Laureation Address: Judith ‘Judy’ T Rankin
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws
Laureation by Marie-Noël Earley, Academic Registrar
Monday 30 June 2025 – afternoon ceremony
Vice-Chancellor, it is my privilege to present for the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Judy Rankin.
In golfing terms, Judy, a native of St Louis, Missouri, was a child prodigy. At the age of 14 she was Missouri Amateur Champion. The following year, she was the low amateur in the US Women’s Open aged 15. Judy won her first Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) victory in 1968 and went on to win 25 more LPGA events between 1968 and 1979, topping the earnings list first in 1976, whilst winning seven LPGA titles and becoming the first woman to earn more than US$100,000, and then again in 1977.
In 1973, 1976 and 1977, Judy was awarded the Vare Trophy, given to the player with the lowest scoring average for the year. Unsurprisingly, she was the LPGA’s Rolex Player of the Year in 1976 and again in 1977, when she set an as yet unsurpassed record of 25 top ten finishes in a season.
Alongside her outstanding playing performance, Judy also served as the Vice-President of the LPGA in 1971 and then Tour President in 1976 and 1977. These were huge moments for the still developing women’s game in the US the 1970s.
Despite playing most of her golf in the United States, Judy played in the British Amateur championship at Carnoustie at just 16, resulting in a cover on Sports Illustrated. Unsuccessful at Carnoustie on that occasion, Judy returned to the UK in 1974, winning the Women’s European Open at Sunningdale.
Judy notes that this win was the first time she really had a sense of the history of the game of golf, something which has remained with her throughout her career.
Retiring prematurely from playing after back surgery in 1983, Judy’s accomplishments continued through captaining the United States Solheim Cup team to victory in 1996 and in 1998. She was the first player voted into the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame in 2000, under the veteran’s category, the same year she was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. In 2002, Judy was awarded the Bob Jones Award, the highest honour given by the US Golf Association, in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.
Judy is known to another generation of golf fans for her work commentating on the game, both in women’s golf, and as the first woman to work on men’s golf broadcasting across ABC Sports, ESPN and the Golf Channel, where she was noted for her insightful commentary and empathy.
Judy has spent much time broadcasting from St Andrews and accompanied Jack Nicklaus during his final round here in 2005. Retiring from full-time broadcasting in 2022, Judy was the first woman to receive the PGA Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism, which she was awarded in 2024.
Judy’s achievements have been nothing short of remarkable, and as well as enjoying spending some of her retirement with her son, three grandchildren and one great-grandson, she also remains deeply involved in the game at the age of 80.
She currently serves on the Jack Nicklaus Captains Club, and her own foundation, the JTR Suitcase Fund, based in West Texas, where she and her family live, awards funds every year to local young golfers to enable them to travel to golf competitions. Supporting the next generation of golfers is, characteristically, as important to Judy as a lifetime of personal success in the game and beyond.
Vice-Chancellor, in recognition of their major contribution to the development of women in golf and in sports broadcasting, I invite you to confer the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, on Judy Rankin.