University of Minnesota Athletics
Kate Hughes
9/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
| Kate Hughes Class of 2006 Golf 1985-89 |
Undoubtedly one of the greatest golfers in school history, Kate Hughes has a secure place in the Minnesota record book. She holds virtually every record for lowest scoring average, including the lowest 54-hole tournament score, lowest 72-hole tournament score and the second lowest 18-hole round in school history. Hughes captured seven NCAA collegiate tournament championships and is the only Golden Gopher to capture medalist honors at the Big Ten Championships, where she won the title in both 1988 and 1989. In 1989, she qualified for the U.S. Open, one of only four amateurs to qualify.
As the team captain, Hughes led the Gophers to their only NCAA Women’s Golf Championship appearance in 1989. Finishing third with the lowest 72-hole score in school history (297), she rallied her team to a 12th place finish, the highest ever in school history. Hughes is the only Minnesota golfer to earn All-America honors as she was named to the second team. She is also the only Minnesota golfer to be named Big Ten Player of the Year after she led the Golden Gophers to the school’s only Big Ten Conference Championship. Hughes earned All-Big Ten recognition in each of her final three years at Minnesota.
Equally impressive in the classroom, the business administration major was a two-time Academic All-American, a three-time Patty Berg Award recipient and three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. A native of Woodbury, Hughes received the Big Ten’s most prestigious award, the Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor for elite athletic and scholastic accomplishment in 1989. Following college, Hughes continued her competitive golf career in the LPGA for 10 years and maintained ties with golf through charity outings, teaching the game and by coaching corporations on the value of golf in the business setting.
M Club Hall of Fame