Suzy Whaley (born November 10, 1966) is a professional golfer, from

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

, who in November 2018 became the first woman president of the

PGA of America The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America) is an American organization of golf professionals that was founded in 1916. Consisting of nearly 29,000 men and women members, the PGA of America's undertaking is to establish ...

. In 2003, she became the first woman in 58 years to qualify for a

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

event when she qualified for the 2003

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, after winning the 2002

Connecticut PGA Championship The Connecticut PGA Championship is a golf tournament that is a championship of the Connecticut section of the PGA of America. The early years of the tournament were dominated by Gene Kunes and Joe Turnesa who won twice apiece. In the mid-1930s, a ...

. She was also the first woman to win a PGA individual professional tournament. She is currently recognized by Golf for Women as a top 50 female instructor and is a board member and advisor for numerous organizations, including ''Golfer Girl Magazine''. She is an LPGA Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP) member who played on the LPGA Tour in 1993. Whaley's achievement is questioned by some because the regional qualifying tournament she won, the 2002 Connecticut PGA Championship, which gained her a place in the Greater Hartford Open, was aided by her being allowed to play the course off tees 699 yards shorter than the men she competed against in that regional qualifying: she played 6,239 yards, while the men had to play 6,938 yards (a 10% shorter course). This anomaly was addressed later by the PGA, under the "Whaley rule", introduced in 2003, which requires all entrants at qualifying tournaments, whether male or female, to play off the same tees. In 2014, Whaley became the first female officer in the PGA, as PGA secretary.

Personal

While at University of North Carolina she played on their golf team. ESPN described her in 2003 as "a 36-year-old club pro who played briefly on the LPGA tour." At the time, her mother was her caddie. Both of her daughters and a niece play golf, and have participated in the ''Girls Junior PGA National Championships''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whaley, Suzy American female golfers LPGA Tour golfers Golf administrators Golfers from Connecticut 1966 births Living people 21st-century American women

Personal

See also

References