Jo Ann Prentice: LPGA Tour Winner in 1960s, '70s
Date of birth: February 9, 1933
Place of birth: Birmingham, Alabama
Nickname: Fry (because of her love for fried pies)
Her Biggest Wins
Prentice had six official victories on the LPGA Tour:- 1965 All State Ladies Invitational
- 1967 Dallas Civitan Open
- 1972 Corpus Christi Civitan Open
- 1973 Burdine's Invitational
- 1974 Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's Circle
- 1974 American Defender-Raleigh Classic
In the Majors
Jo Ann Prentice won a major, and yet didn't win a major. Say what? She won the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's Circle in 1974, the third year that tournament existed. Today it is called the Chevron Championship and is one of the LPGA Tour's major championships. It has been classified as a major since 1983. Which means that in 1974, when Prentice won it, it was not yet a major championship. And the celebratory leap into the pond by the winner didn't yet exist, either.But it certainly was a big tournament on the LPGA Tour: It had the biggest first-place prize ($32,000) on the LPGA that year. And Prentice won it in playoff, overcoming Jane Blalock and Sandra Haynie. With Haynie already eliminated, Prentice played a 5-iron tee shot to four feet from the pin on the fourth extra hole, then made the putt to beat Blalock for the win.
While Prentice never officially won a major, she did finish runner-up in two majors: the 1966 Women's Western Open and 1962 U.S. Women's Open.
In the 1966 Women's Western Open, Prentice led Mickey Wright by one stroke after the third round. In the final round, Wright scored 76 to Prentice's 78, and Prentice wound up tying Margie Masters for second place.
Prentice had a good record in the U.S. Women's Open, despite not winning it. She tied sixth in 1957, was 10th in 1959 and sixth in 1961. In 1962, she tied Ruth Jessen for second place, two strokes behind the winner, Murle Lindstrom.
She had four more Top 10s in the USWO after that: 1964 (t7), 1969 (t4), 1970 (7) and 1977 (t10). Prentice played the U.S. Women's Open 25 times total from 1956 through 1980, a total that ranked her sixth all-time at the time of her last appearance. Make that 25 consecutive appearances, because she did not miss a USWO start during that time period, and that, still today, is tied for sixth-most consecutive USWO starts. Prentice is also tied today for sixth-most USWOs completed (23), and sixth-most cuts made (23).
Her best finish in the LPGA Championship (today known as the Women's PGA Championship) was tied for third in 1964.
More About Jo Ann Prentice
Jo Ann Prentice's victory in the 1974 Dinah Shore wasn't her first playoff win. Two years earlier, she won the 1972 Corpus Christi Civitan Open in a playoff against two LPGA heavyweights, Kathy Whitworth and Sandra Palmer. And that playoff still has a place in the LPGA record-book today, because Prentice didn't win it until the 10th sudden-death playoff hole.That 10-hole playoff remains today the longest sudden-death playoff in LPGA history. Whitworth was eliminated on the third extra hole, but Prentice and Palmer kept matching pars — on the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and nine playoff holes. Finally, on the 10th "sudden"-death hole, Prentice sank a four-foot birdie putt for the win.
Prentice began seriously playing golf when she was 15, encouraged to get into the game because she had three brothers who played.
She became a force in the Alabama Women's Amateur, reaching the championship match four consecutive years (1952-55), and winning it in 1954. In 1954, Prentice also had her best showing in the U.S. Women's Amateur, reaching the quarterfinals before falling to the eventual winner, Barbara Romack.
She turned pro in 1956, and 1957 was her rookie year as a member of the LPGA Tour. It was the start of a career in which Prentice was a regular name on the leaderboard, even though her win total never reached great heights. She was a consistent Top 20 performer for most of the next two decades.
But it took a while for Prentice to get her first win. She came close several times: She lost a playoff to Marlene Hagge at the 1958 Land of Sky Open, and another to Mary Lena Faulk in the 1961 Eastern Open. Prentice also had second-place finishes in the 1961 Tippecanoe Open, 1962 U.S. Women's Open, 1962 Milwaukee Open, 1963 Alpine Civitan Open, and 1964 Albuquerque Pro-Am.
