Nancy Lopez

Nancy Marie Lopez[1] (born January 6, 1957)[2] is an American former professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1977 and won 48 LPGA Tour events, including three major championships.

Nancy Lopez
Lopez in 2008
Personal information
Full nameNancy Marie Lopez
Born (1957-01-06) January 6, 1957
Torrance, California, U.S.
Height5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceThe Villages, Florida, U.S.
SpouseEd Russell (m. 2017)
Ray Knight (1982–2009)
Tim Melton (1979–1982)
ChildrenAshley, Erinn, Torri
Career
CollegeUniversity of Tulsa
(two years)
Turned professional1977
Current tour(s)LPGA Tour
Professional wins51
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour48
LPGA of Japan Tour1
Other3
Best results in LPGA major championships
(wins: 3)
Chevron ChampionshipT3: 1995
Women's PGA C'shipWon: 1978, 1985, 1989
U.S. Women's Open2nd/T2: 1975, 1977, 1989, 1997
du Maurier Classic2nd/T2: 1979, 1981, 1996
Women's British OpenDNP
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame1987 (member page)
LPGA Tour
Rookie of the Year
1978
LPGA Tour
Money Winner
1978, 1979, 1985
LPGA Tour
Player of the Year
1978, 1979, 1985, 1988
LPGA Tour
Vare Trophy
1978, 1979, 1985
GWAA Female
Player of the Year
1978, 1979, 1985
Associated Press
Female Athlete of the Year
1978, 1985
LPGA William and
Mousie Powell Award
1987
Flo Hyman Memorial Award1992
USGA Bob Jones Award1998
Old Tom Morris Award2000

Amateur career

Lopez won the New Mexico Women's Amateur at age 12 in 1969, and the U.S. Girls' Junior in 1972 and 1974, at ages 15 and 17, respectively. Shortly after graduation from Goddard High School in Roswell, she played in the U.S. Women's Open as an amateur, first in 1974 and again in 1975 where she tied for second.

As a collegiate freshman in 1976, Lopez was named All-American and Female Athlete of the Year for her play at the University of Tulsa. That year she won the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national intercollegiate golf championship and was a member of the U.S. Curtis Cup and World Amateur teams. Lopez left college after her sophomore year and turned pro in 1977, and again was the runner-up at the U.S. Women's Open.[3]

Professional career

During her first full season on the LPGA Tour in 1978, Lopez won nine tournaments, including five consecutive. She appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in July,[4] won the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average, LPGA Rookie of the Year, LPGA Player of the Year and was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year. She won another eight times in 1979, and won multiple times in each year from 1980 to 1984, although she played only half-seasons in 1983 and 1984 due to the birth of her first child.[3]

Playing full-time again in 1985, Lopez posted five wins, five seconds, five thirds, won the money title, the scoring title, the Player of the Year Award, and was named Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year for a second time. She entered only four events in 1986, when her second daughter was born, but came back with multiple wins in 1987–89 - three times each in 1988 and 1989 - and once again won Player of the Year honors in 1988. Lopez' schedule was curtailed again in the early 1990s when her third daughter was born. In 1992 she won twice. Lopez continued to play short schedules - from 11 to 18 tournaments - through 2002, then in 2003 cut back to just a half dozen or fewer events a year.[3]

Lopez was considered to be one of the greats of women's golf, and she was the game's best player from the late 1970s to late 1980s. She won three majors, and all were at the LPGA Championship, at the same course, in 1978, 1985, and 1989. Lopez never won the U.S. Women's Open, but finished second four times, the last in 1997 when she became the first in the event's history to score under 70 for all four rounds, yet lost to Alison Nicholas.[3] She won the Colgate-Dinah Shore in 1981, two years before it became a major, and was a runner-up three times at the du Maurier Classic in Canada.

Lopez was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1987. She was a member of the United States Solheim Cup team in 1990 and was captain of the team in 2005. Lopez retired from regular tournament play in 2002 and attempted a return in 2007 and 2008. In her return season, she played six tournaments, missed the cut in each, and only broke 80 in three of the 12 rounds.[3] In 2008, she played in three events, with a low score of 76, never making the cut. She was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.[5]

Lopez is the only woman to win LPGA Rookie of the Year, Player of the Year, and the Vare Trophy in the same season (1978). Her company, Nancy Lopez Golf, makes a full line of women's clubs and accessories. She also does occasional television commentary.

