Titleholders Championship
Golf tournament formerly on the LPGA Tour
This article is about the women's major golf championship played from 1937 to 1966 and again in 1972. For the regular (non-major) golf tournament played from 1990 to 1999, see
Mercury Titleholders Championship . For the season-ending tournament on the LPGA Tour played since 2011, see
CME Group Titleholders .
The Titleholders Championship was a women's golf tournament played from in 1937 to 1966 and again in 1972. It was later designated a major championship by the LPGA Tour .
History
The Titleholders Championship was founded in 1937. Like the Masters Tournament for men, which began a few years earlier, it was played in Augusta, Georgia , but at Augusta Country Club , not at the adjacent Augusta National Golf Club . The winners of various amateur and professional events were invited to take part, although most of the competitors were amateurs. There were very few women professionals at the time and most earned their living as club or teaching professionals.
The Titleholders itself did not offer prize money until 1948, when a prize fund of $600 was introduced, with half of the money going to the professional placing highest in the event. The tournament was discontinued after November 1966 ,[ 1] but was revived for one year in 1972 , when it was played in May at the Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina .[ 2] All of these stagings are now recognized as major championships by the LPGA , even though the organization was not founded until 1950.
Winners
Year
Winner
Country
Score
Runner(s)-up
Winners' share ($ )
Purse ($)
Ref
1972
Sandra Palmer
United States
283
Judy Rankin , Mickey Wright
3,000
20,000
[ 2] [ 3]
1967–71
No tournament
1966
Kathy Whitworth
United States
291
Judy Kimball-Simon , Mary Mills
1,500
10,000
[ 1] [ 4]
1965
Kathy Whitworth
United States
287
Peggy Wilson
1,500
10,000
[ 5] [ 4]
1964
Marilynn Smith
United States
289
Mickey Wright
1,300
7,500
[ 4]
1963
Marilynn Smith
United States
292PO
Mickey Wright
1,235
7,500
[ 4]
1962
Mickey Wright
United States
295PO
Ruth Jessen
1,330
7,500
[ 4]
1961
Mickey Wright
United States
299
Patty Berg , Louise Suggs
1,200
7,000
[ 4]
1960
Fay Crocker
Uruguay
303
Kathy Cornelius
1,140
6,000
[ 4]
1959
Louise Suggs
United States
297
Betsy Rawls
1,000
5,000
[ 6]
1958
Beverly Hanson
United States
299
Betty Dodd
1,000
5,275
[ 6]
1957
Patty Berg
United States
296
Anne Quast (a)
1,000
5,000
[ 6]
1956
Louise Suggs
United States
302
Patty Berg
1,000
5,000
[ 6]
1955
Patty Berg
United States
291
Mary Lena Faulk
1,000
5,000
[ 6]
1954
Louise Suggs
United States
293
Patty Berg
1,000
3,000
[ 6]
1953
Patty Berg
United States
294
Betsy Rawls
1,000
2,200
[ 6]
1952
Babe Zaharias
United States
299
Betsy Rawls
1,000
2,100
[ 6]
1951
Pat O'Sullivan (a)
United States
301
Beverly Hanson
1,500
[ 6]
1950
Babe Zaharias
United States
298
Claire Doran (a)
700
1,500
[ 6]
1949
Peggy Kirk (a)
United States
299
Patty Berg , Dorothy Kirby (a)
[ 7]
1948
Patty Berg
United States
308
Peggy Kirk (a), Babe Zaharias
[ 8]
1947
Babe Zaharias (a)
United States
304
Dorothy Kirby (a)
300
[ 9]
1946
Louise Suggs (a)
United States
314
Eileen Stulb (a)
[ 10]
1943–45
No tournament
1942
Dorothy Kirby (a)
United States
239^
Eileen Stulb (a)
[ 11]
1941
Dorothy Kirby (a)
United States
224^
Helen Sigel
[ 12]
1940
Helen Hicks (a)
United States
336
Helen Dettweiler
[ 13]
1939
Patty Berg (a)
United States
319
Dorothy Kirby (a)
[ 14]
1938
Patty Berg (a)
United States
311
Jane Cothran (a)
[ 15]
1937
Patty Berg (a)
United States
240^
Dorothy Kirby (a)
[ 16]
(a) - denotes amateur
PO - won in playoff
^ - 54 holes
Multiple winners
This table lists the golfers who have won more than one Titleholders Championship.
Deceased golfer †
Grand Slam winners ‡
Deceased Grand Slam winners ∞
Country
Golfer
Total
Years
United States
Patty Berg †
7
1937, 1938, 1939, 1948, 1953, 1955, 1957
United States
Louise Suggs ∞
4
1946, 1954, 1956, 1959
United States
Babe Zaharias †
3
1947, 1950, 1952
United States
Dorothy Kirby †
2
1941, 1942
United States
Mickey Wright ‡
2
1961, 1962
United States
Marilynn Smith †
2
1963, 1964
United States
Kathy Whitworth †
2
1965, 1966
Winners by nationality
This table lists the total number of titles won by golfers of each nationality as a major.
References
^ a b "Whitworth rules Titleholders" . St. Petersburg Times . (Florida). Associated Press. November 28, 1966. p. 4C.
^ a b "Palmer shreds Titleholders with 283 win" . St. Petersburg Times . (Florida). Associated Press. May 30, 1972. p. 7C.
^ LPGA Tournament Chronology - 1970-79
^ a b c d e f g LPGA Tournament Chronology - 1960-69
^ "Women's Golf" . Spokane Daily Chronicle . (Washington). Associated Press. November 29, 1965. p. 16.
^ a b c d e f g h i j LPGA Tournament Chronology - 1950-59
^ "Peggy Kirk Wins Augusta Tourney" . The Evening Independent . St. Petersburg, Florida . Associated Press . March 21, 1949. p. 10. Retrieved May 14, 2010 .
^ "Berg Captures Titleholders Golf Tourney" . The Spartanburg Herald . Spartanburg, South Carolina . Associated Press . March 22, 1948. p. 7. Retrieved May 14, 2010 .
^ "Zaharias Cops Golf Crown" . The Milwaukee Sentinel . Milwaukee, Wisconsin . Associated Press . March 31, 1947. pp. 2–4. Retrieved May 14, 2010 .
^ "Suggs Wins Titleholders Golf Event" . St. Petersburg Times . St. Petersburg, Florida . United Press . April 13, 1946. p. 12. Retrieved May 14, 2010 .
^ "Miss Kirby Keeps Title" . Reading Eagle . Reading, Pennsylvania . April 3, 1942. p. 20. Retrieved May 14, 2010 .
^ "Dorothy Kirby Ties Own Golf Record" . The Pittsburgh Press . Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania . April 10, 1941. p. 35. Retrieved May 14, 2010 .
^ "Augusta Golf to Mrs. Harb". San Antonio Light . San Antonio, Texas . Associated Press . January 19, 1940. p. 11A.
^ "Patty Berg Again Is Augusta Winner" . Ellensburg Daily Record . Ellensburg, Washington . Associated Press . January 20, 1939. p. 6. Retrieved May 14, 2010 .
^ "Patty Berg Races Ahead Of Golfers In Augusta Event" . The Spartanburg Herald . Spartanburg, South Carolina . Associated Press . January 17, 1938. p. 7. Retrieved May 14, 2010 .
^ "Patty Berg Triumphs" . The Montreal Gazette . Montreal, Quebec , Canada. Associated Press . January 18, 1937. p. 16. Retrieved May 14, 2010 .
Current Past Related See also
Team events: Unofficial events: