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 won 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 ...

three times between 1959 and 1965, and played in the

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 " ...

in 1960, 1962 and 1964.

Golf career

In 1955 Porter represented England for the first time 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 ...

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 ...

and reached the quarter-finals of the subsequent Girls Amateur Championship, before losing to Annette Nicholson. The following year, 1956, she won the Girls Amateur Championship, beating Nicholson 5&4 in the final at

Seaton Carew Seaton Carew is a seaside resort and civil parish in the Borough of Hartlepool in County Durham, England. It had an estimated population of 6,018. The area is named after a Norman French family called Carou who owned lands in the area and set ...

. She made her final appearance in the event at

North Berwick North Berwick (; gd, Bearaig a Tuath) is a seaside town A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on th ...

in 1957, losing 3&2 in the final 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 ...

, having beaten

Julia Greenhalgh Julia A. Greenhalgh (later Merrill, born 6 January 1941) was an English amateur golfer. She was runner-up in the 1978 Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship. She won the Ladies' British Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship in 1974 and 1975 an ...

in the semi-finals. In 1958 she won the British Girls' Stroke-play Championship, an under-21 event, at Ranfurly Castle, winning by four strokes from Jean Letham. Porter won the 1959

at Aldeburgh, beating Frances Smith 5&4 in the final. Later in 1959 she made her debut for England in the

Women's Home Internationals The Women's Home Internationals were an amateur team golf championship for women contested between the four Home Nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, where Ireland was represented by the whole island of Ireland on an All-Ireland basi ...

, the first time the event was held separately from 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 th ...

, and for Great Britain & Ireland 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 od ...

, the first time the event was played against a combined Continent of Europe team. Porter make her

debut in 1960 at Lindrick. On the opening day Porter lost her foursomes match 3&2, playing with Frances Smith, having been 9 down after 13.holes of the morning round. The United States regained the cup on the final day. Porter was not originally selected for the singles but was included when Smith was unable to play. She was the only British player to win her singles, beating

Joanne Goodwin Joanne may refer to: Music * ''Joanne'' (album), 2016 album by Lady Gaga ** "Joanne" (Lady Gaga song), a 2016 song from the album ''Joanne'' * "Joanne" (Michael Nesmith song), a 1970 song from the album ''Magnetic South'' * "Joanne", a song by C ...

by one hole. In 1961, at Littlestone, Porter won the

for the second time. beating Peggy Reece by two holes in the final. Reece had holed a 90-yard pitch shot to be three up with seven holes to play. However, Porter then won four of the next five holes to take the lead, and won the match at the 36th hole. The following week she won a new event, the 72-hole

Astor Prince's Trophy The Astor Prince's Trophy was a women's 72-hole stroke play amateur golf tournament played at Prince's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent from 1961 to 1969. The event was dropped after 1969 because of a busy schedule. The Ladies' British Open Amateur S ...

Prince's Golf Club Prince's Golf Club, Sandwich is a links (golf), links golf course located in Sandwich, Kent, Sandwich in Kent in South East England. Prince's is immediately adjacent to the more famous Royal St George's golf club, and both clubs lie on the same ...

, by seven strokes from

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 ...

. Porter was selected for the 1962

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. She played with Diane Robb Frearson in the foursomes, losing 8&7 and was not selected for the singles. In 1963, Porter played In the

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 ...

in Australia, Great Britain winning the event. During the trip, she reached the final of the

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 ...

, losing to

Marlene Streit Marlene Stewart Streit, (born March 9, 1934) is a Canadian amateur golfer, and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. She was born in Cereal, Alberta. She learned golf from Gordon McInnis Sr. at the Lookout Point Golf Club in Fonthill, Ontar ...

. The 1964 Curtis Cup at Royal Porthcawl was the first to have 18-hole matches. Porter played with

Sheila Vaughan Sheila Mary Vaughan (later Irving and Maher, 9 March 1942 – 23 April 2022) was an English amateur golfer. She had a successful junior career and won the Girls Amateur Championship in 1959. She had some success at the senior level in early 1960s ...

in both sets of the foursomes matches, winning their match on the first day and halving on the final day. In the singles she beat Nancy Roth but lost to

Carol Sorenson Carol may refer to: People with the name *Carol (given name) *Henri Carol (1910–1984), French composer and organist *Martine Carol (1920–1967), French film actress *Sue Carol (1906–1982), American actress and talent agent, wife of actor Ala ...

. The contest was much closer than that in 1962 with the teams level at the start of the final round of singles matches. In three Curtis Cup contests, she won three matches, lost three and halved one. In 1965 Porter won the

for the third time in seven years, beating Gillian Cheetham 6&5 in the final at Whittington Barracks. Porter was runner-up in both the 1964 and 1965

Hovis International The Hovis International was a women's amateur 72-hole stroke-play event. It was held from 1964 to 1972. The event continued as the Newmark International. Some of the later events were open to professionals. Winners References

{{Reflist Ama ...

, behind

Margaret Nichol Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular through ...

in 1964 and

Marley Spearman Marley Joan Spearman ( Baker, later Harris, 11 January 1928 – 19 August 2011) She won the British Ladies Amateur in 1961 and 1962 and the English Women's Amateur Championship in 1964. She was in four Curtis Cup teams, in 1958, 1960, 1962 and 19 ...

in 1965. Porter played for England in the

1964 Espirito Santo Trophy The 1964 Espirito Santo Trophy took place 1–4 October at Golf de Saint Germain in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, west of Paris, France. It was the first women's golf World Amateur Team Championship for the Espirito Santo Trophy. The tournament was a 72 ...

, when the four home nations competed separately, and in the winning team in the

1965 European Ladies' Team Championship The 1965 European Ladies' Team Championship took place 5–10 July at Royal The Hague Golf & Country Club in Wassenaar, 10 kilometres north of the city center of The Hague, Netherlands. It was the fourth women's golf amateur European Ladies' Te ...

. In May 1966 Porter reached the semi-finals of the

at Hayling, losing to Jean Holmes. Despite this and her performances in 1965, Porter was not in the

team for the match in

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, being selected as second reserve. Liz Chadwick, the first reserve, was added to the team when

withdrew with an injured hand, but Porter failed to make the team. A few days after the Curtis Cup selection she was a joint winner of the

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at Littlestone. She finished tied with

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 ...

after the final round was abandoned. Later in 1966 she was selected as playing captain of the three-player Great Britain & Ireland team 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 ...

event in Mexico. In 1968, partnering Ann Irvin, 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 1978 at West Sussex she reached the final of the

, losing 2&1 to Vanessa Marvin. She died in 2014.

Personal life

Porter married

Tony Slark Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

, an international golfer, in 1979.

Team appearances

(representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1960, 1962, 1964 *

(representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1959 (winners), 1961 (winners), 1965 *

(representing Great Britain): 1963 (winners) *

(representing England):

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

, (representing Great Britain & Ireland):

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

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) *

(representing England): 1959 (winners), 1960 (winners), 1961, 1962, 1964 (winners), 1965 (winners), 1966 (winners), 1968 (winners), 1978 (winners) *

(representing England): 1955 (winners), 1956 (winners), 1957 (winners)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Ruth English female golfers Amateur golfers 1939 births 2014 deaths