The USGA confirmed that Betsy Rawls died on Saturday, aged 95. She was a four-time U.S. women’s open champion. Rawls was one of the most successful golfers in history. She transitioned in 1975 from being a player to a tournament administrator, and had a significant impact on the LPGA both inside and out the ropes.
Rawls has won eight majors and 55 LPGA titles, including the Majors. The only women to win more were Kathy Whitworth (88), Mickey Wright (82) Annika Sorenstam (72) Louise Suggs (61) and Patty Berg (61).
In a press release, USGA CEO Mike Whan said: “There are few careers that compare to Betsy’s.” “Fifty five wins, eight major championships, LPGA Hall of Fame and World Golf Hall of Fame, Former LPGA President, Bob Jones Award Winner. She was a golf legend who would have achieved success in any field she chose. We are lucky that she chose to make the sport her passion. “RIP to a champion.”
Whitworth, who died in 2007, credited Rawls for turning around her game after reading an article where Rawls discussed how much harder it was to shoot 80 than 70%. Whitworth used to give up mentally after a couple of bad swings. She changed her mentality and became the most successful golfer in history.
Photos of Betsy Rawls over the years
She once said, “I have never given up.”
Betsy Rawls, Spartanburg (S.C.) Janice Gannon, 10, of Lynn, Massachusetts, signed a program on July 2, 1955. Miss Rawls signed the program after she completed her second round of the National Women’s Open in Salem Country Club, Peabody,Mass. (AP Photo/FCC)
Rawls and her friend Wright share the record for four U.S. Women’s Open championships. The two kept up until Wright’s passing in 2020.
Rawls began playing golf at age 17, and became a professional shortly after earning her degree in physics at the University of Texas. She found that her college experience helped with how she focused inside the ropes. Whitworth called her “excellent thinker.”
Harvey Penick taught Rawls the game. His instruction was so legendary that he ended up in the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Rawls won her first Women’s Open after beating Suggs in 1950 by five strokes.
Rawls was the winner of the money title twice, in 1952 and in 1959. She won 10 times during one season. She won the Vare trophy for lowest scoring average in 1959.
In the early years of the LPGA top players had to do more than just tee up. Rawls was secretary for the LPGA shortly after she joined and then became president of the tour in 1961. She toured the country each year with Berg as a Wilson Sporting Goods touring pro, conducting over 100 golf clinics.
Betsy Rawls is the Executive Director for the LPGA Championship at the DuPont country club, near Wilmington.
Rawls retired from the LPGA Tour in 1975 and became the tournament director for the tour. She then took over the LPGA Championship, now known as the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. In 1976, Rawls became the first female to serve on the USGA Rules Committee. She was also the first woman who officiated at the U.S. Open Championship in 1980.
Rawls, in 2000, said that he was compulsive by nature. “I think it helps. “I was unable to tolerate anything less than perfect because I expected everything to be done perfectly.”
The result was an excellence standard that very few people will ever reach.
