PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. --LPGA Hall of Fame legend Kathy Whitworth, who set a torrid pace over a two-decade period to become golf's all-time victory leader, has been named recipient of the 2006 PGA First Lady of Golf Award.

A native of Monahans, Texas, but who spent her youth in Jal, N.M., Whitworth will be honored May 24, 2006, in a 7 p.m. CDT ceremony at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, in Oklahoma City. The ceremony is in conjunction with the 67th Senior PGA Championship, May 25-28, 2006, at Oak Tree Golf Club in Edmond, Okla.

"Kathy Whitworth is golf's definition of a champion, having been both one of the finest players in history and a role model for aspiring women professionals," said Roger Warren, president, The PGA of America. "By her example, Kathy has brought more attention to golf throughout her remarkable career and has never wavered in supporting the game both within her community and throughout the country. The PGA of America is very pleased to present her with the PGA First Lady of Golf Award."

Whitworth, 66, concluded her competitive career in 1990, but not before establishing golf's victory record with 88 tournament titles from 1962-1985. She surpassed the 82 title mark of good friend and LPGA Hall of Famer Mickey Wright at the 1982 Lady Michelob, and broke PGA Tour legend Sam Snead's 84-victory standard at the 1984 Rochester International. Whitworth's final Tour victory came at the 1985 United Virginia Bank Classic.

A resident of Flower Mound, Texas, Whitworth was a standout athlete who enjoyed tennis in her youth. This was before she realized that her friends had shifted their interest to golf at the nearby nine-hole Jal Country Club, located in a small town located just eight miles north of the Texas state line.

She began playing golf at age 15, and was tutored by two renowned PGA Professionals, the late Hardy Loudermilk, the 1968 PGA Golf Professional of the Year, who introduced Whitworth in 1957 to the late Harvey Penick, who lived in Austin some 450 miles away.

Penick, a PGA teaching legend and World Golf Hall of Fame member, picked up the momentum from Loudermilk and molded Whitworth into one of the game's foremost competitors. After attending Odessa (Texas) College one semester, Whitworth turned professional in 1958, and joined the LPGA Tour the following year.

She began her remarkable victory march at the Kelly Girls Open in 1962. Whitworth went on to win six LPGA major championships, recorded an LPGA record 11 holes-in-one; became the first LPGA player to surpass the

$1 million dollar plateau in 1981; set a record with seven Vare Trophies for season scoring excellence and was a seven-time LPGA Player of the Year award winner.

In 1975, she was inducted as the seventh member of the LPGA Hall of Fame. Whitworth was named the first captain of the United States Solheim Cup Team in 1990, and repeated her captain's role in 1992.

"I am very honored and thrilled to receive this Award," said Whitworth. "I don't think of myself as someone who gave back to the game as much as what I got out of it. But, I do feel that I helped others by setting an example. You don't know what lives you can touch in your career. I feel an obligation to help people in any way that I can to enjoy the game as I have.

"I have a great respect for The PGA of America and it members, two of which were so instrumental in my life. Hardy Loudermilk was a wonderful man who was unselfish in helping me become a better player, and he inspired many assistants to become PGA members. Harvey Penick, who was such a terrific guy, helped me prepare my game for a career. Teaching is such hard work, and I understood why Harvey would get goose bumps when he saw a student hit a good shot. I felt I was one of the lucky ones who got to meet Hardy and Harvey."

Whitworth continues to be an active participant in corporate golf events; supports the LPGA Tour's campaign against breast cancer; and founded the Kathy Whitworth Junior Golf Invitational at Mira Vista Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. One of the past champions in the event is current LPGA Tour star Paula Creamer.

Whitworth was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1982, and also is a member of the New Mexico Hall of Fame, Texas Sports and Golf Hall of Fame and the Women's Sports Foundation Hall of Fame. In 2000, Whitworth was recognized by the LPGA during its 50th anniversary as one of its Top 50 players and teachers. She served three terms as president of the LPGA Tour Player Executive Committee from 1967-68; 1971 and 1989.

The PGA First Lady of Golf Award, inaugurated in 1998, is presented to a woman who has made significant contributions to the promotion of the game of golf.

PGA First Lady of Golf Recipients:

1998 - Barbara Nicklaus
1999 - Judy Rankin
2000 - No recipient
2001 - Judy Bell
2002 - Nancy Lopez
2003 - Renee Powell
2004 - Alice Dye
2005 - Carol Semple Thompson
2006 - Kathy Whitworth

Tickets to the 67th Senior PGA Championship are available by calling 1-800-PGA-GOLF (742-4653), or by visiting www.seniorPGA2006.com.

Celebrating its 90th anniversary, The PGA of America was founded in 1916, and is a not-for-profit organization that promotes the game of golf, while continuing to enhance the standards of the profession. The Association is comprised of more than 28,000 men and women PGA Professionals who are dedicated to growing participation in the game of golf.