Debbie Austin (born February 1, 1948) is an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

. Austin was born in

Oneida, New York Oneida (, one, kanaˀalóhaleˀ) is a city in Madison County located west of Oneida Castle (in Oneida County) and east of Wampsville, New York, United States. The population was 11,390 at the 2010 census. The city, like both Oneida County an ...

. She first played on the

LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of wee ...

in 1968 and went on to win seven tournaments, including five in 1977 when she tied with

Judy Rankin Judy Rankin ( Torluemke; born February 18, 1945) is an American professional golfer and golf broadcaster. A member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, she joined the LPGA Tour in 1962 at age 17 and won 26 tour events. Since 2010, Rankin has served a ...

for most on tour. She was named Player of the Year in 1977 by ''

Golf Magazine ''Golf Magazine'' is a monthly golf magazine. It was started in April 1959 by Universal Publishing and Distributing, who sold it to Times Mirror in 1972. Time Inc. acquired it in 2000. It was acquired by Howard Milstein in 2018. It was the worl ...

''. She won the

Wills Qantas Australian Ladies Open The Women's Australian Open is a women's professional golf tournament played in Australia, operated by Golf Australia and the WPGA Tour of Australasia, long co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour (LET). Beginning with the 2012 event, it ...

in 1978. A recurring tendonitis problem plagued her during 1979 and 1980, but she returned to winning form in 1981 by winning the

Mayflower Classic The Mayflower Classic was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1976 to 1988.LPGA Tournament Chronolo ...

. With that victory, she established the tradition of the winner taking a plunge into the pool with General Chairman John B. Smith. She has held a variety of positions since the end of her tour career, including a stint as a coach for the

Rollins College Rollins College is a private college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several graduate programs. It is Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institution. History Rollins Colle ...

ladies' golf team in

Winter Park, Florida Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 30,183 according to the 2022 census population estimate. It is part of the Greater Orlando, Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolit ...

. She spent several years associated with

Westchester Country Club Westchester Country Club is a private country club located in Town of Harrison, New York. Founded in 1922 as destination for sportsmen, it was known to professional golf players and spectators for more than four decades as the home of the " Westch ...

in New York. She resides in Orlando, Florida and is the former head coach of the Bishop Moore Catholic High School girls' golf team. She is now retired but plays regularly at her home course, Orange Tree Golf Club. The junior tees at

are named after her.

Professional wins (8)

LPGA Tour wins (7)

Other wins (1)

*1978

References

External links

* American female golfers Rollins Tars women's golfers LPGA Tour golfers College golf coaches in the United States Golfers from New York (state) Golfers from Orlando, Florida People from Oneida, New York 1948 births Living people {{US-golf-bio-stub