When a donor considered supporting women’s golf at Furman University in honor of a former player, he had just one name in mind: the CBS Golf analyst, former LPGA and Furman women’s golf standout Dottie Pepper ’87.
“Dottie is an icon,” said Alec Taylor ’75, who established, with his wife Susan Taylor, the Dorothy L. Pepper ’87 Endowed Scholarship for Women’s Golf. “She’s the best announcer in professional sports. She’s modest, a worldclass golfer. Her comments are so insightful. Everything about her epitomizes Furman.”
“We hope this is the impetus for others to come along and donate,” said Taylor, a former chair of Furman’s Board of Trustees. The women’s golf endowment is open to contributions from donors who want to support and expand scholarship funding for women’s golf.
Cindy Davis ’84, Pepper’s former teammate at Furman, a former president of Nike Golf and a current Furman trustee, points out that Pepper, who holds the lowest score relative to par in any major tournament at 19 under, is the perfect ambassador for women’s golf as she reached the pinnacle of the sport as a player and now, in front of millions of viewers, in broadcasting.
“We’re all proud of Dottie’s accomplishments on and off the golf course. Her authenticity, integrity and preparation shine through in everything she does,” Davis said. “We always knew she was special. Now, everyone else does too.”
“Furman Women’s Golf has achieved transformational success on and off the course as one of the premier programs in the nation,” said Jason Donnelly, vice president for Intercollegiate Athletics at Furman. “Dottie Pepper is the embodiment of these accomplishments as both a person and a professional. Congratulations to Dottie on this remarkable honor and thank you to our generous donors for making this inspirational gift.”
Pepper was surprised and humbled by the scholarship in her name. It’s a full-circle moment; she played on a scholarship provided by a family she never met. She’s looking forward to mentoring players who benefit from the Dorothy L. Pepper Endowed Scholarship. “It’s an opportunity to touch so many networks that golf provides and open doors to, and to provide a valuable education, too. You can graduate with a degree from Furman and know that you’ve applied yourself. It means something,” Pepper said.
Pepper was heavily recruited out of high school in Saratoga Springs, New York. Furman had seen remarkable success with players such as Betsy King ’77 and Beth Daniel ’78, who had won the NCAA championship in 1976. Brad Faxon ’83 was an all-American on the men’s team.
Pepper chose Furman, a top-10 team at the time, because “My interests were golf, to get a degree in four years and to get an education that was worth something,” she said.
Pepper was low-amateur at the U.S. Women’s Open after her first year at Furman. In the NCAA Championship she finished in the top-five three times, including runner-up in 1985. She was a three-time All American, graduated with a degree in health sciences and turned professional the day after commencement. On the LPGA Tour she won 17 times, including two major championships. As an analyst with CBS Sports, hers is one of the clearest voices offering keen insight, shot-by-shot on the course and on bigger issues through her blog, Pepper’s Perspectives.
Furman “punches above its weight” in a lot of areas, Taylor said. “At the top of the list would be women’s golf.”
In 2020 Natalie Srinivasan ’20, now a medical student, won consensus National Player of the Year honors. Anna Morgan ’24, who won eight collegiate titles, was named SoCon Female Athlete of the Year three times. This year, Audrey Ryu ’27, a concert pianist and biology major with a 4.0 GPA, played in the NCAA Champtionship in a field full of golfers from Stanford, Vanderbilt, Tennessee and other large schools. She made the cut and finished her three rounds eight over.
These players stand out even though women’s golf is more competitive than it was in the 1980s. Davis said, “the landscape for women’s sports has changed dramatically, and college sports especially.” The number of teams have increased, and it’s more competitive to attract top talent.
In 2022, Furman opened the Davis and Faxon Training Facility at REK, a state-of-the-art indoor complex that elevates recruiting potential. Endowed scholarships through giving, Davis and Taylor said, are another way to maintain the excellence of the women’s program.
Whether players become professional or not, golf scholarships can still boost their careers and enhance their educations. “The Furman network is very strong,” Pepper said. She has mentored several Furman student-athletes, and helped some who were interns with her at CBS. She walks the links with a Furman-branded yardage book tucked into her back pocket that was a gift from former intern Marra Burton ’20.
Pepper is “so Furman,” Taylor said. To honor her legacy through scholarships is “supporting a group of women and a coach who do it the Furman way. The players know their first job is to get an education,” and they represent Furman at the highest levels of sport.
The scholarship named for Pepper helps “shine a light on Furman’s program and makes a commitment to make sure the program stays super competitive,” Davis said.
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