University of Tennessee Athletics
Pepper, St. Charles To Be Honored
October 07, 2014 | Women's Golf
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- As part of the yearly tradition at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship, Mercedes-Benz and the event participants will honor some of the greats in women's golf history at the Legends of Women's Golf Awards.
The awards banquet will take place on Friday, October 17 at 6:30 p.m. The event will be held at the Cherokee Country Club.
This year, the Professional Recipient will be Dottie Pepper, and the Amateur Recipient will be Jean St. Charles. Both have a long history of promoting the sport of women's golf and have had successful careers in the profession.
In its 18th year of being an event, the Mercedes-Benz Championship has honored 34 women. The awards were created to recognize the outstanding golf achievements and contributions to society by female golfers. Those awarded are honored for being ambassadors of the game of golf as well as being outstanding role models for women collegiate golfers.
Legends of Women's Golf Bios
Dottie Pepper | Professional Recipient
Dottie Pepper, a native of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., was a fierce competitor, not afraid to let her feelings show on the course. Her career began with amateur victories in New York, winning 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 was named All-America three times before turning pro to join the LPGA in 1987. She was inducted into the Furman University Hall of Fame in 1992.
Her first victory came at the 1989 Oldsmobile LPGA Classic in a 5-hole playoff win over Beth Daniel. Pepper claimed the first of her two majors at the 1992 Nabisco Dinah Shore. She won the event again in 1999 with a record-setting 10-under par, still the lowest score in relation to par at any LPGA or PGA tour. Pepper was consistent throughout the 1990s, leading the tour in wins in 1992 and 1996.
Pepper earned numerous awards throughout her career including the 1993 ESPY Award winner for Outstanding Women's Golf Performer of the Year.
Due to injuries, she retired following the 2004 season but has since then remained close to the sport. Pepper is an assistant captain for the Solheim Cup, having made six overall appearances with a 13-5-2 record. Her record is one of the best ever in U.S. Team History. During 1994 and 1995, she compiled a 10-1 recording in the three Solheim Cups during that stretch.
Pepper currently works as a commentator for ESPN.
- Bio courtesy of LPGA.com
Jean St. Charles | Amateur Recipient
A member of the Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame, Jean St. Charles didn't have the typical golf upbringing. Involved with sports starting at a young age, she didn't play golf until her 30s. Before a golf career, she received an Associate of Arts Degree in Sociology from the University of Chattanooga and then worked for UnumProvident Corporation for five years. It was on an evening that two members of the Signal Mountain Golf and Country Club asked if she would be interested in joining their club that she made the decision to join.
For over 50 years, St. Charles has been involved with golf from being a player to an official. As a player, St. Charles is a four-time Signal Mountain Golf and Country Club's Women's Championships winner ('66, '81, '83, and '86). She also won the 1967 Chattanooga Women's Amateur Championship. Her most recent accomplishment was being a runner-up at the 1990 Tennessee Senior Women's Amateur Championship.
St. Charles is a member of nine different golf organizations, including the Tennessee Golf Association. Since ending her playing career, she has been a rules official for over 13 different championship events and has held a rules chairman position for many different events. Since 1990, St. Charles has devoted herself to women's golf at both the high school, amateur and collegiate levels.
- Bio courtesy of Jean St. Charles
