At long last, all 13 LPGA founders will get their due.
The seven LPGA founders who aren’t currently in the World Golf Hall of Fame will be formally inducted on Monday at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in the Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina. The induction ceremony coincides with the 124th U.S Open.
Alice Bauer, Bettye Danoff, Helen Dettweiler, Helen Hicks, Opal Hill, Sally Sessions and Shirley Spork will join Patty Berg (1974 inductee), Marlene Bauer Hagge (2002 inductee), Louise Suggs (1979 inductee), Babe Zaharias (1974 inductee), Marilynn Smith (2006 inductee) and Betty Jameson (1998 inductee) who are currently in the World Golf Hall of Fame.
“I wish I could thank every one of those people before they passed away for what they had to do to keep the tour going and keep it alive,” said LPGA legend Nancy Lopez.
Here are photos of the seven LPGA founders going into the esteemed Hall on Monday:
Marlene Hagge
Alice Bauer and Marlene Hagge LPGA
Shirley Spork
Shirley Spork at the Solheim Cup
Bettye0019
LPGA founder Bettye Danoff poses in a roomful of clubs. (courtesy Debbie Bell)
LPGA founder Bettye Danoff poses in a roomful of clubs. (courtesy Debbie Bell)
1986 Golf Journal
Scan shows a photo from page 11 of the July 1986 Golf Journal that accompanies a…
Scan shows a photo from page 11 of the July 1986 Golf Journal that accompanies a story on the Curtis Cup.
Caption reads: “Our 1932 Curtis Cup Team: (seated, left to right) Glenna Collett Vare, Marion Hollins (team captain) and Maureen Orcutt. (Standing, left to right) Mrs. L.D. Cheney, Mrs. Opal S. Hill, Mrs. Harley G. Higbie, Viginia Van Wie and Helen Hicks.” (Copyright unknown/Courtesy USGA Museum)
1932 Curtis Cup
Glenna Colllet Vare, far left, with other members of the 1932 U.S. Curtis Cup team which…
Glenna Colllet Vare, far left, with other members of the 1932 U.S. Curtis Cup team which included Leona Cheney, Helen Hicks, second right, Opal Hill, Maureen Orcutt, Virginia Van Wie, and Marion Hollins, far right, as the captatin. They are shown here before a practice round at the Sandy Lodge Golf Club. May 1932 (Copyright Unknown/Courtesy USGA)
LPGA Founders
Patty Berg is surrounded by fellow LPGA founders. Top row, left to right, Marilynn Smith, Marlene…
Patty Berg is surrounded by fellow LPGA founders. Top row, left to right, Marilynn Smith, Marlene Hagge, Alice Bauer, Betty Jameson and Louise Suggs. Bottom row, left to right, Bettye Danoff, Berg and Shirley Spork in January 2000 celebrating the LPGA’s 50th anniversary.
mike-whan-shirley-spork-lpga
Shirley Spork, one of the original founders of the LPGA, and Commissioner Mike Whan during the…
Shirley Spork, one of the original founders of the LPGA, and Commissioner Mike Whan during the pro-am for the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup.
Alice Bauer
LPGA founder Alice Bauer will soon join her sister, Marlene, in the World Golf of Fame.…
LPGA founder Alice Bauer will soon join her sister, Marlene, in the World Golf of Fame. (courtesy LPGA)
Bettye0034
LPGA founder Bettye Danoff, the tour’s first grandmother, poses in front of a golf cart. (courtesy…
LPGA founder Bettye Danoff, the tour’s first grandmother, poses in front of a golf cart. (courtesy Debbie Bell)
