Celebrating a Landmark Moment for Women’s Golf at Pebble Beach
Two summers ago, women’s golf and Pebble Beach united for a week unlike any other as the U.S. Women’s Open was contested at famed Pebble Beach Golf Links for the first time. From legends bidding farewell to a new name etching their place in history alongside the other indelible winners here, the championship provided a landmark moment and set a trend that is set to continue well into the future with the championship returning three times over the next 22 years.
View this post on Instagram
Recently, another milestone was commemorated here as the LPGA celebrated their 75th anniversary bringing together generations of golfers from juniors to legends including Jan Stephenson, Hollis Stacy and Nancy Lopez. As momentum continues to build behind women’s sports globally on fields and courts alike, before any of it came the LPGA which stands as the longest running professional sports organization in the world. With the occasion, this harkens a look back at the women who have made history here over the years, paving the path to this very week.
View this post on Instagram
One of the first names that comes to mind when thinking back to Pebble Beach’s origins is Marion Hollins. A decorated golfer by any measure, winning the 1921 U.S. Women’s Amateur among her accomplishments, the New York native met S.F.B. Morse after moving to the Monterey Peninsula in 1922 when she became the athletic director for Del Monte Properties. The very next year the Pebble Beach Championship for women was played for the first time, a tradition that would continue annually until 1951. Hollins won the event a record seven times, finishing runner up on six other occasions.
During that span the U.S. Women’s Amateur came to Pebble Beach Golf Links in 1940 and 1948 with Betty Jameson and Grace Lenczyk winning in those years respectively. A couple of years after the second women’s amateur unfolding here, a tour known as the Ladies Professional Golf Association was launching. During their inaugural season, Pebble Beach Golf Links played host to the Weathervane Trans-Continental Women’s Open Championship, the third event in LPGA history and first contested in the state of California. The legendary Babe Zaharias claimed that title with Patty Berg following suit the following year.
Betty Jameson in 1940
In the spirit of continuing to host amateur competitions, the California Women’s Amateur Championship was held at Pebble Beach from 1967-1986 with Shelly Hamlin building a Hollins-like resume winning the tournament four consecutive times in its earlier years. Hall of Famer Juli Inkster won the tournament in 1981, nine years before she would make history at another Pebble Beach mainstay.
The Pebble Beach Invitational has been a late-year tradition here since 1972 drawing annually one of the most unique fields in golf with players from the LPGA, PGA, and Champions tours. Over the first 18 years, no woman had claimed victory until Inkster became the first edging the field by one shot. Since 1990 she remained the only woman to win the event until this past fall when Monterey local, Mina Harigae cruised to a three-shot win, setting the women’s course record (64) at The Links at Spanish Bay along the way. A couple of months later, Harigae was among those on hand for the celebration of the LPGA’s 75th year.
View this post on Instagram
At a place with such a rich history, there are hardly any firsts to be had but such was the case in the summer of 2023 when the U.S. Women’s Open came to town. With legends like Michelle Wie West and Annika Sorenstam making this their swan song to major championships, the two shared an unforgettable moment on the 18th green as they wound down their careers together.
View this post on Instagram
But the weekend belonged to an upstart Allisen Corpuz who was a model of consistency – a trait shared by many of the names on the wall of champions – carding four consecutive rounds under par. Beginning the final round one off the lead, an opening birdie quickly leveled things and set the tone for a day that will forever be remembered in history when Corpuz became the first winner of a U.S. Women’s Open at storied Pebble Beach Golf Links.
View this post on Instagram
The LPGA 75th Anniversary Pro-Am undoubtedly called for celebrating the past. Many of the moments that have unfolded here would not have been possible without the persistence of the LPGA and their founders. 75 years is a remarkable accomplishment which Pebble Beach is proud to celebrate and equally eager to be a central part of 75 more.