# Betsy King

    Betsy King was also a childhood name for Lizzie Lloyd King.
Betsy King (born August 13, 1955) is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1977 and won six major championships and 34 LPGA Tour victories in all.

## Early life, college and amateur career

King was born on born August 13, 1955, in Reading, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Exeter Township High School in 1973. She played collegiately at Furman University, and was on the 1976 national championship team that included future LPGA players Beth Daniel, Sherri Turner and Cindy Ferro. She was low amateur at the 1976 U.S. Women's Open.

## Professional career

King joined the LPGA Tour in 1977. She won her first tournament at the 1984 Women's Kemper Open. She won three titles in 1984, and added 21 top-10 finishes to earn LPGA Tour Player of the Year honors. From 1984 through 1989, she won a total of 20 LPGA events, more wins than any other golfer in the world, male or female, during that time period.
After that first win in 1984, King won at least once each of the next 10 years, with a high of six victories in 1989. She finished in the top-10 on the money list every year from 1985–95, and again in 1997. Along the way, she was named Player of the Year three times, won two scoring titles and three money titles. In 1993, she won a scoring title and the money title, but only one tournament. She finished second five times, including at two majors. She averaged a major a year from 1987 to 1992, then won a sixth major in 1997. The last of her 34 LPGA wins came in 2001. With her 30th win in 1995, she gained entry into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
From 1996 to 2004, there was an event on Tour, the Wachovia LPGA Classic, hosted by King. She was also a worker for charitable causes, organizing Habitat for Humanity house building projects and working in former Soviet bloc countries with orphan relief agencies. She played for the United States in the Solheim Cup five times (1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998) and was the captain of the 2007 United States team. She led the team to a 16–12 win over Europe in the 2007 Solheim Cup held in Halmstad, Sweden between September 14 and 16, 2007. In 2001, she was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.

