World Golf Hall of Fame
3 Carolina Vista Drive, Pinehurst, NC
Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Sandra Palmer spent most of her childhood in Maine, discovering golf while riding the bus to school.
Each day, the bus would pass a local golf course, and one day, Palmer got off the bus early and walked into a lifelong career, first as a caddie and eventually as a highly successful professional that saw her claim 19 LPGA TOUR titles, including two majors, the 1972 Titleholders Championship and 1975 U.S. Women’s Open.
What the 5-foot, 1½-inch Palmer lacked in size, she made up for in determination, becoming a consistent force on the LPGA TOUR in the 1970s.
Palmer turned professional in 1964 but needed seven years to register her first victory, the 1971 Sealy LPGA Classic. From 1968-77, she was a model of consistency, never finishing outside the top 10 on the money list and winning at least one tournament during a seven-year period from 1971-77.
“I can’t tell you why I wanted to play pro golf,” said Palmer. “I wasn’t any good. But it was a challenge. It’s so much harder to hit a golf ball than a tennis ball. It is an art and you can never perfect it.”
Palmer enrolled at the University of North Texas in 1959 and even though the school didn’t offer women’s golf – this was 13 years before the passage of Title IX – Palmer often practiced with two talented UNT male players, Rives McBee and Bobby Greenwood.
Palmer retired from the circuit in 1997 and became a Class A member of the LPGA Teaching and Club Pro Division.