World Golf Hall of Fame member, 26-time LPGA Tour winner to be honored at
World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational
AKRON, Ohio – World Golf Hall of Fame Member and 26-time LPGA Tour champion Judy Rankin was named the 2015 Ambassador of Golf by Northern Ohio Golf Charities. The Ambassador of Golf Award is presented annually to a person who has fostered the ideals of the game on an international level and whose concern for others extends beyond the golf course.
Rankin will be honored on the first tee at Firestone Country Club on Wednesday, August 5, at 5:30 p.m., an event open to all Wednesday Bridgestone Invitational ticket holders. Fans will hear remarks from Rankin and PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem.
“Judy Rankin has lifted the game of golf through her distinguished playing career, her illustrious broadcast career, but mostly by her excitement, dedication and desire to grow the game,” Finchem said. “Her love of golf, not just as a competition, but also the people in the game and what the sport means to everyone in our business, is infectious. Golf is better because Judy Rankin is a part of it.”
“I am honored and humbled to be named the Ambassador of Golf by the Northern Ohio Golf Charities and join a list of past recipients that includes not only my peers but so many meaningful figures in this great game that have meant so much to my career on and off the course,” Rankin said. “I love the game more than I ever have. Golf is full of life lessons with amazing rewards and tough times. I hope, along with age, it has built character and perspective. My father believed that playing golf at a high level would make my life better. He couldn’t have been more right. The Ambassador of Golf award recognizes the work done by its recipients to grow the game. I hope my career has played a small role in the growth of the sport.”
Rankin started playing golf at the age of 6 years old. Her amateur career included a victory at the Missouri Amateur in 1959 at age 14. The following year, she was the low amateur at the 1960 U.S. Women’s Open. She joined the LPGA Tour at 17 years old in 1962. Her first victory came in 1968 and she went on to record 25 more LPGA victories. Rankin struggled throughout her career with chronic back pain, but that didn’t stop her from winning the LPGA's Rolex Player of the Year in 1976 and 1977 and winning the Vare Trophy for low scoring average in 1973, 1976 and 1977. In 1977, she set an LPGA record of 25 top-10 finishes in a season, a record that still stands.
Her most successful season was 1976, when she won seven tournaments and set a LPGA season earnings record of $150,724 on her way to becoming the first LPGA player ever to exceed $100,000 in season earnings.
Her career as a broadcaster began at ABC Sports when she covered the Women’s British Championship in 1984 and the men’s Open Championship in 1986. She has grown to become one of the most well-known and respected television personalities having worked at ESPN and now on NBC/Golf Channel broadcasts.
She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000. Additional awards include:
- 1976-77 - Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA) Female Player of the Year
- 1987 - Inducted into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame
- 1993 - Inducted into the All-American Collegiate Golf Hall of Fame
- 1999 - Inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame
- 1999 - Awarded the GWAA’s William H. Richardson Award
- 1999 - Awarded the Patty Berg Award
- 1999 - PGA of America’s First Lady of Golf Award
- 2000 - Received the United States Sports Academy’s Distinguished Service Award
- 2001 - Received the Dave Marr Memorial Award from the Shell Oil Company
- 2002 - Received the Bobby Jones Award from the USGA
- 2007 - Received the Ben Hogan Award for her comeback to the game of golf after recovering from breast cancer and was the recipient of the LPGA Komen Award
- 2008 - Received the Linc Werden Golf Journalism Award from the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association (MGWA).
- 2010 - Received the Old Tom Morris Award
Rankin joins an illustrious list of Ambassador of Golf Award winners: 1981 Chi Chi Rodriguez; 1982 Bing Crosby; 1983 Byron Nelson; 1984 Gene Sarazen; 1985 President Gerald Ford; 1986 Bob Hope; 1987 Dinah Shore; 1988 Joe Dey; 1989 Frank Chirkinian; 1990 Barbara Nicklaus; 1991 Arnold Palmer; 1992 Nancy Lopez; 1993 Robert DeVincenzo; 1994 President George H.W. Bush; 1995 Michael Bonnallack; 1996 Deane Beman; 1997 Peter Thomson; 1998 Ken Venturi; 1999 Gary Player; 2000 Ben Hogan and Sam Snead; 2001 Del de Windt; 2002 Joanne Carner; 2003 Robert Dedman, Sr. and Jack Vickers; 2004 Lee Trevino; 2005 Pete Dye; 2006 Ken Schofield; 2007 Tony Jacklin; 2008 Charlie Sifford; 2009 Hale Irwin; 2010 Tom Watson; 2011 Nick Price; 2012 Nick Faldo; 2013 Jack Nicklaus; and 2014 Johnny Miller.
Tickets to the Bridgestone Invitational will be available in April 2015 on the tournament’s website, www.worldgolfchampionships.com or by calling 330-644-2299. Currently, the Bridgestone Invitational has limited space available for the Ambassador of Golf dinner that evening at Firestone Country Club. The dinner features an inside look at Judy Rankin with a special question and answer presentation that raises funds for Northern Ohio Golf Charities. A limited amount of dinner tickets are available for $400 each. For inquiries, please contact Glenda Buchanan at 330-245-2302 or glendab@neo.rr.com)
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