Dottie Pepper, Former Portland Classic Winner in 1996

PORTLAND, Oregon – As the Standard Portland Classic approaches on August 14, we wanted to look back at a former champion, Dottie Pepper, who won the Portland Classic in 1996.

Pepper had 17 wins on the LPGA Tour, which is tied for 33^rd most all time - including two major championships (1992, 1999). She won the LPGA Tour Player of the Year in 1992 after winning four tournaments that season.

She became a rookie on the LPGA Tour in 1988, but before that was the low amateur at the 1984 U.S. Women’s Open and an All-American three times at Furman University.

On top of that, she competed in the Solheim Cup six times with a 13-5-2 record which is one the best records in U.S. Team history.

But after the big season in 1992, she won once in 1993 and 1994, twice in 1995, before a breakthrough happened in 1996.

“My main memories of winning (the Portland Classic) in 1996 was that it was an exclamation point on a stretch of tournaments when I won 4 of 6 starts after being stuck in a brutal slump,” Pepper said. “I had actually withdrawn from an event after missing the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles, went back to basics and two-a-day practice sessions to rediscover the magic.”

She won the Rochester International (10-under) on June 23, ShopRite LPGA Classic (11-under) on June 30, Friendly's Classic (9-under) on July 21, and the Portland Classic (14-under) on September 8, all in 1996.

 Pepper won $82,500 for winning the Portland Classic that year.  

“It was also an event largely forgotten because Tiger won his final U.S. Amateur that same Sunday and on Monday famously said, ‘Hello World.’” Pepper said.

She would go on to retire after the 2004 season and would become a golf commentator in 2005 for NBC and The Golf Channel.

“I’ve only returned a few times since winning in 1996 because I no longer work for Golf Channel. But Portland will always be the “remember where you were” place when the events of 9/11 happened,” Pepper explained. "The last time I returned had to have been pre-2012, my last with NBC/Golf Channel, but I always get photos from players of the winners’ banners. Brings back wonderful memories of tackling a great field on a golf course that doesn’t reward mediocrity.”

In 2015, she joined CBS, covering PGA Tour events alongside Jim Nantz and various other golf commentators, often times covering the final grouping on golf’s biggest stage.

“My favorite parts of my job with CBS now are still being in the flow of competitive golf— hearing it, seeing it, smelling it,” Pepper said. “Sensory awareness. It is a combination of both pressure and privilege, using as few words as possible to paint the picture.”

The longest-running non-major LPGA Tour event, the Standard Portland Classic, returns to Columbia Edgewater Country Club on August 14 in Portland, Oregon. The tournament began in 1972.