Kathy Whitworth: LPGA record-breaker dies aged 83

Record-breaking former LPGA Tour player Kathy Whitworth has died at the age of 83.

Whitworth's 88 LPGA wins are the most on any professional tour, exceeding the men's PGA Tour record of 82 shared by Sam Snead and Tiger Woods.

She won six major titles - the Titleholders Championship in 1965 and 1966, the 1967 Western Open and the Women's PGA Championship in 1967, 1971 and 1975, the latter year also marking her induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Remembered for her rivalry with 13-time major winner Mickey Wright, Whitworth later became the United States' first Solheim Cup captain in 1990.

LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan said in a statement on the organisation's website: "The golf world and the world in general lost one of its most incredible women with the passing of Kathy Whitworth.

"Kathy was a champion in the truest sense of the word, both on the golf course and off."

Whitworth's partner Bettye Odle added: "It is with a heart full of love that we let everyone know of the passing of the winningest golf professional ever, Kathy Whitworth. Kathy passed suddenly Saturday night celebrating Christmas Eve with family and friends.

"Kathy left this world the way she lived her life, loving, laughing and creating memories."

Raised in Jal, New Mexico, Whitworth first began playing golf at the age of 15 with her grandfather's clubs and after winning titles as an amateur and attending Odessa College in Texas, turned pro at 19 and joined the LPGA Tour.

"I was really fortunate in that I knew what I wanted to do," Whitworth said in a remembrance published on the LPGA Tour's website. "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."

Her mother and father supported her amid a sluggish start to her pro career and she won the first of her 88 LPGA Tour titles at the Kelly Girls Open in 1962.

"I'm glad when I look back on it that I didn't succeed right away," Whitworth said.

"When it happened, I was ready."