Rankin's first
LPGA Tour win came in 1968 and she won 26 events, topping the money list in
1976 and
1977. She finished in the top ten on the money list eleven times between 1965 and 1979, and was the first to win over
$100,000 in a season on the LPGA Tour (over $150,000 in 1976). Although Rankin did not win a
major championship, she was a four-time runner-up. Her best finishes were a second at the
1976 LPGA Championship and tied seconds at the
1972 Titleholders Championship,
1972 U.S. Women's Open, and
1977 LPGA Championship. Rankin won the Colgate Dinah Shore Winner's Circle (currently the
ANA Inspiration) in 1976 and the Peter Jackson Classic (later renamed the
du Maurier Classic) in 1977; both events were later elevated to major status, but are not counted as majors in the years in which Rankin won. Her 26th and final win on tour was in August
1979 at
Jericho, New York. Rankin was LPGA Player of the Year twice (1976, 1977) and won the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average three times. She retired from full-time competition at age 38 in
1983 due to chronic back problems, and later captained the victorious
Solheim Cup teams in
1996 and
1998. Rankin became the first player voted into the
LPGA Tour Hall of Fame in 2000 under the veterans category, and she was also inducted into the
World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2002, she was voted the
Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the
United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. She was awarded a star on the
St. Louis Walk of Fame in April 2013. ==Broadcasting career==