Sally Little

Born: October 12, 1951, in Cape Town, South Africa

Tour Wins:
15

Major Championships:
2
• LPGA Championship: 1980
• du Maurier Classic: 1988

Awards and Honors:
• LPGA Rookie of the Year, 1971
• South African Sportsman of the Year, 1970

Sally Little Biography:
Sally Little is a native of South Africa who began golfing at the age of 14. Within three years, she was winning tournaments, and eventually claimed more than a dozen regional and national amateur titles.

In 1971, Little moved to the U.S. to pursue a career on the LPGA Tour. She tied for fifth at the Lady Carling Open as an amateur, then turned pro. Her first full year on the LPGA was 1972, but her first victory didn't come until 1976 when she holed a 75-foot bunker shot on the 72nd hole to win the Ladies Masters at Moss Creek.

Her most productive years were 1979-82, when she won 12 of her 15 career LPGA titles, including her first major at the 1980 LPGA Championship. Starting in '79 and running through 1982, Little won three, two, three and four tournaments, respectively.

Little's best season was 1982, with those four victories, plus two runners-up and three thirds, with 17 Top 10 finishes total. She finished third on the money list, her best showing.

And two of her four wins in 1982 came in playoffs over Hall of Famers; she defeated Kathy Whitworth and Ayako Okamoto in those two playoff wins.

Things were going great for Little; she was piling up Top 10 finishes and winning several times a year. Then, in 1983, she missed most of the season after abdominal surgery and arthroscopic knee surgery.

Little would win only one more time in her LPGA career. But at least it was another major, the 1988 du Maurier Classic.

Little came close to a third major, losing an 18-hole playoff to Jane Geddes at the 1986 U.S. Women's Open. She also won the 1982 Nabisco Dinah Shore, just one year before that event was elevated to major championship status.

Little had more surgery in 1990, but kept playing; her last full season of play was 2000, and she made a handful of Tour appearances through 2005.

Little was a cofounder of the Women's Senior Golf Tour. Her company, Sally Little Golf, organizes corporate outings and clinics.