Table of Biography
Dottie Pepper was an American professional golfer and television golf broadcaster. Dottie Pepper quit the game due to a series of injuries whereas she quit her high-paying job as a gold commentator to reconnect with her hometown and spend more time with her family.
Early Life
Dottie Pepper was born on 17 August 1965 and is currently 58 years old. She is originally from Saratoga Springs, New York, and her zodiac sign is Leo. Her parents are father Don and mother Lynn Pepper.
Her father was a major league baseball player. He also appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a “rookie to watch”, alongside Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, in 1968. However, Don appeared in only four games for the Detroit Tigers.
At present, her father is a facilities manager for the Bob Evans restaurant chain whereas her mother works for Visiting Angels. They reside in Columbus, Ohio. She also has a sister named Jackie who resides in Bellingham, Mass.
Pretty much the rest of her family is in Saratoga including her Aunt Cathy and Uncle Jack.
More about her early life
Additionally, she is an avid gardener and her nickname is Hot Pepper. Though she grew up as a skier, she discovered golf at an early age. Likewise, she first had a club in her hand at the age of 7, and by age 15, she had won the 1981 New York State Women’s Amateur.
Moreover, Dottie’s first real teacher was George Pulver. He was a local pro who was in his 70s when he started working with Pepper. He was nearly 88 when he passed away and Dottie was in her junior year at Furman at the time.
Her career began with big amateur victories in her home state of New York. She bagged the 1981 state amateur and the 1981 and 1983 New York Junior Amateur titles. Dottie was also a member of the 1981 Junior World Cup team and a low amateur at the 1984 U.S. Women’s Open.7
She attended Furman University and there she earned five collegiate victories. During this time, Dottie also earned the name All-American three times.
Caption: Dottie Pepper’s signed photograph of her playing golf during her youth. Source: History For Sale
Dottie Pepper – Net Worth 2024
Moreover, Dottie Pepper has earned a massive amount of money from her golf career and the contracts she used to deal with.
It all adds up to a net worth estimation of having earned a massive amount of money from her golf career and the contracts she deals with, which is estimated to be $6.28 million.
At present, she is not involved in commentating and has settled in her hometown after 25 years of busy schedules.
Professional Life
Dottie Pepper was a fierce competitor who was not afraid to let her feelings show on the course. She started out playing as hot as her temperament until a series of injuries prematurely ended her career.
She has won over a dozen titles during her career just like the golfer Patty Berg. Pepper had a lot of ability, but far greater than her skill was her work ethic and all-consuming desire to win — a mindset that makes a not-too-compassionate listener to complaints of current players.
Dottie joined the LPGA Tour in 1988 and won 17 official events on the Tour.
This includes two major championships, the 1992 and 1999 Nabisco Dinah Shores. Dottie’s 19-under-par finish in the year 1999’s victory still stands as the lowest score about par in a major championship.
This was the first 19-under finish in major championship history in both men’s and women’s tournaments. Dottie then topped the money list in 1992 and finished in the top ten in 10/11 seasons between 1991 and 2001. She also played for the United States in the Solheim Cup six times.
More details
Additionally, Dottie finished runner-up in the ANA Inspiration three times in addition to her two wins there. She also had overall posts 17 Top 10 finishes in majors. Pepper also was one of the top players in the first decade of the Solheim Cup.
Her intensity served her well in that setting and she also compiled an overall record of 13-5-2 in the matches, including five wins in six singles matches.
More precisely, Dottie’s first victory came at the 1989 Oldsmobile LPGA Classic in a five-hole playoff win over future Hall-of-Famer Beth Daniel. Similarly, early in her career, her temperament didn’t always go over well with other players.
People sometimes viewed her as rude or standoffish and someone who was not always polite or political. Some of her fellow competitors even called her “Snottie Dottie” during this time.
Dottie Pepper also competed as Dottie Mochrie from 1988 through 1995. It is her married name but she returned to using Pepper following her divorce. Further, Dottie’s persona mellowed in later years.
However, this fiery disposition always went over well with fans and produced some great golf. She claimed the first of her two majors, beating another Hall of Famer in a playoff, Juli Inkster at the 1992 Nabisco Dinah Shore.
Caption: (L-R) Susan Halstead, Dottie Pepper, and Jared Berggren outside Halstead’s Saratoga office. Source: Lawrence White/Saratoga Living
After Retirement from Golf
Due to injury, Dottie Pepper played only one tournament in 2002. In July 2004 she announced her retirement at the end of the season at the age of 39. Then in 2005, she began work as a golf commentator for NBC and The Golf Channel.
As a commentator, Dottie reported on both men’s and women’s events.
During the 2007 Solheim Cup, she called the American team “choking freaking dogs”, hence causing some stir while commentating for the Golf Channel. She thought the network had cut to a commercial when the comment was uttered, but it was still broadcasting live.
Some players and fans were very upset by this and later she quickly apologized for her poor choice of words.
Later in July 2012, captain Meg Mallon named Dottie as one of two assistant captains for the U.S. Team at the 2013 Solheim Cup. Then she retired from commentating as well in December 2012.
She was tired of traveling and instead wanted to spend more time promoting junior golf as a PGA of America board member.
In May of 2013, Dottie signed a contract with ESPN to return to commentating on a limited basis. She started working mainly in major tournaments on the PGA, LPGA, and Champions Tours.
Then in October 2015, she signed a contract with CBS, replacing David Feherty.
David had left the network to work for NBC and to continue his Feherty series on the Golf Channel. She took up the former commentator’s role as an on-course reporter as well as doing occasional tower announcing.
Caption: Dottie Pepper working as an ESPN Golfcommentator. Source: FTVLive
Relationship Status
Currently, Dottie Pepper is married to David Normoyle. The couple tied the knot in the year 2010. Likewise, David was a former assistant director of the USGA Museum before starting his own business. His business is about teaching golf clubs how to preserve their histories.
David is her third husband and before him, she was married to Doug Mochrie from 1986 to 1995. At the time of this marriage, Dottie also used her husband’s last name during her professional games. But one of Dottie’s previous husband’s identity is unknown at present.
Dottie Pepper – Social Media
Dottie Pepper doesn’t seem to have personal accounts on any social media platform.
Dottie Pepper – Body Measurements
The former golfer’s registered height is 5 feet 5 inches and her weight is around 70 kgs. Moreover, her chest-waist-hip measurements are 38-26-37 inches respectively. She has beautiful blue eyes and blonde hair.