How the LPGA Started

On September 13, 1950, in Wichita, Kansas, 13 women got together and organized the Ladies Professional Golf Association, better known as the LPGA, which included legendary women's golfers Patty Berg, Betty Jamison, and Babe Dickerson Zaharis, and led to one of the greatest women's professional league in the world. We're going to dive into how it all started today on Daily Sports History. Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Rees, your guide to a rapid deep dive into sports history every day. And today's trivia question is, how much money did the top earner make that first year of the LPGA? Now in 1893, the very first women's golf association was formed in the Ladies Golf Union in the UK. And they organized tournaments such as the Women Amateur Championship and the Ladies British Amateur Open. And it was around until 2017 when it merged with the Royal and Ancient Golf Association of St. Andrews. But the first organization in America was in 1897 with the American Ladies Golf Association. Although it would later fade away over time, it would be a great predecessor for the LPGA. In 1895, the U.S. held their very first women's amateur championship. Although there was only 13 entries, it was a great start. Now the LPGA was actually preceded by the WPGA, the Women's Professional Golf League, which was founded in 1944, but stopped after limited touring in 1948, which left a void for women's golfers. So 13 women golfers got together at the Rawlings Hills Country Club in Wichita, Kansas, to talk about forming the LPGA so they could have their own association, just like the men's PGA. And this included great players such as Berg, Betty Jamison, and Babe Dickerson Zaharis, who we covered in a previous episode. And Patty Berg would serve as their first president. And all 13 founding members were voted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, and six of them had already been inducted individually. And their first tournament would be in 1950 at the Tampa Bay Women's Open held at the Palma Sierra Golf and Country Club. And the winner was an amateur named Polly Riley who beat all the professionals that had attended. And the organization continued to grow and in 1956 the LPGA hosted their first tournament outside the United States in Havana, Cuba at the Havana Open. And over the years they have continued to grow and they have annual majors in the Severan Championship, the U.S. Women's Open, the Women's PGA Championship, the Women's British Open, and the Avion Championship. And in 1951, they actually established the Hall of Fame for Women's Golf. And the four chartering members were Patty Berg, Betty Jensen, Louise Thuggs, and Babe Saharis. And over time, it eventually merged into the World Golf Hall of Fame. And in 1953, They would actually start giving out yearly awards as they gave the Vera Award to the player with the lowest season average. And in 1966, they would give the award for the player of the year. Now, that first year in existence, their top earner that year was Babe Dickerson Zaharis, who won eight tournaments and won a total of $ 14, 800, which is equivalent today to over $ 180, 000. Not too bad. back in 1950 for a new upstart organization. And over the years, the winnings would steadily increase. And in 1996, the top earner for that year was Carrie Webb of Australia. She won four tournaments and was the first woman to have a yearly earnings of over $ 1 million. And just five years later, Annika Stormstand became the first woman to win $ 2 million in one year. And the most a woman has won on the tour was... Lorena Ochoa of Mexico, who in 2007 won $ 4. 3 million after winning eight tournaments. And in 2023 was the first year that the tour's total prize money was over $ 100 million, proving that the LPGA did not just set out to be an offshoot of the LPGA. Yes, but it gave options and opportunities to women's golfers that weren't there before. We've covered it Babe Dickerson and Annika Stormstand before as they played against the men, but they didn't have to as they were making their own money and competing in a sport that they loved. Now, did they want to go against the best in the world? Yes, but that didn't mean they had to as both of them dominated the LPGA and grew it to what it is today as the oldest and most predominant women's professional league in the United States. Now, the LPGA as a whole is a governing body that acts for women's golf. It sets the rules, guidelines to participate in events, monitors professional conduct of its members, and oversees the rankings and qualifications for the tournaments. And it is in charge of enforcing the rules of golf throughout its tournaments. It also has a role of educating and nourishing future players throughout. And they actually started the Teaching Club Professional Division. Today, the LPGA has over 1,700 golfers and over 50 coaches. countries. And as of 2022, there is an estimated 6.4 million female golfers around the world. And I want to thank you for listening to today's daily sports history. If you like this, please make sure you subscribe wherever you're listening so you don't miss an episode because we'll be back on Monday with more daily sports history. And did you catch the answer to today's trivia question? How much money did the top earner make that first year of the LPGA? And the answer is, the first year of the LPGA, Babe Zaharis was the top earner, earning $ 14, 800.