Patty Sheehan - Part 3 (Winning the 1992 U.S Open)

Winner of 35 LPGA tournaments, Patty Sheehan looks back on the middle of her professional career that included an earthquake and heartbreak. Patty lost her home in the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake in the San Francisco area but used that loss as incentive to come back strong, which she sure did in 1990, winning five times but suffering a meltdown at the U.S. Open that year, losing an 11-shot lead to Betsy King when she became hypoglycemic on a hot 36-hole final day in Atlanta. Redemption came two years later when she won the 1992 U.S. Open at Oakmont, where she birdied the final two holes to get into a playoff with her good friend Juli Inkster and prevailed in the 18-hole playoff after leaving her clubs at her rental home. 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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