Rankin, Judy (Torluemke)
Golf
b. Feb. 18, 1945, St. Louis, MO
Rankin won the Missouri Amateur at fourteen in 1959, the youngest champion ever. The following year she was the lowest scoring amateur in the U. S. Open, and in 1961 she won the Missouri Amateur again. Rankin joined the LPGA tour in 1962 but didn't win a tournament until 1968.
She really came into her own in 1973, when she won the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average. In 1976, she won six tournaments, became the first LPGA player to win more than $100,000 in a season, won the Vare Trophy again, and was named Player of the Year.
Rankin repeated as Vare Trophy and Player of the Year in 1977, when she set a record by finishing in the top ten in twenty-five tournaments. Her last victory was in 1979, after which a back injury limited her play and playing time.