Kathy Whitworth

Despite continuing wins, those were not easy years for Whitworth personally. In 1986, the entirety of Whitworth's retirement fund disappeared when the company she had invested in, Technical Equities Corporation, went bankrupt. Whitworth described the effect of losing her retirement fund to Sonja Steptoe of Sports Illustrated, "It definitely took something out of me.… I felt like I'd worked so hard. I didn't know if I had the energy to start over." Two years later her mother was diagnosed with cancer. Her mother's cancer eventually went into remission, but Whitworth told Steptoe, "There was lots of heartbreak and lots of tears."

In 1991, Whitworth announced her retirement. Instead of focusing on competition she began holding golf clinics and participating in exhibitions and eventually joined the Senior LPGA tour. As of 2002, she teaches the Kathy Whitworth Women's School at the Grand Cypress Academy of Golf in Orlando, Florida. She regularly contributes articles to Golf for Women Magazine, and has written a book titled Golf for Women.

Throughout her career, Whitworth has exhibited the finer traits of professional competition: control, concentration, humility, and persistence. With 32 years of play in the LPGA under her belt, she witnessed and participated in the growth of women's professional golf. Shelley Hamlin, former president of the LPGA described Whitworth's career to Axthelm, "She didn't fall into greatness.… She grew into it. It's been an inspiration for all of us to watch her keep reaching for perfection."