Patty Sheehan - Part 2 (Winning the 1983 and 1984 LPGA)

Six-time major championship winner, Patty Sheehan, looks back on her early professional wins including her first in Japan at the 1981 Mazda Classic. Patty recalls the long bus rides to and from the golf courses in Japan and the shenanigans that ensued. Rookie of the Year on the LPGA Tour that year, she followed that up with Player of the Year honors in 1983 and the Vare Trophy in 1984 by which time Patty had amassed 11 LPGA wins and two majors. Patty bested Sandra Haynie in the 1983 LPGA Championship and went back-to-back the following year in grand fashion, winning by 10 over fellow Hall of Famers Pat Bradley and Beth Daniel. She was the fastest women to achieve $1M in lifetime earnings in 1985 and appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1987 as their Sportsperson of the Year, which afforded her the opportunity to sit with President Ronald Reagan at a White House state dinner. Patty Sheehan continues her life story, “FORE the Good of the Game.”

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About

"FORE the Good of the Game” is a golf podcast featuring interviews with World Golf Hall of Fame members, winners of major championships and other people of influence in and around the game of golf. Highlighting the positive aspects of the game, we aim to create and provide an engaging and timeless repository of content that listeners can enjoy now and forever. Co-hosted by PGA Tour star Bruce Devlin, our podcast focuses on telling their life stories, in their voices. Join Bruce and Mike Gonzalez “FORE the Good of the Game.”

Thanks so much for listening!

Sheehan, Patty

Golf Professional

It is a tribute of a person’s fortitude that she is at her best when life seems at its worst. That, then, says it all about Patty Sheehan, who has twice answered adversity with achievement, and who has proven that heart and courage mean as much in golf as talent. When you grow up as a downhill skier, you learn how to pick yourself up, and that’s what Sheehan has done.

In 1989, Sheehan lost her house, her trophies and nearly all of her life savings in the San Francisco earthquake. She came back the next year to win five tournaments and more than $732,000. Nearly all of that money went to pay bills, but it was the tournament she lost in 1990 that represented as much potential devastation to her career as the earthquake did to her financial security.

The U.S. Women’s Open was played at the Atlanta Athletic Club. Sheehan had an 11-stroke lead in the third round and ended up losing it all to Betsy King. As Sheehan later said, “I had owned the Open. It was in my hands. I could break a leg and still shoot well enough to win, but I hadn’t been able to do it.”

“I saw myself as a winner from a very young age. I played with boys all my life, and I seemed to be their equal, if not better. I never thought of myself as anything less than a winner. To be successful, you need drive, determination and a belief in yourself, and some kind of peacefulness about what you’re doing.”
Two years later, Sheehan came to Oakmont Country Club after two consecutive victories. She birdied the 71st and 72nd holes, then went on to defeat Juli Inkster in a playoff. She won the… Read More

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