Connect with us

Published

on

Golfer Kathy Whitworth, who clocked up more wins than any other player on a single professional tour, male or female, has died aged 83.

No one has matched her outstanding 88 victories, not the legendary Sam Snead or Tiger Woods, nor Mickey Wright and Annika Sorenstam, who are considered two of the greatest female golfers in history.

Whitworth, who became the first woman to earn $1m (£829m) on the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association), passed away on Christmas Eve, her long-time partner said.

Bettye Odle did not divulge the cause of her partner’s death, but said that Whitworth died suddenly on Saturday night while celebrating with family and friends.

“Kathy left this world the way she lived her life – loving, laugh and creating memories,” Odle said in a statement released by the LPGA Tour.

Baseball star Frank Robinson of the Baltimore Orioles, left, and golfer Kathy Whitworth of San Antonio, Texas, hold their Man and Woman Athlete of the Year trophies in San Francisco, Calif., Feb. 11, 1967. The two were named by the Associated Press to receive the awards which were given by the Fraternal Order of Eagles. (AP Photo/Robert Houston)
Pic: AP
Image:
Baseball star Frank Robinson and Whitworth hold their AP athlete of the year trophies in 1967. Pic: AP

‘Winning never got old’

Whitworth won the first of her 88 titles in the Kelly Girls Opens in July 1962.

During her career, which spanned nearly a quarter of a century, she won six majors and smashed Mickey Wright’s record of 82 career wins when she captured the Lady Michelob in the summer of 1982.

Her final victory came in 1985 at the United Virginia Bank Classic.

“Winning never got old,” Whitworth once said.

Kathy Whitworth of San Antonio, Tex., holds out her arms to winners cup as she leads the field of 36 going into the final round Sunday, Nov. 27, 1965 with a 54 hole total of 216 in Women's Titleholders Golf Tournament at Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Horace Cort)
Pic: AP
Image:
Whitworth in 1965. Pic: AP

Whitworth’s record among men and women alike

Snead achieved a record 82 wins on the PGA Tour, a total Woods has since matched.

Wright won 82 times on the LPGA Tour, while Sorenstam had 72 when she retired after the 2006 season, aged 36.

None of them have yet touched her 88 victories.

“I don’t think about the legacy of 88 tournaments,” she once said.

“I did it because I wanted to win, not to set a record or a goal that no one else could surpass.

“I’m not some great oddity. I was just fortunate to be so successful.

“What I did in being a better player does not make me a better person.”

Kathy Whitworth responds to the crowd as she prepares to tee off during the Tournament of Champions golf tournament at Locust Hill Country Club in Pittsford, N.Y. on June 20, 2006. Former LPGA Tour player Whitworth, whose 88 victories are the most by any golfer on a single professional tour, died on Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022, night, her longtime partner said. She was 83. (Carlos Ortiz/Democrat & Chronicle via AP, File)
Image:
Whitworth during the Tournament of Champions in New York in 2006. Pic: AP

The one missing title…

Former golfer Betsy Rawls once told Golf Digest that “Kathy was the best player of the game that I have ever seen”.

The only title missing from her glittering career was the US Women’s Open, the biggest of the women’s majors.

Upon becoming the first woman to bring in $1m in career earnings in 1981, she said: “I would have swapped being the first to make a million for winning the Open.

“But it was a consolation which took some of the sting out of not winning.”

Kathy Whitworth wipes sweat from her face while waiting to tee off at the Raleigh LPGA golf tournament in Raleigh, N.C., July 22, 1972. Pic: AP
Image:
Whitworth waits to tee off at the Raleigh LPGA golf tournament, 1972. Pic: AP

‘Golf just grabbed me by the throat’

Whitworth was born in Monahans, a small west Texas town, and started playing at age 15 in Jal, New Mexico, on the nine-hole course built for the El Paso Natural Gas employees.

She turned professional when she was 19 and joined the LPGA Tour in December 1958.

“Golf just grabbed me by the throat,” Whitworth once told Golf Digest.

“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.”

Continue Reading

US

Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died, her family says

Published

on

By

Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died, her family says

Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died aged 41.

In a statement to Sky’s US partner network NBC News on Friday, her family said she took her own life in the Perth suburb of Neergabby, Australia, where she had been living for several years.

“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” her family said.

“She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.

“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors.

“In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.”

FILE - Virginia Giuffre, center, holds a news conference outside a Manhattan court in New York, Aug. 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
Image:
Pic: AP

Police said emergency services received reports of an unresponsive woman at a property in Neergabby on Friday night.

“Police and St John Western Australia attended and provided emergency first aid. Sadly, the 41-year-old woman was declared deceased at the scene,” a police spokeswoman said.

“The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspicious.”

Sexual assault claims

Prince Andrew attends the Royal Family's Christmas Day service at St. Mary Magdalene's church. File pic: Reuters
Image:
Prince Andrew has denied all claims of wrongdoing. File pic: Reuters

Ms Giuffre sued the Duke of York for sexual abuse in August 2021, saying Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The duke has repeatedly denied the claims, and he has not been charged with any criminal offences.

In March 2022, it was announced Ms Giuffre and Andrew had reached an out-of-court settlement – believed to include a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.

She stuck by her version of events until the end

Of the many dozens of victims of Jeffrey Epstein, it was Virginia Giuffre who became the most high-profile.

She was among the loudest and most compelling voices, urging criminal charges to be brought against Epstein, waving her right to anonymity in 2015.

