Ann Leslie Irvin (born 11 April 1943) is an English amateur golfer. She won the British Ladies Amateur in 1973 and the

English Women's Amateur Championship The English Women's Amateur Championship is the women's national amateur match play golf championship of England. It was first played in 1912 and is currently organised by England Golf. The English Women's Amateur Championship is contested thro ...

in 1967 and 1974. She was in four Curtis Cup teams, in 1962, 1968, 1970 and 1976.

Amateur career

Irvin reached the final of the

Girls Amateur Championship The Girls Amateur Championship is a golf tournament held annually in the United Kingdom. Girls need to be under 18 on 1 January in the year of the championship. Until World War II the championship was organised by a series of magazines and always ...

in 1960 and was a losing semi-finalist in 1961. In those two years she also played in the

England–Scotland girls match The Girls Home Internationals was an amateur team golf championship for girls between the four Home Nations. Ireland was represented by the whole island of Ireland.The event was organised by The R&A. The inaugural event was held in 1969 and the ...

. Late in 1961 she made her first senior team appearance, playing against the Continent of Europe in Italy in the Vagliano Trophy. Early in 1962 she was runner-up, playing with

Jill Thornhill Jill Thornhill ( Woodside, born 18 August 1942) is an English amateur golfer. Her biggest successes came after reaching 40. She won the 1983 British Ladies Amateur, the 1986 English Women's Amateur Championship and the 1993 Women's Senior Amateur ...

, in the

Kayser Bondor Foursomes The Avia Foursomes was a women's foursomes golf tournament contested annually from 1958 to 1989. It was held at Sunningdale Golf Club in its first year but was then played at the Berkshire Golf Club near Ascot, Berkshire. The event consisted of 7 ...

. She was also runner-up in the Astor Prince's Trophy in July. In 1962 she was selected for the England team in the Women's Home Internationals, although the team lost to Scotland and finished runners-up. Later in the year she played in the Curtis Cup match in

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

. Irvin played in the foursomes but was not selected for the singles. The team lost by 8 matches to 1. In 1963 she won the

French International Lady Juniors Amateur Championship The French International Lady Juniors Amateur Championship (french: Internationaux de France Juniors Filles), known also as the Esmond Trophy since 1972, is an annual amateur golf tournament in France for women up to 21. The match play tournament ...

, an under-21 event, and reached the final again in 1964. She also won the 1963 Scottish Girls' Open Stroke-play Championship at Dumfries & County, seven strokes ahead of the runner-up.

Liz Chadwick Elizabeth M. Chadwick (later Pook, 4 April 1943 – 6 December 2012) was an English amateur golfer. She won the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship in 1966 and 1967. She played in the Curtis Cup in 1966. Golf career In 1961 Chadwick was s ...

. In 1965 Irvin was runner-up, playing with

Claudine Cros Claudine may refer to: Name * Claudine (given name), a feminine given name of French origin Culture * ''Claudine'' (film), a 1974 American film by John Berry ** ''Claudine'' (soundtrack), its soundtrack album. Music by Curtis Mayfield and Gladis ...

, in the Casa Pupo Foursomes, although 21 strokes behind the winners. In 1966 she tied with

Ruth Porter Ruth Porter (later Slark, 6 May 1939 – 15 September 2014) was an English amateur golfer. She had a successful junior career which included winning the 1956 Girls Amateur Championship and the 1958 British Girls' Stroke-play Championship. She ...

in the Hovis International, after the final round was abandoned. In 1967 Irvin won the

, beating Margaret Pickard in the final. In 1968 she won the

Avia Foursomes The Avia Foursomes was a women's foursomes golf tournament contested annually from 1958 to 1989. It was held at Sunningdale Golf Club in its first year but was then played at the Berkshire Golf Club near Ascot, Berkshire. The event consisted of 7 ...

, playing with Ruth Porter, and she also won the Hovis International, this time by 16 strokes from the runners-up. Irvin made her second appearance in the Curtis Cup in 1968, winning three of her four matches and halving the other. The team led after the first day but the United States had the better of the second day and won by 3 points. Irvin reached the final of the British Ladies Amateur in 1969 but lost by one hole to

Catherine Lacoste Catherine Lacoste (born 27 June 1945) is a French amateur golfer and the only player who has won the U.S. Women's Open as an amateur. Early life She was born and grew up in Paris, France, with her parents, René Lacoste and Simone de la Chaume a ...

in the 36-hole final. Later in the year she won the inaugural

Ladies' British Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship Ladies' British Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship was founded in 1969 by the Ladies' Golf Union (now merged into The R&A) of Great Britain. A stroke play tournament over 72 holes, it was discontinued by the R&A after the 2017 tournament won ...

, 9 strokes ahead of runner-up

Dinah Oxley Dinah Lillianne Henson ( Oxley, 17 October 1948 – 30 April 2020) was an English amateur golfer. She won the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship in 1970. She played in the Curtis Cup four times, in 1968, 1970, 1972 and 1976. Golf career A ...

. In 1970 she again won the Hovis International, 5 strokes ahead of

Angela Bonallack Angela, Lady Bonallack ( Ward; 7 April 1937 – 1 July 2022) was an English amateur golfer. She was twice a finalist in the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship and won the English Women's Amateur Championship in 1958 and 1963. She played ...

. In the Curtis Cup in Massachusetts, Irvin lost all her four matches, the United States winning the match by 5 points. Irvin won the British Ladies Amateur in 1973, beating Mickey Walker in the final. She reached the semi-finals the following year, losing narrowly to

. Earlier in 1974 she had won the

for the second time, beating

in the final. She was selected for the Curtis Cup team but withdrew after injuring her back. Irvin made her final Curtis Cup appearance in 1976. She won her opening foursomes match but lost in the singles and in the second-day foursomes. Irvin gave up top-level golf in 1977 because of back problems.

Personal life, awards

Irvin was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2011 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2011 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 11 June 2011 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: New Zealand,French International Lady Juniors Amateur Championship The French International Lady Juniors Amateur Championship (french: Internationaux de France Juniors Filles), known also as the Esmond Trophy since 1972, is an annual amateur golf tournament in France for women up to 21. The match play tournament ...

, Scottish Girls' Open Stroke-play Championship *1966 Hovis International (tied with

) *1967

*1968 Avia Foursomes (with Ruth Porter), Hovis International *1969

*1970 Hovis International *1973 British Ladies Amateur *1974

Team appearances

* Curtis Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1962, 1968, 1970, 1976 * Vagliano Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1961 (winners), 1963 (winners), 1965, 1967, 1969, 1971 (winners), 1973 (winners), 1975 (winners) *

Commonwealth Trophy The Astor Trophy is a women's team golf tournament between teams of amateurs golfers from Great Britain and Ireland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. It has been played every four years since 1959. From its foundation until 2007 it ...

(representing Great Britain): 1967 (winners), 1975 (winners) * Women's International Series (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1973 *

European Ladies' Team Championship The European Ladies' Team Championship is a European amateur team golf championship for women organised by the European Golf Association. The inaugural event was held in 1959. It was played in odd-numbered years from 1959 to 2007 and has been pla ...

(representing England):

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

(winners),

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

(winners),

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

(winners),

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

(winners),

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

* Women's Home Internationals (representing England): 1962, 1963 (winners), 1965 (winners), 1967 (joint winners), 1968 (winners), 1969, 1970 (winners), 1971 (winners), 1972 (winners), 1973 (winners) *

(representing England): 1960 (tie), 1961 (winners)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irvin, Ann English female golfers Amateur golfers Officers of the Order of the British Empire 1943 births Living people