Dottie Pepper (born August 17, 1965) is an American professional golfer and television golf broadcaster. From 1988 to 1995 she competed as Dottie Mochrie, which was her married name before a divorce. She won two major championships and 17 LPGA Tour events in all.
Early life and amateur career In 1965, Pepper was born in Saratoga Springs, New York. Her father, Don Pepper, was a major league baseball player who appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a "rookie to watch" along with Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, in 1968.
Her career began with big amateur victories in her home state of New York. She won the 1981 state amateur and the 1981 and 1983 New York Junior Amateur titles. She was a member of the 1981 Junior World Cup team and low amateur at the 1984 U.S. Women's Open. She attended Furman University where she earned five collegiate victories and was named All-American three times.
Professional career In 1988, Pepper turned professional. She joined the LPGA Tour in 1988 and won 17 official events on the Tour, including two major championships: the 1992 and 1999 Nabisco Dinah Shore. Her 19-under-par finish in the 1999 victory still stands as the lowest score in relation to par in a major championship. She topped the money list in 1992 and finished in the top ten in ten of eleven seasons between 1991 and 2001. Pepper also played for the United States in the Solheim Cup six times.
Due to injury problems, Pepper played only one tournament in 2002. In July 2004, she announced that she would retire at the end of the season. In 2005, she began work as a golf commentator for NBC and the Golf Channel, reporting on both men's and women's events.
During the 2007 Solheim Cup, Pepper caused some stir while working as commentator for the Golf Channel. She called the American team "choking freaking dogs". She thought the network had cut to commercial when the comment was uttered, but it was actually still broadcasting live. Some players and fans were upset by this and Pepper quickly apologized for her "poor choice of words".
In July 2012, Pepper was named by captain Meg Mallon as one of two assistant captains for the U.S. Team at the 2013 Solheim Cup.
Pepper retired from commentating in December 2012, tired of the traveling and wanting to spend more time promoting junior golf as a PGA of America board member. In May 2013, she signed a contract with ESPN to return to commentating on a limited basis, working mainly major tournaments on the PGA, LPGA and Champions Tours. In October 2015, Pepper was signed to a contract with CBS, replacing David Feherty who had left the network to work for NBC and to continue his Feherty series on the Golf Channel. She took up Feherty's role as on-course reporter as well as doing occasional tower announcing.
Pepper served as a member of the PGA of America Board of Directors from 2012 to 2015, and the NENY PGA Board of Directors from 2009 to 2015.
Personal life Pepper resides in Saratoga Springs, New York with her third husband, golf writer and historian David Normoyle. They were married in May 2010.
Awards and honors
In 1992, she earned a number of prestigious award on the LPGA: she led the money list, won LPGA Player of the Year honors, and won the Vare Trophy, given to the player with the lowest scoring average over the course of the season. In 1993, she earned the ESPY Award for best female golfer. In 2016, Pepper was the recipient of the William D. Richardson Award, presented by the Golf Writers Association of America for her consistently outstanding contributions to golf. In 2018, she was inducted into the New York State Golf Association Hall of Fame. In 2024, the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America awarded Pepper with its highest honor, the Old Tom Morris Award, for her continuing lifetime commitment to the game of golf, and helping mold the welfare of the game in a manner and style exemplified by Old Tom Morris.