Finally, in the 1965 All State Ladies' Invitational, Prentice got that first LPGA victory, beating Kathy Whitworth by one stroke. It was the first of back-to-back weeks in which she did battle down the stretch against an LPGA legend. The very next week Prentice lost a playoff to Mickey Wright in the 1965 Baton Rouge Invitational. And she had two more runner-up finishes later in the year, at the Omaha Jaycee Open and the Eugene Open.
Her next win was also by one stroke, over Judy Kimball in the 1967 Dallas Civitan Open (later known as the Mary Kay Classic).
Prentice next won the Corpus Christi Civitan Open (in the 10-hole playoff) in 1972, the season-opening 1973 Burdine's Invitational (later known as the Elizabeth Arden Classic), and, her biggest win, the 1974 Dinah Shore.
And 1974 was a big year for her overall: She also won a second time (her sixth and final LPGA victory) in the American Defender-Raleigh Classic. She had 20 Top 20 finishes, including two second-place showings (Bing Crosby International Classic, and the Lady Errol Classic where she lost to Jane Blalock in a playoff), and finished a career-best fourth on the money list.
In fact, from 1957 through 1975, Prentice placed in the Top 30 on the LPGA's season-ending money list every year. In the only slightly narrower timespan of 1958-74, she was never lower than 21st on the money list. Prentice was fourth in money in 1974, seventh in 1971 and 10th in 1972.
In 1975, she fell to 29th in earnings. And Top 10 tournament finishes began coming less frequently in the late 1970s. Prentice began cutting back her schedule in 1981 and was retired from LPGA Tour within a few years.
Her consistency as a money-winner can be seen in how high she got on the LPGA's all-time money list. After the 1973 season, Prentice was 10th all-time in LPGA career winnings. She moved up after her strong 1974 season, and following the 1978 season, after several years without many strong finishes, she still ranked 12th.
In addition to the six wins she had during her LPGA career, Prentice piled up 18 career second-place finishes. Those not already mentioned included the 1966 Raleigh Ladies Invitational, 1968 Pensacola Ladies' Invitational, 1970 Raleigh Ladies Invitational, and 1972 Angelo's Four-Ball Championship.
During her career, Prentice had equipment deals with various companies including Kroydon, Ram and Ben Hogan Golf. Jo Ann Prentice-labeled golf club sets and golf balls were marketed.
In 1971, she bought the Tuckaway Country Club on Oneonta, Alabama, and after leaving the tour ran that club. Later she moved to Arizona and for many years ran a golf shop with a focus on clubfitting and instruction.
Prentice is a member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.
Sources:
(Book titles are affiliate links; commissions earned)
Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Inductees, Jo Ann Prentice, https://ashof.org/inductees/jo-ann-prentice/.
Alliss, Peter. The Who's Who of Golf, 1983, Orbis Publishing.
Bohannan, Larry. "The greatest shots in ANA Inspiration history led to some of LPGA's greatest wins," Palm Springs Desert Sun, March 30, 2021, https://www.desertsun.com/story/sports/golf/ana-inspiration/2021/03/30/lpga-ana-inspirations-greatest-shots-among-best-ever-womens-golf/4800170001/
Elliott, Len, and Kelly, Barbara. Who's Who in Golf, 1976, Arlington House Publishers.
Gibson, Nevin H. The Encyclopedia of Golf, 1964, A.S. Barnes and Company.
LPGA Tour. LPGA Player Guide 1974, Players, Jo Ann Prentice.
LPGA Tour. LPGA 1979 Player Guide, Players, Jo Ann Prentice.
LPGA Tour. 2004 LPGA Tour Media Guide, Tournament Chronology, 2004, Ladies Professional Golf Association.
Legends Tour. Players, Jo Ann Prentice, http://players.thelegendstour.com/details.php?PID=41.
United States Golf Association. Official USGA Record Book, 1895-1990, Triumph Books, 1992.
USGA.org. U.S. Women's Open Records, https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/media/online-media-center/usga-records/u-s--women-s-open-records.html.
