Beth Daniel (born October 14, 1956) is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1979 and won 33 LPGA Tour events, including one major championship, during her career. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Early life and amateur career
Daniel was born on October 14, 1956, in Charleston, South Carolina. She played her collegiate golf at Furman University, and was on the 1976 national championship team that included future LPGA players Betsy King, Sherri Turner and Cindy Ferro. In 1977, she won the Broderick Award (now the Honda Sports Award) as the nation's best female collegiate golfer. Daniel won the U.S. Women's Amateur in 1975 and 1977, the Women's Western Amateur in 1978, and was on the U.S. Curtis Cup teams in 1976 and 1978 (going 4–0 in 1976). She turned pro at the end of 1978 and joined the LPGA Tour in 1979.
Professional career
Daniel's first victory came in 1979 year at the Patty Berg Classic, and she went on to win the LPGA Rookie of the Year award. Over the next five years, when Nancy Lopez was at her most dominant, she still managed to win 13 tournaments, including four in 1980 when she was named LPGA Tour Player of the Year. Daniel led the Tour in wins in 1982, 1990 and 1994. She also led in scoring three times, including in 1989 when she became the second golfer in Tour history to record a scoring average below 71.00.
Professional wins (41)
LPGA Tour wins (33)
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
! Legend
|-style="background:#e5d1cb;"
|LPGA Tour major championships (1)
|-
|Other LPGA Tour (32)
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
!No.
!Date
!Tournament
!Winning score
!Margin of<br>victory
!Runner(s)-up
|-
|1
|Aug 26, 1979
|Patty Berg Classic
|−11 (68-69-71=208)
|4 strokes
| Hollis Stacy
|-
|2
|Jun 1, 1980
|Golden Lights Championship
|−1 (72-74-70-71=287)
|2 strokes
| Nancy Lopez<br> Jo Ann Washam
|-
|3
|Aug 17, 1980
|Patty Berg Golf Classic
|−9 (60-70-72=210)
|2 strokes
| Hollis Stacy
|-
|4
|Aug 24, 1980
|Columbia Savings LPGA Classic
|−12 (71-66-67-72=276)
|6 strokes
| Jane Blalock<br> Sandra Post
|-
|5
|Sep 7, 1980
|World Series of Women's Golf
|−6 (71-72-68-71=282)
|1 stroke
| Nancy Lopez
|-
|6
|Apr 19, 1981
|Florida Lady Citrus
|−7 (68-67-74-72-281)
|Playoff
| Donna Caponi<br> Cindy Hill<br> Patti Rizzo<br> Patty Sheehan
|-
|7
|Aug 23, 1981
|World Championship of Women's Golf
|−4 (72-72-69-71=284)
|1 stroke
| Jan Stephenson
|-
|8
|Feb 21, 1982
|Bent Tree Ladies Classic
|−12 (71-71-66-68=276)
|4 strokes
| Amy Alcott
|-
|9
|Mar 7, 1982
|American Express Sun City Classic
|−10 (70-67-71-70=278)
|Playoff
| Carole Jo Kabler
|-
|10
|May 2, 1982
|Birmingham Classic
|−13 (64-70-69=203)
|4 strokes
| Patty Sheehan
|-
|11
|Aug 1, 1982
|Columbia Savings Classic
|−12 (72-68-72-64=276)
|2 strokes
| Patty Sheehan
|-
|12
|Aug 15, 1982
|WUI Classic
|−12 (68-68-67-73=276)
|8 strokes
| Martha Nause<br> Ayako Okamoto
|-
|13
|Jul 17, 1983
|McDonald's Kids Classic
|−2 (67-71-73-75=286)
|Playoff
| JoAnne Carner
|-
|14
|Apr 14, 1985
|Kyocera Inamori Classic
|−2 (70-70-74-72=286)
|2 strokes
| Pat Meyers
|-
|15
|Aug 6, 1989
|Greater Washington Open
|−8 (66-68-71=205)
|4 strokes
| Sherri Turner
|-
|16
|Sep 4, 1989
|Rail Charity Golf Classic
|−13 (69-70-64=203)
|3 strokes
| Betsy King<br> Alice Ritzman
|-
|17
|Sep 17, 1989
|Safeco Classic
|−15 (69-69-65-70=273
|6 strokes
| Cindy Rarick
|-
|18
|Oct 1, 1989
|Konica San Jose Classic
|−11 (65-67-73=205)
|1 stroke
| Pat Bradley
|-
|19
|Feb 24, 1990
|Orix Hawaiian Ladies Open
|−6 (71-67-72=210)
|3 strokes
| Amy Benz<br> Patty Sheehan
|-
|20
|Mar 4, 1990
|Women's Kemper Open
|−1 (73-75-66-69=283)
|1 stroke
| Laura Davies<br> Rosie Jones
|-
|21
|Jul 23, 1990
|The Phar-Mor in Youngstown
|−9 (65-69-73=207)
|Playoff
| Patty Sheehan
|-style="background:#e5d1cb;"
|22
|Jul 29 1990