She told how he and Ghislaine Maxwell groomed her and “passed around like a platter of fruit” to be used by rich and powerful men.

But her name and face became known around the world after she accused Prince Andrew of sexually abusing her when she was 17 years old.

The picture of her together with the prince and Maxwell at the top of a staircase, his hand around her waist, is the defining image of the whole scandal.

Prince Andrew said he had no memory of the occasion. But Giuffre stuck by her version of events until the end.

‘An incredible champion’

Sigrid McCawley, Ms Giuffre’s attorney, said in a statement that she “was much more than a client to me; she was a dear friend and an incredible champion for other victims”.

“Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring,” she said. “The world has lost an amazing human being today.”

“Rest in peace, my sweet angel,” she added.

Follow The World
Follow The World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

Dini von Mueffling, Ms Giuffre’s representative, also said that “Virginia was one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honour to know”.

“Deeply loving, wise, and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims,” she added. “She adored her children and many animals.

“She was always more concerned with me than with herself. I will miss her beyond words.

“It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.”

Ms Giuffre said at the end of March she had four days to live after a car accident, posting on social media that “I’ve gone into kidney renal failure”. She was discharged from hospital eight days later.

Raised mainly in Florida, she said she was abused by a family friend early in life, which led to her living on the streets at times as a teenager.

She said that in 2000, she met Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Undated handout photo issued by US Department of Justice of Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein, which has been shown to the court during the sex trafficking trial of Maxwell in the Southern District of New York. The British socialite is accused of preying on vulnerable young girls and luring them to massage rooms to be molested by Epstein between 1994 and 2004. Issue date: Wednesday December 8, 2021.
Image:
Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: US Department of Justice

Ms Giuffre said Maxwell then introduced her to Epstein and hired her as his masseuse, and said she was sex trafficked and sexually abused by him and associates around the world.

‘A survivor’

After meeting her husband in 2002, while taking massage training in Thailand at what she said was Epstein’s behest, she moved to Australia and had a family.

She founded the sex trafficking victims’ advocacy charity SOAR in 2015, and is quoted on its website as saying: “I do this for victims everywhere.

“I am no longer the young and vulnerable girl who could be bullied. I am now a survivor, and nobody can ever take that away from me.”

:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

Continue Reading

US

Trump met with Zelenskyy ahead of Pope’s funeral

Published

on

By

Trump met with Zelenskyy ahead of Pope's funeral

Donald Trump has met Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the Pope’s funeral, Vatican sources have told Sky News.

The US and Ukrainian presidents had a “very productive discussion”, according to a White House Official, and have also agreed to hold further talks after the service.

They are among world leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, who are attending the funeral of Pope Francis.

Follow live updates: Zelenskyy among world leaders joining thousands of mourners

There was applause from some of those gathered in St Peter’s Square when the Ukrainian leader walked out.

The former British ambassador to Russia Sir Tony Brenton said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy.

U.S President Donald Trump attends the funeral Mass of Pope Francis, at the Vatican, April 26, 2025. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
Image:
Trump and Zelenskyy meet for first time since Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters

He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine, and is their first face-to-face meeting after a very public row between the presidents at the White House in February.

More on Ukraine

The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.

They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.

Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.

Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.

He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.

Meanwhile, the Polish Armed Forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening, in a post on X.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

Continue Reading

US

Donald Trump says Russia and Ukraine are ‘very close to a deal’ – and says ‘two sides should now meet’

Published

on

By

Donald Trump says Russia and Ukraine are 'very close to a deal' - and says 'two sides should now meet'

Donald Trump has said Russia and Ukraine are “very close to a deal” with “most of the major points agreed” – as he called for the two sides to meet.

Shortly after arriving in Rome for Pope Francis’s funeral, the US president said high-level officials should now meet to “finish [the deal] off”.

“A good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

“They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to ‘finish it off’.

“Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW. We will be wherever is necessary to help facilitate the END to this cruel and senseless war!”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Ukraine-Russia peace talks explained

Throughout the week, the US president has criticised both Ukraine and Russia for failing to agree to a peace deal.

On Wednesday, he accused Mr Zelenskyy of harming talks on Truth Social, saying “the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE”.

More on Donald Trump

A day later, after nine people were killed in Kyiv after a Russian missile and drone strike, Mr Trump said: “Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!”

The president and other officials have also threatened to withdraw from negotiations if no progress is made toward a deal.

It comes after Mr Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss a US-brokered peace plan for Ukraine.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Putin-Witkoff meeting

The talks allowed Russia and the United States to “further bring their positions closer together” on “a number of international issues”, a Kremlin aide said.

Speaking earlier on the flight to Italy, Mr Trump said he hadn’t been fully briefed on Mr Witkoff and Mr Putin’s meeting – but added it was a “pretty good meeting”.

Read more:
US and Russia talks moving in ‘right direction’, top diplomat says
A ‘barbaric’ 24 hours in a ‘horrendous’ war

Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.

Ukraine has repeatedly said it would not accept a deal conceding land or handing over sovereignty to Russia.

However, Mr Trump said in an interview with TIME magazine that “Crimea will stay with Russia,” describing the region as a place where Moscow has “had their submarines” and “the people speak largely Russian”.

“Zelenskyy understands that, and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time,” he added. “It’s been with them long before Trump came along.”

When asked on Friday about Mr Trump’s comments, Mr Zelenskyy did not want to comment but repeated that recognising occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian is a red line.

Continue Reading

Trending