1957 LPGA Championship
The 1957 LPGA Championship was the third LPGA Championship, held June 6–10 at Churchill Valley Country Club in Blackridge, Pennsylvania, a suburb east of Pittsburgh. It concluded on Monday, after rain washed out play on Saturday.[3]
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | June 6–10, 1957 |
| Location | Blackridge, Pennsylvania |
| Course(s) | Churchill Valley Country Club |
| Tour(s) | LPGA Tour |
| Format | Stroke play – 72 holes |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 70 |
| Length | 5,711 yards (5,222 m)[1] |
| Field | 26 players[2] |
| Cut | none |
| Prize fund | $7,600 |
| Winner's share | $1,316 |
| Champion | |
 Louise Suggs | |
| 285 (+5) | |
Louise Suggs, president of the LPGA,[4] shot a final round 68 (−2) to win her only LPGA Championship, three strokes ahead of runner-up Wiffi Smith.[5] Defending champion Marlene Hagge and 1955 winner Beverly Hanson finished two strokes behind Smith, in a tie for third.[6] Smith, age 20, led after each of the first three rounds, but carded a 74 (+4) in the final round on Monday.[5] She won eight events on the LPGA Tour in her career, but no majors. It was the tenth of eleven major titles for Suggs.
The field consisted of 26 professionals; a concurrent event for amateurs was also held.[2] The championship returned to Churchill Valley the next year in 1958 and the course hosted its third major the following year, the U.S. Women's Open in 1959. The club closed in 2013.[7][8]
Past champions in the field
| Player | Country | Year won | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marlene Hagge | United States | 1956 | 69 | 75 | 73 | 73 | 290 | +10 | T3 |
| Beverly Hanson | United States | 1955 | 75 | 73 | 73 | 69 | 290 | +10 | T3 |
Source:[6]
Final leaderboard
Monday, June 10, 1957
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louise Suggs | United States | 69-74-74-68=285 | +5 | 1,316 |
| 2 | Wiffi Smith | United States | 68-71-75-74=288 | +8 | 921 |
| T3 | Marlene Hagge | United States | 69-75-73-73=290 | +10 | 698 |
| Beverly Hanson | United States | 75-73-73-69=290 | |||
| 5 | Joyce Ziske | United States | 71-73-75-74=293 | +13 | 557 |
| 6 | Marilynn Smith | United States | 76-70-75-73=294 | +14 | 473 |
| 7 | Patty Berg | United States | 73-72-77-73=295 | +15 | 404 |
| T8 | Alice Bauer | United States | 74-71-74-77=296 | +16 | 303 |
| Bonnie Randolph | United States | 76-76-69-75=296 | |||
| 10 | Kathy Cornelius | United States | 77-72-73-75=297 | +17 | 228 |
Source:[6]
References
- Gundelfinger, Phil (June 8, 1957). "Wiffi Smith cards 71, leads LPGA by four". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 15.
- Gundelfinger, Phil (June 6, 1957). "Small, select field opens LPGA tourney". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 27.
- "Third round of Ladies PGA golf postponed". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. Associated Press. June 9, 1957. p. 31.
- Jordan, Jimmy (June 11, 1957). "LPGA head had faith in herself". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 22.
- Gundelfinger, Phil (June 11, 1957). "Louise Suggs' 285 wins LPGA". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 20.
- "Suggs wins title in LPGA". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Florida. Associated Press. June 11, 1957. p. 10.
- "Churchill Valley Country Club sinks into financial hole". Pittsburgh Business Times. January 25, 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2014.
- Varine, Patrick (August 14, 2013). "Churchill Valley Country Club seeks penalty against creditors". Trib Live. Retrieved July 19, 2014.