Sandra Palmer (born March 10, 1943) 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 ...

. She became a member of the

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

in 1964 and won 19 LPGA Tour events, including two major championships, during her career. She was elected to the

World Golf Hall of Fame The World Golf Hall of Fame was, until recently, located at World Golf Village between Jacksonville, Florida and St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States. It is unusual amongst sports halls of fame in that a single site honored both men ...

in 2023 and will be inducted in 2024.

Amateur career

Palmer was born in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, but grew up (and first played golf) in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...

. She attended

North Texas State University The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

where she was a

cheerleader Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ent ...

and Homecoming Queen.Sandra Palmer is new Open champ
/ref> Palmer attended

, where she was runner-up in the 1961 National Collegiate Championship. While at North Texas State, Palmer joined

Alpha Delta Pi Alpha Delta Pi (), commonly known as ADPi (pronounced "ay-dee-pye"), is an International Panhellenic sorority founded on May 15, 1851, at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. It is the oldest secret society for women. Alpha Delta Pi is a member ...

sorority. She was a four-time winner of the West Texas Amateur and won the Texas State Amateur in 1963.

Professional career

Palmer turned professional and became a member of the

in 1964. She won 19 events on the Tour, and also several other professional events, including some as a senior. Her two wins in major championships came at the 1972

Titleholders Championship The Titleholders Championship was a women's golf tournament played from in 1937 to 1966 and again in 1972. It was later designated a major championship by the LPGA Tour. History The Titleholders Championship was founded in 1937. Like the Maste ...

and the 1975 U.S. Women's Open. She topped the money list for 1975 and was awarded the LPGA Player of the Year title. Her ten top-10 finishes on the money list came in ten straight years from 1968 to 1977. She played her last event on the Tour in 1997.

Professional wins

LPGA Tour wins (19)

LPGA Tour playoff record (4–5) LPGA majors are shown in bold.
''Note: Palmer won the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's Circle (now known as the

Kraft Nabisco Championship The Chevron Championship is a professional women's golf tournament. An event on the LPGA Tour, it is one of the tour's five major championships, and has traditionally been the first of the season since its elevation to major status in 1983. Sinc ...

) before it became a major championship.''

LPGA of Japan Tour wins (2)

*1970 Tokai Classic *1973 TV Shizuoka Central Ladies

Other wins (7)

*1972 Angelo's Four-Ball Championship (with

Jane Blalock Barbara Jane Blalock (born September 19, 1945) is an American business executive and retired professional golfer. After winning several New England golf tournaments in her youth, Blalock joined the LPGA Tour as a professional in 1969, being named ...

) *1973 Angelo's Four-Ball Championship (with

) *1991 Centel Senior Challenge *1992 Centel Senior Challenge *1993 Sprint Senior Challenge *1994 Sprint Senior Challenge *1995 Sprint Senior Challenge

Major championships

Wins (2)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Sandra American female golfers LPGA Tour golfers Winners of LPGA major golf championships Golfers from Washington (state) University of North Texas alumni Golfers from Fort Worth, Texas People from Sammamish, Washington Sportspeople from King County, Washington Sportspeople from Bangor, Maine 1943 births Living people 21st-century American women 20th-century American sportswomen