GOLF
Patricia Jane Berg
February 13, 1918 – September 10, 2006 (aged 88)
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Patty Berg inspired many in golf, as the first woman to hit a hole-in-one during the 1959 USGA competition, U.S. Women’s Open. Patti was a young athlete, playing quarterback on a team that included future Oklahoma Sooners head football coach Bud Wilkinson. Patti started playing golf at age 13 at the suggestion of her parents; in 1934 as an amateur she won the Minneapolis City Championship. In 1935 Patti claimed state amateur title and then attended the University of Minnesota.
Berg won the Titleholders in 1937. In 1938, she won the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Westmoreland and the Women’s Western Amateur with the 1938 Titleholders Championship and a spot on the winning Curtis Cup team. 1939 Berg was named Associated Press Woman Athlete of the Year, Berg won third consecutive Titleholders. After winning 29 amateur titles, she turned professional in 1940, interrupted by an automobile accident in December 1941
Berg was a United States Marine Corps Women’s Reserve during World War II and in 1942 was commissioned a second lieutenant. Marine Reserves1942 to 1945.
Career Highlights:
She helped establish the forerunner of the LPGA in 1942
Women’s Professional Golf Association (WPGA), winning three tournaments.
When the LPGA started 1950, Berg was the association’s first president.
1953 to 1956, won the Vare Trophy 3 times for having the lowest scoring average on the LPGA. She was the LPGA Tour’s seven Titleholders wins is an all-time record.
Berg won a total of 57 events on the LPGA and WPGA circuit, and was runner-up in the 1957 Open at Winged Foot. Mamaroneck, New York,
Berg won the 1953, 1957, and 1958 Women’s Western Opens, the 1955 and 1957 Titleholders, both considered majors at the time. Her last victory came in 1962.
She was voted the Associated Press Woman Athlete of the Year in 1942 and 1955, in addition to her 1938 award.
Berg won 15 women’s major golf championships in her career, including the seven Titleholders victories, seven wins in the Women’s Western Open, and the 1946 U.S. Women’s Open championship
In 1963, recipient Bob Jones Award, in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship.
In 1986 recipient Old Tom Morris Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, GCSAA’s highest honor.
1978 The LPGA established the Patty Berg Award
In her later years, Berg helped establish the Nolan Henke/Patty Berg Junior Masters to promote the development of young players.
Berg told Chicagoland Golf magazine she taught over 16,000 clinics in her lifetime – many of which were sponsored by Chicago-based Wilson(r)( Sporting Goods (Wilson’s Advisory Staff for 66 years) 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.
Berg was sponsored on the LPGA Tour her entire career.
Copyright: Willis Whiteside 2023 All Rights Reserved.
REFERENCES:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patty_Berg