Jocelyne Bourassa, CM (May 30, 1947 – August 3, 2021) was a Canadian

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

, who had a distinguished amateur career. She was Rookie of the Year 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 weekl ...

in 1972, and ended her career with one victory on the tour.

Amateur career

Bourassa was born in

Shawinigan, Quebec Shawinigan () is a city located on the Saint-Maurice River in the Mauricie area in Quebec, Canada. It had a population of 49,349 as of the 2016 Canadian census. Shawinigan is also a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) and ...

. She studied

Physical Education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

at the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...

where she was a member of the

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

teams. Bourassa won the Quebec Junior golf championship in 1963, 1964, and 1965. In 1965, she also captured 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 ...

. She repeated as the national amateur champion in 1971 then turned professional in 1972.

Professional career

Bourassa won LPGA Rookie of the Year honors in 1972. The following year she won the first-ever La Canadienne golf championship, now the Canadian Women's Open. She was the only Canadian woman to win the Canadian Women's Open until

Brooke Henderson Brooke Mackenzie Henderson (born 10 September 1997) is a Canadian professional golfer on the LPGA Tour. Henderson was named the Canadian Press female athlete of the year for 2015, 2017 and 2018. She won her first major at age 18 in 2016 at the ...

in 2018.

Honours

Bourassa won the

Bobbie Rosenfeld Award The Bobbie Rosenfeld Award is an annual award given to Canada's female athlete of the year. The sports writers of the Canadian Press (CP) first conducted a poll to determine the nation's top female in 1932, naming track star Hilda Strike the winn ...

in 1972 as Canada's best female athlete. Bourassa was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

in 1972. Bourassa was elected to the Quebec Sports Hall of Fame in 1992, the Quebec Golf Hall of Fame in 1995, the

Canadian Golf Hall of Fame The Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame covering the history of the game of golf in Canada, and celebrating the careers and accomplishments of the most significant contributors to the game in that country. Operated by ...

in 1996, and

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canad ...

in 2015.

Amateur wins (15)

''this list may be incomplete'' *1963 Quebec Junior, Quebec Amateur *1964 Quebec Junior *1965 Quebec Junior,

*1967 Eastern Province Championship, Scottish Girls Open Stroke Play Championship *1968 Eastern Province Championship *1969 Eastern Province Championship, Quebec Amateur *1970 Eastern Province Championship, World Amateur Championships (individual) *1971

, Ontario Amateur, New Zealand Women's Amateur, Quebec Amateur

Professional wins (1)

LPGA Tour wins (1)

''Note: Bourassa won the La Canadienne (which became the

du Maurier Classic The CP Women's Open (french: Open féminin du Canada) is a women's professional golf tournament managed by Golf Canada. It has been Canada's national championship tournament since its founding in 1973 LPGA Tour, 1973, and is an official event on ...

) before it became a major championship.'' LPGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

References

External links

*
Canadian Golf Hall of Fame profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bourassa, Jocelyne Canadian female golfers LPGA Tour golfers Winners of ladies' major amateur golf championships Golfing people from Quebec Members of the Order of Canada Sportspeople from Shawinigan 1947 births 2021 deaths