Pat Bradley (golfer) - Professional Career

Professional Career

Bradley joined the LPGA Tour in 1974 and got her first win at the Girl Talk Classic in 1976 (she also finished second six times that year). Her breakout year was 1978, when she won three times. Bradley's most fertile years came in the early to mid 1980s. She led the LPGA in wins in 1983 (4) and 1986 (5). Her first major came at the 1980 Peter Jackson Classic, then she added the 1981 U.S. Women's Open and 1985 du Maurier Classic.

In 1986, she won three of the four LPGA majors - the du Maurier Classic, Nabisco Dinah Shore, and LPGA Championship. She finished fifth in the U.S. Women's Open. She won the money title and Vare Trophy that year, as well. In 1988, Bradley was diagnosed with Graves' disease. She played 17 tournaments, but made the cut in only eight. But she returned to form in 1989, winning once. Three more wins followed in 1990.

In 1991, Bradley won four times, and captured her second money and scoring titles, and also was named LPGA Tour Player of the Year for a second time. She was also inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. A New York Times survey of other LPGA Tour players published July 22, 1992 ranked Bradley as the tour's best long putter and best course manager as well as the best player on tour. The last of her LPGA victories came in 1995.

Sports psychologist Bob Rotella wrote in his 1996 book, Golf Is a Game of Confidence, that Bradley was the most mentally tough athlete he knew. She won a total of 31 tournaments on the LPGA Tour. She was the third woman, behind Mickey Wright and Louise Suggs, to have completed the LPGA "Career Grand Slam". Bradley played on three U.S. Solheim Cup teams (1990, 1992, 1996) and captained the team in 2000.