Rosie Jones (golfer) biography
Date of birth : 1959-11-13
Date of death : -
Birthplace : Santa Ana, California, U.S.
Nationality : American
Category : Sports
Last modified : 2011-10-14
Credited as : woman professional golfer, LPGA tour,
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Rosie Jones was a consistent performer over many years on the LPGA Tour, thriving despite being one of the shorter hitters, and playing her best golf into her 40s.
Rosie Jones won 13 times in her LPGA career. She was regularly considered among the top American golfers on the tour, a fact attested to by her seven appearances as a member of the U.S. Solheim Cup team. She was popular with her peers and with fans.
The one glaring hole on her golf resume' is that Jones never won a major championship. Jones finished second in majors four times. The first was the 1984 U.S. Women's Open, before even her first victory. The last was the 2005 Kraft Nabisco Championship during the season that would turn out to be her final full year on the LPGA Tour.
Jones began playing golf when she was 11 years and her game developed quickly. She won three straight New Mexico Junior Championships, 1974-76, and won the 1979 New Mexico State Championship.
While attending Ohio State University, she was named to the collegiate All-America team in 1981.
Jones turned pro in 1982 and joined the LPGA Tour that year. The first of her 13 wins was the 1987 Rail Charity Golf Classic, and her final win was the 2003 Asahi Ryokuken International Championship.
Jones' best year was 1988, when she co-led the Tour in victories with three. But her best stretch of play was late in her career, 1999 to 2003, when she finished in the Top 10 on the money list each year and posted her best scoring averages.
Jones was a very short driver of the ball, but was terrific with fairway woods and hybrids, and was noted for her excellent course management.
Following her retirement from full-time touring competition after the 2005 season, she did some broadcasting with the Golf Channel and developed a travel and tour company.
Jones was the captain of the U.S. team at the 2011 Solheim Cup.
Awards and Honors:
• Captain, U.S. Solheim Cup team, 2011
• Member, U.S. Solheim Cup team, 1990, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005
• Member, Georgia Golf Hall of Fame