Personal life

Lopez was married to Houston sportscaster Tim Melton from 1979 to 1982.[6][7] Shortly after her divorce, she married Major League All-Star baseball player Ray Knight, then a member of the Houston Astros, in October 1982 in Pelham, Georgia.[8] They were married for 27 years, divorcing in 2009, and have three daughters. While married, Lopez and Knight lived in Georgia in his hometown of Albany. Since 1986, she has hosted the Nancy Lopez Hospice Golf Classic at the Doublegate Country Club to raise money for Albany Community Hospice, returning yearly even after her divorce from Knight in 2009.[9] She currently resides in The Villages, Florida[10] where she hosts an annual golf tournament to benefit the charity AIM (Adventures in Movement), an organization that helps mentally challenged, visually impaired, hearing impaired, physically handicapped and other children and adults with special needs. She has hosted the tournament since 1981 and also serves as a national ambassador with AIM.[11] In 2017, Lopez married for a third time to Ed Russell.

Amateur wins

this list may be incomplete

Professional wins (51)

LPGA Tour wins (48)

Legend
LPGA Tour major championships (3)
Other LPGA Tour (45)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Feb 26, 1978 Bent Tree Classic +1 (71-72-73-73=289) 1 stroke United States Jo Ann Washam
2 Mar 12, 1978 Sunstar Classic −3 (72-72-70-71=285) 1 stroke United States Debbie Austin
United States Debbie Massey
3 May 14, 1978 Greater Baltimore Classic −7 (67-73-72=212) 3 strokes United States Donna Caponi
4 May 21, 1978 Coca-Cola Classic −3 (69-71-70=210) Playoff United States JoAnne Carner
5 May 29, 1978 Golden Lights Championship −11 (67-72-73-65=277) 1 stroke United States Jane Blalock
6 Jun 11, 1978 LPGA Championship −13 (71-65-69-70=275) 6 strokes United States Amy Alcott
7 Jun 18, 1978 Bankers Trust Classic −5 (72-73-69=214) 2 strokes United States Jane Blalock
United States Debbie Massey
8 Aug 6, 1978 Colgate European Open −7 (73-71-72-73=289) 3 strokes United States JoAnne Carner
United States Mary Dwyer
South Africa Sally Little
9 Nov 12, 1978 Colgate Far East Open E (75-69-72=216) 2 strokes Argentina Silvia Bertolaccini
United States Kathy Whitworth
10 Mar 11, 1979 Sunstar Classic −8 (70-71-70-69=280) 1 stroke United States Hollis Stacy
11 Mar 25, 1979 Sahara National Pro-Am −16 (72-67-66-69=274) 2 strokes United States Donna Caponi
12 May 6, 1979 Women's International −6 (72-71-71-68=282) 3 strokes United States Donna White
13 May 20, 1979 Coca-Cola Classic −3 (73-70-73=216) Playoff United States Bonnie Bryant
United States Hollis Stacy
United States Jo Ann Washam
United States Mickey Wright
14 Jun 3, 1979 Golden Lights Championship −8 (67-70-73-70=280) 4 strokes United States Pat Bradley
15 Jun 24, 1979 Lady Keystone Open −4 (72-68-72=212) 2 strokes South Africa Sally Little
United States Kathy Whitworth
16 Aug 5, 1979 Colgate European Open −6 (68-69-70-75=282) 4 strokes United States Joyce Kazmierski
17 Sep 30, 1979 Mary Kay Classic −14 (71-66-67-70=274) 2 strokes Canada Sandra Post
18 Mar 30, 1980 Women's Kemper Open E (72-66-77-69=284) 2 strokes United States Debbie Massey
