Far Hills, N.J. – Louise Suggs, a three-time USGA champion and afounding member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association, has beenselected as the recipient of the 2007 United States Golf Association BobJones Award.
Presented annually since 1955, the USGA’s highest honor is given inrecognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. The award seeks torecognize a person who emulates Jones’ spirit, his personal qualities andhis attitude toward the game and its players. The award will be presentedFeb. 3 at the Association’s Annual Meeting in San Francisco,Calif.
Suggs, 83, of St. Augustine, Fla., was introduced to the game byher father. As a native of Atlanta, she had the opportunity to play golfwith Bob Jones on several occasions.
"It’sanincredible honor to win this award named for Bob Jones," said Suggs."Being a native Atlantan I admired and respected him immensely, and I evenpatterned my own game after him. To be honored with this award is theultimate accolade I could possibly receive."
Suggs won the 1947 U.S. Women’s Amateur with a 2-up victory overDorothy Kirby at Franklin (Mich.) Hills Country Club. Among the manyhighlights of her amateur career were multiple victories at the GeorgiaState Women’s Amateur; Women’s Southern Amateur Championship, North&South Women’s Amateur and the Women’s Western Amateur. She won the Women’sWestern Open twice as an amateur, in 1946 and 1947. She concluded heramateur career with a victory at the 1948 Ladies’ British Open AmateurChampionship and a selection to the 1948 USA Curtis Cupteam.
She turned professional in1948 and won her first U.S. Women’s Open a year later, by 14 strokes overBabe Didrikson Zaharias at Prince Georges Golf and Country Club inLandover, Md. That margin of victory remains a championship record. Sheadded a second Women’s Open title when she won the 1952 championship byseven strokes at Bala Golf Club in Philadelphia, Pa. Suggs is one of justseven women to have won both the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Women’sOpen. She played in 29 Women’s Opens, and has more top-5 (14 times) andtop-10 (19 times) finishes than anyone in the championship’s history. Shefinished with 58 professional victories, including 11 major titles, andthe LPGA Tour’s Rookie of the Year Award is named in her honor.
In addition to her noteworthyaccomplishments on the golf course, she was equally productive off it. Sheserved as president of the LPGA three times and was a member of the firstclass of honorees to be inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame, in 1951. In1954, she won the first Sea Island Ladies Open Invitational at the club onSt. Simons Island, Ga., beginning an association with Sea Island Golf Clubthat would last more than 50 years. She became the club’s first touringprofessional and later a teaching professional at the club. In 2000, shewas inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame a second time, into the Teachingand Club Professional Division.
In 1966, she became the first woman ever elected to the GeorgiaAthletic Hall of Fame, and in 1979 she was inducted into the World GolfHall of Fame. In 2000, she received both the Patty Berg Award and theCommissioner’s Award, along with her fellow LPGA founders, for hercontributions to and support of the LPGA and the game of golf. That sameyear, she was chosen to raise the USA flag at the opening ceremonies ofthe Solheim Cup.
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