Gail Graham was born as Gail Anderson January 16, 1964 at Vanderhoof, BC, moved from British Columbia to Winnipeg with her parents and got her start on a golf career as a junior player at St. Charles Country Club.
She won the Manitoba Junior Women’s championship in 1982 and claimed two Manitoba Amateur Women’s titles in 1983 and 1985. Anderson was in a four – way tie for runner – up honours in the Canadian Junior Women’s championship in 1981. That year, she was one of three named as first recipients of the Canadian Golf Foundation scholarships.
She earned berths on the Manitoba Junior Women’s teams in 1980, 1981 and 1982, and on Manitoba Women’s Amateur teams in 1983, 1984 and 1985. The Manitoba junior team finished second in the national event in 1981. Anderson was voted Manitoba Amateur Golfer of the Year in 1983 and was a finalist for the honour in 1981 and 1985.
She attended Lamar University in Beaumont, TX, and was an NCAA Academic All-American in 1986. She was a member of Canada’s winning team in the Commonwealth Championship in 1987 and also was low amateur at the du Maurier Classic in the same season.
She became a professional in 1988 and won the Canadian Ladies PGA title that year. On the LPGA Tour, where she was known as Gail Graham, she won the Fieldcrest Cannon Classic in 1995 and the Alpine Australian Ladies Masters in 1997. She spent 14 seasons on the LPGA Tour, finishing inside the top 90 for 10 straight years. She posted top-10 finishes in three of the four major championships, included a tie for fourth in the 1988 du Maurier Classic. Her career earnings on the LPGA Tour totalled $1,285,769. She retired from competition in 2003.
In addition to her playing career, Graham served as president of the LPGA Tour, helping to guide the association through a re-branding exercise and to help hire a new commissioner. She is now serving as president of the LPGA Tournament Owners Association and also has performed as a regular on Canadian golf broadcasts as an analyst and on-course reporter for both men’s and women’s events.
Gail Graham is an inductee into the Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc., September 22, 2008.