Mickey Wright

Mickey Wright
Wright in 1965
Personal information
Full name Mary Kathryn Wright
Nickname Mickey
Born (1935-02-14) February 14, 1935
San Diego, California, U.S.
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Nationality  United States
Residence Port St. Lucie, Florida
Career
College Stanford University
(one year)
Turned professional 1954
Retired 1969
Former tour(s) LPGA Tour (joined 1955)
Professional wins 90
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour 82 (2nd all time)
Other 8
Best results in LPGA major championships
(wins: 13)
Western Open Won: 1962, 1963, 1966
Titleholders C'ship Won: 1961, 1962
ANA Inspiration T66: 1984
Women's PGA C'ship Won: 1958, 1960, 1961, 1963
U.S. Women's Open Won: 1958, 1959, 1961, 1964
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame 1964 (member page)
LPGA Tour
Money Winner		 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964
LPGA Vare Trophy 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964
Associated Press
Female Athlete of the Year		 1963, 1964
Bob Jones Award 2010
PGA of America
Hall of Fame		 2017

Mary Kathryn "Mickey" Wright (born February 14, 1935) is an American former LPGA Tour professional golfer. She became a member of the tour in 1955 and won thirteen major championships and 82 LPGA Tour career events. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Early life

Wright was born in San Diego, California, where she attended Herbert Hoover High School. Her first important title was the 1952 U.S. Girls' Junior. She attended Stanford University and played for its golf team, but left before graduation.[1] She lost in the final of the 1954 U.S. Women's Amateur, won the 1954 World Amateur Championship, and turned professional later in 1954.

Joins LPGA Tour

Wright in 1960

Wright joined the LPGA Tour in 1955. She won 82 events on the LPGA Tour, which puts her second on the all-time win list behind Kathy Whitworth, who won 88 times. Thirteen of her victories were in major championships, which places her second to Patty Berg, who won fifteen majors. Wright topped the LPGA money list for four consecutive seasons from 1961–1964 and made the top ten on the list thirteen times in total between 1956 and 1969. Wright won at least one LPGA title for 14 straight seasons, from 1956 to 1969.

At the inaugural Tall City Open in 1964, Wright shot a 62 in the third and final round. It was the lowest score in LPGA Tour history at that time,[2] at a course (Hogan Park in Midland, Texas) on which the men's record, at the time, was 66.[3] Wright's Tall City Open win is also tied for the largest final round comeback (10 shots) in LPGA history.[4]

Wright was coached by Harry Pressler. Ben Hogan said Wright's swing was the best he had ever seen.[5]

She retired from full-time golf at age 34 in 1969, because of problems with her feet, but did compete occasionally after that. She won 13 majors between 1958 and 1966, and she is the only player in LPGA Tour history to hold all four major titles at the same time. She now lives in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and plays recreational golf occasionally. She is a breast cancer survivor.[6]

Legacy

In 2000, Wright was ranked as the ninth greatest golfer of all time, and the top woman golfer, by Golf Digest magazine.[7] In a major 2009 survey of experts, published by Golf Magazine, Wright was chosen the eighth best player of all time, and the top woman player of all time.[8] She was inducted into the PGA of America Hall of Fame in 2017.[9]

Notable amateur wins

Professional wins (90)

LPGA Tour (82)

Note: Wright won the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's Circle (now known as the ANA Inspiration) before it became a major championship.

LPGA majors are shown in bold.

Other wins (8)

Major championships

Wins (13)

YearChampionshipWinning scoreMarginRunner(s)-up
1958LPGA Championship+8 (69-69-76-74=288)6 strokesUruguay Fay Crocker
1958U.S. Women's Open−2 (74-72-70-74=290)5 strokesUnited States Louise Suggs
1959U.S. Women's Open+7 (72-75-69-71=287)2 strokesUnited States Louise Suggs
1960LPGA Championship−4 (71-76-74-71=292)3 strokesUnited States Louise Suggs
1961Titleholders Championship+11 (72-75-76-76=299)1 strokeUnited States Patty Berg, United States Louise Suggs
1961U.S. Women's Open+5 (72-80-69-72=293)6 strokesUnited States Betsy Rawls
1961LPGA Championship+3 (67-77-72-71=287)9 strokesUnited States Louise Suggs
1962Titleholders Championship+7 (73-75-70-77=295)Playoff1United States Ruth Jessen
1962Women's Western Open+7 (69-74-76-76=295)Playoff2United States Mary Lena Faulk
1963Women's Western Open−4 (78-70-71-73=292)9 strokesUnited States Kathy Whitworth
1963LPGA Championship+10 (72-82-70-70=294)2 strokesUnited States Mary Lena Faulk, United States Mary Mills, United States Louise Suggs
1964U.S. Women's Open−2 (71-71-75-73=290)Playoff3United States Ruth Jessen
1966Women's Western Open+2 (72-78-76-76=302)1 strokeUnited States Jo Ann Prentice, Australia Margie Masters

1 In an 18-hole playoff, Wright 69, Jessen 72.
2 Wright won on the fourth hole of a sudden-death playoff.
3 In an 18-hole playoff, Wright 70, Jessen 72.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Hall of Fame – San Diego Hall of Champions". Sdhoc.com. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Mickey Wright Fires 9-Under-Par 62". Eugene Register-Guard. Eugene, Oregon. Associated Press. November 4, 1964. p. 2B. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
  3. ↑ Brown, Gwilym S. (November 23, 1964). "When Mickey Wright Did Nothing Wrong". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Biggest Come From Behind Win on LPGA Tour - Largest Final-Round Comeback". Golf.about.com. February 6, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Mickey Wright - Biography of Golfer Mickey Wright". Golf.about.com. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Mickey Wright undergoes breast cancer surgery". PGA Tour. October 27, 2006. Archived from the original on November 17, 2006. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  7. ↑ Yocom, Guy (July 2000). "50 Greatest Golfers of All Time: And What They Taught Us". Golf Digest.
  8. ↑ Golf Digest, September 2009.
  9. ↑ "Gary Player, Renee Powell, Mickey Wright, Lew Worsham lead inductees to PGA of America Hall of Fame". PGA of America. September 7, 2017.
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