Judy Rankin

Born: Feb. 18, 1945, in St. Louis, Missouri

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Yes, it's true, Rankin never won a major. She did win a couple tournaments that were later accorded major championship status, but wre not considered majors in the years of her victories.

• Member, World Golf Hall of Fame
• Vare Trophy (low scoring average), 1973, 1976, 1977
• LPGA money leader, 1976, 1977
• LPGA Player of the Year, 1976, 1977
• U.S. Solheim Cup captain, 1996, 1998
• Member, All-American Collegiate Golf Hall of Fame
• Member, Texas Golf Hall of Fame
• Recipient, USGA Bob Jones Award, 2002

• Judy Rankin: "I played all of my best years with severe back trouble. I would play a month and be a cripple a month. My goal was to stay on my feet."

• Juli Inkster: "I think she's the epitome of golf. She does so much for the LPGA."

• When Judy Rankin earned $150,734 in 1976, she became the first to win more than $100,000 in a single season on the LPGA Tour.

• When she was low amateur at the 1960 U.S. Women's Open, at age 15, she was the youngest ever to finish as low amateur (a record since broken by Michelle Wie).

• She played as Judy Torluemke from 1962-67 and as Judy Torluemke Rankin from 1968-73.

• Rankin's husband's name is Yippy and their son is named Tuey.

Judy Rankin was a golf prodigy who turned into one of the most popular players on the LPGA Tour, but whose career was cut short - and whose effectiveness even in her best years was minimized - by severe back pain.

Rankin started golfing at age 6. By 1960, she'd already won the Missouri Amateur and finished as low amateur at the U.S. Women's Open. Then she nearly gave up the game.

The World Golf Hall of Fame recounts the story in its profile of Rankin. When she was 16, Rankin lost in the second round of the British Women's Amateur. She was fed up with golf and decided to quit. Two weeks later, an editor at Sports Illustrated called to ask if she'd be playing the coming U.S. Women's Open. The editor explained the magazine wanted to put a photo of Rankin on its cover, but only if she planned to play the Open. Rankin decided to start playing again, and never looked back.

She was only 17 years old in 1962 when she joined the LPGA Tour. Her first victory didn't come until 1968, but from then through 1979 Rankin won 26 times.

As a young up-and-comer, she wasn't well-received on Tour at the start. But by the time her career was over, Rankin was a beloved figure among her fellow pros, someone who epitomized sportsmanship and class.

A strong argument can be made that Rankin was the best player on Tour in the early to mid-70s. She won three times in 1970, four times in 1973 (with 25 Top 10 finishes), six times in 1976 and five more in 1977 (again with 25 Top 10 finishes). Her earnings of $150,734 in 1976 nearly doubled the previous record. She won three Vare Trophies, two money titles and two Player of the Year awards in this time period.

What she didn't win, however, was a major championship, something that would always eluded her. Rankin did win the Colgate Dinah Shore Winner's Circle in 1976 and the Peter Jackson Classic (later renamed the duMaurier) in 1977, two events that would later be elevated to major status, but they are not counted as majors in the years in which Rankin won.

Rankin kept winning through 1979, but her play deteriorated due to the effects of back trouble that was severe and plagued her throughout her best seasons. Her last full year on the LPGA Tour was 1983, when she was 38 years old, and back surgery ended her Tour days in 1985.

Respect and affection for Rankin is immense in the golf community. She served as an LPGA board member and, in 1976-77, Tour president. She was given the Patty Berg Award by the LPGA, the Bob Jones Award by the USGA, and the First Lady of Golf Award by the PGA of America.

When her playing days ended, Rankin embarked on a highly successful career as a golf broadcaster, which included being the first woman to work full-time on broadcasts of men's events.

She was diagnosed with and treated for breast cancer in 2006, but within several months was back at work as a broadcaster.