Jan Stephenson - LPGA Golf Legend, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist

Jan Lynn Stephenson is an Australian professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1974 and won three major championships and 16 LPGA Tour events. She has 41 worldwide victories including (10) LPGA Legends Tour wins and 8 worldwide major championships. She has 15 holes-in-one with nine in competition. She was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame, class of 2019.Early life and amateur careerWhile a teenager, she won five consecutive New South Wales Schoolgirl Championships in Australia, beginning in 1964, and followed that up with three straight wins in the New South Wales Junior Championship.Professional careerStephenson turned professional in 1973 and won the Wills Australian Ladies Open that year. She joined the LPGA Tour in 1974 and was named LPGA Rookie of the Year.Stephenson's first LPGA victory was the 1976 Sarah Coventry Naples Classic. Her most productive period was the early 1980s, when she won all of her majors in consecutive years: 1981 Peter Jackson Classic, the 1982 LPGA Championship and the 1983 U.S. Women's Open.On the golf course, Stephenson won three times each in 1981, 1983 and 1987, those wins in 1987 being her final ones on the LPGA. Stephenson continued playing LPGA events throughout the 1990s, but was hampered by an injury incurred during a mugging in Miami in 1990. Her left ring finger was broken in two places, an injury that still bothers her play in cold or wet weather.Stephenson went on to win on the Women's Senior Golf Tour, a tour she helped found. In 2003, she became the first woman to play on the Champions Tour at the Turtle Bay Championship, where she finished in last place. Stephenson is among the few women in the course design business, and produced an exercise video for people with arthritis. Her many charitable efforts include being an honorary chairman of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.Stephenson was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985. She was a contestant in the 2011 season of Dancing with the Stars on Channel Seven.Stephenson is an Ambassador for blind and disabled golf through ISPS Handa and has acquired Tarpon Woods Golf Club in Palm Harbor through her Foundation (Jan Stephenson's Crossroads Foundation) www.jscrossroads.com. The golf course provides initiatives for blind/disabled and wounded veterans and first responders. Her mission is, "Giving to Those that have Given so Much". She has been recognized for her philanthropic work by the Government of Australia and other charitable organizations. She was awarded recognition by the Military Order of the Purple Heart in October 2017 for her service to combat wounded/disabled/blind veterans and first responders. Her Foundation was awarded the Charity of the Year by the Palm Harbor Chamber of Commerce in September 2018.In the 2018 Australia Day Honours, Stephenson was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) ‘for service to golf, and to not-for-profit organizations’.Discover where to grab PAR TEE Drinks at https://drinkpartee.com/apps/store-locator ...and connect with us on social media at... https://www.instagram.com/drinkpartee/ https://www.instagram.com/parteetimemygolf/ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555374627181 Learn more about Jan's amazing work, check these out... https://www.instagram.com/janshout/https://www.janstephenson.com/https://www.facebook.com/jansshout/https://www.tarponwoodsgc.com/about-janhttps://www.lpga.com/athletes/jan-stephenson/81920/biohttps://www.janscrossroads.org/Support the show