Last updated: August 2026
| Net Worth | Not precisely documented — estimated in the low millions of dollars range at the time of her death, built primarily through decades of LPGA Tour winnings |
| Born | September 27, 1939 (died December 24, 2022) |
| Profession | Professional Golfer |
| Nationality | 🇺🇸 American |
Kathy Whitworth was an American professional golfer widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, holding the record for most professional wins on the LPGA Tour. She died in 2022, and while no precise net-worth figure is publicly documented, her wealth was built over more than four decades of tournament winnings, appearance fees, and golf-related work.
Early Life & Family
Whitworth was born on September 27, 1939, in Monahans, Texas, the youngest of three daughters of Morris Whitworth, a hardware store owner who later became mayor of Jal, New Mexico. She initially played tennis before taking up golf at age 14, and won the New Mexico State Amateur Championship in both 1957 and 1958 while attending Odessa College.
Rise to Fame
Whitworth turned professional in December 1958 and won her first tournament, the Kelly Girls Open, in 1962. Her consistency and competitive drive quickly established her as one of the most formidable players on the LPGA Tour through the 1960s.
Career History
Over her career, Whitworth won 88 LPGA Tour titles, more than any other player, male or female, on either the LPGA or PGA Tours — a record that still stands. She also won six major championships (the Titleholders Championship twice, the LPGA Championship three times, and the Women’s Western Open once) and recorded 93 runner-up finishes, giving her 181 top-two finishes across her career. She was named LPGA Player of the Year seven times and won the Vare Trophy for scoring average seven times. In 1981 she became the first woman to reach $1 million in career earnings on the LPGA Tour. She served as U.S. captain at the inaugural Solheim Cup in 1990 and retired from competitive golf in 2005.
How They Built Their Wealth
Whitworth’s wealth came primarily from her tournament winnings across more than four decades of professional golf, supplemented by endorsement and appearance income typical of a dominant player of her era. She was inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame in 1975 and the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1982, and later published Kathy Whitworth’s Little Book of Golf Wisdom in 2007.
Personal Life
Whitworth lived with her longtime partner, Bettye Odle, at the time of her death. She died on December 24, 2022, in Flower Mound, Texas, at the age of 83, after collapsing while attending a neighbor’s Christmas party.
Kathy Whitworth’s exact net worth was never precisely documented, but her wealth reflected an unmatched competitive record — 88 LPGA Tour victories — that remains the most wins by any golfer, male or female, in professional history.