United States Jo Ann Washam
19 Jun 29, 1980 The Sarah Coventry −9 (73-67-72-71=283) 1 stroke United States Pat Bradley
20 Sep 1, 1980 Rail Charity Golf Classic −13 (65-71-71-68=275) 1 stroke United States JoAnne Carner
21 Mar 8, 1981 Arizona Copper Classic −14 (70-72-68-68=278) 4 strokes United States Pat Bradley
22 Apr 5, 1981 Colgate-Dinah Shore −11 (71-73-69-64=277) 2 strokes United States Carolyn Hill
23 Jun 28, 1981 The Sarah Coventry −3 (74-69-71-71=285) 2 strokes United States Pat Bradley
24 Mar 21, 1982 J&B Scotch Pro-Am −5 (70-67-69-73=279) 5 strokes United States Sandra Haynie
25 Nov 7, 1982 Mazda Japan Classic −9 (66-70-71=207) 6 strokes United States Amy Alcott
26 Feb 6, 1983 Elizabeth Arden Classic −3 (71-71-70-73=285) 1 stroke United States Pat Bradley
United States JoAnne Carner
United States Stephanie Farwig
United States Betsy King
27 Apr 10, 1983 J&B Scotch Pro-Am −6 (71-69-69-74=283) 1 stroke United States Laura Baugh
28 Mar 4, 1984 Uniden LPGA Invitational E (70-74-66-74=284) 3 strokes United States Pat Bradley
29 Aug 19, 1984 Chevrolet World Championship of Women's Golf −7 (69-74-65-73=281) 1 stroke United States JoAnne Carner
30 May 19, 1985 Chrysler-Plymouth Classic −9 (69-69-72=210) 3 strokes United States Pat Bradley
31 Jun 2, 1985 LPGA Championship −15 (65-71-72-65=273) 8 strokes United States Alice Miller
32 Jul 7, 1985 Mazda Hall of Fame Championship −7 (71-70-72-68=281) 3 strokes United States JoAnne Carner
United States Allison Finney
33 Aug 11, 1985 Henredon Classic −20 (66-67-69-66=268) 10 strokes United States Val Skinner
34 Sep 8, 1985 Portland Ping Championship −1 (69-76-70=215) Playoff United States Lori Garbacz
35 Feb 8, 1987 Sarasota Classic −7 (73-66-68-74=281) 3 strokes United States Kathy Guadagnino
France Anne Marie Palli
36 Sep 13, 1987 Cellular One-Ping Golf Championship −6 (72-67-71=210) 1 stroke United States Kelly Leadbetter
United States Muffin Spencer-Devlin
Australia Jan Stephenson
37 Feb 7, 1988 Mazda Classic −5 (69-68-71-75=283) 2 strokes Spain Marta Figueras-Dotti
38 Apr 17, 1988 AI Star/Centinela Hospital Classic −6 (71-72-67=210) Playoff Spain Marta Figueras-Dotti
39 May 15, 1988 Chrysler-Plymouth Classic −12 (68-70-66=204) 8 strokes Australia Jan Stephenson
40 May 21, 1989 Mazda LPGA Championship −14 (71-69-68-66=274) 3 strokes Japan Ayako Okamoto
41 Jul 30, 1989 Atlantic City Classic −10 (67-70-69=206) 1 stroke United States Christa Johnson
United States Vicki Fergon
42 Sep 24, 1989 Nippon Travel-MBS Classic −11 (73-69-65-70=277) 2 strokes United States Alice Ritzman
Scotland Pamela Wright
43 Sep 23, 1990 MBS LPGA Classic −7 (69-70-74-68=281) Playoff United States Cathy Gerring
44 May 5, 1991 Sara Lee Classic −10 (65-70-71=206) 2 strokes United States Kris Monaghan
45 Sep 7, 1992 Rail Charity Golf Classic −17 (67-68-64=199) Playoff England Laura Davies
46 Sep 13, 1992 Ping-Cellular One LPGA Golf Championship −7 (70-70-69=209) Playoff Australia Jane Crafter
47 Jul 11, 1993 Youngstown-Warren LPGA Classic −13 (68-68-67=203) Playoff United States Deb Richard
48 Apr 27, 1997 Chick-fil-A Charity Championship −7 (71-66=137) 2 strokes United States Tina Barrett
United States Deb Richard
Australia Karrie Webb

