Whitworth, who won on the LPGA Tour for nearly a quarter-century and was the first woman to earn $1 million for her career, died on Christmas Eve, according to her lifelong companion. She was 83 years old.

What was the death cause of Kathy Whitworth?

Bettye Odle did not reveal Whitworth’s cause of death, only that he died unexpectedly Saturday night while celebrating with family and friends.

“Kathy left this world the way she lived her life — loving, laugh and creating memories,” Odle said in a statement released by the LPGA Tour.

Whitworth won the first of her 88 titles in July 1962 at the Kelly Girls Opens. She won six majors during her career and broke Mickey Wright’s record of 82 career victories when she won the Lady Michelob in 1982.

Her final triumph came in the United Virginia Bank Classic in 1985.

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“Winning never got old,” Whitworth once said.

The only thing missing from her career was the U.S. Women’s Open, the most important of the women’s majors. In 1981, she became the first woman to earn more over $1 million in her career, saying, “I would have swapped being the first to make a million for winning the Open, but it was a consolation that took some of the pain out of not winning.”

Sorenstam described herself as the LPGA’s all-time victory leader and a “complete class act” who will be greatly missed on Twitter.

“Thanks for setting the bar so high, Kathy,” she wrote.

Whitworth was the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year in 1965 and 1967, handily defeating Wimbledon singles champion Billie Jean King. In 1982, Whitworth was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

In an eight-year period, she was named LPGA Player of the Year seven times (1966 through 1973). She was the leading money winner in eight seasons and seven times earned the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average.

However, she was identified by a single number – 88.

Snead set a PGA Tour record with 82 victories, which Woods has since matched. Wright won 82 times on the LPGA Tour, while Sorenstam had 72 wins when she retired at the age of 36 following the 2006 season.

“I think Mickey had the best swing and was definitely the greatest golfer,” Betsy Rawls told Golf Digest at the time. “However, Kathy was the best game player I’ve ever seen.”

Whitworth was born in the little West Texas town of Monahans and learnt to play golf in New Mexico. She began at the age of 15 in Jal, New Mexico, on a nine-hole course designed for El Paso Natural Gas employees.

She quickly became a two-time New Mexico State Amateur champion. And she turned pro at the age of 19 and joined the LPGA Tour in December 1958, after briefly attending Odessa (Texas) College.

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“I was really fortunate in that I knew what I wanted to do,” Whitworth once told Golf Digest. “Golf just grabbed me by the throat. I can’t tell you how much I loved it. I used to think everyone knew what they wanted to do when they were 15 years old.”

Wright had the more visually appealing swing. Whitworth was all about winning and grinding.

Whitworth won eight times in 1963 and 1965 and eleven times in 1968. She never earned more than $50,000 in any of those years. After all these years, the LPGA Tour’s total prize pool for 2023 will exceed $100 million.

Whitworth continues to run junior clinics and play in the game.

“I don’t think about the legacy of 88 tournaments,” she once said. “I did it because I wanted to win, not to set a record or a target that no one else could surpass. I’m not some outcast. I was simply blessed to be so successful. What I did to improve as a player does not make me a better person.

“When I’m asked how I would like to be remembered, I feel that if people remember me at all, it will be good enough.”