Professional wins (25) LPGA Tour wins (17) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1Jan 29, 1989Oldsmobile LPGA Classic−9 (69-74-67-69=279)Playoff Beth Daniel2May 13, 1990Crestar Classic −16 (67-65-68=200)9 strokes Chris Johnson3Mar 29, 1992Nabisco Dinah Shore −9 (69-71-70-69=279)Playoff Juli Inkster4Apr 19, 1992Sega Women's Championship−11 (70-69-68-70=277)1 stroke Danielle Ammaccapane5Aug 2, 1992Welch's Classic−10 (72-67-69-70=278)3 strokes Stephanie Farwig6Aug 30, 1992Sun-Times ChallengeEven (71-72-73=216)Playoff Beth Daniel Judy Dickinson7Oct 19, 1993World Championship of Women's Golf−4 (72-71-69-72=284)1 stroke Donna Andrews Meg Mallon Michelle McGann Sherri Steinhauer8Mar 5, 1994Chrysler-Plymouth Tournament of Champions−1 (72-75-71-69=287)2 strokes Nancy Lopez Lauri Merten9Mar 12, 1995PING/Welch's Championship (Tucson)−10 (70-68-72-68=278)3 strokes Cindy Rarick Annika Sörenstam10Aug 6, 1995McCall's LPGA Classic−12 (69-67-68=204)3 strokes Kelly Robbins11Jun 23, 1996Rochester International−10 (69-66-71=206)2 strokes Annika Sörenstam12Jun 30, 1996ShopRite LPGA Classic−11 (67-66-69=202)4 strokes Amy Benz13Jul 21, 1996Friendly's Classic−9 (68-69-73-69=279)1 stroke Brandie Burton14Sep 8, 1996Safeway LPGA Golf Championship−14 (65-70-67=202)2 strokes Chris Johnson15Mar 28, 1999Nabisco Dinah Shore−19 (70-66-67-66=269)6 strokes Meg Mallon16Aug 29, 1999Oldsmobile Classic−18 (67-63-70-70=270)2 strokes Kelli Kuehne 17Nov 19, 2000Arch Wireless Championship−9 (68-71-69-71=279)3 strokes Rachel Hetherington
LPGA Tour playoff record (3–5) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result11989Oldsmobile LPGA Classic Beth DanielWon with par on fifth extra hole 21992Nabisco Dinah Shore Juli InksterWon with par on first extra hole31992Sun-Times Challenge Beth Daniel Judy DickinsonPepper won with par on sixth extra holeDaniel eliminated by par on fourth hole41993 PING/Welch's Championship (Massachusetts) Missie BerteottiLost to birdie on fifth extra hole51993 State Farm Rail Classic Helen DobsonLost to birdie on fifth extra hole61995Pinewild Women's Championship Rosie JonesLost to birdie on first extra hole71998Star Bank LPGA Classic Meg MallonLost to par on first extra hole82000AFLAC Champions Karrie WebbLost to par on first extra hole
LPGA majors are shown in bold.
Futures Tour wins (1) 1985 Albany-Colonie Chamber Open (as an amateur)
LPGA of Japan Tour wins (1) 1989 Karuizawa 72 Tokyu Ladies Open
Other wins (6) 1992 JCPenney Classic (with Dan Forsman) 1995 JCPenney/LPGA Skins Game 1996 Diners Club Matches (with Juli Inkster) 1997 Diners Club Matches (with Juli Inkster) 1999 Diners Club Matches (with Juli Inkster) 2000 Hyundai Team Matches (with Juli Inkster)
Major championships Wins (2) YearChampionshipWinning scoreMarginRunner-up 1992 Nabisco Dinah Shore −9 (69-71-70-69=279) Playoff 1 Juli Inkster 1999 Nabisco Dinah Shore −19 (70-66-67-66=269) 6 strokes Meg Mallon
1 Defeated Inkster with par on first extra hole.
Results timeline Tournament 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Kraft Nabisco ChampionshipT7T66LPGA ChampionshipT45T39U.S. Women's OpenT22T5578T12T3T5du Maurier Classic T35T18
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Kraft Nabisco ChampionshipT1121T30T19T11T23T11T912LPGA ChampionshipT53T22T5T30T11T6T26T37CUTT19T23U.S. Women's OpenT3T5T6T17T12T13CUTT14T11T14WDdu Maurier Classic T27T6T204T14T12T27T14T34
Tournament 2001 2002 2003 2004 Kraft Nabisco ChampionshipT2T51T24LPGA ChampionshipT17T67T70U.S. Women's Open3WDWDWomen's British Open ^CUTT24 ^ The Women's British Open replaced the du Maurier Classic as an LPGA major in 2001.
CUT = missed the half-way cut WD = withdrew "T" = tied
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeKraft Nabisco Championship 2 3 0 5 7 13 16 16LPGA Championship 0 0 0 1 2 7 16 15U.S. Women's Open 0 0 3 5 6 14 20 16du Maurier Classic 0 0 0 1 2 7 11 11Women's British Open 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1Totals 2 3 3 12 17 42 65 59 Most consecutive cuts made – 38 (1984 U.S. Open – 1996 LPGA) Longest streak of top-10s – 5 (1991 U.S. Open – 1992 U.S. Open)
Team appearances Amateur Curtis Cup (representing the United States): 1986
Professional Solheim Cup (representing the United States): 1990 (winners), 1992, 1994 (winners), 1996 (winners), 1998 (winners), 2000
Solheim Cup record Year Totalmatches TotalW-L-H Pointswon Points%Career2013–5–21470%199032–1–0267%199230–2–10.517%199433–0–03100%199643–1–0375%199844–0–04100%200031–1–11.550%
See also List of golfers with most LPGA Tour wins
References
External links