Sandra Post, (born June 4, 1948) is a retired

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

, the first

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

to play on the

LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekl ...

. In 1968 at age 20 in her rookie professional year, she won a women's major – the

LPGA Championship The Women's PGA Championship (branded as the KPMG Women's PGA Championship for sponsorship reasons) is a women's professional golf tournament. First held in 1955, it is one of five majors on the LPGA Tour. It is not recognized as a major by the ...

, and was the youngest player at the time to win a major. Over her 16 year career on the LPGA Tour, Post won 8 championships and became the first Canadian to win multiple times in the same season, doing so twice in each of 1978 and 1979. The next time a two-win season by a Canadian occurred was in 2000 by

Lorie Kane Lorie is a feminine name. It may refer to: People ;Given name * Lorie (singer) (full name Laure Pester) (born 1982), French singer * Lorie Conway, American independent producer and filmmaker * Lorie Griffin, American film and television actress ...

. In 1988, Post was named to both the

Canadian Golf Hall of Fame The Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame covering the history of the game of golf in Canada, and celebrating the careers and accomplishments of the most significant contributors to the game in that country. Operated by ...

and the

Canadian Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canada, ...

. In 2004, she was inducted into the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

as a ''Member'' with the designation, ''CM''.

Early years

Born in

Oakville, Ontario Oakville is a town in Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Lake Ontario between Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton. At its Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census population of 213,759, it is List of tow ...

, Post was introduced to golf at age five by her father, and was a youthful prodigy who learned her golf at the nearb
Trafalgar Golf & Country Club
She was competing in Ontario provincial events by age 13 and compiled an outstanding junior and amateur career that included winning the

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and Canadian Junior Girls Championships three times each.

Professional career

Wins major, LPGA Rookie of the Year

Bypassing college, Post turned professional in the spring of 1968 and joined the LPGA Tour at age 19. In her debut season of

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

, Post became the youngest player to win a women's major title at the

. Her 18-hole playoff victory over defending champion

Kathy Whitworth Kathrynne Ann Whitworth (September 27, 1939 – December 24, 2022) was an American professional golfer. During her playing career she won 88 LPGA Tour tournaments, more than anyone else on the LPGA or PGA Tours. Whitworth was also a runner-up ...

, by 68 to 75, also marked the first victory in the championship by a non-U.S. player. She was the only Canadian to win an LPGA major for 48 years, until 18-year-old

Brooke Henderson Brooke Mackenzie Henderson (born 10 September 1997) is a Canadian professional golfer on the LPGA Tour. Henderson was named the Canadian Press female athlete of the year for 2015, 2017 and 2018. She won her first major at age 18 in 2016 at the ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

. For her performance on the professional circuit, Post was voted the Tour's Rookie of the Year award. Post did not return to the winner's circle on the Tour until 1978; however, she challenged to win on many occasions during that ten-year period. In December 1974, she won the Colgate Far East Open, a non-tour event in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Second on 1979 money list

Post hit her peak form from

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, winning seven of her eight career titles, and became one of the world's top players. She captured back-to-back wins at the

Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's Circle The Chevron Championship is a professional women's golf tournament. An event on the LPGA Tour, it is one of the tour's five major championships, and has traditionally been the first of the season since its elevation to major status in 1983. Fou ...

in 1978 and

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

. For the 1979 season, she finished second on the LPGA money list, and won the

Lou Marsh Trophy The Northern Star Award, formerly known as the Lou Marsh Trophy, the Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy and Lou Marsh Award, is a trophy that is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete, professional or amateur. It is awarded by a panel of journalists, wi ...

as Canada's "Athlete of the Year." During her 16 years on the pro tour, Post also had 20 runner-up finishes, including the

U.S. Women's Open The U.S. Women's Open, one of 15 national golf championships conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), is the oldest of the LPGA Tour's five major championships, which includes the Chevron Championship, Women's PGA Championship, W ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

Honors

Several nagging injuries led Post to retire from most LPGA competition by the mid-1980s, but she competed occasionally after that. In 1988, she was elected to the

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canad ...

and the

. In 1999, she was inducted into the

Ontario Sports Hall of Fame The Ontario Sports Hall of Fame is an association dedicated to honouring athletes and personalities with outstanding achievement in sports in Ontario, Canada. The hall of fame was established in 1994 by Bruce Prentice, following his 15-year tenure ...

. In 2003, she was honored by her country with membership in the

. She was voted No. 8 of the females chosen as

Canada's Athletes of the 20th Century Canada's Athletes of the 20th century as voted on in a 1999 survey of newspaper editors and broadcasters conducted by the Canadian Press and Broadcast News: Top 10 Female Athletes # Nancy Greene (born 1943), skier # Silken Laumann (born 1964), ro ...

. Post has captained Canada's Nations Cup team, serves as a commentator on televised golf events in Canada, and writes golf instructional articles for several Canadian magazines. She is involved in a number of charitable causes, and runs the Sandra Post School of Golf near

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. Post has her own golf apparel firm, and has designed a set of women's golf clubs for the Jazz Golf company.

Professional wins

LPGA Tour wins (8)

''Note: Post's wins in the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's Circle (now

ANA Inspiration The Chevron Championship is a professional women's golf tournament. An event on the LPGA Tour, it is one of the tour's five major championships, and has traditionally been the first of the season since its elevation to major status in 1983. Fou ...

) were before it became a major championship.'' LPGA Tour playoff record (4–2)

LPGA of Japan Tour wins (1)

*1976 Sun Star Ladies

Other wins (1)

*1974 Colgate Far East Open (in

)

Major championships

Wins (1)

¹Won in a playoff (68 Post, 75 Whitworth).

References

External links

*
Sandra Post, History by the Minute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Post, Sandra Canadian female golfers LPGA Tour golfers Winners of LPGA major golf championships Canadian golf instructors Golf writers and broadcasters Golfing people from Ontario Lou Marsh Trophy winners Members of the Order of Canada People from Oakville, Ontario 1948 births Living people