Berg, Patty

Patty Berg, byname of Patricia Jane Berg, (born February 13, 1918, Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.—died September 10, 2006, Fort Myers, Florida), American golfer, winner of more than 80 tournaments, including a record 15 major women’s championships, and first president of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA).

Berg began playing golf at the age of 13 and soon showed a remarkable talent for the game. In 1935 she won the Minnesota state women’s championship and reached the final round of the national women’s amateur championship. In 1936 she repeated as state champion and won several lesser national tournaments. The following year she was again defeated in the finals of the national championship, but in 1938 she capped a season of 9 victories in 12 tournaments by winning the national women’s amateur title. She reduced her tournament schedule on entering the University of Minnesota in 1939, and an appendectomy prevented her from defending her national title that year.

In 1940 Berg gave up her amateur status by accepting the sponsorship of Wilson Sporting Goods Company in Chicago. An injury in 1941 kept her out of competition until 1943, when she won the Women’s Western Open. In 1945 she won the All-American Open, and the following year she won the first U.S. Women’s Open. From 1948 to 1962 Berg recorded 44 victories, including 5 Western Opens (1948, 1951, 1955, 1957, 1958), 4 Titleholders Championships (1948, 1953, 1955, 1957), and 4 world championships (1953, 1954, 1955, 1957); she staged a remarkable drive to come from behind and defeat Babe Zaharias in the 1948 Western Open. In her career, Berg had 60 professional victories. In 1954, 1955, and 1957 she was the leading money winner in the LPGA, of which she was also the first president (1950–52) and one of the founding members.

Berg was one of four original inductees into the LPGA Hall of Fame in 1951, and in 1978 she became one of two women inducted into the PGA Hall of Fame. She was inducted into the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1980. In 1978 the LPGA established the Patty Berg Award for outstanding contributions to women’s golf; the prize was awarded to Berg in 1990. She continued to appear occasionally in tournaments in later years and conducted golf clinics as she toured the country for Wilson Sporting Goods. Berg also wrote several books on golf.