Class of 1987

Judy Rankin

Professional Player

Biography

Judy Rankin stood the golf world on its ear when she won the 1959 Missouri Amateur as a 14-year-old. The following year, she was low amateur in the U.S. Women’s Open and was still young enough to also be a semi-finalist in the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship in both 1960 and 1961.

In 1962, as a 17-year-old, Rankin joined the LPGA Tour and between 1968 and 1979, she won 26 titles. In 1976, Judy won seven events and set a single-seasons earnings mark of $150,743. She was the first woman to pass $100,000 in a season and was named Player of the Year and also winner of the Vare Trophy for a second time. In all, Rankin won the Vare three times. In 1967, Judy met and married former Texas Tech football player “Yippy” Rankin and became a Texan.

A long-time Texas resident and former LPGA Board of Directors member, Rankin’s last full season on the LPGA Tour was in 1983, after which she underwent back surgery and hence retired from competitive golf.

Judy was hired by ABC Sports in 1984 and became the first woman to work full-time broadcasting men's golf events.

Rankin captained the victorious Solheim Cup teams in 1996 and 1998 and became the first player voted into the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame in 2000 under the veteran’s category. She was 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.

She recently retired as a golf analyst on network television and is endeared by the golf world.

Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri

Born: February 18, 1945

Legacy Video

Inductee Highlights

2007, received the Ben Hogan Award and the LPGA Komen Award
2000 Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame and the First player voted into the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame under the Veteran’s Category.
Hired in 1984 by ABC and became the first woman to commentate full-time covering the PGA Tour.
Captained the victorious 1996 and 1998 U.S. Solheim Cup Teams.
1977, won five tournaments, Player of the Year, and Vare Trophy
1976, won six tournaments and set a single-season earnings record of $150,734, becoming the first LPGA player ever to cross $100,000 in a season; named Player of the Year and earned her second Vare Trophy.
1973, won four tournaments and recorded a total of 25 top-10 finishes; earned her first of three Vare Trophies.
1968-79, accumulated 26 victories.
Age 14, 1959 Missouri Amateur Champion
At age 15, she became the youngest player to finish as low amateur at the U.S. Women’s Open in 1960 (that record has since been broken).
Semifinalist U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship 1960-61 and won the Missouri Amateur again in 1961.

National Pee Wee Champion

Just 8 years old, Judy kick-started her competitive career playing in the National Pee Wee Golf Tournament in Orlando, Florida. The first year she played the members of her golf club pitched in and filled a suitcase with $400 so she could make the first trip!

Carnoustie, Fishing and Sports Illustrated

After a heartbreaking second-round loss in the 1961 British Amateur, Judy Rankin quit the game of golf. She and her dad decided they’d spend their time fishing instead. Two weeks passed without a golf ball struck. Then a reporter from Sports Illustrated called Rankin’s home and asked if she was going to play in the U.S Women’s Open again because the magazine wanted to do a cover story on her. So she started playing again – thankfully!

Solheim Cup Captain 1996 and 1998

Not only a decorated individual competitor, Judy also met with great success as the Solheim Cup Captain. She first led the U.S. Team to a 17-11 victory over Europe in 1996 at the St. Pierre Hotel & Country Club in Wales. She loved the experience and described her role as being part mom, part nurse, part coach, and maybe even a little part warden. “It was a little bit of everything,” she said.

Two years later, she was awarded the Solheim Cup Captaincy again. This time, her U.S. Team defeated the European Team, 16-11, at Jack Nicklaus’s Muirfield Village in Ohio. It was a thrilling affair, with the ladies playing in front of sellout crowds of 25,000 fans a day.

Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism

In 2024, Judy won the Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism from the PGA of America. Since her start in the game at age 8, it has been a life of overcoming obstacles to achieve greatness. From being the Low Amateur at age 15 in the U.S. Women’s Open to becoming the first woman to earn more than $100,000 in prize money in a single season to winning almost every big professional tournament in existence, Judy surpassed even her own wildest dreams.

After her playing days finished, her second career started in 1980 as a TV analyst and report for the women’s game. Soon after, she became the first woman to become a full-time analyst and reporter on the men’s Tour broadcasts. With her unique perspectives, disarming personality, and expert analysis, Judy etched herself into the fabric of the game and opened doors for others to do the same.

Judy is a member of both the LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fames.

Keepsake - Low Amateur Gold Medal

Only 15 years old, Judy won the Low Amateur Gold Medal at the 1960 U.S. Women's Open Championship!

Keepsake - Treasured Times in Broadcast Career

During Judy’s early broadcast days, she worked the Open Championship with some of the all-time greats, such as Jim McKay, Mike Tirico, Curtis Strange, Ian Baker-Finch, and many others.

Keepsake - This is Your Life!

Memorable gift from the PGA TOUR to Judy Rankin when she was named 2015 Ambassador of Golf.

Quick 9

Judy sits down on the hot seat to answer some searing questions, like “What was the one tournament that got away?” Her answer to who in the world she’d like to have dinner with might surprise you!

Deep Dive Interviews

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Judy Rankin - Childhood & Mother‘s Illness