Susie Berning

Susie Maxwell Berning (born July 22, 1941) is a retired American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1964 and won four major championships and eleven LPGA Tour victories in all. She also competed under her maiden name Susie Maxwell from 1964 to 1968. She will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2021.[1]

Susie Berning
Personal information
Full nameSusie Maxwell Berning
Born (1941-07-22) July 22, 1941
Pasadena, California
Height5 ft 2 in (1.57 m)
Nationality United States
ResidenceAspen, Colorado
Palm Springs, California
Career
CollegeOklahoma City University
Turned professional1964
Former tour(s)LPGA Tour (1964–96)
Professional wins13
Number of wins by tour
LPGA Tour11
Other2
Best results in LPGA major championships
(wins: 4)
Western OpenWon: 1965
Titleholders C'ship13th: 1966
ANA InspirationT38: 1984
Women's PGA C'shipT2: 1969
U.S. Women's OpenWon: 1968, 1972, 1973
du Maurier ClassicT25: 1984
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame2021 (member page)
LPGA Rookie of the Year1964
LPGA Most Improved Player1967

Amateur career

Maxwell was born in Pasadena, California. Her family moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma when she was 13. After taking up golf at the age of 15, she immediately won three-straight Oklahoma State High School Championships. She also won the Oklahoma City Women's Amateur from 1959 to 1961. In 1963, she won the Oklahoma Women's Amateur. She was the first woman to receive a golf scholarship from Oklahoma City University, where she competed on the men's team and she was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority.

Professional career

She turned pro and joined the LPGA Tour in 1964, and earned LPGA Rookie of the Year honors. She won her first tournament in 1965 at the Muskogee Civitan Open. She was named Most Improved Player for 1967. She won 11 times on the Tour, a high proportion of her wins coming in major championships, the 1965 Women's Western Open and the U.S. Women's Open in 1968, 1972 and 1973. However her form was inconsistent from her late twenties on, with the last of her three top-10 finishes on the money list coming in 1969. She stayed on the Tour for many years, though she did not always play full-time, and played 13 events as late as 1995. She made her final appearance on the Tour in 1996.

Since retiring from tour play, Berning has become a well-respected teaching professional spending time at the Nicholas-Flick Golf Academy, and now dividing her time between The Reserve Club in Palm Springs, California and Maroon Creek Country Club in Aspen, Colorado. She has two daughters, Robin Doctor and Cindy Molchany.

Professional wins (13)

LPGA Tour wins (11)
Legend
LPGA Tour major championships (4)
Other LPGA Tour (7)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of victory Runner(s)-up
1 May 16, 1965 Muskogee Civitan Open −3 (71-72-70=213) 5 strokes Kathy Cornelius
Judy Kimball
Mickey Wright
2 Jun 13, 1965 Women's Western Open −2 (73-72-76-69=290) 3 strokes Marlene Hagge
3 Apr 2, 1967 Louise Suggs Invitational +8 (75-72-77=224) Playoff Sandra Haynie
4 Jun 18, 1967 Milwaukee Jaycee Open E (68-73-75=216) 5 strokes Barbara Romack
Judy Kimball
Judy Rankin
Peggy Wilson
5 Jul 7, 1968 U.S. Women's Open +5 (69-73-76-71=289) 3 strokes Mickey Wright
6 Jun 8, 1969 Lady Carling Open −6 (69-74-70=213) 1 stroke Donna Caponi
7 Jun 22, 1969 Pabst Ladies Classic −5 (69-71-71=211) 1 stroke Donna Caponi
Clifford Ann Creed
Shirley Englehorn
8 Jul 2, 1972 U.S. Women's Open +11 (79-76-73-71=299) 1 stroke Kathy Ahern
Pam Barnett
Judy Rankin
9 Jun 24, 1973 Heritage Village Open −12 (68-70-69=207) 4 strokes Sandra Haynie
10 Jul 22, 1973 U.S. Women's Open −3 (73-77-69-72=290) 5 strokes Gloria Ehret
Shelley Hamlin
11 Jul 25, 1976 Lady Keystone Open −1 (72-71-72=215) 3 strokes Pat Bradley
Sandra Haynie

LPGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1966 Lady Carling Open Clifford Ann Creed Lost to birdie on first extra hole
2 1967 Louise Suggs Invitational Sandra Haynie Won with birdie on second extra hole

Other wins (2)

Major championships

Wins (4)
YearChampionshipWinning scoreMarginRunner(s)-up
1965Women's Western Open−2 (73-72-76-69=290)3 strokes Marlene Hagge
1968U.S. Women's Open+5 (69-73-76-71=289)3 strokes Mickey Wright
1972U.S. Women's Open+11 (79-73-76-71=299)1 stroke Kathy Ahern, Pam Barnett, Judy Rankin
1973U.S. Women's Open+2 (72-77-69-72=290)5 strokes Gloria Ehret, Shelley Hamlin

See also

References
  1. "Susie Maxwell Berning elected to World Golf Hall of Fame". ESPN. Associated Press. April 22, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.