Mann, Carol (1941—)

American golfer . Born Carol Ann Mann in Buffalo, New York, on February 3, 1941.

Won the Vare Trophy (1968) with an average score of 72.04, a record which remained for a decade; won the Western Junior championship (1958); won the Women's Western (1964); won the USGA Open (1965); won ten tournaments (1968); won eight tournaments (1969); won the Lawson's Open, the Border Classic, the George Washington Classic, and the Dallas Civitan (1975); carded 200 strokes for 54 holes in LPGA competition at the Canongate Country Club in Palmetto, Georgia (1978), to win the Lady Carling.

One of golf's most successful and consistent players, Carol Mann was known on the golf course for her dependable putting and controlled driving. In 1958, she won both the Western Junior and the Chicago Junior. Two years later, she won the Trans-Mississippi and the Chicago Women's Amateur. That same year, 1960, Mann turned pro. Five years later in 1965, she won the U.S. Women's Open; she would take 35 more LPGA tournaments in her career, but never another major. Her best year was in 1968, when she won the Vare trophy and ten titles; her average score was 72.04, a record which remained unbroken for ten years. In 1982, Mann was elected to the Women's Sports Hall of Fame. In the early 1980s, she became an NBC commentator for televised coverage of both men's and women's tours; she also served on the President's Council for Physical Fitness, the LPGA executive board, and the board of the Women's Sports Foundation. For two years (1974–75), Mann was president of the LPGA, at a time when the association pursued increased purses and status.

Karin Loewen Haag , Athens, Georgia