Judy Rankin to Receive MGWA Gold Tee Award

Elmsford, NY (April 9, 2026) —LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame member Judy Rankin will be recognized with the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association’s highest honor — the Gold Tee Award.  The presentation will take place on Tuesday, October 6th at the MGWA’s 73rd National Awards Dinner at Mountain Ridge Country Club in West Caldwell, NJ.  Ms. Rankin is also one of the very few people who will have been honored twice by the MGWA, having been recognized with the Lincoln Werden Golf Journalism award in 2008 for her outstanding contributions in golf broadcasting. The MGWA’s Gold Tee Award is presented annually to an individual whose career achievements exemplify the best spirit and traditions of golf.  Past recipients of the Gold Tee comprise an elite group of some of the most accomplished people in the sport: Arnold Palmer (1965), Jack Nicklaus (1967), Seve Ballesteros (1989) and Nancy Lopez (1995), along with more recent recipients Dottie Pepper (2022), Larry Nelson (2023), Luke Donald (2024) and Billy Payne (2025). “We couldn’t be more delighted to bestow upon Judy Rankin a second and even more revered honor,” MGWA president Hank Gola said.  “Although more may remember her as the first female TV commentator in men’s golf, her playing career marks her among the best of her generation, an LPGA trailblazer from the time she burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old prodigy.  Add two Solheim Cup captaincies to her resume and you could hardly find anyone more deserving of the Gold Tee.” Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Judy Rankin’s golf career began at just six years old, when her father introduced her to the game.  By the time she was 14, she had an impressive amateur career highlighted by her win at the Missouri Amateur.  The following year, she was the youngest low amateur at the U.S. Women’s Open.  She was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated at age 16 as “The Best Girl Golfer,” and soon after, at age 17, she turned pro. Rankin’s first win on the Tour came in 1968 at the Corpus Christie Open.  That triumph opened the floodgates for 25 more victories between 1968 and 1979.  She won four tournaments in 1973 and won six tournaments in 1976 to become the first woman to surpass $100,00 in prize money in a single season.  Those victories also earned her the first of her two Player of the Year trophies.  She set an LPGA record of 25 top-10 finishes in a single season in 1977.  That record still stands today. After battling back problems for years, Judy’s final full season on the LPGA Tour was in 1983.  Though her playing days were behind her, Rankin didn’t stray far from golf.  Following her retirement, she went on to captain the two victorious Solheim Cup teams in 1996 and 1998.  She joined ABC Sports as the first female golf analyst to cover men’s tournaments.  She also worked for ESPN and joined the Golf Channel in 2010 until her retirement in 2022. Rankin’s list of honors is very long, but most notably, she was elected to both the World Golf Hall of Fame and LPGA Hall of Fame in 2000.  Among her numerous other recognitions and accolades during her playing career, she was named the LPGA Player of the Year in 1976 and 1977 and won the Vare Trophy for the Tour’s lowest scoring average three times.  Her journalism career has been celebrated with, among other recognitions, the aforementioned 2008 MGWA Lincoln Werden Award and she was the first woman to win the PGA Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism in 2024. Formed in 1952, the MGWA has celebrated the game of golf and promoted golf journalism since its inception.  Its signature event, the MGWA National Awards Dinner, has been one of the highlights on the golf calendar since its very first Dinner was held at Toots Shor’s Restaurant in January,1953.  Over the decades, the Dinner has honored – and been attended by – some of the greatest names in the sport: Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, JoAnne Carner, Gary Player, Billy Casper, Nancy Lopez, Tom Watson and Annika Sorenstam, to name just a few.  This highly anticipated event is supported by golf’s leading organizations and corporate supporters, Met Area clubs and club leaders, as well as local and national golf media. Through the Dinner and other events, the MGWA has had a significant philanthropic impact in the Metropolitan New York area, raising millions of dollars for local Caddie Scholarship programs, the MGA Foundation, and the Dave Marr Journalism Scholarship. Click here to purchase tickets to the Dinner.  For more information, view this one-minute video or contact Robin Sauerhaft, MGWA Executive Administrator, at: rsauerhaft@mgagolf.org.