## Professional wins (39)
### LPGA Tour (34)

* Legend
* LPGA Tour major championships (6)
* Other LPGA Tour (26)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | Mar 25, 1984 | Women's Kemper Open | −9 (71-72-73-73=289) | 3 strokes | Pat Bradley |
| 2 | Apr 29, 1984 | Freedom/Orlando Classic | −14 (69-67-66=202) | 2 strokes | Alice Miller |
| 3 | Aug 26, 1984 | Columbia Savings Classic | −7 (72-70-67-72=281) | 1 stroke | Muffin Spencer-Devlin |
| 4 | Mar 3, 1985 | Samaritan Turquoise Classic | −8 (69-68-72-71=280) | Playoff | Patty Sheehan |
| 5 | Sep 2, 1985 | Rail Charity Classic | −11 (65-73-67=205) | 2 strokes | Janet Anderson |
| 6 | Aug 10, 1986 | Henredon Classic | −11 (70-67-70-70=277) | Playoff | JoAnne Carner |
| 7 | Sep 1, 1986 | Rail Charity Classic | −11 (70-72-63=205) | Playoff | Cathy Gerring Alice Ritzman |
| 8 | Mar 22, 1987 | Circle K Tucson Open | −7 (70-71-72-68=281) | 2 strokes | Jan Stephenson |
| 9 | Apr 5, 1987 | Nabisco Dinah Shore | −5 (68-75-72-68=283) | Playoff | Patty Sheehan |
| 10 | Jun 7, 1987 | McDonald's Championship | −6 (72-68-71-67=278) | 2 strokes | Ayako Okamoto |
| 11 | Aug 23, 1987 | Atlantic City LPGA Classic | −6 (70-71-66=207) | 3 strokes | Nancy Lopez |
| 12 | Mar 6, 1988 | Women's Kemper Open | −8 (73-72-66-69=280) | 1 stroke | Beth Daniel |
| 13 | Sep 5, 1988 | Rail Charity Golf Classic | −9 (68-68-71=207) | 2 strokes | Margaret Ward |
| 14 | Sep 11, 1988 | Cellular One-Ping Golf Championship | −3 (71-70-72=213) | 1 stroke | Colleen Walker |
| 15 | Jan 15, 1989 | The Jamaica Classic | −11 (64-68-70=202) | 1 stroke | Nancy Lopez |
| 16 | Feb 26, 1989 | Women's Kemper Open | −14 (63-72-67=202) | 2 strokes | Jane Geddes |
| 17 | Apr 23, 1989 | USX Golf Classic | −13 (67-70-72-66=275) | Playoff | Lynn Adams |
| 18 | Jun 25, 1989 | McDonald's Championship | −16 (69-65-71-67=272) | 2 strokes | Pat Bradley Shirley Furlong |
| 19 | Jul 16, 1989 | U.S. Women's Open | −6 (67-71-72-68=278) | 4 strokes | Nancy Lopez |
| 20 | Aug 27, 1989 | Nestle World Championship | −13 (66-71-70-68=275) | 1 stroke | Pat Bradley Patty Sheehan |
| 21 | Apr 1, 1990 | Nabisco Dinah Shore | −5 (69-70-69-75=283) | 2 strokes | Shirley Furlong Kathy Postlewait |
| 22 | Jul 15, 1990 | U.S. Women's Open | −4 (72-71-71-70=284) | 1 stroke | Patty Sheehan |
| 23 | Aug 19, 1990 | JAL Big Apple Classic | −15 (75-67-63-68=273) | 3 strokes | Beth Daniel |
| 24 | May 26, 1991 | LPGA Corning Classic | −15 (69-73-65-66=273) | 6 strokes | Deb Richard |
| 25 | Jul 21, 1991 | JAL Big Apple Classic | −9 (73-66-67-73=279) | 1 stroke | Ayako Okamoto |
| 26 | May 17, 1992 | Mazda LPGA Championship | −17 (68-66-67-66=267) | 11 strokes | JoAnne Carner Liselotte Neumann Karen Noble |
| 27 | Jul 12, 1992 | The Phar-Mor in Youngstown | −7 (71-67-71=209) | Playoff | Donna Andrews Beth Daniel Meg Mallon |
| 28 | Nov 8, 1992 | Mazda Japan Classic$^1$ | −11 (66-72-67=205) | Playoff | Helen Alfredsson |
| 29 | Nov 7, 1993 | Toray Japan Queens Cup$^1$ | −11 (68-70-67=205) | 1 stroke | Jane Geddes |
| 30 | Jun 25, 1995 | ShopRite LPGA Classic | −9 (66-71-67=204) | 2 strokes | Beth Daniel Rosie Jones |
| 31 | Mar 30, 1997 | Nabisco Dinah Shore | −12 (71-67-67-71=276) | 2 strokes | Kris Tschetter |
| 32 | Feb 19, 2000 | Cup Noodles Hawaiian Ladies Open | −12 (67-67-70=204) | 2 strokes | Brandie Burton |
| 33 | May 28, 2000 | LPGA Corning Classic | −12 (69-68-69-70=276) | Playoff | Vicki Goetze-Ackerman Kelli Kuehne |
| 34 | Jul 1, 2001 | ShopRite LPGA Classic | −12 (65-69-67=201) | 2 strokes | Lorie Kane |
$^1$Co-sanctioned by the LPGA of Japan Tour
LPGA Tour playoff record (8–6)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1 | 1979 | Wheeling Classic | Debbie Massey | Lost to par on first extra hole |
| 2 | 1985 | Samaritan Turquoise Classic | Patty Sheehan | Won with eagle on first extra hole |
| 3 | 1986 | Henredon Classic | JoAnne Carner | Won with par on second extra hole |
| 4 | 1986 | Rail Charity Classic | Cathy Gerring Alice Ritzman | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 5 | 1986 | Konica San Jose Classic | Amy Alcott Ayako Okamoto Patty Sheehan | Sheehan won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 6 | 1987 | Mazda Classic | Kathy Postlewait | Lost to par on first extra hole |
| 7 | 1987 | Nabisco Dinah Shore | Patty Sheehan | Won with par on second extra hole |
| 8 | 1988 | Crestar Classic | Juli Inkster Rosie Jones Nancy Lopez | Inkster won with eagle on first extra hole |
| 9 | 1989 | USX Golf Classic | Lynn Adams | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 10 | 1992 | The Phar-Mor in Youngstown | Donna Andrews Beth Daniel Meg Mallon | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 11 | 1992 | Mazda Japan Classic | Helen Alfredsson | Won with birdie on fourth extra hole |
| 12 | 1993 | du Maurier Ltd. Classic | Brandie Burton | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
| 13 | 1994 | Toray Japan Queens Cup | Woo-Soon Ko | Lost to par on first extra hole |
| 14 | 2000 | LPGA Corning Classic | Vicki Goetze-Ackerman Kelli Kuehne | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
LPGA majors are shown in bold.