Note: Lopez won the Colgate-Dinah Shore (now known as the Kraft Nabisco Championship) before it became a major championship.

LPGA Tour playoff record (8–7)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 1978 Kathryn Crosby/Honda Civic Classic South Africa Sally Little Lost to par on first extra hole
2 1978 Coca-Cola Classic United States JoAnne Carner Won with par on first extra hole
3 1978 Mizuno-Japan Classic Japan Michiko Okada
Taiwan Ai-Yu Tu
Okada won with birdie on fifth extra hole
Tu eliminated by birdie on second hole
4 1979 Women's Kemper Open United States Donna Caponi
United States JoAnne Carner
Japan Chako Higuchi
Australia Jan Stephenson
Carner won with par on second extra hole
Caponi, Lopez, and Stephenson eliminated by par on first hole
5 1979 Coca-Cola Classic United States Bonnie Bryant
United States Hollis Stacy
United States Jo Ann Washam
United States Mickey Wright
Won with birdie on second extra hole
Bryant, Stacy, and Washam eliminated by birdie on first hole
6 1980 Mary Kay Classic United States Jerilyn Britz Lost to birdie on second extra hole
7 1985 Portland Ping Championship United States Lori Garbacz Won with birdie on third extra hole
8 1988 AI Star/Centinela Hospital Classic Spain Marta Figueras-Dotti Won with par on second extra hole
9 1988 Crestar Classic United States Juli Inkster
United States Rosie Jones
United States Betsy King
Inkster won with eagle on first extra hole
10 1988 Rochester International Taiwan Mei-Chi Cheng
United States Patty Sheehan
Cheng won with birdie on second extra hole
Sheehan eliminated by par on first hole
11 1990 MBS LPGA Classic United States Cathy Gerring Won with birdie on first extra hole
12 1992 Rail Charity Classic England Laura Davies Won with par on first extra hole
13 1992 Ping-Cellular One LPGA Golf Championship Australia Jane Crafter Won with par on second extra hole
14 1993 Youngstown-Warren LPGA Classic United States Deb Richard Won with birdie on first extra hole
15 1998 Sara Lee Classic United States Donna Andrews
Peru Jenny Lidback
United States Barb Mucha
Mucha won with birdie on second extra hole

LPGA of Japan Tour wins (1)

1Co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour

Other wins (3)

Major championships

Wins (3)

YearChampionshipWinning scoreMarginRunner-up
1978LPGA Championship−13 (71-65-69-70=275)6 strokesUnited States Amy Alcott
1985LPGA Championship−15 (65-71-72-65=273)8 strokesUnited States Alice Miller
1989Mazda LPGA Championship−14 (71-69-68-66=274)3 strokesJapan Ayako Okamoto

Results timeline

Tournament1974197519761977197819791980
LPGA Championship 1 T10 T19
U.S. Women's Open T18 T2LA CUT 2 T9 T11 T7
du Maurier Classic ... ... ... ... ... 2 T6
Tournament1981198219831984198519861987198819891990
Kraft Nabisco Championship ... ... T6 T16 T11 T33 T5 T18 CUT
LPGA Championship T5 T35 T21 T14 1 T28 T24 1 T14
U.S. Women's Open WD T7 T35 T4 T21 T12 2 T14
du Maurier Classic T2 T9 WD T8 T21 T45 9
Tournament1991199219931994199519961997199819992000
Kraft Nabisco Championship T30 CUT T8 T9 T3 T15 T23 T13 T21 T43
LPGA Championship T18 T25 WD T18 T18 T37 T44 WD T65
U.S. Women's Open T16 T7 T35 T28 CUT 2 CUT CUT T46
du Maurier Classic T22 T2 T27
Tournament2001200220032004200520062007200820092010
Kraft Nabisco Championship T63 CUT CUT WD CUT
LPGA Championship CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Women's Open CUT
Women's British Open ^

^ The Women's British Open replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major in 2001.

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the half=way cut.
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

Professional

See also

References

  1. "Hollis Stacy Withstands The Pressure". Lebanon Daily News. Lebanon, Pennsylvania. July 25, 1977. p. 19. Retrieved July 27, 2011. Next to her was 20-year-old Nancy Marie Lopez...
  2. "UPI Almanac for Sunday, Jan. 6, 2019". United Press International. January 6, 2019. Archived from the original on September 11, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2019. Hall of Fame golfer Nancy Lopez in 1957 (age 62)
  3. Nancy Lopez at about.com
  4. Deford, Frank (July 10, 1978). "Nancy With The Laughing Face". Sports Illustrated.
  5. "Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Members by Year" (PDF). Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  6. "Golfer seeks divorce". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. May 13, 1982. p. 33.
  7. Lemon, Richard (April 25, 1983). "On the Beach No More, Nancy Lopez and Ray Knight Score a Tie for Golf and Baseball". People. Vol. 19, no. 16. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  8. "Nancy Lopez marries Ray Knight". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. October 27, 1982. p. 12.
  9. "Lopez golf classic begins today". 6 March 2013.
  10. Glenn, Rhonda (December 7, 2012). "Catching Up With ... Nancy Lopez: 40 years after winning her first U.S. Girls' Junior, Hall of Famer is busy on and off course". USGA. Archived from the original on July 23, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  11. "AIM Ambassadors". Retrieved June 24, 2013.

Further reading

  • Katherine M. Jamieson. "Reading Nancy Lopez: Decoding Representations of Race, Class, and Sexuality"
  • Baca Zinn, Maxine and Bonnie Thornton Dill. "Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism." Feminist Theory Reader. Carole R. McCann & Seung-Kyung Kim, eds. New York, NY: Routledge Press, 2003.
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