Vivien Inez Saunders, (born 24 November 1946) is a retired English professional golfer, known after winning the

Women's British Open The Women's Open (originally known as the Women's British Open, and still widely referred to by that name outside the UK) is a women's major golf championships, major championship in Professional golf tours#Women's tours, women's professional go ...

in 1977. She had a successful amateur career, appearing in the 1968

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 " ...

. She has published a number of golf books and instructional videos.

Early years

Saunders was born in

Sutton, Surrey Sutton is the principal town in the London Borough of Sutton in South London, England. It lies on the lower slopes of the North Downs, and is the administrative headquarters of the Outer London borough. It is south-south west of Charing Cross ...

on 24 November 1946 and educated at Nonsuch County High School,

Cheam Cheam () is a suburb of London, England, south-west of Charing Cross. It is divided into North Cheam, Cheam Village and South Cheam. Cheam Village contains the listed buildings Lumley Chapel and the 16th-century Whitehall. It is adjacent to ...

, Surrey.

Golf career

Saunders was runner-up to Liz Chadwick in the 1966

British Ladies Amateur Golf 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 ...

, losing 3 & 2 in the final. Saunders turned professional in early 1969 and became the first European to qualify for 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 ...

later in 1969.

Amateur wins

*1967

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 ...

(with

Bridget Jackson Barbara Amy Bridget Jackson (born 10 July 1936) is an English amateur golfer. She won the 1954 Girls Amateur Championship, the 1956 English Women's Amateur Championship and the 1967 Canadian Women's Amateur. She played in three Curtis Cup matc ...

)

Professional wins

*1977

*1978

(with

Mary Everard Dorothy Mary Everard (also Laupheimer, 8 October 1942 – 28 May 2022) was an English amateur golfer. She was runner-up in the 1967 Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship. She won the Ladies' British Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship in 1 ...

) *1980 British Car Auctions Tournament (tied with Bridget Cooper) *Keighley Trophy *four tournaments in Australia

Other achievements

She was editor of ''Lady Golfer'' for several years, also the founder of the Women's Professional Golf Association and the European Women's Tour. Made honorary life member of PGA and Women's European Tour but had to resign from each to regain amateur status and play. Previously on Executive Committee of PGA, Chairman Women's PGA. Among council member of National Coaching Foundation 1993 to 1997. She has twice won the British Sports Coach of the Year Award. In 1986, she bought Abbotsley Golf Club, near St Neots, Cambridgeshire. She is the chairman of the Association of Golf Course Owners. Saunders was appointed

Officer 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 ...

(OBE) for services to women's golf in the

1998 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1998 for the United Kingdom, Barbados, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis were announced on 30 December 1997, ...

. In the 2015 general election, she ran against Prime Minister

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

Witney Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is west of Oxford. The place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest known record of it is as ...

for the Reduce VAT in Sport party, which she also led.

Team appearances

Amateur *

(representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1968 *

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):

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

(winners) *

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 ...

(representing Great Britain): 1967 (winners) *

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 ...

(representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1967

References

External links

Personal web sitePenguin Books profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Vivien English female golfers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Sportspeople from Sutton, London People educated at Nonsuch High School Leaders of political parties in the United Kingdom 1946 births Living people