Patty Sheehan

Patty Sheehan is an American Hall of Fame golfer who won 35 LPGA Tour events, including six major championships, during a playing career that ran from 1980 to 2006. Her net worth is estimated at $3 million to $5 million, built from career prize money, decades of endorsements, and continued involvement in golf since retiring from full-time competition.

Early Life & Family

Patty Sheehan was born on October 27, 1956, in Middlebury, Vermont. As a teenager she was rated one of the top junior snow skiers in the country at age 13, before her family relocated to Nevada, where she attended Earl Wooster High School in Reno and shifted her focus to golf.

Rise to Fame

Sheehan turned professional in 1980 and joined the LPGA Tour, winning Rookie of the Year honors in 1981. She quickly became one of the most consistent players on tour, and in 1992 became the first golfer to win both the U.S. Women’s Open and the Women’s British Open in the same year.

Career History

Over her career, Sheehan won 35 LPGA Tour events and 41 professional titles across various tours, capturing six major championships: the LPGA Championship in 1983, 1984, and 1993, the U.S. Women’s Open in 1992 and 1994, and the Nabisco Dinah Shore in 1996. She qualified for the LPGA Hall of Fame in 1993 and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame the same year. Sheehan retired from full-time competition on the LPGA Tour in 2006, though she has remained active on the Legends Tour for veteran players.

How They Built Their Wealth

Sheehan’s wealth was built primarily through career prize money earned across more than two decades on the LPGA Tour, supplemented by sponsorship and endorsement income during an era when women’s golf purses were considerably smaller than today. Her continued presence on the Legends Tour and as a host of charitable golf events has helped sustain her connection to the sport’s earning opportunities well into retirement.

Personal Life

Sheehan was one of the first LPGA players to publicly identify as lesbian. She and her partner, Rebecca Gaston, have two children together. Sheehan resides in Santa Barbara, California, hosts the Patty Sheehan & Friends tournament supporting charities in Northern Nevada, and was named one of fifty LGBTQ+ heroes by Queerty in 2020.

Patty Sheehan’s net worth is estimated at $3 million to $5 million, reflecting a Hall of Fame golf career and her continued involvement in the sport more than fifteen years after retiring from full-time competition.