Rhonda Glenn Succumbs to Cancer


USGA historian and longtime promoter of women's golf, Rhonda Glenn, died on Friday after a long battle with cancer. She was 68.

In 1981, Glenn became the first female anchor at ESPN, joining the team on SportsCenter in 1981 just two years after the all-sports network was launched. She also authored the "Illustrated History of Women's Golf," which won the USGA International Book Award in 1992.

"The difference then was that wherever I went, I was the only woman," Glenn told ESPN in 2013. "I just felt, 'Well, I can do this and I'm going to apply.' "

Glenn worked alongside Chris Berman, ESPN's longest-tenured employee, who remembered her Friday after his round at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in California. "Rhonda was one of the kindest people I've ever met in or out of my business," Berman said.

"She had a smile and a gentle way about her that made everybody feel at home whether they were working with her, as I did in the early days of SportsCenter, or just sitting with and maybe having a bite to eat. She loved golf. I think she loved people more than golf, and we know how much she loved golf," Berman added. "Everything she did was from the heart."

Close friends with the great Mickey Wright, Glenn played a key role in Wright donating some 200 artifacts for a permanent display at the USGA Museum in Far Hills, N.J. Wright won 82 titles - including 13 majors - during her illustrious career.

Glenn was a golf commentator for ABC Sports for 16 years, and spent 17 years at the USGA. She was also a fine player, competing in 11 USGA championships, including two U.S. Women's Opens and five U.S. Women's Amateurs.

Glenn was honored by the Golf Writers Association of America in 2014 with its William D. Richardson Award for outstanding contributions to the game.

"Winning [this award] is a great honor, and also a surprise," said Glenn, who retired from the USGA in May 2013, in learning of the honor. "While the award is for outstanding contributions to golf, I'm very aware that, more importantly, the game has made such outstanding contributions to my life."

"In addition to her many accomplishments, what we will miss most about Rhonda is her generosity of spirit, her passion for the game and the people who play it, as well as her kindness and humility," USGA executive director Mike Davis said in a statement.

"In many respects, she truly represented all that was best about our game."