The [tag-tec]LPGA[/tag-tec] Tour Hall of Fame was established in 1967. The LPGA Tour Hall of Fame roots are traced to the Hall of Fame of [tag-tec]Women’s Golf[/tag-tec] which had been established in 1950. When the LPGA voted to establish their own Hall of Fame that would be limited to members of the LPGA tour, they inducted the 6 existing members of the Women’s Golf Hall of Fame. Those were Patty Berg, Betty Jameson, Louise Suggs and Babe Zaharias, 1951; Betsy Rawls, 1960; and Mickey Wright, 1964. The year of induction into the Hall of Fame of Women’s Golf was recognized as the year of induction to the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame.

Since its start the criteria has been changed 3 times, the last change taking place in 1999. Entrance to the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame is limited to LPGA members who meet the following criteria:

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The Women's Professional Golfers' Association was established in 1946; very soon thereafter it created the U. S. Women's Open as the premier tournament on the women's tour. In 1949 the Ladies Professional Golfers Association succeeded the WPGA and conducted the tournament through 1952, at that time the U. S. Golf Association took it over. Something that many will find noteworthy is that the purse of $19,700 for the first Open was contributed by the Spokane Athletic Round Table, a men’s fraternal organization. The purse was gathered from slot machine proceeds.

The U.S. Women’s Open is the longest-running event currently on the [tag-tec]LPGA[/tag-tec] Tour. It is one of the LPGA's four major champion-ships. It is 72 holes and in the case of a tie there is then an 18 hole playoff. The event is open to any female who has a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 4.4. The U.S. Women's Open is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

Not only is this event considered one of the most difficult, it is one of the most vied for.  Golf courses across the country want to host the event. Not only for the honor but, of course, for the economic gain that hosting such a high profile event generates. At this point the Women’s U.S. Open Championships are planned up to 2010. Sales are open for the 2007 event and courses are vying for 2011. Is it any wonder that winning the U.S. Women’s Open is one of the greatest accomplishments in golf?

Patty Berg was a founding member of the
LPGA. Born February 13, 1918, Patty was 13 when she turned her focus to golf and never stopped.  For Berg, golf was a high calling. One of her rules was: "Don't think you really win until you live up to that high thing within you that makes you do your best, no matter what."At 16 she won the 1934 Minneapolis City Championship. The next 7 years held 28 amateur victories for Patty.

Patty turned professional in 1940, at a time when there were very few professional women golfers. In 1946 Patty won the first U.S. Women’s Open. Not long after that in 1948 Patty was among the group of women who founded the LPGA and was the association’s first president. That same year she won 3 titles.
Patty Berg had so many struggles with health issues that she should be an inspiration to us all. In 1941 she was in a car accident that severely injured her knee and was sidelined for 18 months, cancer surgery in 1971, major hip surgery in 1980, and back surgery in 1989. Even though the hip surgery ended her professional career, she still remained an active golfer and teacher. 

Patty Berg was all things to women's golf-a superb player, a great promoter, a wonderful teacher, a charismatic personality.  Patty Berg was inducted into LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame, LPGA T&CP Hall of Fame, Women’s Sports Hall of Fame, PGA of America Golf Hall of Fame, University of Minnesota Hall of Fame, and the American, Minnesota and Florida Halls of Fame.

Sadly on September 10th,2006 the world of golf lost Patty Berg due to Alzheimer’s.

Marlene Bauer Hagge is one of the original 13 founding members of the LPGA.  Marlene started playing golf at the age of three during a time when women’s golf was nothing more than a novelty beyond the club level.  Marlene won the Long Beach City Boys Junior at the age of 10.  In 1947 at the age of 13 she won the Los Angeles Women’s Golf Championship on a course where the scorecard stated “Children Under 14 Are Not Allowed.” That same year she became the youngest player to make the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open and finished eighth.

In 1949, at the age of 15, she became the youngest athlete ever to be named Associated Press Athlete of the Year, Golfer of the Year, Teenager of the Year, won the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship and the WWGA Junior titles. In 1950, two weeks before her 16th birthday, she turned pro. Together with her sister Alice and her parents, she traveled around the LPGA Tour in a 22-foot Airstream trailer. The sisters were graceful and petite, the tour's first glamour girls, and their fresh beauty attracted new fans to women's golf. Marlene became the youngest player to win a LPGA event in 1952 when she won the Sarasota Open at the age of 18. She continued to play and win for the first five decades of the LPGA Tour.

In 2000, during the LPGA’s 50th anniversary, she was recognized as one of the organizations top 50 players and teachers. On November 15, 2002 Marlene was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame.
 

[tag-tec]Alice Bauer[/tag-tec] was one of the 13 founders of the [tag-tec]LPGA[/tag-tec] at the age of 22. Not only was she a founding member she was a mom. She was one of the first to take her children on tour with her. Before the [tag-ice]LPGA[/tag-ice] she was voted South Dakota’s Outstanding Woman Athlete of the Year and won the South Dakota Amateur title at the age of 14. Being a mom was Alice’s highest priority and this limited her play on Tour. This being said, it didn’t stop her from turning professional in 1950. In 1955 she lost the Heart of America tournament title in a playoff to [tag-tec]Marilynn Smith[/tag-tec]. In 1956 she finished 14th on the season-ending money list. In 2000 she was awarded the 2000 Commissioner’s Award ([tag-tec]LPGA Founder’s[/tag-tec])
Her sister, Marlene Bauer Hagge’s career overshadows Alice’s small career. Marlene was quoted as saying that their father tried to start Alice playing golf at an early age and, finding her interested in other things, thought that he would get hold of her (Marlene) before she had time to become interested in anything else. Even having an interest in other things did not stop Alice from playing and doing rather well in golf.
In March of 2002 Alice passed away from complications connected to colon cancer. Her career money was $26,156.00. We have come a long way baby!
 

Golf, as we know it today, originated from a game played on the eastern coast of Scotland during the 15th century. Players would hit a pebble around a natural course of sand dunes and rabbit trails using a stick or a primitive club.Some historians believe that the games of Kolven from Holland and Chole from Belgium influenced the game. The latter being introduced into Scotland in 1421.

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The U.S. Women's Amateur Championship marks the beginning of women's competitive golf in this country. Along with the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Open, the Women's Amateur was one of the USGA's first three championships.

    The first Women's Amateur Championship was arranged on short notice one month after the 1895 Amateur and Open Championships.
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