Dottie Pepper had a hugely successful playing career before injuries saw her turn to life behind the mic at the end of the 2004 season.
Since then, she has remained in the spotlight and is currently one of the CBS broadcast team as the lead on-course reporter. Here are some facts about Pepper you may not be familiar with.
1. Dottie Pepper was born in Saratoga Springs, New York on 17 August 1965.
2. Her father, Don Pepper, was a Major League Baseball player for the Detroit Tigers.
3. She graduated Furman University with a B.A. in Health Sciences in 1987.
4. Dottie had a successful amateur career, including wins at the 1981 and 1983 New York Junior Amateur. She was also a member of the 1981 Junior World Cup team.
5. She was the low amateur at the 1984 US Women’s Open at Salem Country Club.
6. She turned professional in 1988, competing as Dottie Mochrie for the first seven years of her pro career – her married name before a divorce.
7. Dottie's first professional victory came at the 1989 Oldsmobile LPGA Classic.
8. She went on to claim 25 professional wins with 17 coming on the LPGA Tour.
9. Among them were two Major wins – the Nabisco Dinah Shore (now the Chevron Championship) in 1992 and 1999.
10. She finished top of the 1992 LPGA money list, with earnings of $693,335.
11. Including her two Major wins, she had 17 top-ten finishes at the showpiece tournaments.
12. By the time she retired at the end of the 2004 season, Pepper had also represented the US at the Solheim Cup six times. Her overall record was 13-5-2, while she was on the winning team as a player four times. She was also a vice-captain at the 2013 edition.
13. She began working as a golf commentator in 2005 for the Golf Channel and NBC.
14. Dottie moved on from commentary in 2012, joining the PGA of America’s board to work on developing junior golf programs, a position she held for three years.
15. In 2013, she returned to commentating on a limited basis with ESPN before eventually replacing David Feherty at CBS in 2015.
16. Among her hobbies and interests are gardening, music, sports cars, downhill skiing and wine collecting.
17. She’s the co-author of three golf-related children’s books – Bogey Tees Off volumes one, two and three, based on a mascot she created while at the PGA of America.
18. She has also released a book featuring letters sent between her and one of the biggest influences on her career, George Pulver, titled Letters to a Future Champion: My Time with Mr. Pulver.
19. Other big influences on her career were her father, 26-time LPGA Tour winner Judy Rankin and former LPGA commissioner Charlie Mechem.
20. In 2018, she was inducted into the New York State Golf Association Hall of Fame.
