Diane Jane Bailey ( Robb, also Frearson, born 31 August 1943) was an English amateur golfer. She had considerable success as a junior winning the 1961

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 ...

and the British girls stroke-play title in 1959 and 1961. She played in the 1962 Curtis Cup team before retiring from competitive golf. She made a return in the late 1960s and played in the 1972 Curtis Cup. Later she captained the team, in 1984, 1986 and 1988.

Golf career

In 1957, at the age of 14, Bailey played for England in the annual

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 ...

at North Berwick and reached the quarter-finals of the following

before losing to

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 1959 she won the British Girls' Stroke-play Championship at Whitecraigs, an under-21 event, by a stroke from Jean Letham. Bailey had an exceptional season in 1961. In April she reached the final of the French junior championship losing to

Brigitte Varangot Brigitte Varangot (1 May 1940 – 12 October 2007) was a French amateur golfer. Early life Varangot was born in Biarritz in the French Basque Country and was a self-taught golfer, who did not take many lessons and did not practice a lot. Lally ...

, three years her senior, in the final. She reached the final of the

Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship The Women's Amateur Championship, previously known as the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship, was founded in 1893 by the Ladies' Golf Union. It is organised by The R&A, which merged with the Ladies' Golf Union in 2017. Until the dawn of the ...

at Carnoustie, losing 7&6 to Marley Spearman. She had beaten

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 ...

at the 19th hole in the semi-finals. In August she won the British Girls' Stroke-play Championship for a second time, at Helensburgh, by four strokes from

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

. Three weeks later she won the

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...

beating

Jean Roberts Jean Evelyn Roberts (born 18 August 1943) is a former Australian Olympic athlete who competed in the shot put and discus throw events. She competed for the Coburg club, alongside athletes such as Raelene Boyle and Carolyn Lewis. Roberts won ...

3&2 in the final. In addition she made her debut for Great Britain & Ireland in the Vagliano Trophy and for England in the Women's Home Internationals. Bailey was selected for the 1962 Curtis Cup in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. The British lost heavily winning just one of the nine 36-hole matches. Bailey was the only British player to win a match, beating

Judy Bell Judy Bell (born September 23, 1936) is an American amateur golfer and golf administrator. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2001 in the Lifetime Achievement category, which honors people who have made an exceptional contribution ...

8&7 in the singles. In September 1962 she announced that she was retiring from international and tournament golf. Bailey made a return to regional events in 1966. In 1968 she returned to national events and was selected for the

Espirito Santo Trophy The Espirito Santo Trophy (World Women's Amateur Team Championships) is a biennial world amateur team golf championship for women organised by the International Golf Federation. The inaugural event was held in 1964. It was instituted by the Fren ...

team in Australia. She had some success in 1971 and 1972, In 1971 she reached the final of the

Wills Women's Match Play The Wills Women's Match Play was a women's amateur match-play event. It was held from 1967 to 1974. Finals were over 36 holes except for 1974, which was played over 18 holes, with the semi-finals played in the morning. The event was sponsored by ...

, losing to

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 ...

and, with Alan Smith, won the

Worplesdon Mixed Foursomes The Worplesdon Open Scratch Mixed Foursomes is an open mixed foursomes golf tournament contested annually at the Worplesdon Golf Club in Surrey since 1921. From its inception until the 1960s the event attracted many of the leading amateur golfer ...

. She also played in the Women's Home Internationals. In early 1972 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 ...

in partnership with Belle Robertson. In November 1971 she was selected for the 1972 Curtis Cup team. She played with Belle Robertson in the foursomes, winning one match and halving the other, but lost to

Lancy Smith Lancy is a municipality of the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. History Lancy is first mentioned in 1097 as ''Lanciaco'' meaning "fearless". Geography Lancy has an area, , of . Of this area, or 5.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while or ...

in her only singles match. Bailey was the non-playing captain of the Curtis Cup team in 1984, 1986 and 1988, Great Britain & Ireland winning in 1986 and 1988. She was president of the Ladies Golf Union from 2015 to 2017.

Personal life

Bailey was only daughter of William and Doris Robb of

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

. She married Alastair Frearson in January 1962 and in 1962 was known as Diane Robb Frearson, although later simply Diane Frearson. In 1975 she married John Bailey. She was appointed

Member 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

1988 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1988 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

for services to golf.

Team appearances

* Curtis Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1962, 1972, 1984 (non-playing captain), 1986 (non-playing captain, winners), 1988 (non-playing captain, winners) * Vagliano Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1961 (winners) *

(representing Great Britain & Ireland):

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

* Women's Home Internationals (representing England): 1961, 1962, 1971 (winners) *

(representing England): 1957 (winners), 1958 (winners), 1959 (winners), 1960 (tie), 1961 (winners)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Diane English female golfers Amateur golfers Members of the Order of the British Empire 1943 births Living people