| Dottie Pepper | |
| Birth Date: | 17 August 1965 |
| Birth Place: | Saratoga Springs, New York, U.S. |
| Residence: | Saratoga Springs, New York, U.S. |
| College: | Furman University |
| Yearpro: | 1988 |
| Extour: | LPGA Tour (1988–2004) |
| Prowins: | 25 |
| Lpgawins: | 17 |
| Jlpgawins: | 1 |
| Futwins: | 1 |
| Otherwins: | 6 |
| Majorwins: | 2 |
| Nabisco: | Won: 1992, 1999 |
| Lpga: | T5: 1992 |
| Wusopen: | 3rd/T3: 1988, 1990, 2001 |
| Dumaurier: | 4th: 1993 |
| Wbritopen: | T24: 2003 |
| Award1: | LPGA Tour Money Winner |
| Year1: | 1992 |
| Award2: | LPGA Tour Player of the Year |
| Year2: | 1992 |
| Award3: | LPGA Vare Trophy |
| Year3: | 1992 |
| Award4: | GWAA Female Player of the Year |
| Year4: | 1992 |
| Award5: | Best Female Golfer ESPY Award |
| Year5: | 1993 |
| Award6: | GWAA William D. Richardson Award |
| Year6: | 2016 |
| Award7: | New York State Golf Assoc. Hall of Fame |
| Year7: | 2018 |
| Award8: | Old Tom Morris Award |
| Year8: | 2024 |
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.
Pepper was born in Saratoga Springs, New York. Her father, Don, 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.
Pepper 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".[1]
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.[2]
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.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5]
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. She was the recipient of the 2016 William D. Richardson Award, presented by the Golf Writers Association of America for her consistently outstanding contributions to golf. She is also a 2018 inductee to the New York State Golf Association Hall of Fame.[6] The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America awarded Pepper with its highest honor, the Old Tom Morris Award, in 2024, 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.[7]
Pepper resides in Saratoga Springs, New York with her third husband, golf writer and historian David Normoyle. They were married in May 2010.[8]
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan 29, 1989 | Oldsmobile LPGA Classic | −9 (69-74-67-69=279) | Playoff |  Beth Daniel | |
| 2 | May 13, 1990 | −16 (67-65-68=200) | 9 strokes | Chris Johnson | ||
| 3 | Mar 29, 1992 | Nabisco Dinah Shore | −9 (69-71-70-69=279) | Playoff | Juli Inkster | |
| 4 | Apr 19, 1992 | Sega Women's Championship | −11 (70-69-68-70=277) | 1 stroke | Danielle Ammaccapane | |
| 5 | Aug 2, 1992 | Welch's Classic | −10 (72-67-69-70=278) | 3 strokes | Stephanie Farwig | |
| 6 | Aug 30, 1992 | Sun-Times Challenge | Even (71-72-73=216) | Playoff | Beth Daniel Judy Dickinson | |
| 7 | Oct 19, 1993 | World Championship of Women's Golf | −4 (72-71-69-72=284) | 1 stroke | Donna Andrews Meg Mallon Michelle McGann Sherri Steinhauer | |
| 8 | Mar 5, 1994 | Chrysler-Plymouth Tournament of Champions | −1 (72-75-71-69=287) | 2 strokes | Nancy Lopez Lauri Merten | |
| 9 | Mar 12, 1995 | PING/Welch's Championship (Tucson) | −10 (70-68-72-68=278) | 3 strokes | Cindy Rarick Annika Sörenstam | |
| 10 | Aug 6, 1995 | McCall's LPGA Classic | −12 (69-67-68=204) | 3 strokes | Kelly Robbins | |
| 11 | Jun 23, 1996 | Rochester International | −10 (69-66-71=206) | 2 strokes | Annika Sörenstam | |
| 12 | Jun 30, 1996 | ShopRite LPGA Classic | −11 (67-66-69=202) | 4 strokes | Amy Benz | |
| 13 | Jul 21, 1996 | Friendly's Classic | −9 (68-69-73-69=279) | 1 stroke | Brandie Burton | |
| 14 | Sep 8, 1996 | Safeway LPGA Golf Championship | −14 (65-70-67=202) | 2 strokes | Chris Johnson | |
| 15 | Mar 28, 1999 | Nabisco Dinah Shore | −19 (70-66-67-66=269) | 6 strokes | Meg Mallon | |
| 16 | Aug 29, 1999 | Oldsmobile Classic | −18 (67-63-70-70=270) | 2 strokes | ||
| 17 | Nov 19, 2000 | Arch Wireless Championship | −9 (68-71-69-71=279) | 3 strokes |
LPGA Tour playoff record (3–5)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1989 | Oldsmobile LPGA Classic | Beth Daniel | Won with par on fifth extra hole | |
| 2 | 1992 | Nabisco Dinah Shore | Juli Inkster | Won with par on first extra hole | |
| 3 | 1992 | Sun-Times Challenge | Beth Daniel Judy Dickinson | Pepper won with par on sixth extra hole Daniel eliminated by par on fourth hole | |
| 4 | 1993 | PING/Welch's Championship (Massachusetts) | Missie Berteotti | Lost to birdie on fifth extra hole | |
| 5 | 1993 | State Farm Rail Classic | Helen Dobson | Lost to birdie on fifth extra hole | |
| 6 | 1995 | Pinewild Women's Championship | Rosie Jones | Lost to birdie on first extra hole | |
| 7 | 1998 | Star Bank LPGA Classic | Meg Mallon | Lost to par on first extra hole | |
| 8 | 2000 | AFLAC Champions |  Karrie Webb | Lost to par on first extra hole |
LPGA majors are shown in bold.
| Year | Championship | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| −9 (69-71-70-69=279) | Playoff 1 | Juli Inkster | |||
| −19 (70-66-67-66=269) | 6 strokes | Meg Mallon |
1 Defeated Inkster with par on first extra hole.
| Tournament | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft Nabisco Championship | T7 | T66 | |||||
| LPGA Championship | T45 | T39 | |||||
| U.S. Women's Open | T22 | T55 | 78 | T12 | T3 | T5 | |
| T35 | T18 |
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft Nabisco Championship | T11 | 2 | 1 | T30 | T19 | T11 | T23 | T11 | T9 | 1 | 2 | |
| LPGA Championship | T53 | T22 | T5 | T30 | T11 | T6 | T26 | T37 | CUT | T19 | T23 | |
| U.S. Women's Open | T3 | T5 | T6 | T17 | T12 | T13 | CUT | T14 | T11 | T14 | WD | |
| T27 | T6 | T20 | 4 | T14 | T12 | T27 | T14 | T34 |
| Tournament | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft Nabisco Championship | T2 | T51 | T24 | ||
| LPGA Championship | T17 | T67 | T70 | ||
| U.S. Women's Open | 3 | WD | WD | ||
| Women's British Open ^ | CUT | T24 |
Amateur
Professional
| Year | Total matches | Total W-L-H | Points won | Points % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | 20 | 13–5–2 | 14 | 70% | |
| 1990 | 3 | 2–1–0 | 2 | 67% | |
| 1992 | 3 | 0–2–1 | 0.5 | 17% | |
| 1994 | 3 | 3–0–0 | 3 | 100% | |
| 1996 | 4 | 3–1–0 | 3 | 75% | |
| 1998 | 4 | 4–0–0 | 4 | 100% | |
| 2000 | 3 | 1–1–1 | 1.5 | 50% |