Sandra Jane Haynie

Sandra Haynie was born on June 4, 1943 in Fort Worth, Texas. She began playing golf when she was just 11 years old. In 1961 she joined the LPGA Tour before the age of 20. By that time she had won her first event at the Austin Civitan Open in 1962.

In 1965 Sandra won the LPGA Championship. Then in 1966 she won four more. In 1970 she won two and won Player of the Year. Then in 1971 she won four more tournaments. By 1974 she was at the top of her game. She had won two Majors and four trophies. She again was the leader on the tour with five wins in 1975. Between 1962 and 1975 she had thirty-nine wins. In 1974 after winning the U.S. Open and the LPGA Championship, she was only the second golfer to win both titles in the same year.

In 1977, at the age of 33, she began suffering from physical problems. She had arthritis and ulcer problems. That caused her to only play a few tournaments that year. She took a break from golf for three years and spent her time as a mentor to Martina Navratilova. It led Martina to her first Wimbledon singles crown. Sandra returned to golf for 1981 and 1982 seasons. She won her final major at the du Maurier Classic in 1982. After 1992 with back, knee and arthritis problems she organized the “Swing Against Arthritis” pro-am to raise money for the National Arthritis Foundation. She was inducted into the Women’s Sports Foundation International Hall of Fame in 1999.