Shirley Englehorn


Shirley Ruth Englehorn is an American former professional golfer. She won 11 tournaments during her LPGA Tour career, including one major, the 1970 LPGA Championship.

Amateur career

Born and raised in Caldwell, Idaho, Englehorn was introduced to golf by Shirley Spork, one of the thirteen founders of the LPGA, and also studied with Johnny Revolta, an 18-time PGA Tour winner and the PGA Championship victor in 1935.
She won many amateur and open events, including the McCall Open in 1957 and 1958, the Idaho Open from 1957 to 1959 and the Pacific Northwest Amateur in 1958. She also won the Oregon Open in 1959 and was the youngest player ever to receive the Dorothy Pease Trophy at the age of 15.

Professional career

After graduation from Caldwell High School in 1958, Englehorn turned pro at age 18 in 1959 and joined the LPGA Tour. She was sponsored by the Athletic Round Table of Spokane from 1960 through 1962. Despite a career-threatening equestrian accident in Georgia in March 1960, Englehorn recovered and won her first tournament at age 21 in July 1962 at the Women's Eastern Open in Sutton, Massachusetts. She won a total of 11 events on the LPGA Tour, including one major championship, the LPGA Championship in 1970 in a playoff over Kathy Whitworth, her third victory at Sutton.
Englehorn led the tour that season in wins with four. Five years earlier in 1965, she suffered injuries in an automobile accident and missed much of the season. Englehorn was awarded the Ben Hogan Award in early 1968 by the Golf Writers Association of America in honor of her successful comeback from injuries. She had surgery on her ankle in 1971 and 1973 and in each case returned to compete. She later became a golf instructor, and won the LPGA Teacher of the Year Award in 1978. Her last LPGA appearance was in 1979.

Professional wins (12)

LPGA Tour wins (11)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin
of victory
Runner-up
1Jul 22, 1962Eastern Open74-77-75=226+43 strokes Mary Mills
2Sep 9, 1962Eugene Open75-69-79-69=292−47 strokes Jackie Pung
3Jul 7, 1963Lady Carling Eastern Open71-79-71=221+42 strokes JoAnne Carner
4Aug 9, 1964Waterloo Women's Open Invitational72-71-68=211−54 strokes Ruth Jessen
5May 22, 1966Babe Zaharias Open71-68-70=209−12 strokes Kathy Whitworth
6Sep 17, 1967Shirley Englehorn Invitational71-70-69=210−3Playoff Kathy Whitworth
7Aug 10, 1968Concord Open77-76-76=229−23 strokes Sandra Haynie
8May 17, 1970Johnny Londoff Chevrolet Tournament74-74-68=216E2 strokes Carol Mann
9May 31, 1970O'Sullivan Ladies Open71-68-71=210−6Playoff Margie Masters
10Jun 7, 1970Lady Carling Open72-67-71=210−91 stroke Carol Mann
11Jun 13, 1970LPGA Championship70-70-75-70=285−7Playoff Kathy Whitworth

LPGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11963Rock City Ladies Open Barbara RomackLost to par on third extra hole
21966Alamo Ladies' Open Sandra HaynieLost to birdie on third extra hole
31967Shirley Englehorn Invitational Kathy WhitworthWon with par on second extra hole
41970O'Sullivan Ladies Open Margie MastersWon with birdie on first extra hole
51970LPGA Championship Kathy WhitworthWon 18-hole playoff by 4 strokes

Other wins (1)

Wins (1)

1 Won in an 18-hole playoff. Englehorn:74, Whitworth:78