Beth Daniel (born October 14, 1956) is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1979 and won 33 LPGA Tour events, including one major championship, during her career. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Beth Daniel
Daniel posing in the U.S. Solheim Cup team uniform after the 2009 team was announced at Royal Lytham & St Annes
Personal information
Born (1956-10-14) October 14, 1956 (age 68)
Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceDelray Beach, Florida, U.S.
PartnerMeg Mallon
Career
CollegeFurman University
Turned professional1978
Current tour(s)LPGA Tour (joined 1979)
Professional wins41
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour33
LPGA of Japan Tour4
Other4
Best results in LPGA major championships
(wins: 1)
Chevron ChampionshipT2: 1983
Women's PGA C'shipWon: 1990
U.S. Women's Open2nd/T2: 1981, 1982
du Maurier Classic2nd: 1982
Women's British OpenT5: 2004
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame2000 (member page)
LPGA Tour
Rookie of the Year
1979
LPGA Tour
Money Winner
1980, 1981, 1990
LPGA Tour
Player of the Year
1980, 1990, 1994
LPGA Vare Trophy1989, 1990, 1994
GWAA Female
Player of the Year
1980, 1990
Associated Press
Female Athlete of the Year
1990
LPGA Heather Farr Award2003
Broderick Award1977

Early life and amateur career

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Daniel was born on October 14, 1956, in Charleston, South Carolina. She played her collegiate golf at Furman University, and was on the 1976 national championship team that included future LPGA players Betsy King, Sherri Turner and Cindy Ferro. In 1977, she won the Broderick Award (now the Honda Sports Award) as the nation's best female collegiate golfer.[1][2][3] Daniel won the U.S. Women's Amateur in 1975 and 1977, the Women's Western Amateur in 1978, and was on the U.S. Curtis Cup teams in 1976 and 1978 (going 4-0 in 1976). She turned pro at the end of 1978 and joined the LPGA Tour in 1979.[4]

Professional career

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Daniel's first victory came in 1979 year at the Patty Berg Classic, and she went on to win the LPGA Rookie of the Year award. Over the next five years, when Nancy Lopez was at her most dominant, she still managed to win 13 tournaments, including four in 1980 when she was named LPGA Tour Player of the Year. Daniel led the Tour in wins in 1982, 1990 and 1994. She also led in scoring three times, including in 1989 when she became the second golfer in Tour history to record a scoring average below 71.00.[4]

The year 1990 was Daniel’s most successful on tour. She won seven times, including her lone major at the Mazda LPGA Championship. That year she was also named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year. Along the way, she endured two major slumps. She was winless from 1986 to 1988 and again from 1996 to 2002. When she finally won again in 2003, she became - at age 46 years, 8 months and 29 days - the oldest winner in Tour history. She had outlasted most of her contemporaries such as King, Patty Sheehan and Amy Alcott, remaining competitive on the LPGA Tour.[4]

Daniel won the Golf Writers Association of America Female Player of the Year in 1980 and 1990. She also won the 1981 Seagrams Seven Crowns of Sport Award for women’s golf. She was inducted into the South Carolina Golf Hall of Fame in September 1995. She was recognized during the LPGA’s 50th Anniversary in 2000 as one of the LPGA’s top-50 players and teachers.

Daniel played on eight U.S. Solheim Cup teams (1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005).

By 2005 Daniel had cut back her schedule, and played just five events by 2007. That year she also served as assistant captain on the U.S. Solheim Cup team, and was named captain for the American squad in 2009. In 2007, she joined the Golf Channel as a substitute analyst for LPGA Tournament coverage. Her first event was the 2007 Safeway Classic.[4]

Daniel also awards the best junior female golfer in South Carolina with the Beth Daniel Award. The award is given to the player with the most SCJGA (South Carolina Junior Golf Association) points in a year.

In 2009, Daniel was the captain of the U.S. Solheim Cup team that defeated Europe by a score of 16–12 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois.

