Suggs, Louise (Mae Louise)

Golf

b. Sept. 7, 1923, Atlanta, GA

LPGA Victories

Other Resources

Suggs won two professional championships, the 1946 Titleholders and the 1947 Western Open, while she was still an amateur. She also won the 1947 U. S. Amateur championship and the 1948 British Amateur before turning professional in 1949, when she won the U. S. Women's Open for the first time.

She was one of the 13 women golfers who organized the Ladies Professional Golf Association in 1950 and she was the president of the LPGA from 1955 to 1957.

Called "Miss Slugs" by comedian Bob Hope because of her long drives, Suggs was also sometimes known as the "female Ben Hogan" because of her slow, deliberate play. She won the U. S. Open for a second time in 1952, the LPGA Championship in 1957, and the Titleholders championship in 1954, 1956, and 1959, for a total of seven major titles.

In the 1949 Open, Suggs shot a 291, then a woman's scoring record for 72 holes, and she won by 14 strokes, still the record margin of victory. She shot a 288 in the 1953 Tampa Open to break her own 72-hole record.

Suggs was the LPGA's leading money winner in 1953 and 1960 and she won the Vare Trophy for the fewest strokes per round in 1957. Her 58 tournament victories is fifth on the all-time list.

International Women's Sports Hall of Fame
LPGA Hall of Fame
World Golf Hall of Fame