|Mazda LPGA Championship
|−4 (71-73-70-66=280)
|1 stroke
| Rosie Jones
|-
|23
|Aug 26, 1990
|Northgate Classic
|−13 (66-69-68=203)
|6 strokes
| Penny Hammel<br> Christa Johnson
|-
|24
|Sep 3, 1990
|Rail Charity Golf Classic
|−13 (67-69-67=203)
|3 strokes
| Susan Sanders
|-
|25
|Oct 7, 1990
|Centel Classic
|−17 (71-63-68-69=271)
|1 stroke
| Nancy Lopez
|-
|26
|Feb 10, 1991
|The Phar-Mor at Inverrary
|−7 (67-73-69=209)
|2 strokes
| Nancy Lopez
|-
|27
|Jul 23, 1991
|McDonald's Championship
|−11 (67-71-67-68=273)
|4 strokes
| Pat Bradley<br> Sally Little
|-
|28
|May 29, 1994
|LPGA Corning Classic
|−10 (67-71-71-69=278)
|1 stroke
| Stephanie Farwig<br> Nancy Ramsbottom
|-
|29
|Jun 5, 1994
|Oldsmobile Classic
|−20 (67-63-70-68-268)
|4 strokes
| Lisa Kiggens
|-
|30
|Jul 17, 1994
|JAL Big Apple Classic
|−8 (70-69-66-71=276)
|Playoff
| Laura Davies
|-
|31
|Oct 16, 1994
|World Championship of Women's Golf
|−14 (68-70-71-65=274)
|3 strokes
| Elaine Crosby
|-
|32
|Aug 13, 1995
|PING/Welch's Championship (Boston)
|−17 (65-68-69-69=271)
|3 strokes
| Meg Mallon<br> Colleen Walker
|-
|33
|Jul 15, 2003
|BMO Financial Group Canadian Women's Open
|−13 (69-69-69-68=275)
|1 stroke
| Juli Inkster
|}
LPGA Tour playoff record (5–6)
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
!No.!!Year!!Tournament!!Opponent(s)!!Result
|-style="background:#B0E0E6;"
|1
|1981
|Florida Lady Citrus
| Donna Caponi<br> Cindy Hill<br> Patti Rizzo<br> Patty Sheehan
|Won with birdie on second extra hole<br>Hill, Rizzo, and Sheehan eliminated by par on first hole
|-style="background:#B0E0E6;"
|2
|1982
|American Express Sun City Classic
| Carole Jo Kabler
|Won with birdie on second extra hole
|-style="background:#B0E0E6;"
|3
|1983
|McDonald's Kids Classic
| JoAnne Carner
|Won with birdie on first extra hole
|-style="background:#F5DEB3;"
|4
|1983
|Columbia Savings Classic
| Pat Bradley
|Lost to birdie on first extra hole
|-style="background:#F5DEB3;"
|5
|1988
|Atlantic City LPGA Classic
| Juli Inkster
|Lost to par on first extra hole
|-style="background:#F5DEB3;"
|6
|1989
|Oldsmobile LPGA Classic
| Dottie Mochrie
|Lost to par on fifth extra hole
|-style="background:#B0E0E6;"
|7
|1990
|The Phar-Mor in Youngstown
| Patty Sheehan
|Won with birdie on first extra hole
|-style="background:#F5DEB3;"
|8
|1991
|Northgate Computer Classic
| Jody Anschutz<br> Cindy Rarick
|Rarick won with birdie on third extra hole<br>Anschutz eliminated by par on first hole
|-style="background:#F5DEB3;"
|9
|1992
|The Phar-Mor in Youngstown
| Donna Andrews<br> Betsy King<br> Meg Mallon
|King won with birdie on first extra hole
|-style="background:#F5DEB3;"
|10
|1992
|Sun-Times Challenge
| Judy Dickinson<br> Dottie Pepper
|Pepper won with par on sixth extra hole<br>Daniel eliminated by par on fourth hole
|-style="background:#B0E0E6;"
|11
|1994
|JAL Big Apple Classic
| Laura Davies
|Won with birdie on first extra hole
|}
LPGA of Japan Tour wins (4)
- 1979 World Ladies
- 1988 Nichirei International
- 1990 Konica Cup World Ladies
- 1991 Konica Cup World Ladies
Other wins (4)
- 1981 JCPenney Mixed Team Classic (with Tom Kite)
- 1990 JCPenney Classic (with Davis Love III)
- 1995 JCPenney Classic (with Davis Love III)
- 1999 World Golf Hall of Fame Championship (with Johnny Miller)
Major championships
Wins (1)
{|class="wikitable"
!Year!!Championship!!Winning score!!Margin!!Runner-up
|-style="background:#D8BFD8;"
| 1990 ||Mazda LPGA Championship ||−4 (71-73-70-66=280)||1 stroke|| Rosie Jones
|}
Results timeline
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"
! Tournament !! 1976 !! 1977 !! 1978 !! 1979 !!1980
|-
|align=left|LPGA Championship
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|T38
|style="background:yellow;"|T3
|-
|align=left|U.S. Women's Open
|CUT
|T24
|T53
|T20
|style="background:yellow;"|T10
|-
|align=left|du Maurier Classic
|...