Professional wins (41)

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LPGA Tour wins (33)

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Legend
LPGA Tour major championships (1)
Other LPGA Tour (32)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Aug 26, 1979 Patty Berg Classic −11 (68-69-71=208) 4 strokes   Hollis Stacy
2 Jun 1, 1980 Golden Lights Championship −1 (72-74-70-71=287) 2 strokes   Nancy Lopez
  Jo Ann Washam
3 Aug 17, 1980 Patty Berg Golf Classic −9 (60-70-72=210) 2 strokes   Hollis Stacy
4 Aug 24, 1980 Columbia Savings LPGA Classic −12 (71-66-67-72=276) 6 strokes   Jane Blalock
  Sandra Post
5 Sep 7, 1980 World Series of Women's Golf −6 (71-72-68-71=282) 1 stroke   Nancy Lopez
6 Apr 19, 1981 Florida Lady Citrus −7 (68-67-74-72-281) Playoff   Donna Caponi
  Cindy Hill
  Patti Rizzo
  Patty Sheehan
7 Aug 23, 1981 World Championship of Women's Golf −4 (72-72-69-71=284) 1 stroke   Jan Stephenson
8 Feb 21, 1982 Bent Tree Ladies Classic −12 (71-71-66-68=276) 4 strokes   Amy Alcott
9 Mar 7, 1982 American Express Sun City Classic −10 (70-67-71-70=278) Playoff   Carole Jo Kabler
10 May 2, 1982 Birmingham Classic −13 (64-70-69=203) 4 strokes   Patty Sheehan
11 Aug 1, 1982 Columbia Savings Classic −12 (72-68-72-64=276) 2 strokes   Patty Sheehan
12 Aug 15, 1982 WUI Classic −12 (68-68-67-73=276) 8 strokes   Martha Nause
  Ayako Okamoto
13 Jul 17, 1983 McDonald's Kids Classic −2 (67-71-73-75=286) Playoff   JoAnne Carner
14 Apr 14, 1985 Kyocera Inamori Classic −2 (70-70-74-72=286) 2 strokes   Pat Meyers
15 Aug 6, 1989 Greater Washington Open −8 (66-68-71=205) 4 strokes   Sherri Turner
16 Sep 4, 1989 Rail Charity Golf Classic −13 (69-70-64=203) 3 strokes   Betsy King
  Alice Ritzman
17 Sep 17, 1989 Safeco Classic −15 (69-69-65-70=273 6 strokes   Cindy Rarick
18 Oct 1, 1989 Konica San Jose Classic −11 (65-67-73=205) 1 stroke   Pat Bradley
19 Feb 24, 1990 Orix Hawaiian Ladies Open −6 (71-67-72=210) 3 strokes   Amy Benz
  Patty Sheehan
20 Mar 4, 1990 Women's Kemper Open −1 (73-75-66-69=283) 1 stroke   Laura Davies
  Rosie Jones
21 Jul 23, 1990 The Phar-Mor in Youngstown −9 (65-69-73=207) Playoff   Patty Sheehan
22 Jul 29 1990 Mazda LPGA Championship −4 (71-73-70-66=280) 1 stroke   Rosie Jones
23 Aug 26, 1990 Northgate Classic −13 (66-69-68=203) 6 strokes   Penny Hammel
  Christa Johnson
24 Sep 3, 1990 Rail Charity Golf Classic −13 (67-69-67=203) 3 strokes   Susan Sanders
25 Oct 7, 1990 Centel Classic −17 (71-63-68-69=271) 1 stroke   Nancy Lopez
26 Feb 10, 1991 The Phar-Mor at Inverrary −7 (67-73-69=209) 2 strokes   Nancy Lopez
27 Jul 23, 1991 McDonald's Championship −11 (67-71-67-68=273) 4 strokes   Pat Bradley
  Sally Little
28 May 29, 1994 LPGA Corning Classic −10 (67-71-71-69=278) 1 stroke   Stephanie Farwig
  Nancy Ramsbottom
29 Jun 5, 1994 Oldsmobile Classic −20 (67-63-70-68-268) 4 strokes   Lisa Kiggens
30 Jul 17, 1994 JAL Big Apple Classic −8 (70-69-66-71=276) Playoff   Laura Davies
31 Oct 16, 1994 World Championship of Women's Golf −14 (68-70-71-65=274) 3 strokes   Elaine Crosby
32 Aug 13, 1995 PING/Welch's Championship (Boston) −17 (65-68-69-69=271) 3 strokes   Meg Mallon
  Colleen Walker
33 Jul 15, 2003 BMO Financial Group Canadian Women's Open −13 (69-69-69-68=275) 1 stroke   Juli Inkster

