Betsy Rawls
Name:
Elizabeth Earle "Betsy" RawlsCountry:
USABorn:
May 4, 1928 in Spartanburg, South Carolina.Original/Home Club:
Occupation:
Professional golferTurned Pro:
1951 (aged 22)America
GAC
Played as the GAC Classic. Mary Mills (USA), Kathy Whitworth (USA), Clifford Ann Creed (USA), Shirley Englehorn (USA), Betty Burfeindt (USA) and Judy Rankin (USA) finished 3 shots behind Rawls (USA), who recorded the last of her 55 LPGA Tour wins. Reduced to 36 holes due to rain. [Forty Niner CC, Tucson, AZ].
Played as the Cincinnati Open. Pam Barnett finished in second place behind Rawls.
America
Civitan
Played as the Dallas Civitan Open. Second-placed Marilynn Smith (USA), Mickey Wright (USA) and Sandra Palmer (USA) finished 2 shots behind Rawls (USA). [Glen Lakes CC, Dallas, TX; club/course no longer exists].
Majors
LPGA
The LPGA Championship (15th) (July 24-27). Second-placed Susie Berning (USA) and Carol Mann (USA) finished 4 shots behind 41-year-old Rawls (USA), who recorded the last of her eight major championship wins. [Concord Resort & GC, Kiamesha Lake, NY].
Played as the Mickey Wright Invitational. Kathy Whitworth and Sandra Haynie finished in second place behind Rawls.
Played as the Pensacola Ladies Invitational. Clifford Ann Creed finished in second place behind Rawls.
Played as the Waterloo Women's Open. Marlene Hagge, Carol Mann and Marilynn Smith finished in second place behind Rawls.
America
Civitan
Played as the Dallas Civitan Open. Second-placed and defending champion Mickey Wright (USA) finished 2 shots behind Rawls (USA). [Glen Lakes CC, Dallas, TX; club/course no longer exists].
Played as the Valhalla Open. Ruth Jessen and Kathy Whitworth finished in second place behind Rawls.
Played as the Sunshine Women's Open. Kathy Whitworth finished in second place behind Rawls.
Played as the Babe Zaharias Open. Betty Jameson, Ruth Jessen and Sandra Haynie finished in second place behind Betsy Rawls and Kathy Cornelius.
Played as the J.E. McAuliffe Championship. Kathy Whitworth finished in second place behind Rawls.
America
Bill Branin
Played as Bill Branin's Swing Parade.
Played as the Cosmopolitan Open.
Played as the Babe Zaharias Open. Fay Crocker finished in second place behind Rawls.
America
x
Played as the Asheville Open. Second-placed Louise Suggs (USA) finished 2 shots behind defending champion Rawls (USA). [CC of Asheville, Asheville, North Carolina].
Majors
USGA
The US Women's Open (15th) (July 21-23). Second-placed Joyce Ziske (USA) finished 1 shot behind Rawls (USA), who claimed her fourth and final US Women's Open title. [Worcester CC, Worcester, Mass.].
Played as the Cosmopolitan Open. Bonnie Randolph finished in second place behind Rawls.
Played as the Mount Propsect Open. Mickey Wright finished in second place behind Rawls.
Awards
LPGA Tr
Rawls (USA) won the Vare Trophy, recording the season's lowest scoring average on the LPGA Tour.
Played as the Royal Crown Open. Marlene Hagge finished in second place behind Rawls.
Majors
LPGA
The LPGA Championship (5th) (July 2-6). Second-placed Patty Berg (USA) finished 1 shot behind Rawls (USA), who won the first of her two LPGA Championships. [Ross course, French Lick Resort, French Lick, Indiana].
Majors
x
The Women's Western Open (30th). Second-placed Patty Berg (USA) and JoAnne Gunderson (USA, amateur, later known as JoAnne Carner) finished 6 shots behind Rawls (USA). [Rainier G&CC, Seattle, WA].
Played as the Waterloo Women's Open. Fay Crocker finished in second place behind Rawls.
Played as the Babe Zaharias Open. Louise Suggs finished in second place behind Rawls.
Played as the Triangle Round Robin. Louise Suggs finished in second place behind Rawls.
Played as the Lake Worth Open. Louise Suggs finished in second place behind Rawls.
Awards
LPGA Tr
Rawls (USA) won her second LPGA Tour Money List, with 1959 earnings of $26,774 on the Tour. Mickey Wright (USA) was second on the money list.
America
x
Played as the Land of the Sky Open. Second-placed Joyce Ziske (USA) finished 1 shot behind Rawls (USA). [CC of Asheville, Asheville, North Carolina].
Played as the Opie Turner Open. Louise Suggs finished in second place behind Rawls.
America
x
Played as the St Petersburg Open. Second-placed Jackie Pung (USA) and Beverly Hanson (USA) finished 4 shots behind Rawls (USA). [Sunset G&CC, St Petersburg, Florida; now called Vinoy GC].
