Patty Berg
Patty Berg | ||
---|---|---|
Vare Trophy 1953, 1955, 1956 | | |
Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year | 1938, 1943, 1955 | |
Bob Jones Award | 1963 | |
Patty Berg Award | 1990 |
Patricia Jane Berg (February 13, 1918 – September 10, 2006)[1] was an American professional golfer. She was a founding member and the first president of the LPGA.[2][3] Her 15 major title wins remains the all-time record for most major wins by a female golfer. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
In winter times she was also a
Amateur career
Berg was born in
Professional career
After winning 29 amateur titles, she turned professional in 1940.[3] Berg's career had been interrupted by an automobile accident in December 1941; while traveling to a fund-raising event with Helen Dettweiler, a head-on accident shattered Berg's knee.
Subsequently, she recovered and volunteered for the United States Marine Corps and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1942. She served in the Marine Reserves from 1942 to 1945.[8][3]
Despite concerns that her golfing career would end, Berg returned to the game in 1943, helped by a locker room fall that broke
In 1959, Berg became the first woman to hit a hole-in-one during a USGA competition, which happened at the U.S. Women's Open.[9]
In 1963, Berg was voted the recipient of the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. Berg received the 1986 Old Tom Morris Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, GCSAA's highest honor. The LPGA established the Patty Berg Award in 1978. In her later years, Berg teamed-up with PGA Tour player and fellow Fort Myers, Florida resident Nolan Henke to establish the Nolan Henke/Patty Berg Junior Masters to promote the development of young players.
Berg was sponsored on the LPGA Tour her entire career by public golf patriarch Joe Jemsek, owner of the famous Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in Lemont, Illinois, site of the PGA Tour's Western Open from 1991 to 2006. Berg represented another of Jemsek's public facilities, St. Andrews Golf & Country Club in West Chicago, Illinois, on the women's circuit for over 60 years.
Berg told Chicagoland Golf magazine she taught over 16,000 clinics in her lifetime – many of which were sponsored by Chicago-based Wilson Sporting Goods and were called "The Patty Berg Hit Parade." In that interview, Berg figured she personally indoctrinated to the game of golf over a half-million new players. She was a member of Wilson's Advisory Staff for 66 years, until her death.
She announced in December 2004 that she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. She died in Fort Myers from complications of the disease 21 months later at the age of 88.
Professional wins (63)
LPGA Tour wins (60)
- 1937 (1) Titleholders Championship (as an amateur)
- 1938 (1) Titleholders Championship (as an amateur)
- 1939 (1) Titleholders Championship (as an amateur)
- 1941 (3) Women's Western Open, North Carolina Open, New York Invitational
- 1943 (2) Women's Western Open, All American Open
- 1945 (1) All American Open
- 1946 (4) Northern California Open, Northern California Medal Tournament, Pebble Beach Open, U.S. Women's Open
- 1947 (3) Northern California Open, Pebble Beach Open, Northern California Medal Tournament
- 1948 (3) Titleholders Championship, Women's Western Open, Hardscrabble Open
- 1949 (3) Tampa Open, Texas PGA Championship, Hardscrabble Open
- Hardscrabble Women's Invitational
- 144 Hole Weathervane, Women's Western Open
- New York Weathervane
- 1954 (3) Triangle Round Robin, World Championship, Ardmore Open
- 1955 (6) St. Petersburg Open, Titleholders Championship, Women's Western Open, All American Open, World Championship, Clock Open
- 1956 (2) Dallas Open, Arkansas Open
- 1957 (5) Havana Open, Titleholders Championship, Women's Western Open, All American Open, World Championship
- 1958 (2) Women's Western Open, American Women's Open
- 1960 (1) American Women's Open
- 1962 (1) Muskogee Civitan Open
LPGA majors are shown in bold.
Other wins (3)
- 1944 Pro-Lady Victory National (with Johnny Revolta)
- 1950 Orlando Two-Ball (with Earl Stewart)
- 1954 Orlando Two-Ball (with Pete Cooper)
Major championships
Wins (15)
Results timeline
Tournament | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 |
---|---|---|---|
Women's Western Open | DNP | QF | DNP |
Titleholders Championship | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Tournament | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Women's Western Open | DNP | 1 | DNP | 1 | QF | DNP | 2 | SF | 1 | SF |
Titleholders Championship | ? | ? | ? | NT | NT | NT | ? | 4 | 1 | T2 |
U.S. Women's Open | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | 1 | 9 | T4 | T4 |
Tournament | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Women's Western Open | SF | 1 | QF | 2 | SF | 1 | T4 | 1 | 1 | T2 |
Titleholders Championship | T8 | T3 | T3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | T8 |
U.S. Women's Open | 5 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 5 | T3 | 2 | T9 | 6 |
LPGA Championship
|
NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | ? | 2 | 7 | 12 | 2 |
Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Women's Western Open | T13 | T15 | T3 | DNP | 14 | 9 | WD | T11 | NT | NT |
Titleholders Championship | T4 | T2 | 4 | 22 | T15 | 23 | DNP | NT | NT | NT |
U.S. Women's Open | 17 | 18 | T13 | T29 | 10 | T22 | T18 | 39 | T29 | CUT |
LPGA Championship
|
4 | 20 | T13 | DNP | 12 | T11 | DNP | T22 | T22 | T17 |
Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Titleholders Championship | NT | NT | T36 | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT |
U.S. Women's Open | 31 | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT |
LPGA Championship
|
T17 | DNP | CUT | T51 | CUT | CUT | CUT | DNP | CUT | DNP |
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
Summary
- Starts – 97 1
- Wins – 15
- 2nd-place finishes – 10
- 3rd-place finishes – 10
- Top 3 finishes – 35
- Top 5 finishes – 47
- Top 10 finishes – 57
- Top 25 finishes – 78
- Missed cuts – 12
- Most consecutive cuts made – 79
- Longest streak of top-10s – 32
1 Does not include those with "?"
Team appearances
Amateur
- Curtis Cup (representing the United States): 1936 (tie, Cup retained), 1938 (winners)
See also
- List of golfers with most LPGA Tour wins
- List of golfers with most LPGA major championship wins
References
- ^ "Golf pioneer Patty Berg passes away at 88". PGA Tour. September 10, 2006. Archived from the original on August 28, 2008.
- ^ "About the LPGA - Our Founders". LPGA.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Carlson, Michael (September 12, 2006). "Patty Berg". The Guardian. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
- ^ "Ice Queens: The First Female Speed Skaters in Minnesota". March 26, 2019.
- ^ ISBN 9780395733127.
- ^ "Yesterday's News: Patty Berg, 20, wins first national title". Star Tribune. September 26, 1938. Archived from the original on October 25, 2008. Retrieved November 18, 2008.
- ^ ISBN 9780071469777.
- ^ "Official LPGA Biography". Archived from the original on October 17, 2006.
- ^ "Patty Berg". LPGA.
External links
- Patty Berg at the LPGA Tourofficial site
- Patty Berg Award
- Patty Berg at golf.about.com at the Wayback Machine (archived 2008-02-16)