Мэй Луиз Саггс: Пионер женского гольфа и основательница LPGA

American golfer

Mae Louise Suggs (September 7, 1923 – August 7, 2015) was an American professional golfer, one of the founders of the LPGA Tour and thus modern ladies' golf.

Born in Atlanta, Suggs had a very successful amateur career, beginning as a teenager. She won the Georgia State Amateur in 1940 at age 16 and again in 1942, was the Southern Amateur Champion in 1941 and 1947, and won the North and South Women's Amateur three times (1942, 1946, 1948). She won the 1946 and 1947 Women's Western Amateur and the 1946 and 1947 Women's Western Open, which was designated as a major championship when the LPGA was founded. She also won the 1946 Titleholders Championship which was also subsequently designated as a women's major. She won the 1947 U. S. Women's Amateur and the next year won the British Ladies Amateur.

After her successful amateur career, she turned professional in 1948 and went on to win 58 additional professional tournaments, with a total of 11 majors. Her prowess on the golf course is reflected in the fact that from 1950 to 1960 she was only once out of the top 3 in the season ending money list. Suggs' victory in the 1957 LPGA Championship made her the first LPGA player to complete a career Grand Slam. Suggs was an inaugural inductee into the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame, established in 1967, and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1979. She was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1966. She was one of the co founders of the LPGA in 1950, which included her two great rivals of the time, Patty Berg and Babe Zaharias. Suggs served as the organization's president from 1955 to 1957.

The Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Award, given annually to the most accomplished first year player on the LPGA Tour, is named in her honor. In 2006 Suggs was named the 2007 recipient of the Bob Jones Award, given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. In February 2015 she became one of the first female members of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.