Virginia Van Wie
Encyclopedia
Virginia Van Wie was an American
amateur golf
er, best known for winning three U.S. Women's Amateurs, 1932-34. The Illinois-born golfer was the daughter of wealthy parents, and learned the game at the Beverly Country Club, and during the summers, she would go with her parents to summer homes in Michigan and Florida, and compete with the best. Van Wie was a student of golf instructor Ernest Jones
.
While at the age of 16 and still attending Lindblom High School in Chicago--in 1925 when the school did not have a golf team--Van Wie first emerged as an extraordinary golfer. In the summer that year, the newspapers first noticed Van Wie when she won the Western Michigan championship and then won the Western Junior championship, and upset several top golfers in other tournaments.
In 1926, Van Wie beat the national champion, Glenna Collett, for the East Coast Florida championship, and began a string of three Chicago District golf titles. At the 1928 and 1930 U.S. Women's Amateurs, Van Wie lost in the finals to Glenna Collett. In the 1929 event, she tied for the medal for lowest score in the qualifying rounds. Van Wie broke through to national fame in 1932, when she beat Collett for the first of her three consecutive national amateur titles. After winning her final championship in 1934, and based on her performance for the entire year, she earned the 1934 Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year
and was proclaimed the "world's greatest female golfer."
Van Wie was a member of the American team that won the first Curtis Cup
played at the Wentworth Golf Club in England in 1932 and was part of the team that won it again in 1934.
Van Wie retired in 1935 without defending her national title, and then taught golf in the Chicago area for more than thirty years. In 1950, she was inducted into the Women's Golf Hall of Fame.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
amateur golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
er, best known for winning three U.S. Women's Amateurs, 1932-34. The Illinois-born golfer was the daughter of wealthy parents, and learned the game at the Beverly Country Club, and during the summers, she would go with her parents to summer homes in Michigan and Florida, and compete with the best. Van Wie was a student of golf instructor Ernest Jones
Ernest Jones (golfer)
Ernest Jones was an English professional golfer. He is renowned for his accomplishments in teaching many famous professional golfers as well as amateurs. He tutored Virginia Van Wie for many years, including during her stretch of three consecutive U.S. Women's Amateur Championships from 1932–34...
.
While at the age of 16 and still attending Lindblom High School in Chicago--in 1925 when the school did not have a golf team--Van Wie first emerged as an extraordinary golfer. In the summer that year, the newspapers first noticed Van Wie when she won the Western Michigan championship and then won the Western Junior championship, and upset several top golfers in other tournaments.
In 1926, Van Wie beat the national champion, Glenna Collett, for the East Coast Florida championship, and began a string of three Chicago District golf titles. At the 1928 and 1930 U.S. Women's Amateurs, Van Wie lost in the finals to Glenna Collett. In the 1929 event, she tied for the medal for lowest score in the qualifying rounds. Van Wie broke through to national fame in 1932, when she beat Collett for the first of her three consecutive national amateur titles. After winning her final championship in 1934, and based on her performance for the entire year, she earned the 1934 Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year
Associated Press Athlete of the Year
The first Athlete of the Year award in the United States was initiated by the Associated Press in 1931. At a time when women in sports were never given the same recognition as men, the AP offered a male and a female athlete of the year award to either a professional or amateur athlete...
and was proclaimed the "world's greatest female golfer."
Van Wie was a member of the American team that won the first Curtis Cup
Curtis Cup
The Curtis Cup is the best known team trophy for women amateur golfers, awarded in the biennial Curtis Cup Match . It is co-organised by the United States Golf Association and the Ladies Golf Union and is contested by teams representing the United States and "Great Britain and Ireland"...
played at the Wentworth Golf Club in England in 1932 and was part of the team that won it again in 1934.
Van Wie retired in 1935 without defending her national title, and then taught golf in the Chicago area for more than thirty years. In 1950, she was inducted into the Women's Golf Hall of Fame.