Episode Seven: Birdies, Bogeys, and the LPGA
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The Oldest Individual Women’s Sport
Source: https://digital.nls.uk/golf-in-scotland/elite/mary-queen-of-scots.html
Mary Queen of Scots (pictured above) is widely believed to have been the first woman to play golf in the 1540s. She is also credited with coining the term caddie, when referring to her assistants. The first recorded golf tournament for women was on Jan 9th 1811 in Scotland.
Women’s Golf and the 1900s
The icons of early women’s golf. Women who shaped the game and blazed the trail.
Source: Conde Nast
Helen Hicks (above), was one of the 13 original founders of the LPGA in 1950. She signed with Wilson-Western Sporting Goods, becoming one of the first women to sign with a sporting goods company. She won two tournaments in 1937 and 1940 that would eventually become LPGA tour majors.
Source: IMBD
Babe Zaharias (above), made the first cut in three PGA Tour events in 1945, becoming the first and only woman to do so. She holds the record for most straight amateur wins at 14.
The Founding of the LPGA
Source: Makenzie Mack
The LPGA was founded in 1950 by 13 prominent golfers: Alice Bauer, Patty Berg, Bettye Danoff, Helen Detweiler, Marlene Bauer Hagge, Helen Hicks, Opal Hill, Betty Jameson, Sally Sessions, Marilynn Smith, Shirley Spork, Louise Suggs and Babe Zaharias. The LPGA is the oldest women’s pro sports league in the US.
Early LPGA Stars
ALTHEA FRIGGIN’ GIBSON!!!
Source: ESPN
Althea Gibson, the same Althea Gibson who was also a tennis phenom? YES! In 1964, Althea Gibson switched careers from tennis to golf and became the first Black woman to join the LPGA. She was also the first Black athlete to win a Grand Slam title in 1965 and was the only Wimbledon winner ever who was presented with the Wimbledon trophy by The Queen!!
Source: Wikipedia
Kathy Whitworth, (right), passed Mickey in Tour victories in 1985 with 88 total LPGA wins. Her 88 professional wins is the most of any golfer, male or female. She was also the first female golfer to reach $ 1 Million in career earnings in 1981.
Mickey Wright, (left), won 68 LPGA events in the 1960s and a career 82 LPGA tour wins.
Source: Golf Digest
Modern Golf Stars
Source: Southampton Golf Club
Lydia Ko holds the record for both youngest major winner at 18 years old and youngest tournament winner at 15 years old (in 2015 and 2012, respectively). She is the youngest golfer, male or female, to reach number 1 in the world. Lydia has 15 LPGA tour wins and 2 LPGA major wins. She also went viral for famously talking about her period to a reporter, shattering the shame and embarrassment women usually feel around talking about menstruation.
Source: CBS Sports
Michelle Wie West won the USGA Women’s Amateur at a record age of 13 in 2003, which made her the youngest to qualify for an amateur event and the youngest woman to win an amateur event. She has 1 major win and 5 LPGA tour wins.
Source: LPGA
Inbee Park has been the number one ranked player in Women’s World Golf Rankings for four separate runs (April 2013-June 2014, October 2014-February 2015, June 2015-October 2015, and April 2018-June 2018). She is only the fourth LPGA player to win three majors in a calendar year. She is the youngest player to win the US Open. She has 7 major LPGA tour wins and 14 other LPGA tour wins.
Source: LPGA