Golf: Kathy Whitworth dies at 83: she won more tournaments than Tiger Woods

She has been the undisputed number one in golf for decades, winning more tournaments than Tiger Woods. Kathy Whitworth passed away at the age of 83 on Christmas Eve.

“Kathy passed away suddenly on Saturday night while celebrating Christmas Eve with her family and friends. Kathy left this world while living her life, loving, laughing and making memories,” said her partner Bettye Odle, without revealing her cause of death.

between 1962 and 1985

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Kathy Whitworth won the first of her 88 LPGA tournaments in 1962 and the last in 1985. Winner of six majors, she is the first woman to have accumulated a million dollars on the circuit (she succeeded in 1981). Despite these numerous victories, the American never put the US Women’s Open on the shelf, stopping one step away in 1971, when she finished second.

“The golf world and the world at large has lost one of its most incredible women in the passing of Kathy Whitworth. Kathy was a champion in every sense of the word, both on and off the golf course,” said the Commissioner Lpga, Mollie Marcoux Samaan. The Texan with her 88 wins precedes her rival Mary Kathryn “Mickey” Wright by 6 lengths and also the leaders in the men’s field Sam Snead and Tiger Woods, also with 82.