Biography
It most likely came as no surprise to those close to Kelly Tilghman that she became the first female lead golf announcer, covering the PGA Tour for the Golf Channel. Born in North Myrtle Beach, North Carolina in 1969, Tilghman's parents owned and ran a golf course for 22 years. Tilghman herself played in S.C. Junior Golf Association events during her youth, even competing with her future Golf Channel co-worker Charlie Rymer. She would go on to play golf for Duke University, winning the 1990 Lady Paladin Invitational. After wrapping her collegiate career, Tilghman played professionally in Australia, Europe and Asia from 1992-1996. Afterward, she began hosting various shows on the Golf Channel. Tilghman's working knowledge and natural charisma made her a great fit for the job, and soon she was covering the PGA Tour. Tilghman would become the subject of controversy in 2008 when, during a PGA Tour telecast, she responded to a joke by one of the other commentators that the younger players on the tour should gang up on Tiger Woods by joking that they should "Lynch him in the back alley." Tilghman was suspended due to the insensitivity of her remark and she issued a public apology. The following year, after Woods became a subject of controversy himself for his alleged extramarital affairs, Tilghman was one of only two reporters who was able to persuade Woods to speak about the matter on camera. In 2009, Tilghman provided her own voice for the "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10" video game.
