Women in golf: Breaking barriers and making history

Many think that golf is primarily a sport for men. In fact, for the most part of its history, men dominated golf courses. However, as the world embraces gender equality in different facets of society, many female golfers have proven that sports can be played and even conquered by women.

Legendary golfers like Helen Kicks and Babe Zaharias have blazed the trail for more women to learn and compete in professional golf tournaments. Women’s golf has become a thing, and more and more women are becoming professional golfers.

There has been a storied past before golf became a niche for female players, and the current female golfers take pride in that narrative. To highlight women in this sport, let’s name all the prominent female golfers and explore how they become champions of the course.

Breaking barriers in golf

Of course, there has to be someone to forge ahead to realize women’s involvement in golf. These early pioneers stood up against gender discrimination in the early years of the sport’s existence. It’s thanks to them why we can witness women in the world of golf, having  our very own PGA Championship winner odds and updates. They have transcended amidst all negative impressions of female golfers and become successful in their respective fields.

●      Mary Queen of Scots

Mary Queen of Scots was the Queen of Scotland from December 14, 1542, until 1567. The queen is also named Mary Stuart and Mary I of Scotland.

Other than these nicknames, the Scottish royalty was also popularly called the Mother of Golf. She married Prince Francis II, the Successor of the French throne, in 1558, at the age of 15. The King died early at age 16 in 1560, the same year Mary Stuart’s mother died.

But before she married Prince Francis II, Mary had been playing golf. When the King died, Mary returned to playing the sport as a recreation. Breaking boundaries, she was known as the royalty who played a sport unsuitable for women.

Image from Pixabay

●      Helen Kicks

Helen L. Kicks Harb was born in Cedarhurst, New York, USA, on February 11, 1911. She was known as one of the 13 women who established the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LGPA), the world’s most prominent women’s golfers’ organization.

She turned professional in 1934 and earned two professional wins throughout her golfing career. She won the Western Open in 1937 and the Titleholders C’ship in 1940. Kicks will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2024.

Her other notable wins include the 1929 Canadian Women’s Amateur, 1930 New York State’s Women’s Amateur, 1931 U.S. Women’s Amateur, 1931 Metropolitan Women’s Amateur, 1931 Women’s Eastern Championship, 1931 New York State Women’s Amateur, 1937 Women’s Western Open, and the 1940 Titleholders Championship, among many others under her belt.

●      Babe Zaharias

Babe Zaharias is an American golfer born on Jen 26, 1911, in Port Arthur, Texas, U.S. She became a professional in 1947 and earned 82 golf tournaments. She was also one of the founders of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). In 1935, Zaharias began playing golf. She was the first female golfer to compete in the Los Angeles Open, where she was teamed with George Zaharias, who became her husband 11 months later.

Between the 1940s and early 1950s, she was America’s leading female golfer. She was the first American to win the 1946 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the 1947 British Ladies Amateur. She also triumphed in three Women’s Western Opens.

Moreover, she was also famous for being the female golfer who sewed her golfing outfit. She was a prolific seamstress and has even competed in sewing contests. Zaharias was also a musician. She plays harmonica and even sings too.

Her legacy remains as a golf tournament was named after her. The Babe Zaharias Open in Beaumont, Texas, was a tournament she won before it was named to her.

●      Annika Sörenstam

Annika Sörenstam is a Swedish-American golfer who has 97 professional wins under her belt. She has 90 international wins, the most wins earned by any female golfer. She won the LPGA Tour 72 times, the Ladies Europen Tour 17 times, the LPGA of Japan Tour seven times, and the ALPG Tour four times. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.

As an amateur golfer, she won a runner-up finish in the Swedish national mother/daughter Championship, and the St Rule Trophy held at St. Andrews. Even after her retirement at 50, she competed in the 2021 U.S. Senior Women’s Open and won the tournament.

Conclusion

Initially played and dominated by men, golf has become an inclusive sport that highlights men and women in different tournaments.

Women are latecomers to this sport which is the same in other fields like horseracing, boxing, and football. However, many female golfers have established their names in the industry, making strides and empowering future female golfers to perform well and become icons in golf.

Many successful golfers of the current generation take inspiration from the legends of the golf course. Women’s participation in this sport is a history to remember and a legacy to protect.