Ann Gregory (July 25, 1912 – February 5, 1990) was an African-American amateur golfer. Black newspapers had called her "The Queen of Negro Women's Golf." As stated in

Arthur Ashe Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam singles titles. He started to play tennis at six years old. He was the first black player selected to the Unite ...

's book, ''Hard Road to Glory'', many observers called Gregory the best African-American female golfer of the 20th century. Gregory learned to play golf while her husband was away serving in the Navy during World War II. In 1948 Gregory won a tournament in Kankakee, Illinois, during which she defeated former

United Golf Association The United Golfers Association (UGA) was a group of African-American professional golfers who operated a separate series of professional golf tournaments for Blacks during the era of racial segregation in the United States. It was said to have sta ...

champions Lucy Mitchell, Cleo Ball, and Geneva Wilson. In 1950 she won the Sixth City Open in Cleveland, the Midwest Amateur, and the

's national tournament, as well as tying the women's course record at a Flint, Michigan tournament. On September 17, 1956, she began competing in the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship, thus becoming the first African-American woman to play in a national championship conducted by the

United States Golf Association The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...

. Because she was African-American, Gregory was denied entry into the player's banquet at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda at the conclusion of the U.S. Women's Amateur in 1959. Also, in

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...

, African-Americans were banned from playing the South Gleason Park Golf Course. However, in the early 1960s, Gregory played that course, stating, "My tax dollars are taking care of the big course and there's no way you can bar me from it." She was followed by other African-Americans who played the course soon after her, and the ban was ended. In 1963, Gregory was mistaken as a maid by

Polly Riley Polly Ann Riley (August 27, 1926 – March 13, 2002) was an American amateur golfer. Riley won over 100 tournaments in her career. Although she remained an amateur throughout her career, she won the first LPGA Tour event, the 1950 Tampa Open ...

, another contestant at the Women's Amateur in Williamstown, Massachusetts. In 1971, Gregory was runner-up at the USGA Senior Women's Amateur, making her the first African-American to finish as runner-up in a USGA women's competition. In 1989, at age 76 and competing against a field of 50 women, she won the gold medal in the U.S. National Senior Olympics, beating her competitors by 44 strokes. In all, during her career, Gregory won nearly 300 tournaments. Gregory was also the first African-American appointed to the Gary ndianaPublic Library Board, which occurred in 1954. A granite marker in Gregory's memory stands at the sixth hole of the South Gleason Park Golf Course in Gary, Indiana. She was inducted into the United Golf Association Hall of Fame in 1966, the African American Golfers Hall of Fame in 2006, the National African American Golfers Hall of Fame in 2011, and the

National Black Golf Hall of Fame The National Black Golf Hall of Fame was started by Harold Dunovant, the first African-American to graduate from the PGA of America's business school in 1964. He was unable to become a Class A PGA Member for six years because no one would sign his a ...

in 2012. In 2000, the Urban Chamber of Commerce of Las Vegas began the Ann Gregory Memorial Scholarship Golf Tournament, which lasted seven years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory, Ann American female golfers African-American golfers Amateur golfers Golfers from Mississippi People from Aberdeen, Mississippi Sportspeople from Gary, Indiana 1912 births 1990 deaths 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century American people