Sally Sessions (February 22, 1923 – December 23, 1966) was an American golfer. Sessions tied for second place in the 1947 U.S. Women's Open as an amateur, and was one of the 13 founders of 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 weekl ...

in 1950.

Early life and education

Sessions was born on February 22, 1923, and attended North Muskegon High School in the late 1930s. She was a tennis player in high school, winning a Michigan novice state championship when she was 16 years old; she also played basketball and softball. After Sessions was grounded for "sneaking off to play tennis in

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

", she took up golf.

Career

Later, Sessions decided to pursue golf exclusively. She won a state junior title in 1941. The following year, she won the Western Michigan Women's event and made the quarterfinal round of the

Women's Western Amateur The Women's Western Amateur is an amateur golf tournament for women. It is organized by the Women's Western Golf Association, which also organized the Women's Western Open from 1930 to 1967. It is one of the oldest women's amateur tournaments in the ...

. Although major golf tournaments were canceled the next few years because of World War II, Sessions remained active in local tournaments. In 1944, she was the medalist in qualifying for the Women's Western Amateur. Two years later, Sessions earned a Michigan state championship, and tied for fifth at the 1946 Titleholders Championship. In 1947, Sessions competed in national events while retaining her amateur status. At the 1947 U.S. Women's Open, Sessions completed four 18-hole rounds in 301 strokes. Her total gave her a second-place tie with fellow amateur

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 ...

, six strokes behind winner

Betty Jameson Elizabeth May Jameson (May 9, 1919 – February 7, 2009) was an American professional golfer. She was one of the thirteen founders of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) in 1950. She won three major championships and a total of thi ...

. Sessions became the Mexican Open champion later in the year, and recorded an under-par round at

Pinehurst Country Club Pinehurst Resort is a golf resort in Pinehurst, North Carolina in the United States. It has hosted a number of prestigious golf tournaments including three U.S. Open (golf), U.S. Open Championships, one U.S. Women's Open, three United States Amat ...

, becoming the first female player to accomplish the feat. In early 1948, she turned professional. That year, she posted a top-10 finish in the

U.S. Women's Open The U.S. Women's Open, one of 15 national golf championships conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), is the oldest of the LPGA Tour's five major championships, which includes the Chevron Championship, Women's PGA Championship, W ...

. In 1949, Sessions had her highest tournament finish as a professional: fifth place at the

All American Open The All American Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour in the 1940s and 1950s. It was played at the Tam O'Shanter Country Club in Niles, Illinois. It was run by George S. May and was originally known as the Tam O'Shanter National Open. From 1 ...

. Ill from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

that had not been diagnosed, she stopped playing professionally after that season.

Later years

Although her career as a competitive golfer had ended, Sessions was one of the 13 founders of the

when the organization was formed in 1950. She was named one of the first two treasurers of the LPGA, along with Jameson. Sessions was a

Wilson Sporting Goods The Wilson Sporting Goods Company is an American sports equipment manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois. The company has been a subsidiary of Finnish multinational company Amer Sports since 1989, and is, in turn, now under the Chinese Anta Sport ...

staff professional, touring the U.S. to take part in golf clinics for the company. She became an athletic director in the Detroit school system. On December 23, 1966, she died in Detroit at the age of 43.

Awards and honors

In 1987, Sessions was posthumously inducted into the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame. One year later, she was inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sessions, Sally American female golfers Golfers from Detroit 1923 births 1966 deaths 20th-century American women