Golf
Has a woman golfer ever made the cut at a PGA Tour event?
In the entire history of the PGA Tour, there is only one woman who has managed to make a cut.
Before October this year, only six women had taken to the PGA Tour stage. The latest addition to this select group is Lexi Thompson, who made her mark as the seventh woman to compete in a PGA Tour event at this year’s Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Yet, among these remarkable women, only one has made the cut.
The trailblazer was Babe Didrikson Zaharias, who achieved this feat in 1935.
More about Babe Zaharias
Zaharias, often hailed as one of the greatest female athletes in history, transitioned to golf in 1935 after securing a gold medal in track and field during the 1932 Olympics. Zaharias made her initial foray into professional golf at the 1935 Cascades Open, where she missed the cut with scores of 88 and 86. Her subsequent endeavors saw her withdraw from the 1937 Chicago Open and failing to cut the 1938 Los Angeles Open with back-to-back rounds in the 80s.
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Nevertheless, Zaharias showed unwavering determination and achieved a milestone by making the 36-hole cut at the 1945 Los Angeles Open. Although she encountered a challenging Saturday round of 81 that kept her from playing on Sunday, she made the cut. She completed all 72 holes at the Phoenix Open and Tucson Open, thus securing her place in history as the only woman to make a cut on the PGA Tour. She made one more appearance on the Tour, missing the weekend at the 1946 L.A. Open.
Zaharias aimed to be the first woman to qualify for the U.S. Open in 1948. Still, her application was rejected by the USGA, which stipulated that only men could participate in the event.
Despite her relatively late introduction to the game, Zaharias achieved remarkable success, clinching ten women’s majors and over 40 events throughout her career. In 1950, she was among the 13 founding members of the LPGA. Since Zaharias’ last event, there have been 12 appearances by women on the PGA Tour, with the most recent being Brittany Lincicome’s participation in the 2018 Barbasol Championship.
Zaharias competed in seven events on what is now recognized as the PGA Tour.
Other women participating in PGA Tour events include Shirley Spork, Annika Sorenstam, Suzy Whaley, Michelle Wie West, and Lincicome.