Margaret Ann Masters (24 October 1934 – 9 October 2022) was an Australian professional golfer. She won one title on the

LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of week ...

in 1967, having been named Rookie of the Year two years earlier.

Early life

Masters was born in

Swan Hill Swan Hill is a city in the northwest of Victoria, Australia on the Murray Valley Highway and on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River. At , Swan Hill had a population of 11,508. Indigenous Peo ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, on 24 October 1934. Her family later relocated to the

Mornington Peninsula The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geo ...

, where she started playing golf at the age of thirteen under her parent's influence. She attended Frankston High School outside

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, where she set records in swimming. Masters won the inaugural Australian Girls' Amateur in 1953 and the Victorian Junior Championship four years in a row from 1951 to 1954. At senior level she won the New Zealand Women's Amateur in 1956, the South African Women's Amateur the following year, and the 1958

Australian Women's Amateur The Australian Women's Amateur is the national amateur golf championship of Australia. It was first played in 1894 and is organised by Golf Australia. Having traditionally been a match play event, it became a 72-hole stroke play event in 2021, h ...

. She also won the Victorian Amateur five times between 1957 and 1963. After winning the

Canadian Women's Amateur The Canadian Women's Amateur is Canada's annual national amateur golf tournament for women. It is open to women from all countries and is played at a different course each year. History The first championship was held from October 14 to 17, 1901 at ...

in 1964, she moved to the United States. In international competition she represented Australia in the

Tasman Cup The Tasman Cup was an amateur women's team golf tournament, played between Australia and New Zealand from 1933 to 2016. From 2007 to 2012 it was played as part of the Trans Tasman Cup. In 2016 the trophy was contested using scores from the two qua ...

five successive times from 1954 to 1962 and played in the first two

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 ...

contests in 1959 and 1963.

Professional career

Masters turned professional in 1965, becoming the first Australian to join the

, and was conferred the tour's Rookie of the Year Award. She finished runner-up at the

Women's Western Open The Women's Western Open was an American professional golf tournament founded in 1930. The LPGA was established in 1950, and it recognized the Western Open as one of its major championships through 1967. All of the events back to 1930 have been d ...

the following year, a major championship. Masters won her first and only LPGA title in 1967 at the Quality Chek'd Classic. She also won the Yankee Ladies' Team Championship with

Clifford Ann Creed Clifford Ann Creed (born September 23, 1938) is a retired American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1963 and won eleven LPGA Tour events in all. Amateur career Creed was born in Alexandria, Louisiana, and started pl ...

that same year, and finished second at the Supertest Ladies Open, losing to

Carol Mann Carol Mann (February 3, 1941 – May 20, 2018) was an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1961 and won two major championships and 38 LPGA Tour events in all. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. A ...

by two strokes. She lost a

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

by a single stroke to

Shirley Englehorn Shirley Ruth Englehorn (December 12, 1940 – October 2, 2022) was an American professional golfer. Nicknamed "Dimples", she won 11 tournaments during her LPGA Tour career, including one major, the 1970 LPGA Championship. Early life and amateu ...

at the 1970

O'Sullivan Ladies Open The O'Sullivan Ladies Open was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from 1968 to 1971. It was played at the Winchester Country Club in Winchester, Virginia. Winners ;O'Sullivan Ladies Open *1971 Judy Kimball *1970 Shirley Englehorn *1969 Murle Lin ...

, before losing again by one stroke to

Judy Kimball Judy Kimball Simon (born June 17, 1938) is an American professional golfer, best known for winning the LPGA Championship in 1962, a women's major championship. Amateur career Born in Sioux City, Iowa, Kimball graduated from the University of K ...

at the same tournament the following year. Masters had another runner-up finish at the Colgate Far East Open in December 1974. She retired from the tour five years later. While playing at a tournament in Florida, Masters escaped uninjured when a sniper fired several shots at her and

Marilynn Smith Marilynn Louise Smith (April 13, 1929 – April 9, 2019) was an American professional golfer. She was one of the thirteen founders of the LPGA in 1950. She won two major championships and 21 LPGA Tour events in all. She is a member of the Wor ...

, one of the founders of the LPGA. Although the incident left her agitated, she continued playing and ultimately made the

cut Cut may refer to: Common uses * The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely-directed force ** A type of wound ** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past ** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment ** Cut (ea ...

. The perpetrator was never identified. Outside of golf, Masters was noted for successfully applying for a

green card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...

under the category of individuals with "exceptional ability in sciences or arts who would substantially benefit prospectively the national economy, cultural interest or welfare of the United States". Her petition resulted in the decision in January 1969 – the Matter of Masters – that regarded her as an entertainer in the arts, paving the way for other professional athletes to settle in the US via the same route.

Later life

After retiring from competitive golf, Masters became a teacher. She resided in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, during her later years. Masters was inducted into Victoria's Golf Industry Hall of Fame in 2013. She was also honoured in the halls of fame at Woodlands, the

Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club The Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club, often referred to as Ottawa Hunt or the Hunt Club, is a private golf and curling club in Canada, located in Ottawa, Ontario. Founded in 1908 as a hunting club, it has hosted many world-class professional and amateur ...

, as well as the Ottawa Valley Golf Association. The Woodlands championship trophy bears her name. Masters died on 9 October 2022 in Tucson. She was 87 years old.

Amateur wins

*1951 Victorian Junior Championship *1952 Victorian Junior Championship *1953 Victorian Junior Championship, Australian Girls' Amateur *1954 Victorian Junior Championship *1956 New Zealand Women’s Amateur Stroke Play Championship, New Zealand Women's Amateur *1957 South African Women's Amateur,

Victorian Women's Amateur Championship The Victorian Women's Amateur Championship is the state amateur golf championship of Victoria, Australia. It has been played annually since 1900, except for the war years. Format The event is a match play tournament. In 2021 and 2022 there were ...

*1958

*1959

*1960 New Zealand Women’s Amateur Stroke Play Championship *1961

*1962

*1963

*1964

Professional wins

LPGA Tour wins (1)

LPGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

Other wins

* 1967 Yankee Ladies' Team Championship (with

)

Team appearances

Amateur *

(representing Australia): 1959, 1963 *

(representing Australia): 1954 (winners), 1956 (tied), 1958 (winners), 1960 (winners), 1962 (winners)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Masters, Margie Australian female golfers LPGA Tour golfers People from Swan Hill Sportspeople from Tucson, Arizona 1934 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Australian women