Played as the Tampa Open. Mickey Wright and Patty Berg finished in second place behind Rawls.
Played as the Tampa Open. Fay Crocker finished in second place behind Rawls.
Majors
USGA
The US Women's Open (12th) (June 27-29). Second-placed Patty Berg (USA) finished 6 shots behind Rawls (USA). Apparent winner Jackie Pung (USA) was disqualified for signing a card with an incorrect score on one hole, even though the overall score she signed for was correct. [East course, Winged Foot GC, Mamaroneck, NY].
Played as the Lake Worth Open. Fay Crocker finished in second place behind Rawls.
Played as the Peach Blossom Open. Betty Dodd finished in second place behind Rawls.
Played as the Tampa Open. Patty Berg finished in second place behind Rawls.
Played as the Peach Blossom Open. Fay Crocker finished in second place behind Rawls.
Played as the Sarasota Open. Betty Dodd finished in second place behind Rawls.
Played as the Carrollton Open. Second-placed Patty Berg finished 3 shots behind Rawls.
Played as the St Louis Open. Second-placed Beverly Hanson finished 12 shots behind Rawls.
Played as the Inverness Four-Ball.
Played as the Tampa Women's Open. Second-placed Marlene Stewart and Polly Riley finished 2 shots behind Rawls.
Played as the Texas Open. Rawls beat Betty Hicks by 1 hole in the final.
Played as the Fort Worth Open. Rawls beat Polly Riley 5 and 4 in the final.
Played as the Barbara Romack Open. Second-placed Carol Bowman finished 2 shots behind Rawls.
Played as the Eastern Open. Rawls won after a playoff against Patty Berg.
Majors
USGA
The US Women's Open (8th) (June 25-28). Rawls (USA) beat Jackie Pung (USA) in an 18-hole playoff: Rawls 71 (-3), Pung 77 (+3). [CC of Rochester, Rochester, NY].
Awards
LPGA Tr
Rawls (USA) won the LPGA Tour 1952 Money List, with earnings of $14,505 on the Tour. Betty Jameson (USA) was second on the money list.
Played as the Eastern Women's Open. Second-placed Louise Suggs finished 2 shots behind Rawls.
Played as the Thomasville Open. Betty Jameson finished in second place behind Rawls.
Played as the Carrollton Open. Second-placed Louise Suggs finished 2 shots behind Rawls.
Majors
x
The Women's Western Open (23rd). Rawls (USA) beat Betty Jameson (USA) by 1 hole in the final. [Skokie CC, Glencoe, nr Chicago, IL].
Played as the Houston Weathervane. Second-placed Babe Zaharias (USA) finished 3 shots behind Rawls (USA).
Played as the Seattle Open. Second-placed Alice Bauer (USA) and Marlene Bauer (USA, Marlene Hagge from late-1955) finished 11 shots behind Rawls.
Rawls (USA) was overall winner of the 1952 Cross Country 144-hole Weathervane Tournament, which was played as four two-round events in Houston, Miami, New York and Seattle. She won the Seattle event.
Majors
LPGA
The US Women's Open (6th) (Sept 13-16). Second-placed Louise Suggs (USA) finished 5 shots behind 23-year-old Rawls (USA), who recorded her first major championship victory. [Druid Hills GC, Atlanta, GA].
Played as the Sacramento Women's Invitational Open. Second-placed Marlene Bauer (Hagge) and Babe Zaharias finished 2 shots behind Rawls.
Tournaments:
Women’s major championships: the month of June sees two women’s majors: the US Women’s Open (June 3-6), with A Lim Kim defending, and the Women’s PGA Championship (June 24-27), with Sei Young Kim defending.
Senior PGA Championship: the revered Southern Hills in Oklahoma hosts the 81st staging of this event (May 27-30); Ken Tanigawa holds the title from its last playing in 2019.
Who's Who:
Phil Mickelson: in winning the 2021 PGA Championship, the world’s most famous “leftie” became the oldest winner of a golf major championship.
Hideki Matsuyama: became the first Japanese professional to win a men’s major championship, when he triumphed in this year’s Masters Tournament.
New 27-hole golf complex to be built in southern Belgium
A new golf complex in southern Belgium, close to the border with Luxembourg, will start construction in June 2021.
American Dunes opens for play following Nicklaus transformation
Nicklaus Design has transformed the former Grand Haven Golf Club in Michigan into the American Dunes Golf Club, a new public course that is now open for play
New course opens for play at Barnbougle
Bill Coore designs 14-hole layout with “sporty” holes on dune ridge above Lost Farm (golf carts allowed).
Gamble Sands opens short course:
David McLay Kidd’s 14-hole QuickSands short course has opened for play at Gamble Sands in Brewster, Washington.
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