|...
|...
|T16
|style="background:yellow;"|T5
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"
! Tournament !! 1981 !! 1982 !! 1983 !! 1984 !! 1985 !! 1986 !! 1987 !! 1988 !! 1989 !!1990
|-
|align=left|Kraft Nabisco Championship
|...
|...
|style="background:yellow;"|T2
|style="background:yellow;"|4
|T11
|style="background:yellow;"|T7
|T22
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:yellow;"|T6
|style="background:yellow;"|T6
|-
|align=left|LPGA Championship
|style="background:yellow;"|T5
|style="background:yellow;"|T7
|T16
|style="background:yellow;"|T2
|style="background:yellow;"|T10
|T15
|T58
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|T14
|style="background:lime;"|1
|-
|align=left|U.S. Women's Open
|style="background:yellow;"|2
|style="background:yellow;"|T2
|WD
|style="background:yellow;"|T10
|CUT
|T21
|T33
|style="background:yellow;"|T10
|T20
|style="background:yellow;"|T6
|-
|align=left|du Maurier Classic
|T17
|style="background:yellow;"|2
|T63
|style="background:yellow;"|T6
|T14
|27
|CUT
|T47
|style="background:yellow;"|T7
|style="background:yellow;"|3
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"
! Tournament !! 1991 !! 1992 !! 1993 !! 1994 !! 1995 !! 1996 !! 1997 !! 1998 !! 1999 !! 2000
|-
|align=left|Kraft Nabisco Championship
|T30
|style="background:yellow;"|T8
|T69
|T19
|T47
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|CUT
|72
|T43
|T47
|-
|align=left|LPGA Championship
|style="background:yellow;"|4
|T35
|T17
|style="background:yellow;"|T7
|T18
|T26
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|T58
|CUT
|T33
|-
|align=left|U.S. Women's Open
|T11
|CUT
|T53
|T18
|CUT
|T19
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|T31
|T47
|style="background:yellow;"|8
|-
|align=left|du Maurier Classic
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|WD
|T17
|CUT
|T45
|T36
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|T54
|T13
|T23
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"
! Tournament !! 2001 !! 2002 !! 2003 !! 2004 !! 2005 !! 2006 !! 2007
|-
|align=left|Kraft Nabisco Championship
|T55
|T14
|style="background:yellow;"|T5
|T40
|style="background:yellow;"|T9
|T13
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|-
|align=left|LPGA Championship
|T26
|style="background:yellow;"|2
|style="background:yellow;"|T3
|T39
|T54
|T39
|CUT
|-
|align=left|U.S. Women's Open
|T24
|style="background:yellow;"|T7
|T20
|T27
|CUT
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|-
|align=left|Women's British Open ^
|CUT
|T16
|T14
|style="background:yellow;"|T5
|T56
|style="background:yellow;"|T6
|T50
|}
^ The Women's British Open replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major in 2001.
CUT = missed the half-way cut.<br>
WD = withdrew<br>
T = tied
Summary
- Starts – 105
- Wins – 1
- 2nd-place finishes – 6
- 3rd-place finishes – 3
- Top 3 finishes – 10
- Top 5 finishes – 16
- Top 10 finishes – 33
- Top 25 finishes – 60
- Missed cuts – 13
- Most consecutive cuts made – 23
- Longest streak of top-10s – 5 (twice)
U.S. national team appearances
Amateur
- Curtis Cup: 1976 (winners), 1978 (winners)
- Espirito Santo Trophy: 1978
Professional
- Solheim Cup: 1990 (winners), 1992, 1994 (winners), 1996 (winners), 2000, 2002 (winners), 2003, 2005 (winners), 2009 (non-playing captain, winners)
- World Cup: 2005
- Handa Cup: 2007 (winners), 2008 (winners), 2009 (winners), 2010 (winners), 2011 (winners), 2012 (tie, Cup retained), 2013, 2014 (winners), 2015 (winners)
See also
- List of golfers with most LPGA Tour wins
- List of golfers with most LPGA major championship wins