1959 LPGA Tour

1959 LPGA Tour season
DurationJanuary 11, 1959 (1959-01-11) – September 26, 1959 (1959-09-26)
Number of official events29
Most wins10 United States Betsy Rawls
Money leaderUnited States Betsy Rawls
1958
1960

The 1959 LPGA Tour was the 10th season since the LPGA Tour officially began in 1950. The season ran from January 11 to September 26. The season consisted of 29 official money events. Betsy Rawls won the most tournaments, 10. She also led the money list with earnings of $26,774.

There was only one first-time winner in 1959, Ruth Jessen.

The tournament results and award winners are listed below.

Tournament results

The following table shows all the official money events for the 1959 season.[1] "Date" is the ending date of the tournament. The numbers in parentheses after the winners' names are the number of wins they had on the tour up to and including that event. Majors are shown in bold.

Date Tournament Location Winner Score Purse ($) 1st prize ($)
Jan 13 Mayfair Open Florida United States Marlene Hagge (16) 225 4,750 831
Jan 18 Tampa Open Florida United States Ruth Jessen (1) 301 7,500 1,247
Feb 1 MAGA Pro-Am Florida United States Wiffi Smith (4) 220 5,000 697
Feb 15 St. Petersburg Open Florida United States Louise Suggs (44) 282 7,500 1,247
Feb 22 Lake Worth Open Florida United States Betsy Rawls (29) 285 7,500 1,247
Mar 1 Golden Triangle Festival Florida United States Beverly Hanson (13) 146 3,500 475
Mar 8 Jacksonville Open Florida United States Mickey Wright (10) 286 5,710 997
Mar 15 Titleholders Championship Georgia United States Louise Suggs (45) 297 5,000 1,000
Mar 23 Royal Crown Open Georgia United States Betsy Rawls (30) 294 5,747 997
Apr 12 Babe Zaharias Open Texas United States Betsy Rawls (31) 215 5,500 997
Apr 19 Dallas Civitan Open Texas United States Louise Suggs (46) 287 10,000 1,662
Apr 26 Betsy Rawls Open South Carolina United States Wiffi Smith (5) 211 5,629 997
May 3 Land of the Sky Open North Carolina United States Betsy Rawls (32) 215 5,000 997
May 10 Howard Johnson Invitational North Carolina United States Joyce Ziske (2) 210 5,000 997
May 31 Cavalier Open Virginia United States Mickey Wright (11) 207 5,500 997
Jun 7 Triangle Round Robin New Jersey United States Betsy Rawls (33) +62 9,000 1,425
Jun 14 American Women's Open Minnesota United States Beverly Hanson (14) 297 7,000 1,247
Jun 27 U.S. Women's Open Pennsylvania United States Mickey Wright (12) 287 7,200 1,800
Jul 6 LPGA Championship Indiana United States Betsy Rawls (34) 288 7,500 1,247
Jul 9 Hoosier Open Indiana United States Marlene Hagge (17) 141 4,000 700
Jul 19 Alliance Machine International Open Ohio United States Mickey Wright (13) 291 10,000 2,090
Jul 26 Mt. Prospect Open Illinois United States Betsy Rawls (35) 291 20,000 6,175
Aug 16 Women's Western Open Washington United States Betsy Rawls (36) 293 7,000 1,247
Aug 23 Spokane Open Washington United States Beverly Hanson (15) 287 7,500 1,247
Aug 31 Waterloo Open Iowa United States Betsy Rawls (37) 282 7,000 1,247
Sep 6 Cosmopolitan Open Illinois United States Kathy Cornelius (3) 214 5,700 997
Sep 13 Memphis Open Tennessee United States Marilynn Smith (5) 295 7,000 1,250
Sep 20 Links Invitation Open Georgia United States Beverly Hanson (16) 289 7,500 1,247
Sep 26 Opie Turner Open Oklahoma United States Betsy Rawls (38) 221 7,500 1,247

Awards

Award Winner Country
Money winner Betsy Rawls (2)  United States
Scoring leader (Vare Trophy) Betsy Rawls  United States

References