Catherine Lacoste (born 27 June 1945) is a French amateur

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

er and the only player who has won the U.S. Women's Open as an amateur.

Early life

She was born and grew up in

Paris, France Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, with her parents,

René Lacoste Jean René Lacoste was a French tennis player and businessman. He was nicknamed "the Crocodile" because of how he dealt with his opponents; he is also known worldwide as the creator of the Lacoste tennis shirt, which he introduced in 1929, and e ...

and

Simone de la Chaume Simone Thion de la Chaume (24 November 1908 – 4 September 2001) was a French amateur golfer. In 1924, she became the first foreign player to win the Girls Amateur Championship and in 1927 the first to win the British Ladies Amateur, then the ...

and three older brothers. Her family spent many holidays in the coast resort area of

Saint-Jean-de-Luz Saint-Jean-de-Luz (; eu, Donibane Lohitzune,Donibane Lohitzune
The club was founded by Lacoste's grandfather René Thion de la Chaume in 1928, as a celebration of 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 ...

triumph a year earlier by Lacoste's mother. Young Lacoste practised many different sports; skiing, skating, swimming, horse riding and tennis and, from 8 years of age, golf. Her father was, beside a world class tennis player, also a 6-handicap golfer. French golfer Jean Garaïalde and his father Raymond were her golf teachers when she learned the game at young age. When she was 13 years old, Jean gave her a putter that she used through her entire career. Always hitting the long clubs with ease, favoring the 1-iron, she was soon dominating golf tournaments in the region around her club.

Career

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 Patriarc ...

, at age 19, Lacoste was selected to the French three-women team for the first

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 Fre ...

, the inaugural world team championship of amateur golf, at Golf de Saint Germain, 20 kilometers west of Paris, France. The French team of Lacoste, Brigitte Varangot and Claudine Cros, under the captaincy of Lally de Saint Sauveur, won the championship and Lacoste finished tied first individually. The year after, Lacoste was invited to the 1965 U.S. Women's Open at Atlantic City Country Club in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. She travelled over the Atlantic by boat with her parents and finished 14th. She was part of the Continent of Europe team at the 1965

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 ...

, winning for the first time over the Great Britain and Ireland team. Lacoste came to be part of the European team repeating that victory in 1967 and 1969, to take three in a row. At the 1966 Espirito Santo Trophy at Mexico City GC,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, the French team finished bronze-medalists and Lacoste lone third individually. Lacoste decided to skip the 1967

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 ...

to travel to the

1967 U.S. Women's Open The 1967 U.S. Women's Open was the 22nd U.S. Women's Open, held June 29 to July 2 at the Cascades Course of The Omni Homestead Resort, The Homestead, in Hot Springs, Virginia. This winner was Catherine Lacoste, age 22, the first international a ...

, to be played June 29 to July 2 at the Cascades Course of The Homestead, in

Hot Springs, Virginia Hot Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bath County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 738. It is located about southwest of Warm Springs on U.S. Route 220. Hot Springs has several historic resorts, f ...

. This time Lacoste traveled by air and alone. On Tuesday of the tournament week, Lacoste celebrated her 22nd birthday. Going into the last round, Lacoste held a 5-stroke lead. It stretched to seven strokes before she bogeyed five straight holes in bad weather on the back nine of the final round, but she secured the victory with a birdie on the par-4 17th hole by hitting a 2-wood over trees to cut the corner of a dogleg, which her competitors were not able to do, to finally win by two strokes. As an amateur, she received no prize money and the first prize of $5,000 was added to the second prize and shared by the tied runners-up Susie Maxwell and Beth Stone. Lacoste's victory came on the same day as her famous father's birthday. Playing in just her third professional golf tournament, she was the first European and only the second non-U.S.-citizen to win an LPGA major after

Fay Crocker Fay Crocker (2 August 1914 – 16 September 1983) was a Uruguayan professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour. In her career, she won 11 LPGA tournaments, including two major championships, the 1955 U.S. Women's Open and 1960 Titleholde ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

(whose father was American), and she remained the only French woman to have done so until Patricia Meunier-Lebouc won the 2003 Kraft Nabisco Championship. Lacoste was the youngest women ever and she remains the only amateur ever to win the U.S. Women's Open. Trying to defend her U.S. Open title in

