Nancy Lopez

Nancy Marie Lopez (born January 6, 1957) 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.

Early life

In 1969, at the age of 12, Lopez won the New Mexico Women's Amateur. She later won 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, when she tied for second.

Amateur career In 1976, as a collegiate freshman, 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 professional in 1977, and again was the runner-up at the U.S. Women's Open.

Professional career In 1978, during her first full season on the LPGA Tour, she won nine tournaments, including five consecutive. She appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in July, won the Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average, and was named LPGA Rookie of the Year, LPGA Player of the Year, and 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.

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 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania sportscaster Tim Melton from 1979 to 1982, whom she met while playing in the Lady Keystone Open in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

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. 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.

She currently resides in The Villages, Florida, where she hosts an annual golf tournament to benefit the charity Adventures in Movement (AIM), 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.

In 2017, Lopez married for a third time to Ed Russell.

Awards and honors

In 1978, during her rookie year, Lopez had an outstanding season and won a number of prestigious awards: the LPGA Rookie of the Year award, the Vare Trophy, the LPGA Player of the Year award, the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year award, and was the money winner In 1979, she again earned a number of prestigious accolades: the Vare Trophy, money list title, and Player of the Year award. In 1985, she won a number of prestigious titles once more: she won the LPGA money title, the Vare Trophy, the LPGA Player of the Year award, and was named Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year for a second time. In 1987, Lopez was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. In 1987, she won the LPGA's William and Mousie Powell Award, bestowed to the player who "whose behavior and deeds best exemplifies the spirit, ideals and values of the LPGA." In 1988, she earned the LPGA Player of the Year title for a third time. In 1992, earned the Flo Hyman Award, an award given to an inspirational female athlete. In 1998, the United States Golf Association (USGA) bestowed upon her the Bob Jones Award, its highest honor. In 2000, the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America gave her the Old Tom Morris Award, given to an individual who "through a continuing lifetime commitment to the game of golf has helped to mold the welfare of the game in a manner and style exemplified by Old Tom Morris." In 2002, she was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.

Amateur wins this list may be incomplete 1969 New Mexico Women's Amateur 1970 New Mexico Women's Amateur 1971 New Mexico Women's Amateur 1972 U.S. Girls' Junior, Women's Western Junior 1973 Women's Western Junior 1974 U.S. Girls' Junior, Women's Western Junior 1975 Mexican Amateur 1976 AIAW National Championship, Women's Western Amateur, Women's Trans National Amateur

Professional wins (51) LPGA Tour wins (48) LegendLPGA Tour major championships (3)Other LPGA Tour (45) 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)

LPGA of Japan Tour wins (1) 1982 (1) Mazda Japan Classic1 1Co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour

Other wins (3) 1979 Portland Ping Team Championship (with Jo Ann Washam) 1980 JCPenney Mixed Team Classic (with Curtis Strange) 1987 Mazda Champions (with Miller Barber)

Major championships

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

Results timeline

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

LA = low amateur CUT = missed the half-way cut WD = withdrew "T" = tied

U.S. national team appearances Amateur Curtis Cup: 1976 (winners) Espirito Santo Trophy: 1976 (winners)

Professional Solheim Cup: 1990 (winners), 2005 (non-playing captain, winners) Handa Cup: 2011 (winners), 2012 (tie, Cup retained), 2013