Titleholders Championship

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.

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.

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
YearWinnerCountryScoreRunner(s)-upWinners'
share ($)		Purse ($)Ref
1972Sandra Palmer United States283United States Judy Rankin, United States Mickey Wright3,00020,000[2][3]
1967–71No tournament
1966Kathy Whitworth United States291United States Judy Kimball-Simon, United States Mary Mills1,50010,000[1][4]
1965Kathy Whitworth United States287United States Peggy Wilson1,50010,000[5][4]
1964Marilynn Smith United States289United States Mickey Wright1,3007,500[4]
1963Marilynn Smith United States292POUnited States Mickey Wright1,2357,500[4]
1962Mickey Wright United States295POUnited States Ruth Jessen1,3307,500[4]
1961Mickey Wright United States299United States Patty Berg, United States Louise Suggs1,2007,000[4]
1960Fay Crocker Uruguay303United States Kathy Cornelius1,1406,000[4]
1959Louise Suggs United States297United States Betsy Rawls1,0005,000[6]
1958Beverly Hanson United States299United States Betty Dodd1,0005,275[6]
1957Patty Berg United States296United States Anne Quast (a)1,0005,000[6]
1956Louise Suggs United States302United States Patty Berg1,0005,000[6]
1955Patty Berg United States291United States Mary Lena Faulk1,0005,000[6]
1954Louise Suggs United States293United States Patty Berg1,0003,000[6]
1953Patty Berg United States294United States Betsy Rawls1,0002,200[6]
1952Babe Zaharias United States299United States Betsy Rawls1,0002,100[6]
1951Pat O'Sullivan (a) United States301United States Beverly Hanson1,500[6]
1950Babe Zaharias United States298United States Claire Doran (a)7001,500[6]
1949Peggy Kirk (a) United States299United States Patty Berg, United States Dorothy Kirby (a)[7]
1948Patty Berg United States308United States Peggy Kirk (a), United States Babe Zaharias[8]
1947Babe Zaharias (a) United States304United States Dorothy Kirby (a)300[9]
1946Louise Suggs (a) United States314United States Eileen Stulb (a)[10]
1943–45No tournament
1942Dorothy Kirby (a) United States239^United States Eileen Stulb (a)[11]
1941Dorothy Kirby (a) United States224^United States Helen Sigel[12]
1940Helen Hicks (a) United States336United States Helen Dettweiler[13]
1939Patty Berg (a) United States319United States Dorothy Kirby (a)[14]
1938Patty Berg (a) United States311United States Jane Cothran (a)[15]
1937Patty Berg (a) United States240^United States 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.

NationalityNumber
of wins
 United States27
 Uruguay1

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.
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