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

, she finished tied 13th and never again entered the U.S. Women's Open. Lacoste won the 1968 Women's Western Amateur, one of the most prestigious amateur tournaments in the United States. At the

Espirito Santo Trophy at Victoria Golf Club, Melbourne, Australia, Lacoste was again the individual winner and the French team bronze-medalists. In 1969, Lacoste won the two most important amateur tournaments in the world, the U.S. Women's Amateur and the

, becoming the third women in golfing history to achieve that feat in the same year. Only one other player has done that since. Lacoste and her mother are the only mother and daughter to have both won the British Ladies Amateur. This year Lacoste became the only women to have held the open amateur titles of United States, Great Britain, France and Spain at the same time. The same year, Lacoste made her first appearance at the

and led the French team to victory. At the age of 25, having won several of the most prestigious tournaments in the world, Lacoste retired from tournament golf, except a few appearances in France and Spain, and never turned professional. The following years, Lacoste continued to play for her country's team at the Espirito Santo Trophy, where she finished second individually in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

and in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

, and the European Ladies' Team Championship, being part of the winning team again in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. After her competitive career, she served as a non-playing captain of the French women's senior amateur team.

Personal life

Lacoste is the daughter of French tennis player

(1904–1996), winner of seven

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

singles titles, and his wife

(1908–2001), in 1927, first French winner of the British Ladies Amateur. They married in 1930. She has been a member of the board of

Lacoste Lacoste S.A. is a French company, founded in 1933 by tennis player René Lacoste, and entrepreneur Mangkha. It sells clothing, footwear, sportswear, eyewear, leather goods, perfume, towels and watches. The company can be recognised by its g ...

, the major fashion company, founded in 1933 by her father, who invented the crocodile trademark. The management of the company was transferred in 1963 from her father to her brother Bernard Lacoste (1931–2006). The family sold the company and the brand in November 2012 to Swiss family-held group Maus Frères. The Chantaco Golf Club has always been managed by a member of the Lacoste family. In 1974, Lacoste succeeded her mother as president, with assistance of her brother François. In 2009, she was replaced by Camille Lacoste, the niece of her parents, until 2013, when Camille was replaced by Lacoste's daughter Veronique Smondack. Lacoste was awarded Honorary President of the club. In 1970, Lacoste married Jaime Prado y Colón de Carvajal and the couple had four children. Her youngest daughter Veronique played collegiately at Wake Forest University, North Carolina, in 1998. Her second oldest daughter Caroline Devaux, also took up the game. Until 1978, Lacoste competed under the name Catherine Lacoste de Prado. After divorcing from her first husband, she married Angel Piñero, a classical guitar player, in 2000. Besides living in

Saint-Jean-de-Luz Saint-Jean-de-Luz (; eu, Donibane Lohitzune,Donibane Lohitzune
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Amateur wins

*1964 French Junior Championship *1965 French International Ladies Amateur Stroke-play Championship *1966

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 ...

, French Junior Championship, French International Ladies Amateur Stroke-play Championship *1967 Worplesdon Mixed Foursomes (with José Gancedo), French Open Amateur Match-play Championship, French International Ladies Amateur Stroke-play Championship *1968 Women's Western Amateur, French Ladies Close Amateur Championship *1969

, U.S. Women's Amateur, French Open Amateur Match-play Championship,

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 ...

, French Ladies Close Amateur Championship, Spanish International Ladies Amateur Championship *1970 French Open Amateur Match-play Championship *1972 French Open Amateur Match-play Championship, Spanish International Ladies Amateur Championship *1975 French International Ladies Amateur Stroke-play Championship *1976 Spanish International Ladies Amateur Championship *1984 French International Ladies Amateur Stroke-play Championship Sources:

Professional wins (1)

LPGA Tour wins (1)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

''Note: Lacoste only played in the U.S. Women's Open.'' LA = Low amateur
T = tied

Team appearances

Amateur *

(representing France):

(winners, tied individual winner), 1966,

(individual winner),

, 1974,

, 1978 *

(representing Continent of Europe): 1965 (winners), 1967 (winners), 1969 (winners), 1973 *

(representing France): 1969 (winners),

(winners),

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lacoste, Catherine French female golfers Amateur golfers Winners of ladies' major amateur golf championships Winners of LPGA major golf championships Golfers from Paris 1945 births Living people 20th-century French women