LPGA Tour playoff record (5–6)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1981 Florida Lady Citrus   Donna Caponi
  Cindy Hill
  Patti Rizzo
  Patty Sheehan
Won with birdie on second extra hole
Hill, Rizzo, and Sheehan eliminated by par on first hole
2 1982 American Express Sun City Classic   Carole Jo Kabler Won with birdie on second extra hole
3 1983 McDonald's Kids Classic   JoAnne Carner Won with birdie on first extra hole
4 1983 Columbia Savings Classic   Pat Bradley Lost to birdie on first extra hole
5 1988 Atlantic City LPGA Classic   Juli Inkster Lost to par on first extra hole
6 1989 Oldsmobile LPGA Classic   Dottie Mochrie Lost to par on fifth extra hole
7 1990 The Phar-Mor in Youngstown   Patty Sheehan Won with birdie on first extra hole
8 1991 Northgate Computer Classic   Jody Anschutz
  Cindy Rarick
Rarick won with birdie on third extra hole
Anschutz eliminated by par on first hole
9 1992 The Phar-Mor in Youngstown   Donna Andrews
  Betsy King
  Meg Mallon
King won with birdie on first extra hole
10 1992 Sun-Times Challenge   Judy Dickinson
  Dottie Pepper
Pepper won with par on sixth extra hole
Daniel eliminated by par on fourth hole
11 1994 JAL Big Apple Classic   Laura Davies Won with birdie on first extra hole

LPGA of Japan Tour wins (4)

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Other wins (4)

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Major championships

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Wins (1)

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Year Championship Winning score Margin Runner-up
1990 Mazda LPGA Championship −4 (71-73-70-66=280) 1 stroke   Rosie Jones

Results timeline

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Tournament 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980
LPGA Championship T38 T3
U.S. Women's Open CUT T24 T53 T20 T10
du Maurier Classic ... ... ... T16 T5
Tournament 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990
Kraft Nabisco Championship ... ... T2 4 T11 T7 T22 T6 T6
LPGA Championship T5 T7 T16 T2 T10 T15 T58 T14 1
U.S. Women's Open 2 T2 WD T10 CUT T21 T33 T10 T20 T6
du Maurier Classic T17 2 T63 T6 T14 27 CUT T47 T7 3
Tournament 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Kraft Nabisco Championship T30 T8 T69 T19 T47 CUT 72 T43 T47
LPGA Championship 4 T35 T17 T7 T18 T26 T58 CUT T33
U.S. Women's Open T11 CUT T53 T18 CUT T19 T31 T47 8
du Maurier Classic WD T17 CUT T45 T36 T54 T13 T23
Tournament 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Kraft Nabisco Championship T55 T14 T5 T40 T9 T13
LPGA Championship T26 2 T3 T39 T54 T39 CUT
U.S. Women's Open T24 T7 T20 T27 CUT
Women's British Open ^ CUT T16 T14 T5 T56 T6 T50

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

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut.
WD = withdrew
T = tied

Summary

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  • Starts – 105
  • Wins – 1
  • 2nd-place finishes – 6
  • 3rd-place finishes – 3
  • Top 3 finishes – 10
  • Top 5 finishes – 16
  • Top 10 finishes – 33
  • Top 25 finishes – 60
  • Missed cuts – 13
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 23
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 5 (twice)

U.S. national team appearances

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Amateur

Professional

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Nusum among three finalists for Hermann Trophy". Furman University. December 3, 2001. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  2. ^ "Beth Daniel – Bio". KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Archived from the original on March 28, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  3. ^ "Golf". CWSA. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d "Beth Daniel at about.com". Archived from the original on March 2, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2006.
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