Kathy Whitworth responds to the crowd as she prepares to tee off during the Tournament of Champions golf tournament at Locust Hill Country Club in Pittsford, U.S., June 20, 2006. /AP
While Lionel Messi has finally settled the contested G.O.A.T (greatest of all time) debate in football by lifting the World Cup, the ultimate prize that had eluded him his whole career, there's not a shred of doubt who is the world's most successful golfer.
Kathy Whitworth has set the benchmark in golf. She turned pro at 19 and her extraordinary domination on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tour crossed generations as she went on to win a record 88 titles during her trophy-laden career, six more than Tiger Woods, the record-holder for the men's game.
Whitworth, who was inducted into the LPGA Tour and World Golf halls of fame, passed away suddenly on Saturday night, her longtime partner Bettye Odle confirmed on Sunday. "It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Kathy Whitworth has died at the age of 83," read a LPGA statement.
"Kathy was a champion in the truest sense of the word, both on the golf course and off," added LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan. "In the short time I spent with Kathy, I was truly blown away by her and her approach to the game and to life."
Kathy Whitworth blasts out of sand trap on the 18th green and then sinks a 6-foot putt to go into the lead of the Women Titleholders Golf Tournament at Augusta, U.S., November 25, 1966. /AP
"Her strength, insightfulness and vibrancy were obvious from the minute you met her! She inspired me as a young girl and now as the commissioner and I know she did the same for so many others. We all mourn with Bettye, her family and the entire golf world."
In addition to her 88 victories, Whitworth also finished runner-up a stunning 93 times. She was the LPGA tour's leading money winner eight times and became the first women's pro to win more than $1 million in prize money when she finished third in the 1981 Women's Open, the only major tournament she didn't win.
"I was really fortunate in that I knew what I wanted to do," Whitworth once said. "Golf just grabbed me by the throat. I can't tell you how much I loved it. I used to think everyone knew what they wanted to do when they were 15 years old."
Whitworth sealed her 88th LPGA victory in May 1985 before competing on the women's senior circuit in the autumn of her career. She retired as a professional from the sport in 2005.
Despite her brilliant accomplishment, Whitworth was incredibly private and rarely shared tidbits about her personal life. "It's not necessary for people to know you," she previously told Sports Illustrated. "The record itself speaks. That's all that really matters."