### Ladies European Tour (1)

* 1985 Burberry Women's British Open
    Note: King won the Women's British Open once before it became co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour in 1994 and recognized as a major championship by the LPGA Tour in 2001

### LPGA of Japan Tour (3)

* 1981 Ajinomoto-Itsuki Charity Classic
* 1992 Mazda Japan Classic$^1$
* 1993 Toray Japan Queens Cup$^1$
$^1$Co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour

### Legends Tour (1)

* 2013 Fry's Desert Golf Classic (with Jane Crafter)

### Other (3)

* 1990 Itoman LPGA World Match Play Championship
* 1993 JCPenney/LPGA Skins Game

## Major championships
### Wins (6)

| Year | championship | Winning score | Margin | Runner(s)-up |
| 1987 | Nabisco Dinah Shore | −5 (68-75-72-68=283) | Playoff$^1$ | Patty Sheehan |
| 1989 | U.S. Women's Open | −4 (67-71-72-68=278) | 4 stroke | Nancy Lopez |
| 1990 | Nabisco Dinah Shore | −5 (69-70-69-75=283) | 2 strokes | Shirley Furlong, Kathy Postlewait |
| 1990 | U.S. Women's Open | −4 (72-71-71-70=284) | 1 stroke | Patty Sheehan |
| 1992 | Mazda LPGA Championship | −17 (68-66-67-66=267) | 11 strokes | JoAnne Carner, Liselotte Neumann, Karen Noble |
| 1997 | Nabisco Dinah Shore | −12 (71-67-67-71=276) | 2 strokes | Kris Tschetter |
$^1$ Won on second extra hole with a par

### Results timeline

| ! Tournament | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 |
| LPGA Championship | | | T49 | CUT | T27 |
| U.S. Women's Open | T8 | CUT | T20 | CUT | CUT |
| du Maurier Classic | ... | ... | ... | T26 | |
| ! Tournament | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 |
| Kraft Nabisco Championship | ... | ... | T52 | T24 | T7 | 4 | 1 | T35 | T4 | 1 |
| LPGA Championship | T38 | T21 | T11 | T7 | T44 | CUT | 2 | T24 | T8 | T5 |
| U.S. Women's Open | T21 | T25 | T32 | T5 | T8 | T3 | T4 | T12 | 1 | 1 |
| du Maurier Classic | T38 | T12 | T25 | 3 | CUT | T3 | 7 | T19 | T2 | T10 |
| ! Tournament | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 |
| Kraft Nabisco Championship | T11 | 56 | T2 | T48 | T11 | CUT | 1 | T61 | 77 | CUT |
| LPGA Championship | 7 | 1 | T4 | T17 | T11 | T14 | T53 | T37 | T69 | T23 |
| U.S. Women's Open | T28 | T16 | T7 | T6 | T3 | CUT | T28 | CUT | T47 | T46 |
| du Maurier Classic | T6 | T28 | 2 | T4 | T5 | CUT | T3 | 3 | | T23 |
| ! Tournament | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2011 |
| Kraft Nabisco Championship | 74 | T36 | T28 | T58 | T62 | |
| LPGA Championship | T54 | T47 | CUT | T17 | CUT | |
| U.S. Women's Open | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | | CUT |
| Women's British Open ^ | | 59 | CUT | T60 | | |
^ The Women's British Open replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major in 2001.
CUT = missed the half-way cut. WD = withdrew DQ = disqualified "T" = tied

### Summary

* Starts – 106
* Wins – 6
* 2nd-place finishes – 4
* 3rd-place finishes – 6
* Top 3 finishes – 16
* Top 5 finishes – 24
* Top 10 finishes – 35
* Top 25 finishes – 55
* Missed cuts – 19
* Most consecutive cuts made – 38
* Longest streak of top-10s – 8

## Team appearances

Professional
* Solheim Cup (representing the United States): 1990 (winners), 1992, 1994 (winners), 1996 (winners), 1998 (winners), 2007 (non-playing captain, winners)
* Handa Cup (representing the United States): 2012 (tie, Cup retained), 2013