If there were a Mount Rushmore in women’s golf, Betsy Rawls’ image would be on it.
Rawls piled up 55 victories, including eight major championships, in an extraordinary LPGA career that included three decades as an administrator on the women’s tour. She died Saturday at her beach home in Lewes, Delaware, at age 95, according to the LPGA.
“There are simply not many careers that can compare to Betsy’s,†Mike Whan, the USGA’s chief executive and a former LPGA commissioner, said in a statement. Whan called her “a legend in the game who would have been successful in anything she pursued.â€
Only Kathy Whitworth (88), Mickey Wright (82), Annika Sörenstam (72), Louise Suggs (61) and Patty Berg (60) won more times on the LPGA. Only Berg (15), Wright (13), Suggs (11), Sörenstam (10) and Babe Zaharias (10) won more majors. So, yes, there certainly are not many careers comparable to Rawls’. But her impact extended beyond the golf course.
Elizabeth Earle Rawls was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, but grew up in Austin, Texas. After taking up golf at age 17, she studied physics at the University of Texas, from which she graduated Phi Beta Kappa. She took golf lessons from renowned instructor Harvey Penick in Austin.
“I had every intention of being a physicist,†Rawls told Ron Sirak in a story for LPGA.com. “I played golf for fun and never considered turning professional.â€
That all changed in 1951 when Wilson Sporting Goods offered to pay Rawls, by then a two-time Women’s Texas Amateur champion, to promote its products and conduct clinics, so she turned professional.
She joined the LPGA in 1951, the year after the 13 founders launched the women’s tour. Rawls won at least once per year from her rookie season through 1965, including a then-record 10 victories in 1959, and four U.S. Women’s Opens. While competing, she served as LPGA secretary before becoming tour president in 1961-62.
Upon her retirement as a touring pro in 1975, she worked as the LPGA’s tournament director before a nearly two-decade stint as tournament director for the LPGA Championship, forerunner to today’s Women’s PGA. She also was the first woman to serve on the USGA’s Rules of Golf committee and the first woman to officiate at the men’s U.S. Open.
Rawls’ long list of honors includes induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1960, the LPGA’s inaugural HOF class in 1967 and the USGA’s Bob Jones Award, the association’s highest honor, in 1996.
“I thought I was going to be a winner, and as I went along, winning became easier and easier,†Rawls said. “It was something I expected to do. I always played well under pressure because it didn’t bother me, which was why I won so many tournaments.â€
The late Mickey Wright, a contemporary of Rawls’ and the only other four-time U.S. Women’s Open champion, said: “Betsy has always been committed to work and dedicated to the game. I can think of only two women who have achieved as much, not only as players but for their lifetime contributions, and that’s Betsy and Patty Berg.â€
Rawls certainly recognized her place in the game, but considered her legacy to extend far beyond tournament titles.
“Anyone who can make a living in golf is lucky,†Rawls once said. “Then to receive all the benefits accorded to me in the process … well, that makes me feel fortunate. It’s more than I could possibly deserve.â€
Steve Harmon
