Titleholders Championship

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

See also: List of Titleholders Championship champions

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.

Nationality	Number of wins
United States	27
Uruguay	1

References

1. "Whitworth rules Titleholders". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). Associated Press. November 28, 1966. p. 4C.
2. "Palmer shreds Titleholders with 283 win". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). Associated Press. May 30, 1972. p. 7C.
3. LPGA Tournament Chronology - 1970-79
4. LPGA Tournament Chronology - 1960-69
5. "Women's Golf". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. November 29, 1965. p. 16.
6. LPGA Tournament Chronology - 1950-59
7. "Peggy Kirk Wins Augusta Tourney". The Evening Independent. St. Petersburg, Florida. Associated Press. March 21, 1949. p. 10. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
8. "Berg Captures Titleholders Golf Tourney". The Spartanburg Herald. Spartanburg, South Carolina. Associated Press. March 22, 1948. p. 7. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
9. "Zaharias Cops Golf Crown". The Milwaukee Sentinel. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Associated Press. March 31, 1947. pp. 2–4. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
10. "Suggs Wins Titleholders Golf Event". St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Florida. United Press. April 13, 1946. p. 12. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
11. "Miss Kirby Keeps Title". Reading Eagle. Reading, Pennsylvania. April 3, 1942. p. 20. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
12. "Dorothy Kirby Ties Own Golf Record". The Pittsburgh Press. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. April 10, 1941. p. 35. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
13. "Augusta Golf to Mrs. Harb". San Antonio Light. San Antonio, Texas. Associated Press. January 19, 1940. p. 11A.
14. "Patty Berg Again Is Augusta Winner". Ellensburg Daily Record. Ellensburg, Washington. Associated Press. January 20, 1939. p. 6. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
15. "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.
16. "Patty Berg Triumphs". The Montreal Gazette. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Associated Press. January 18, 1937. p. 16. Retrieved May 14, 2010.