Betsy King

An all-around athlete at Exeter High School, Betsy won several local golf tournaments, including the Berks and Central-Penn women’s titles. She was also a semi-finalist in the USGA junior girls tournament (1972). She went on to Furman University, where she was a member of Furman’s NCAA championship golf team (1976) and was the low amateur (eighth overall) at the U.S. Women’s Open (1976). She was named Athlete of the Year and Woman Scholar/Athlete of the Year at Furman (1977). King has won 15 tournaments and over 7 million dollars since joining the LPGA Tour (1977). Her first tour victory was at the Kemper Open (1984). She won two additional tournaments that season and was named Rolex Player of the Year. She was named Player of the Year by Golf Magazine and Golf Illustrated (1987), when she won four tournaments, including the Nabisco Dinah Shore Tournament, and received the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average on the tour (71.13). Betsy also has two unofficial tour wins at the Itsuki Charity Classic (1981) and the Ladies British Open (1985). Through the first nine tournaments in 1989, she ranked No. 1 in earnings with $167,310 and had two victories (the season-opening Jamaica Classic and the Kemper Open).