Jameson, Betty (1919—)
Jameson, Betty (1919—)
American golfer, and first woman to score below 300 in a 72-hole event, who was a founder and charter member of the LPGA. Born Elizabeth Jameson in Norman, Oklahoma, on May 9, 1919.
Betty Jameson was born in Norman, Oklahoma, in 1919. Since few girls played golf in her high school, she was the only female on the boys' golf team. Her amateur career was impressive. Jameson won the Trans-Amateur championships twice, the Texas state championship four times, the Trans-Mississippi, Texas Open, U.S. Amateur, and Western Amateur each twice.
In 1942, she took the Western Open and the Western Amateur, the first player to win both titles at the same time.
Jameson turned pro in 1945. On the LPGA tour, she won the U.S. Women's Open in 1947 with a 295 total, the first woman to score below 300 in a 72-hole event. Always interested in helping women play professional golf, Jameson was a founder and charter member of the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association), along with Patty Berg, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Helen Dettweiler, Betty Hicks , and Betty Mims Danoff . In 1951, Jameson was inducted into the Women's Golf Hall of Fame. In 1952, she donated the Vare Trophy, named for Glenna Collett Vare , which is awarded to the player with the lowest scoring average in a minimum of 70 official rounds of tournament play.
Karin Loewen Haag , Athens, Georgia