Frances "Bunty" Stephens (married name Frances Stephens Smith or Frances Smith Stephens; 26 July 1924 – 23 July 1978) was an English amateur golfer.

Personal life

Stephens was born in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

where her father Fred was club professional at

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. Historically part of Lancashire, Bootle's ...

Golf Club. She faced discrimination from golf administrators because of his

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

occupation. In 1955 she married Roy Smith, a

Scottish Airlines Scottish Airlines (Prestwick) Limited was formed in 1946 as a subsidiary of Scottish Aviation Limited. The airline commenced worldwide passenger and cargo charter flights from bases at Prestwick and Stansted. It also participated in the Berli ...

pilot killed in a 1957 crash in Libya. They had one daughter. Stephens curtailed her playing career to raise her daughter, but subsequently was active in golf administration and developing junior golf. She was made OBE for "services to Ladies Golf" in the

1977 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1977 are appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1977. The awards were announced on 30 December 1976 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: Australia,Australia: Ne ...

, a year before her death from cancer.

Golf career

Stephens' home club was Royal Birkdale. She won the

British Ladies Amateur 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 th ...

in 1949 and 1954, and was runner-up in 1951 and 1952. She played in all six

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 R&A and is contested by teams representing the United States and ...

s from 1950 to 1960, and was non-playing captain of the Great Britain and Ireland team in 1962 and 1972. Her final-hole victories over

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 ...

in the 1956 and 1958 tournaments secured a win and a draw respectively for the British team, the first time it retained the cup. In the United States she was "hardly known", though she finished tied for 6th in the 1949 U.S. Women's Open. She was also a non-playing captain of the British team in the

Vagliano Trophy The Vagliano Trophy is a biennial women's amateur golf tournament. It is co-organised by The R&A and the European Golf Association and is contested by teams representing "Great Britain and Ireland" and the "Continent of Europe". It is played in ...

Herbert Warren Wind Herbert Warren Wind (August 11, 1916 – May 30, 2005) was an American sportswriter noted for his writings on golf. Early years Born in Brockton, Massachusetts, Wind began golf at age seven at the Thorny Lea Golf Club in Brockton, and played w ...

called her a "slight, quiet, entirely undramatic girl" and an outstanding clutch player.

Enid Wilson Enid Wilson (15 March 1910 – 14 January 1996) was an English amateur golfer. She was a semi-finalist at her first British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship in 1927 and won the Championship three years in a row between 1931 and 1933. Compe ...

said she had "a very frail physique but ... the temperament of a tigress". Her swing had a pronounced hiatus at the top, which Wind called "most unimpressive", although Henry Cotton said she had "one of the prettiest swings in the game".

Team appearances

(representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1950, 1952 (winners), 1954, 1956 (winners), 1958 (winners), 1960, 1962 (non-playing captain), 1972 (non-playing captain) *

(representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1947 (winners), 1948 (winners), 1949 (winners), 1953 (winners), 1955 (winners), 1959 (winners), 1971 (non-playing captain, winners) * Commonwealth Trophy (representing Great Britain): 1959 (winners), 1963 (winners)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Frances English female golfers Amateur golfers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Deaths from cancer in the United Kingdom Sportspeople from Lancashire 1924 births 1978 deaths