Reilley Rankin (born April 17, 1979) 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 ...

, currently playing 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 ...

Amateur career

Rankin was a three-time American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Rolex All-American from 1995 to 1997. She was a three-time All-American at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

where she was the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC) Freshman of the Year in 1997, the NCAA Freshman of the Year in 1998, and the 1997–98 SEC Player of the Year. She won four consecutive collegiate tournaments in 1998, the same year she was a semifinalist at the Women's Western Amateur. She was forced to take two years off from competition in 1999 and 2000 after breaking her back but came in 2001 to lead the Georgia to the NCAA Championship title. She graduated from Georgia in 2001 with a degree in Child and Family Development.

Professional career

Rankin turned professional in July 2001, playing on the

Futures Tour The Epson Tour, previously known as the LPGA Futures Tour, and known for sponsorship reasons between 2006 and 2010 as the Duramed Futures Tour and between 2012 and 2021 as the Symetra Tour, is the official developmental golf tour of the LPGA Tou ...

. She played two tournaments on the Futures Tour in 2001, and then played a full season in 2002 and 2003. In 2003, she won two events which earned fifth place on the Futures Tour money list and full membership on the LPGA Tour for the 2004 season. Her best finish to date on the LPGA Tour is a tie for second at the 2007 Mizuno Classic. In 2010, she fell to 139th on the final official LPGA money list, requiring her to return to LPGA qualifying school in order to retain her LPGA playing privileges for 2011. She finished in the top 10 at the qualifying tournament.

Personal life

On June 4, 1998, during the summer between her sophomore and junior years at the University of Georgia, Rankin was severely injured after jumping from a cliff into a lake about 70 feet below. Her injuries included a broken back, a broken sternum and bruised heart, lungs and aorta. She was confined to a body cast for three months.

Professional wins (2)

Futures Tour wins (2)

References

External links

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Profile on Yahoo! sports
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rankin, Reilley American female golfers Georgia Bulldogs women's golfers LPGA Tour golfers Golfers from South Carolina Sportspeople from Beaufort, South Carolina People from Hilton Head, South Carolina 1979 births Living people