Sally Sessions

Sessions was born on February 22, 1923, and attended North Muskegon High School in the late 1930s.[2] She was a tennis player in high school, winning a Michigan novice state championship when she was 16 years old; she also played basketball and softball.[2] After Sessions was grounded for "sneaking off to play tennis in Grand Rapids", she took up golf.[3]

Later, Sessions decided to pursue golf exclusively. She won a state junior title in 1941.[2] The following year, she won the Western Michigan Women's event and made the quarterfinal round of the Women's Western Amateur.[3] Although major golf tournaments were canceled the next few years because of World War II,[3] Sessions remained active in local tournaments.[2] In 1944, she was the medalist in qualifying for the Women's Western Amateur.[4] Two years later, Sessions earned a Michigan state championship,[5] and tied for fifth at the 1946 Titleholders Championship.[6]

In 1947, Sessions competed in national events while retaining her amateur status.[2] At the 1947 U.S. Women's Open, Sessions completed four 18-hole rounds in 301 strokes. Her total gave her a second-place tie with fellow amateur Polly Riley, six strokes behind winner Betty Jameson.[7] Sessions became the Mexican Open champion later in the year,[3] and recorded an under-par round at Pinehurst Country Club, becoming the first female player to accomplish the feat.[5]

In early 1948, she turned professional.[2] That year, she posted a top-10 finish in the U.S. Women's Open.[8] In 1949, Sessions had her highest tournament finish as a professional: fifth place at the All American Open. Ill from leukemia that had not been diagnosed, she stopped playing professionally after that season.[3]

Although her career as a competitive golfer had ended,[3] Sessions was one of the 13 founders of the LPGA Tour when the organization was formed in 1950.[3] She was named one of the first two treasurers of the LPGA, along with Jameson.[9] Sessions was a Wilson Sporting Goods staff professional, touring the U.S. to take part in golf clinics for the company.[5] She became an athletic director in the Detroit school system.[3] On December 23, 1966, she died in Detroit at the age of 43.[2]

In 1987, Sessions was posthumously inducted into the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame.[2] One year later, she was inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame.[10]