk Classic Pat Bradley, Bonnie Lauer
Sandra Post
Bradley won with par on second extra hole
Lauer and Post eliminated with birdie on first hole
13 1976 Peter Jackson Classic Donna Caponi Lost to par on first extra hole
14 1977 American Cancer Society Classic Pam Higgins Lost to par on first extra hole
15 1979 Mayflower Classic Laura Baugh, Hollis Stacy Stacy won with par on second extra hole
Rankin eliminated with par on first hole
16 1981 Elizabeth Arden Classic JoAnne Carner, Sally Little Little won with par on third extra hole
Carner eliminated with par on first hole

Note: Rankin won the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's Circle (now known as the Kraft Nabisco Championship) and the Peter Jackson Classic (which became the du Maurier Classic) before they became major championships.

Other wins (2)

See also

References

External links