Hall of Fame
Dottie Pepper was the first female high school athlete to qualify for the NYSPHSAA Golf State Championships in 1982.
Pepper started her high school career in 1978 when she participated with the Saratoga High School golf team as an 8th grader. Just a year later she went 12-1 as a freshman and helped her team win the Foothills League title. Saratoga High recognized her as the team MVP each of the next three years.
Before her career on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour, Dottie was a New York State Junior and Women’s Amateur champion in 1981 and also placed 9th in the Section II Golf Championships as a junior. Her senior campaign in 1982 saw her catapult to Runner Up in the Section II tournament and finish 5th in the State Tournament. She also was the Runner Up in the PGA National Junior Championship that year and was named the Empire State Athlete of the Year.
Dottie continued her career at Furman University where she immediately made an impact. She was twice named Female Athlete of the Year at Furman, was the 1987 Athlete of the Year, captured five individual tournament titles and was a three-time All-American before graduating from Furman in 1987, well on her way to a sparkling professional career.
Professionally, Pepper cracked the LPGA Tour in 1988 where she posted seven top 10 finishes her rookie season. In 1992, she recorded four victories including her first major championship at the Nabisco Dinah Shore. That year she won the Rolex Player of the Year and the Vare Trophy, earning a #1 ranking in the process. Seven years later Pepper won the Nabisco Dinah Shore event again as she averaged one of her best scoring years at 70.63.
In 2001, Pepper carded her fourth LPGA career hole-in-one during the first round of the Nabisco Championship while also winning the Wendy’s 3-Tour Challenge with Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb.
Unfortunately, Dottie sustained lingering injuries that became detrimental to her playing career in 2004 and announced her retirement on July 1st of that year. She finished her career with 17 career victories and eclipsed the $6.8 million mark in earnings. When the LPGA celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2000, Pepper was named one of the LPGA’s top 50 players and teachers.