Richard was born in
Abbeville, Louisiana in 1963, and raised in
Manhattan, Kansas. She first found success as an amateur golfer by winning the Kansas state high school golf championship three consecutive years for
Manhattan High School (1979–1981). She followed by winning the
Kansas Women's Amateur the next two years (1982, 1983). In 1984, Richard won the prestigious
U.S. Women's Amateur; a few months later she was part of the U.S. team that won the
Espirito Santo Trophy in Hong Kong. While competing for coach
Mimi Ryan's
Florida Gators women's golf team at the
University of Florida from 1982 to 1985, she won seven tournaments including three consecutive
Southeastern Conference (SEC) individual championships. As a senior in 1985, she was the individual runner-up, by a single stroke, at the
NCAA Women's Golf Championship, was recognized as the SEC Golfer of the Year, and won the
Broderick Award as the nation's outstanding female collegiate golfer. Richard was a first-team All-SEC selection all four years (1982–1985) and a first-team
All-American in 1984 and 1985. She graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in advertising in 1989, and was inducted into the
University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1995. == Professional career ==