‘I love Kentucky.’ UK golf great returns for Woodford Legends Invitational
University of Kentucky golf great Nancy Scranton returns to the Bluegrass this weekend for the Woodford Legends Invitational, an annual tournament on the Legends of the LPGA Tour.
Scranton — who competed on the LPGA Tour from 1985 to 2008 — transferred to UK in 1983 after two seasons at Florida State.
“And I have to say that I certainly wish it would have been four years,” Scranton said.
An All-Southeastern Conference honoree in 1982, a 2012 UK Athletics Hall of Fame inductee and a member of the Legends Hall of Fame since 2017, Scranton remained an LPGA competitor for 23 years; she earned three career wins on tour over that span, including the 1991 du Maurier Classic.
Scranton, 64, began playing golf around the age of 15 after growing up around the game.
“My dad played, my sister played,” Scranton said. “I’m like, ‘I’m not gonna do that because that’s what they do.’”
A native of Southern Illinois, Scranton played “all different sports,” but was inspired by decorated golfer Nancy Lopez around the time she decided to dedicate herself to her family sport.
“It was right when Nancy Lopez was a rookie on tour,” Scranton said. “And I thought, ‘Maybe I can do this.’ So she kind of inspired me, just seeing how much publicity she got as a rookie she came out. I think she won nine events as a rookie, and got a lot of publicity for the LPGA Tour, and I thought, ‘Maybe I’ll do this.’”
Scranton fell in love with the sport, finding joy and success in a game she wasn’t necessarily “born and bred to do,” despite its popularity in her household.
“I ended up getting better and playing in college,” Scranton said. “And then went out and qualified for the tour and all of a sudden I was there.”
During her college career, Scranton secured three top-five finishes. Scranton earned first place in both the 1984 Western Kentucky Invitational and the 1984 Southern Illinois University Invitational. To this day, Scranton remains the only women’s golfer in the UK Athletics Hall of Fame.
Scranton surpassed $1 million in career earnings in 1993 when she tied for sixth place at the SAFECO Classic in Kent, Washington, and eclipsed $2 million with a tie for 10th place in the 2001 LPGA Classic. Later that year, she married Mark Williams, and gave birth to twins Libby Jane and Luke in 2004.
The former Wildcat, who now lives in St. Augustine, Florida, participated in last year’s Woodford Legends Invitational in Versailles, an opportunity that allowed her to return to Central Kentucky and reunite with friends, former competitors and Kentucky teammates alike.
“It was great,” Scranton said. ”Had a few of my teammates come out and we got together. I hadn’t seen a couple of them for several years. And it was really, really fun. We had a nice little reunion when they were here. … I just love the feeling of being back here. It feels like this is where I should have been.”
Prior to Scranton’s professional debut, the LPGA Tour hosted the Bluegrass Invitational at Hunting Creek Country Club in Prospect, Ky. from 1965 to 1974. But a lack of consistent events in the commonwealth meant that, once Scranton earned her tour card on her first attempt, she played the majority of her golf elsewhere.
“I love Kentucky,” Scranton said. “When I was playing on tour, I didn’t get back here that often. And it’s just nice to be back in the area.”
The Woodford Legends Invitational tournament, now in its third year, invites LPGA Legends and top in-state amateurs alike for a two-player team event. From now through Sunday, the event features a full schedule of programming meant to celebrate all generations of women’s golf.
From something as simple as thinking the younger generation tees off “a little differently,” to serving as someone else’s Nancy Lopez and inspiring them to keep going, Scranton believes the side-by-side nature of events like the Woodford Legends Invitational is “good for both sides,” providing both the past and the future of women’s golf a different perspective on the game they all love.
“I think it’s such a great (thing) when we do this,” Scranton said. “We have done this a few times where the legends and either high school, college or even early professionals play, and I think it’s good for both sides. Especially the younger girls. They can get to see that this is not maybe out of reach, and that we’re human, just like they are. And they’re like, ‘Oh, maybe I really, actually could do that.’ And, you know, they see us having fun, because this is fun, it’s competition, but we’re also out there, and we’re certainly all trying to win. That never goes away.”
Though the competitiveness sticks around, so does the camaraderie — particularly given the nature of the team event. This year, the five-time Legends of the LPGA champion will compete alongside former University of Tennessee golfer Ashli Bunch, who made her professional debut in 1997.
Because golf is a game for everybody, regardless of age or approach, Scranton said she was “lucky” to play on tour with all kinds of different people. She played with the late Marlene Hagge, one of the founders of the LPGA Tour and a World Golf Hall of Famer, among other trailblazers, and understands the value of continuing the work of those who came before.
“Every generation reaps the benefits of what the one before did,” Scranton said. “But you also can give to the next generation. … I mean, you hear the stories from the people that did it, that they had to line the course, and they had to rope the course and they had to write the checks at the end of the tournament. And these women did that for us, and you feel like, ‘We owe that to the next generation.’ And it’s just, it’s really amazing to have known the people that did that. Because you go, ‘Oh, well, it’s just been around, and the LPGA Tour has just always been here,’ but without those women, it wouldn’t have been there.”
Each round of this weekend’s tournament starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Day passes for spectators ages 17 and up are $15 apiece, with two-day ticket packages available for $20. Fans 17 and under get in free, and active military members and first responders will receive free admission on Sunday only with an ID.
This story was originally published June 4, 2025 at 11:38 AM.
